Home improvement With these simple tricks, banish the nasties in your house that make you cough and wheeze

 The very thought of them makes you scratch and itch — and now the dust mite has become increasingly responsible for a rise in household allergies. 

    Instances of perennial allergic rhinitis, or home fever, have shot up in our urban homes, making people allergic to their own abodes. Unlike regular hay fever, triggered by high seasonal pollen levels, home fever is caused by allergens such as dust mites, moulds, cleaning products and pets. Since these are present all around the year, they can catch you unawares any time. 

    With the most common symptoms of an indoor allergy or home fever being a runny nose and sneezing, people all too often confuse symptoms with a common cold or flu and don't treat the cause of the problem. While curing home fever is tough, here's how you can fight back: 

ROOM SPRAY 

This is one of the most common causes of allergic reactions and is even known to trigger asthma attacks. Room sprays are unnecessary if you keep your house clean, don't smoke indoors and open your windows regularly. There's also an alternative — create your own by mixing a tablespoon each of bicarbonate of soda and lemon juice with warm water. 

DUST MITES 

Your bed provides the ideal environment for dust mites to thrive because in them they can feed on skin cells, obtain warmth from your body and gather water from your sweat. Their droppings, though invisible to the naked eye, are responsible for causing the majority of allergic reactions. To eliminate them, use allergen-proof barrier covers on all mattresses, bedspreads and pillows. Wash your sheets and blankets every week, ideally at 60 degrees or above. Also, change your mattress every eight to 10 years, and replace pillows every 12 months. 

PETS 

Cat and dog dander, which are flakes of dead skin that collect on fur and other surfaces, contain allergens that can cause serious asthma attacks. Pets also carry outdoor allergens back inside on their coats. Keep your pets in well-ventilated rooms and never let them sleep on the beds or furniture. Wipe pets down after long walks and wash their bedding weekly. You could try a pet cleanser which removes allergens from coats. 

MOULD 

This is a type of fungi that grows best in damp and poorly-ventilated areas. To stop it developing, simply reduce humidity by increasing ventilation. Use trickle vents in double glazing or just open your windows. Extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens are also useful at getting rid of steam. Avoid hanging damp clothes in the house to dry. Also, try an air purifier to trap mould spores. 

CARPETS 

If allergic, remove as many of the carpets in your house as possible and replace with solid wood flooring. New carpets in particular are full of noxious chemicals that can be inhaled for months and could trigger allergic reactions. If you do have carpets, regularly use a high-temperature steam cleaner to get rid of any dust mites. 

FURNITURE 

Avoid furniture and shelving made from chipboard or manufactured wood as these may contain formaldehyde — a 

    chemical that can give off a colourless gas that irritates the airways. Your best bet is to invest in solid wood furniture in the long run. 

    PERFUMES 

All perfumes, hairsprays, shampoos and soaps have the potential to cause nasty skin reactions. Try to use scentless products when you can, and dab natural oils on your clothes instead of processed ones. 

FLOWERS 

Indoor plants and flowers can produce pollen so avoid having them in the house if they cause sneezing. Speak with garden experts to find the best plants for indoors. Be aware that planters, soil and old leaves can serve as great hiding places for mould. 

SOFT TOYS 

Dust mites are commonly found in furry toys so it's really important to keep them irritant-free. Washable stuffed toys should be sent tumbling through the washing machine on a regular basis. While children at home would be aghast at the thought, it would help if you place the furries in a plastic bag in the freezer for at least 12 hours once a month, and then wash them at a lower temperature if needed. 

   

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FALSE ALARM? ‘No convincing proof of mobile-cancer link’

London: Long-term use of mobile phones may cause cancer, although there is "no convincing evidence" to suggest that, claims the biggest ever review of the subject. 

    The review, carried out by the British Health Protection Agency's Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR), found that a large number of studies have been published on cancer risks; but none of them had demonstrated that mobiles actually cause brain tumours or any other types of cancer. 

    A small number of individual studies have claimed to have found evidence of a link between heavy mobile phone use and increased brain tumour incidence. 

    Two years ago, the INTERPHONE study had reported that the heaviest users could be at a 40% increased risk of developing glioma, a common type of brain cancer. But, most studies have found no such association. 

    Launching the 333-page report, which reviewed hundreds of studies, professor Anthony Swerdlow, chairman of AGNIR, said, "I think there is a need to keep a watch on national cancer trends in relation to this, particularly with brain tumours. 

    "So far brain tumour rates are not rising in the sorts of age groups who have had exposure for 10, 15 years. But if this is something that takes 15, 20 years or more to show up... we need to keep watch over rates just in case," Swerdlow was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph. 

    Swerdlow, also an epidemiologist at the Institute of Cancer Research, said that researchers running cohort studies also needed to investigate the matter to see if heavy users of mobile phones tended to develop brain tumours more than others. 

    The review found no evidence that radiofrequency electromagnetic fields caused by wi-fi caused harmful effects. Neither did it find any proof that cellphone transmitters caused health problems, and recommended that "excessive" use of mobile phones by kids should be discouraged while adults should make their own decision. PTI

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Suspected cholera case reported from SoBo

Civic Authority Denies Cholera & Will Check Supply For Contamination; Guidelines Being Drawn Up For Water Problems

 Asuspected cholera case was reported at Saifee Hospital on Monday. A 45-year-old woman from an affluent south Mumbai family was brought to Saifee with symptoms of cholera and shifted to Kasturba Hospital the next day, from where the family shifted her to a private hospital. However, the BMC denied the woman had cholera. 

