Category: Health

The Category provides information related to health related issue’s and problems.

Profound Hear Loss solution Cochlear™ to the rescue

Posted on by Aziz Ampanwala

How would you imagine yourself, being in a situation where you could not hear anything? It brings jitters hearing this, isn’t it? Expressing yourself would be so difficult, the pain, the anguish, the excitement, the happiness and entire that bagful of emotions.

Talking about hearing loss and the advancement in technology, Cochlear™ Limited, which is an Australia-based company has made hearing possible for people with profound hearing loss with its extensive research and commitment  to bring about a solution for people with profound hear loss since 1981.

With every Cochlear™ implant surgery, people have noticed remarkable results in their hearing ability, from profound hearing loss to normal hearing ability with the Cochlear™ Nucleus® 6.

Brett Lee, the legendary Australian fast bowler is associated with Cochlear™ for their awareness program on profound hear loss and its detection and intervention to cure it and is their Global Hearing Ambassador.hqdefault.jpg

Life without having the ability to hear may be quite a challenge, especially for children, irritation and a level of low confidence emerge, apart from that parents are always apprehensive about how their child will grow up, will they be socially accepted, whether they will have friends or not, getting admission in proper school can be a challenge of sorts.

For children especially, early detection and intervention by parents is quite necessary so that years are not wasted of the child and the implant can be fixed for profound hear loss and adaptation of the same can be learned by the child in their early stages of life.

There are many cases of profound hearing loss in children in India , those who have gotten a  Cochlear™ Implant have shared their life experiences stating that, they are happy with the implants which are quite responsive to sound, very light weight ,stable and doesn’t make them feel they are wearing an external device, the sound processor.

If I talk about their recent most advanced processor, the Cochlear ™ Nucleus® 6: I would like to start with how normal hearing works:

How hearing worksen_general_cochlearimplant_howitworks_howhearingworks_300x320

  1. Sound waves enter the ear and travel along the ear canal to the ear drum.
  2. Movement of the eardrum makes tiny bones in the middle part of the ear vibrate.
  3. These vibrations are transmitted to a fluid filled part of the inner ear, known as the cochlea.
  4. Tiny hairs lining the cochlea pick up this movement and send electrical signals to the brain, where they’re interpreted as sound.

Hearing with a cochlear implanten_general_cochlearimplant_howitworks_hearingwithacochlearimplant_300x320

  1. Microphones on the sound processor pick up sounds and the processor converts them into digital information.
  2. This information is transferred through the coil to the implant just under the skin.
  3. The implant sends electrical signals down the electrode into the cochlea.
  4. The hearing nerve fibres in the cochlea pick up the signals and send them to the brain, giving the sensation of sound.
  5. Sharing a brief illustration video for better understanding of Cochlear Implant

Trivia, as per the Indian census of 2002 of hearing disability, 63 Million people, that’s around (6.3%) of the Indian population suffers from significant loss of hearing, out of which 32% have profound hearing loss (in which a person can’t hear anything). Also, it is the 2nd most common cause of disability in India, that’s an alarming figure and needs intervention as early as a child’s birth.

Although it is ignored even in a well populated country like India, but hearing tests for newborns are mandatory in countries like America, Australia, England and other western countries. If not made mandatory in India, we should at least spread the word about it the best we can.

Importance of hydration, water and sanitation initiated by Coca-Cola , TERI University and USAID

Posted on by Aziz Ampanwala

Water, as soon as we spell it we feel life, vitality, eternity, sanctity and all positive vibes following around us. Life without water is very much unimaginable, water works wonder and proves magical only when it is in its purest forms – the form in which the creator created it, in the sense as pure as the water from a mountain spring or as water flowing down deep the oceans, that form of water is the one which bears all properties of pure water, but sadly the same water can work as the breeding ground for thousand of germs and viruses when it gets contaminated and polluted, thus shattering growth, hindering life and causing infinite diseases.

Some important pointer towards why water hydration and sanitation is important for families and society:

1) Will decrease the chances of diseases which develop in and under water
2) Proper Sanitation and disposal of waste will ensure a healthy and eco friendly society to live in.
3) Globally, an estimated 2,000 children under the age of five die every day from diarrhoeal diseases and of these some 1,800 deaths are linked to water, sanitation and hygiene as per Unicef reports, which is an alarming signal thou if proper sanitation is maintained in society this can be avoid or removed completed.
4) Educating children about the importance of water hydration and sanitation from early age in schools and social gathering will only lead forward towards a healthy living environment as they are the future torch bearing of the learning and understanding towards the same.

At this stage it is very much necessary to bring this water to its very original and pure form using whatever ways of filtration and hydration possible so as the society can remain healthy, revitalized and rejuvenated by the benefits of water and in this campaign TERI University and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in association with Coca-Cola and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)  conducted  the ‘Strengthening Water and Sanitation in Urban Settings” initiative in Kolkata. The WASH programmes (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) aim to reach 50,000 beneficiaries in low-income settlements and over 300 professionals through WASH governance studies. It will also reach out to 2,500 students through 20 municipal schools across India, this is one of a kind association which has never been done before that will lead to the healthy development of low income settlements in the area.

Collaboration for Wash Programmes in association with Coca-Cola, TERI University and USAID Collaboration for Wash Programmes in association with Coca-Cola, TERI University and USAID 2

The goal is to help achieve the Government of India’s sanitation targets by conducting a WASH risk analysis in slums of Kolkata and Chennai. As first steps, two urban neighbourhoods – Kannagi Nagar and Nedunchelliyan Nagar in Chennai, and areas in KMC wards 57 and 58 (Khayari basti, Arupota and Dhapa) in Kolkata – have been chosen for household surveys.

 The project will assist in developing participatory intervention strategies in urban areas, and in building the capacity of faculty and students through a model sanitation curriculum.

To understand more about the initiative please visit their page “Strengthening Water and Sanitation in Urban Settings”.

Indulge in Healthy Breakfast Habits

Posted on by Aziz Ampanwala

Doctors suggest having a heavy breakfast, moderate lunch and light dinner, sounds right, but as in many Indian homes its complete opposite, we have light breakfast bread butter or eggs, moderate lunch and a hefty fulfilling family dinner, doesn’t sound right! But when everything is taken for granted then you are pretty much consolidating with your health and diet to stay fit.  

The alarm rang in full glory to wake Mr Shukla up, Mrs. Shukla from the kitchen shouting above the alarm from the kitchen to wake him up, both (alarm and Mrs Shukla trying their best however it’s a Saturday morning and Mr Shukla is feeling lazy to open up his eyes and fresh up as its holiday, but after skipping couple of alarm snooze he finally wakes up, dragging himself to the bathroom to freshen up. Yawning with arms stretched wide Mr Shukla asks what’s for breakfast honey, he gets a reply as today is holiday I have prepared omelet, roti, some leftover chicken and yes paratha’s with chutni, happy Mr. Shukla said bring it on, after having a so called yummy breakfast Mr. Shukla goes out for walk and have some chit chat with Mr