    According to sources 

in Saifee Hospital, the woman, from a Girgaum high-rise, had diarrhoea and was passing frequent "rice-water" stools. Doctors from the hospital said she tested positive for the hanging-drop test (the initial test for cholera). The hospital, however, transferred her to Kasturba Hospital on Tuesday night. "We realized it will be best if she was admitted in Kasturba Hospital, where all cases of infectious diseases are sent," said a Saifee Hospital source. 

    But the patient didn't want to be treated at Kasturba. "A case was brought to the hospital on Tuesday night, but the family took a discharge against medical advice on Tuesday night itself," said Dr Umesh Aigal, medical superintendent of Kasturba Hospital. The patient's family refused to comment. 

    The BMC denied the woman was suffering from cholera. BMC executive health officer, Anil Bandivdekar said, "Doctors from the private hospital may have felt she suffered from cholera, but her reports were negative. She was even taken away by her family within a few hours of admission to Kasturba." 

    "The test at Saifee was positive but the second (at Kasturba) was negative. Now the sample has been sent for the ELISA test. But that is likely to come negative, because by the time her second sample was taken, she was already on treatment," said a doctor from Kasturba. 

    Cholera has been never mentioned in BMC health files as officials say "its mere occurrence could attract international travel sanctions". Cholera is highly infectious and can spread within the community in a few hours. In recent years it is more manageable, but the BMC refrained from naming it. New Delhi and Chennai record hundreds of cholera cases every year, but BMC records always show zero cases. 

    Experts say water contaminated because of the old pipelines in Mumbai—especially in the island city—can be blamed for cholera. "The water pipes are structured in such a way that clean and waste water pipes run sideby-side. They are so old that if rusted, there may be mixing of water. Water is thus not contaminated from the source," said an official from the hydraulic department. 

    The BMC is sending a team to Girgaum. "We will check the water for contamination. If found unfit for consumption, then the source of contamination will be found and treated," said the official. About the Disease Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that leads to watery diarrhoea. It is caused by the bacterium vibrio cholerae. The bacteria give out a toxin that increases release of water in the intestine, which, in turn, leads to severe diarrhoea. Cholera occurs in places with poor sanitation, crowding, war and famine RISK FACTORS Exposure to contaminated or to untreated drinking water Living in or travelling to areas where cholera 

has been reported 

SYMPTOMS Watery diarrhoea that starts suddenly and has a 'fishy' odour, vomitting, abdominal cramps, dry skin, excessive thirst, low urine output, nausea and rapid dehydration COMPLICATIONS TREATMENT 

Other than intestines, it affects the stomach and kidneys due to dehydration. In severe cases, it can lead to renal failure. If left untreated, it could prove fatal. But with adequate fluids and treatment, most recover Usually antibiotics such as tetracyclines are administered, but the top priority is rehydration. There are vaccines for the infection, but since their efficacy hasn't been proved yet, they are rarely used in India ADVISORY 

Boil water before drinking Avoid eating food 

from unknown water sources 

Avoid consuming ice or cool drinks from roadside vendors Maintain 

hygiene in your surroundings TESTS TO DETERMINE CHOLERA 

HANGING DROP TEST 

The test determines bacterial motility. A glass slide, with a small concave portion in the middle, is used to "hang" (mixed with a diluent) a living microorganism which is examined under the microscope. Results can come within four hours 

ELISA TEST 

An ELISA test uses components of the immune system and chemicals to detect immune responses in the body. ELISA tests are relatively accurate tests and are considered highly sensitive and specific. But results can take up to three days PREVENTION 

Wash hands regularly, avoid areas with cholera outbreaks, drink boiled water

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Low-fat dairy foods may help reduce stroke risk

 People who drink lowfat milk and eat lowfat yogurt and cheese are at a lower risk of stroke as compared to those who consume full-fat dairy foods, a new study has claimed. In a Swedish study, among 74,961 adults 45 to 83 years old, those who ate lowfat dairy foods had a 12 percent lower risk of stroke and a 13 per cent lower risk of ischemic stroke than those who ate highfat dairy foods. 

Participants were free of heart disease, stroke and cancer at the start of the study. 

    "From a public health perspective, if people consume more low-fat dairy foods rather than high-fat dairy foods, they will benefit from a reduced risk of stroke and other positive health outcomes," Susanna Larsson, lead researcher said. The benefits of low-fat dairy foods are likely due to the vitamins and minerals they contain calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin D. "It is possible that vitamin D in low-fat dairy foods may explain, in part, the observed lowered risk of stroke in this study because of its potential effect on blood pressure," she said. 

Choose healthy, live well

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IT’S FOR YOUR GOOD ONLY! Don’t be irritated, nagging keeps you healthy & active

London: It appears that nagging is good for your health, especially if you are above 30, as it acts like a constant reminder for people to lose weight or become more active, a study has found. 

    The study, which was based on a series of interviews from the UK, showed that the least active people felt that constant nagging from their family — spouse or children — affected their health in a positive way. 

    In the study, researchers from the University of Lincoln focused on modifiable social influences on motivation towards physical activity, rather than fixed factors used to predict health such as gender and ethnicity. These included giving impetus (by nagging); supporting progress with emotional and moral support; logistical support like looking after the kids for some time; and making activity itself a social endeavour, such as going with friends. 

    "The aim of this study was to help people examine their lifestyle as a whole and establish what the key factors are in influencing their activity levels," study author Dr Richard Keegan was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "The most common barriers to active lifestyles were work, long commutes and provision of facilities. However, it became clear that if you know who to ask, it's also possible for your social network to help you become more active, for example, by going for a run with colleagues straight after work. "The good news is that the study suggests once you are active and healthy, you no longer need nagging. Most importantly, however, the suggestion that 'nagging is good' should only be applied to getting healthy and active!" PTI

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Green tea with Gul

Actress Gul Panag will throw open the doors of her eco weekend home, one of the first two in India to await a TERI GRIHA certification, to anyone keen on building one of their own

 ACTRESS Gul Panag and pilot husband Rishi Attari have turned teachers, and they prefer tutoring by example; sometimes taking the help of 3D animation. The couple has built a weekend home in Mulshi, three and a half hours away from Mumbai. It's one of the first of two independent green homes in India to register with GRIHA, a scheme launched in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under New Delhi-based TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute), to encourage, facilitate and evaluate the construction of ecofriendly homes across the country. 

By June, Panag plans to host guests virtually at her Green Home, through her website. "Our home will be open to anyone curious to figure how a certified green home is designed, and what makes it environmentally conscious. If the virtual 3-D tour of our nest stokes your appetite to check out the real one, drive down for a cup of tea, and I'll be happy to offer you a guided tour," says Panag. 

    Experts say it's a leg up for the green home movement that the efforts are gradually weaning away from the symbolic rain-water-harvesting-and-solar- panelinstallation design to a professionally laid out vision, capped by a system of evaluation, rating and certification. Panag's home is awaiting a rating from GRIHA. The first green home to register with GRIHA is New Delhi-based media professional Prasanto Roy's. The champa tree that stood outside his family home in CR Park had held 

    special memories; his sister was named after it. When the sprawling mansion was being torn down last year to make way for the new building, Roy's Green One project ensured that not just the beloved champa, but every tree on the premises was saved, or professionally transplanted; a key pre-requisite of the TERI GRIHA programme. 

    Another tenet is the use of material from the old construction. "Since ours was an old house, all possible material had to be re-used and documented. Every single brick has been reclaimed, sorted and stacked for re-use, and is being used for non-critical, non-load bearing construction. Same for steel bars," says Roy. Mallika Desai Thakker, the LEED-certified architect of Panag's home, says the house will be off the grid, not dependent on sarkari energy, and will generate its own power through solar panels. Double glazed windows, and an allround ventilation mechanism will eliminate the need for airconditioners. Rainwater harvesting will provide it a supply of close to 1 lakh litres of water a year. 

Some benefits of going green are reduced energy consumption, better light and indoor air quality. Roy says, "Construction costs are typically 5 to10 per cent higher than for a regular building, but in the long run it's more economical. Builders need to play up the certification of green buildings like they would Italian marble or jacuzzis." 3 SIMPLE WAYS TO GO GREEN 

    Use Autoclaved Aerated Concrete instead of bricks. Its improved thermal efficiency reduces heating and cooling load in homes. It's light, reduces cost and energy in transportation. 

    Use double wall glass in windows so as to reduce direct heat gain and glare while maximising the sunlight entering your rooms. 

    Paint your exteriors and room walls with ecofriendly non-toxic paints that don't use petrochemicals involved in the creation of traditional paints that can pollute the atmosphere through toxic fumes when discarded irresponsibly. FAST FACTS 

    A green building is environmentally responsible and resourceefficient through its lifecycle: from design, construction, operation to maintenance, renovation, and demolition. 

    You can bring in 'green elements' into any building design, but the formal term 'green building' is used typically for one that has been certified through a rating system such as LEED or GRIHA. Ratings are based on points on a 1-100 scale across major categories such as energy, water efficiency, materials. 

    US-based LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the dominant global rating system, also popular in India. TERI's GRIHA is the Indian equivalent of LEED. It uses a star rating (five stars equivalent to LEED's platinum rating). 

    Rating cost is typically 5-6 lakh, but TERI introduced the SVAGRIHA system (under GRIHA) that reduces cost to 1 lakh approx. RATING AGENCIES 

India Green Building Council offers Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified rating. www.igbc.in GRIHA offers rating from 1 to 5, with five being the highest. www.grihaindia.org 

A 3D model of Prasanto Roy's New Delhi green home

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MUMBAI:New app helps users find commuters who carpool

Mumbai: A new app will help commuters reduce their carbon footprint and make the daily commute easier. The app, Smart Mumbaikar, that was launched on Friday lets users find travellers who carpool. 

    "It's a simple Facebook app that lets you identify who among your friends shares the same route you take to office, school or college," said entrepreneur Raxit Sheth, developer of the app. 

    When users set up the app, they are asked for details about their daily commute. Users can use a drop-down menu of city landmarks to select the origin and destination of their journey. It also prompts users to select their mode of transport and timing. 

    "We have compiled a list of about 5,000 popular landmarks across Mumbai. These include locations in the western suburbs, Navi Mumbai and the central surburbs," added Sheth. Software professional Parth Lalcheta has helped Sheth develop the app. 

    According to the developers, women travellers can select if they want to travel with at least one female companion or an all-women group. 

    "During research, we realized that security was a key concern, especially for women," said the software developer who is also the creator of MumbaiAuto (an app that calculates autorickshaw and taxi fare once commuters feed the meter reading) and Mobile4Mumbai (an app that allows users to search BEST bus routes). "We know that a large number of people are underutilizing rickshaws, cars and taxis during rush hour. Autos and cabs with single passengers simply add to the city's traffic woes." 

Aid to Easy Commute 

• When users set up the app, they are asked for details about their daily commute 

• Users can use a drop-down menu of city landmarks to select the origin and destination of their journey 

• Women travellers can select if they want to travel with at least one female companion or an all-women group 

• Log on to smartmumbaikar.com

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INDIA :We have weaker hearts than Americans: Study

4 Out Of 5 Indians Are Inactive

Mumbai: There is now statistical proof to say that urban Indian lifestyles are queering the pitch for the Indian heart. Born with thinner arteries and at genetic risk for cardiac diseases, Indians are worsening their risk for heart diseases with poor physical activity, a highfat diet and by steadily shunning fruits and vegetables. 

    A study released at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai on Thursday said four of five Indians led an inactive life and about half were on a high-fat diet. Called the Indian Heart Watch (IHW), spanning 11 cities and covering 6,000 men and women, it was offered as the first-ever study on risk factors for heart diseases in India. 

    "The study showed risk factors are now at higher levels in India than in developed countries and regions such as the US and western Europe,'' said the study's researchers. 

    Indian Heart Watch looked at three lifestyle factors — physical activity, diet and smoking—as well as biological factors like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure. Shockingly, even smaller towns showed higher incidence of smoking.

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TECH-ING A TOLL ON YOUR HEALTH?

Spending long hours on the computer or constant chatting on the phone, irregular postures are causing more harm to you than you know

 One of the recent disorders that is commonly seen among professionals with excessive use of a phone or a computer is none other than the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. 

THE CAUSE 

This is due to compression of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel.Carpal tunnel is roughly two finger breaths beginning from the distal palmar crease towards the palm. Dr Ashish Agarwal, joint replacement surgeon, Bombay Hospital, says, "Any condition that exerts pressure on the median nerve at the wrist can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive maneuvers has been referred to as one of the repetitive stress injuries. Some rare diseases can cause deposition of abnormal substances in and around the carpal tunnel, leading to nerve irritation." 

SYMPTOMS 

People with carpal tunnel syndrome initially feel numbness and tingling of the hand in the distribution of the median nerve (the thumb, index, middle, and part of the fourth fingers). These sensations are often more pronounced at night and can awaken people from sleep. 

    The reason symptoms are worse at night may be related to the flexed-wrist sleeping position and/or fluid accumulating around the wrist and hand while lying flat. Carpal tunnel syndrome may be a temporary condition that completely resolves or it can persist and progress. 

TREAT IT RIGHT 

"Initial treatment usually includes rest, immobilisation of the wrist in a splint, and occasionally ice application. Those whose occupations are aggravating the symptoms should modify their activities. For example, computer keyboards and chair height may need to be adjusted to optimize comfort,"says Dr Agarwal. Periodic resting and range of motion stretching exercise of the wrists can actually prevent the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome that are caused by repetitive overuse.

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DON’T WORRY Be optimistic, cut heart attack risk

London: Be an optimist, it's good for your heart, according to a Harvard School of Public Health review of more than 200 studies. 

    Researchers found cheerful people have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke — while such people may be generally healthier, a sense of well-being is what that lowers risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. 

    The researchers trawled medical trial databases to find studies that had recorded psychological well-being and cardiovascular health, the BBC reported. 

    This revealed that factors such as optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness appeared to be linked associated with a reduced risk of heart and circulatory diseases, regardless of a person's age, socio-economic status, smoking status or body weight. Disease risk was 50% lower among the most optimistic individuals. 

    However, Julia Boehm, who led the review, stresses that the work only suggests a link and is not proof that well-being buffers against heart disease. The people in the study who were more optimistic engaged in healthier behaviours such as getting more exercising and eating a balanced diet, which will have some influence. PTI

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SWEET SUMMER The season can give diabetics skin and foot infections, bad breath and excessive sweating.

 Here's how they can avoid these and breeze through the months

 The heat wave is damaging enough for anybody, but if you're diabetic then you need to be twice as cautious. Diabetologist Sonali Patange says, "The metabolic rate among diabetics is high because of which they sweat a lot and feel constantly hungry. This gets aggravated in the summer. But if they take a few precautionary measures, they can breeze through the excruciating heat." 

SKIN CARE 

People suffering from uncontrolled diabetes are easily susceptible to various skin infections such as carbuncles, boils, abscesses, furuncles, which range in severity. Patange says, "Also, because of excessive sweating, most diabetic men tend to develop candidiasis around their groin. Women, on the other hand, are prone to urinary tract infection." 

    But these skin issues can be nipped in the bud by taking simple precautionary measures. Take a bath twice a day as it can prevent bacteria from growing on the skin. Avoid synthetic clothing and stick to only lose breathable cotton clothes. "But most importantly, maintain proper blood glucose level through diet, exercise and correct medication. People with uncontrolled diabetes can even catch respiratory infection very easily," says Patange. 

FOOT CARE 

Those with long-standing diabetes mellitus are predisposed to foot injury, ulceration and infection because they have poor glycaemic control, especially in adverse temperatures (extreme cold or heat). So diabetics must pay special attention to their feet and beware of developing interdigital foot infection or cellulite. Patange says, "Air your legs as much as you can and always ensure that you wash your feet, dry and regularly examine them." 

DEHYDRATION 

As diabetes leads to an increase in the body's excretion of urine when blood sugar rises, most diabetics fail to maintain adequate level of hydration in hot weather. The humidity also causes the body to sweat. Extreme sweating can result in dehydration. If the condition persists, then dehydration can lead to a dry mouth, reduced sweating, and a decrease in urine output. "If the patients are not taking enough water, this will cause the water composition in the blood to reduce and will produce ketones. This will lead to bad breath and can be aggravated through dehydration," says Patange. 

    In severe cases, dehydration can result in damage to the brain and other organs. Drinking plenty of water is enough to counterbalance the mild dehydration that occurs when you're outside in the summer heat. If sodium and other electrolytes are lost through prolonged or heavy exercise, they must be replaced. Staying well-hydrated can help prevent fluctuations in blood glucose levels as well as heatrelated complications such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. So drink adequate water, but steer clear of aerated drinks, fruit juices, alcohol and caffeine. Chaas and nimbu paani are safe options. Exercise is an essential part of the management of type 2 diabetes. Most people continue to indulge in outdoor activities even when it's hot outside, which may again lead to dehydration. In this weather, it's a good idea to try swimming and yoga. 

CARE FOR KIDS 

Children suffering from typeone diabetes need to be extra carful in the summer. "If a child is eating less, indulging in summer activities and following the same medicine dose, there's a chance that their blood sugar may drop, which can be very harmful for their health. So these kids must check their sugar levels frequently, and take medication only as prescribed," says Patange. "But whether it is type one or type two, it is essentially uncontrolled diabetes that leads to various health hazards. If the blood sugars are under control, then be it summer, winter or rain, diabetics have nothing much to fret about."

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How Health Checks in Time Save You Money

Vidyalaxmi explains how preventive health check-ups and a deduction of up to . 5,000 on them could keep you financially healthy

Prevention is better than cure. Especially, if you get a tax break for it. Preventive health check-ups may have been around for a while, but the tax exemption measure announced in this year's Union Budget is likely to add to its appeal. Almost every big hospital as well as polyclinic centre offer health check-up packages which cover every vital organ of your body such as eyes, heart, chest and even uterus in case of women. "Usually, employees get an opportunity to attend such wellness camps through their employers. But it's good to see a deduction of up to . 5,000 on preventive health check-up for self, spouse, dependent children or parents of an individual," says Vineet Agarwal, director, KPMG. The finance minister announced a tax incentive of up to . 5,000 for preventive health check-ups under section 80D. The final guidelines regarding the nature and venue of such check-ups are yet to be spelt out. 

"If a salaried individual undergoes a health check-up with any hospital or even a pathology lab, he/she can submit a photocopy of the bill along with other tax investment receipts to the employer at the time of investment declaration," says Vaibhav Sankla, director-business development and tax training at H&R Block India. If you are a self-employed individual, you cannot attach any receipts along with the Form 16. In that case, you can keep the original receipt with you, which can be produced if the need arises. "However, the maximum deduction under Section 80 D is up to . 15,000, which also includes health insurance premium. However, if one of your parents is a senior citizen, then the limit is enhanced to . 20,000. If you are already claiming full tax deduction under section 80D then there is no additional tax benefit on preventive health check-up expenditure," says Vaibhav Sankla. Payment by any mode (including cash payment) would work for claiming deduction for preventive health check-ups. 

NEED FOR PREVENTIVE 

HEALTH CHECK-UPS 

Instead of talking about a heart attack or even a stroke, let us talk about the more common ailments which most of us can expect at any point of time. For instance, you don't have to walk to your dentist only when you develop a cavity or for a root canal. It could be for flossing, threading, crowding of teeth or just a gum check. Bleeding gums while brushing or flossing or if you experience a persistent bad breath are early signs for persistent dental problems. Or even worse, if you sense a cavity, filling it early will save the amount on a root canal treatment. What you have avoided is a major dental problem and definitely the cost. 

"Most ailments requiring surgery do not occur overnight, but build up over a period of time, and in many cases, can be detected early through regular checks. Doctors say, you almost save up to 50% on health costs with regular check-ups, exercise and balanced diet," says Dr James Thomas, a senior consultant cardiac surgeon and vicechancellor, Padmashree Dr DY Patil University. The idea is to avoid severe health complications which could also take a toll on your biological as well as financial health. 

SOME MUST-DO TESTS 

If you don't want to go through the rigmarole of identifying the right health check-up and hospital, here is an easy way out. Undergo the following tests, especially if your family has a medical history, which are most important yet offered by almost every hospital. 

Stress test for families with 

cardiac history 

This test is also offered as a stand-alone test at a cardiologist's clinic or in any hospital. This test uses a treadmill to reflect arterial blood flow to the heart and chalks out imbalances, if any. The starting range for this test is around . 2,000 and it could go over . 15,000. "Stress test has been proved to be most effective these days. If you have a family history of cardiac problems, it's a must to carry out this test at least once a year," says Dr James Thomas. 

Combine it with an ECHO 

You can combine a stress test with an echocardiogram (ECHO). ECHO is more accurate than ECG (electrocardiography), which helps a doctor find the location and the extent of heart muscle damage depending on the results of a stress test. "But doctors insist on an ECHO only if the stress test results are positive and they detect some abnormalities," says Dr T Samuel, a medical practitioner based in Navi Mumbai. There are ECHO tests starting from . 500 and could go up to . 5,000, depending upon the hospital and the city. 

Monitor blood pressure and 

sugar levels regularly 

Blood pressure is a function of stress and anxiety rather than heredity. Such cases can be kept monitored through counselling, yoga and meditation instead of direct medication if the blood pressure (BP) is not alarmingly high. "You can read the early signals such as a constant headache and body ache. Patients suffering from severe stress and hypertension should get their BP checked at least once every week," says Dr Samuel. Diabetes is a function of heredity, hence it is better to monitor your sugar levels twice a year if any of the parents or grand parents is diabetic. 

Health check-up for women 

Self-inspection and regular doctor check-ups are essential for women to help detect breast cancer early. One has to undergo a mammogram on the detection of any lump. But they should get a check-up done by a doctor and not solely depend on self inspections.. 

vidyalaxmi.v@timesgroup.com 

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Qatar: Richest nation is global obesity capital

Dubai: With over half of its population overweight, the world's wealthiest country Qatar is the obesity capital of the world. 

    The energy-rich Gulf country, was ranked by Forbes this year as the world's wealthiest country. However, it has seen an increase in obesity related health problems, the UK's Daily Mail said. 

    Half of all adults in the state are classed as obese and 17% are suffering from diabetes, making it the most overweight country in the world. 

    Low levels of exercise and a growing popularity of fast food outlets has led to concern among local health activists. "It's a very, very serious problem facing future of Qatar," Sharoud Al-Jundi Matthis, programme manager at Qatar Diabetes Association, said. PTI

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Take a lunch break to some party beats!

Working professionals in Sweden are living the idea of work hard, party harder with a new concept called 'Lunch Beat', which aims to fit in dancing during lunch hours!

Melissa D'costa 

'Is the party at noon?" is probably a sentiment echoed in corporate corridors in Sweden as clubbing replaces 'the traditional afternoon lunch break'. Also referred to as 'Lunch Beat', the phenomenon has become increasingly popular in Stockholm since its inception in June 2010, and has spread to other Swedish cities and European countries. 

More about the trend 

Daniel Odelstad, who organises the Stockholm edition, explains that the one-hour event is all about getting in as much dancing as possible given the time constraints. There is no alcohol, but the 100-kronor cover charge will get you a sandwich! Lunch Beat began in June of 2010 with only 14 people, but the event has quickly grown. There are now monthly Lunch Beats in Stockholm that bring people together. 

Would you trade your tiffin for an hour of dancing? 

While spa lunches and elaborate spreads are a hit here, would there be any takers for this regime? We quiz working professionals to find out what they think about the concept. Taisha Oberoi, a media executive, says, "I love the concept. For someone like me, who loves dancing, this is a fun way to feel refreshed. I generally have lunch break for an hour at 3 pm, and that's generally the time when you feel like slacking off. Dancing would help to work off any extra calories and lift my mood, which can only benefit my work." 

    Travel executive Sandhya Seth adds, "It's refreshing and you can get back to work reenergised. Also, due to our hectic lifestyles, people don't get the time to work out, so dancing will be a fun workout. Besides, when you have a heavy lunch, you tend to feel sleepy and lazy. A sandwich is a good add on as it's lighter and ideal when you want to rush back to work." 

    However, not everyone is elated with the idea. Reema Singh, a marketing professional, is cautious and adds, "I'd be concerned about whether it's healthy to dance while or just after you eat. Plus, in our city, there really isn't the time. Most of us have lunch at our desks or slip out for about 15 minutes. I'd be wary of disturbing the tempo of the work day — and jumping into a strenuous workout around meal time with no warmup or cool- downs." 

Is it a health concern? 

Dr Hasmukh Ravat, a cardiologist, says, "Mild or moderate activity after lunch is not harmful, however, one should avoid any kind of strenuous exercise immediately after a meal. Also, when most people go to hotels they end up snacking on junk food. If people go clubning, a mild dance routine with a healthy diet can help them stay fit and healthy."

DANCING THROUGH LUNCH: Trading beats for calories

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Sleepless city faces obesity, diabetes risk

Mumbai: If you sleep less than five hours a day, chances are you will put on five kilos within a year and develop diabetes sooner than later. 

    This unhealthy equation was spelt out in a study done by Harvard University's Brigham and Women's Hospital last week. The study also said that people getting less than five hours of sleep 
or those who worked on night shifts are likely to get diabetes faster than people with day jobs. 
    "People are ideally supposed to sleep for eight hours a day, work for another eight hours and reserve the remaining eight hours for recreation," said endocrinologist Shashank Joshi. But Mumbai's 24x7 grind blurs this rhythm. "We sleep less daily and plan to catch up with it over the weekend," said Dr Joshi, who consults at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra and is researching the link between sleep and diabetes in Mumbai. 
Wake-Up Call 

•Less than 5 hours or over 10 hrs of sleep in a 24-hour cycle bad for health 

• Poor sleep worsens heart problems, promotes weight gain, increases diabetes risk 

• Also affects emotional balance, immunity, facial recognition abilities 

• Sleeplessness makes people prone to focus on negative impact words 

• Excessive exposure to technology, long hours before TV, video games, cellphones and internet may lead to sleep deprivation Sleep debt found most among those 
UNDER 40 Work And Stress Causing Sleep Deprivation. This, In Turn, Gives Rise To Health Problems 
    Hectic life leading to lack of sleep has been impacting people of Mumbai. Working weekends further disrupt this cycle. "Mumbaikars live with sleep debt," said Dr Shashank Joshi. 
    One of Dr Joshi's research papers underlines the converse of the Harvard study—how sleep is distorted among patients with diabetes. "A student of mine looking at the prevalent sleep habits in 260 patients with diabetes found that almost 24% of them slept less than five hours," said Dr Joshi. 
    The Harvard study reinforces increasing medical research that shows disturbed sleep patterns could lead to diabetes. In Mumbai, the under-40 brigade—comprising corporate climbers and entrepreneurs—suffers the most from poor sleep patterns. At sleep expert Dr Preeti Devnani's clinic in Jaslok Hospital the bulk of the patients are in the under-40 group. "Maybe it is their work or stress, but people below 40 years of age suffer from chronic sleep debt and are unable to make up for it. Health problems predictably follow," she said. E n d o c r i n o l o g i s t Archana Juneja from Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Andheri calls it the bane of the generation that sleeps next to its phone. "They are not only stressed, but also have disturbed sleep and hormone cycles that lead to central o b e s i t y. Metabolic syndrome (with elevated lipids) and diabetes follow," she explained. 
    The Harvard study, which was published in the new Science Translational Medicine journal, looked at 21 healthy participants for six weeks. The researchers controlled how many hours of sleep participants got as well as when they slept and other factors such as activities and diet. Participants started with getting optimal sleep (approximately 10 hours per night). This was followed by three weeks of 5.6 hours of sleep per 24-hour period and with sleep occurring at all times of day and night, thereby simulating the schedule of rotating shift workers. The researchers saw that glucose concentrations in the blood increased after meals because of poor insulin secretion by the pancreas. 
    The body's hormones 
    surge in the wee hours of the morning. "It surges by 4am or so and subsides by evening. People who sleep later than, say, 2am or 3am miss this hormone surge in the body," said Dr Juneja. 
    Not surprisingly then, a map of sleep deprivation versus sleep duration would show a bell curve graph. "Anything less than four hours or more than 10 hours in a 24-hour cycle is deleterious to health," said Dr Devnani. 
    So, sleep deprivation would worsen symptoms for people with heart disease, decrease the production of hormone leptin (which suppresses appetite) and increase the production of hormone ghrelin (which stimulates appetite). "This imbalance in the leptinghrelin cycle causes obesity," Dr Devnani said. Worse, sleep deprivation among people trying to lose weight only results in the body's good fat getting lost.

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Lack of sleep tied to obesity and diabetes

Washington: If you are struggling to get to sleep at night, you may be in danger of diabetes and obesity, scientists say. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that people who slept for less than five hours a day had drastic change in their resting metabolic rates that can add 4.5 to 5.5 kg to their weight in a year. 

    In the long-run, this could lead to obesity and diabetes, the researchers said. "Within three or four years, you could be obese," Orfeu Buxton, a neuroscientist and sleep expert who led the study, was quoted as saying by Los Angeles Times. 

    For their study, Buxton and colleagues placed 21 subjects in isolation for nearly six weeks. For the three weeks before the experiment began, the volunteers were instructed to spend 10 hours in bed to ensure they got an optimal level of sleep. Three subjects hit "clinically relevant" prediabetic glucose levels. PTI

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WHY YOU MUST FIGHT BACK Bullied? It can hurt immune system too

London: Bullying doesn't just hurt one's feelings — it can damage one's immune system also, according to researchers who have based their findings on a study on monkeys. Lead author Jenny Tung at Duke University studied rhesus macaques and found that when one was introduced to a new group, which results in it having the lowest status, it became stressed and its immune system dropped in efficiency. 

    The researchers believe that the social stress that moulds a monkey's immune system could help understand how stress affects humans, the 'Daily Mail' reported. 

    In fact, they studied 10 groups of female macaques in which researchers could manipulate individuals' social rank. Before being placed into new groups, all of the macaques started out as middle rank. "In the wild, macaques inherit their social rank from their mothers. 

    "But in our research, the order of introduction determines rank. The newcomer is generally lower status. When some macaques' status changed after a newcomer arrived, so did their patterns of immune system gene activity," Tung said. 

    The researchers used microarrays, a technology that allows them to scan thousands of genes and read the expression levels, to look at the macaques' immune cells. The gene activity that changed the most depending on social rank was what controlled inflammation. 

    Previous studies have found lower status macaques have higher levels of inflammation and have changes in their levels of hormones that indicate they are under more stress. Based on the pattern of gene activity, the researchers could, without looking at a monkey's identity, predict whether that animal was high (rank one or two), middle or low (rank four or five) with 80% accuracy. The gene scans revealed the pattern of immune system activity changed along with these monkeys' social ranks. PTI

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KEM docs use injection to fix aortal pseudoaneurysm

Indore shopkeeper Mustanseer Bohra is supremely impressed with KEM Hospital, the city's premier medical school in Parel. As far as the 41-year-old is concerned, KEM Hospital doctors "fixed a blood-spewing boil" in his chest. What KEM doctors actually did was to daringly rescue Bohra during a medical emergency that developed when an aneurysm in his aorta 

started leaking. 

    Most important, 

the doctors didn't use 

expensive consumables but a simple injection with glue to 

save Bohra's life. 

"Actually, Bohra had 

a pseudoaneurysm or 

a false aneurysm (see 

box) because of an operation he underwent a year ago," said Dr Hemant Deshmukh, head of KEM Hospital's radiology department who operated on Bohra along with Dr Krantikumar Rathod on April 4. 

    In May 2011, doctors in Indore had replaced Bohra's poorly functioning aortic and mitral valves that control blood flow. As is the practice during such a valve operation, the doctors had inserted a cannula or tube to route the blood flow during the surgery's duration. But the site where the cannula was fitted to the aorta never healed. In January, it started oozing blood with a raw external wound as well. 

    "When Bohra came to us, we found a 7x7cm pseudoaneurysm in his sternal breastbone) area," said Dr Deshmukh. As he had just had a bi-valve surgery, doctors ruled out the gold standard method of surgery to fix his bleeding pseudoaneurysm. The team tried to fix a special graft that is normally used to shut out such aneurysms. 

    "As this failed, we devised a novel way," said Dr Deshmukh, who specializes in interventional radiology. 

    The team decided to inject Thrombin, a clotting agent, and N-Butyl Cyno Acrylate (NBCA)—also called super glue—to close the pinhole. "We approached the pinhole through the right arm artery with a small micro-catheter with a diameter of 0.67mm," the team said. 

    The medical fraternity outside KEM Hospital is quick to point out that the method cannot be used all the time. "There was a risk of Thrombin entering the blood in the aorta. It could have caused a clot," said a doctor who didn't want to be identified. The country's senior-most vascular surgeon who is based in Trivandrum, Dr K Neelakandhan, said, "Classically, doctors would operate on such a pseudoaneurysm, but as this patient had a recent surgery they obviously had to innovate." 

    Bohra, on his part, can't stop smiling. He had excruciating pain and could barely walk a few steps without feeling breathless. "Now, I can feel no pain and can walk freely," he said.

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Soft drink a day may up heart attack risk by 20%

Mumbai: Tempting as it may be due to rising mercury levels but people having fizzy drinks daily are at 20% higher risk of getting heart disease than those who don't, a new study suggests. Also, people who drink diet sodas every day have a 61% higher risk of bursting a blood vessel. What is alarming is that even children, 

who consume 40-70 ml of soft drinks a day, may put on 3-5 kilos every year. 

    "Youngsters don't drink water but readily gulp down colas. They have to be told that what you do when you are a 10-year-old shows on your heart when you are 40 years old," says heart surgeon Dr Ramakanta Panda of Asian Heart Institute in Bandra Kurla Complex. And that for Mumbai's doctors is a worrying factor, as children in Indian cities are getting increasingly hooked on to soft drinks. 

    "The intake could have gone up to 100 ml a day now," says Dr Anoop Mishra, an endocrinologist with Fortis Hospital in Delhi, who conducted the study for Delhibased Diabetes Foundation three years ago. 

BITTER TRUTH 

t Main culprit in soft drinks is sugar 

t Kids in urban centres consume 40-70 ml of soft drinks daily. This leads to 3-5 kg weight gain in a year, leading to obesity and type-II diabetes t New research links soft drinks high on sugar content to coronary artery disease 

t Even one helping of soft drinks a day may raise chances of heart attack in men by 20% FIZZ FRIGHT 

Doctors for hard stance against colas 

Mumbai: What makes soft drinks such a health hazard is that taking a cola a day is equivalent to having seven to eight spoons of sugar at a time, says Dr Shashank Joshi, an endocrinologist with Lilavati Hospital. "It's a well-documented fact that sugary soft drinks lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes." 

    The latest study from Harvard School of Public Health shows sugary drinks hit men's heart hard. The habits of 43,000 men followed from 1986 to 2008showed that 3,683 men who had sugary beverage every day had coronary heart disease. 

    Another study from University of Sydney found that children who drank soft drinks each day had narrower arteries in the back portion of their eye. 

    Doctors believe it's time society adopted a hard stance 

against soft drinks. Dr Ramakanta Panda is tying with an NGO to create health awareness in schools. Dr Joshi believes it's time to ban soft drinks from homes and schools, while Dr Anoop Mishra says soft drinks' consumption should be restricted to once or twice a week. 

    Dr Jagmeet Madan, who heads SNDT University's Nutrition College, says that children are discerning enough to understand the ill-effects of colas. "We can tell them that there are 'sometime foods'and 'everytime foods' and only when 'sometime foods' like colas become 'everytime foods' that the problem arises," she adds. 

    A paper by researchers of University of North Carolina in this week's American Journal of Nutrition provides a heartening observation. It hints that a person's overall diet may decide how harmful is the soft drink-a-day routine and found that people who had a prudent diet (freshly cooked meals) had lowest risk of heart diseases in comparison to people who ate processed food along with soft drinks daily. "One should physically work the effects of a sugary drink off,"adds Dr Mishra.

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Contamination in water double this year: Tests

PROBLEM WORSE IN RURAL AREAS

Pune: Tests conducted by the State Public Health Laboratory (SPHL) on thousands of samples of water collected from various sources in 35 districts of the state show largescale contamination. The contamination level in Mumbai stood at 8% as against the mere 4% in February last year. 

    Microbial contamination—both bacterial and viral—which can pose a serious threat to human health was seen in most samples found unfit. Such contamination can cause a number of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, and infectious gastrointestinal diseases. 

    In Mumbai, 8% of the 4,618 water samples tested were found unfit for drinking as against last year's 4% samples, tested during the same period. In rural parts of Pune, 421 (11%) of the 3,809 samples were found unfit for consumption as against 9% last year. Pune's city limits, which till recently maintained zero contamination, reported slight deterioration in its quality this time. 

    A significant percentage of the samples in the city areas of Jalgaon, Nagpur and Gondia and rural parts of Aurangabad, Parbhani, Nanded and Hingoli were found unfit for drinking, the report states. "The data is representative. However, it gives us a fair idea of water contamination level in urban and rural parts of Maharashtra," V G Jaybhay, chief technical officer of SPHL, told TOI on Monday. 

    Jaybhay, however, maintained that the situation is not that grim in Pune and Mumbai as compared with the state's other parts. Usually, contamination crossing 20% in rural parts and 10% in city areas is considered as worrying where instant measures need to be taken, he added. 

    R P Dongre, senior scientific officer of SPHL, said, "Samples were analyzed for microbial and chemical contamination. But as cities have more water treatment plants, the level of contamination is not that high as in rural parts."

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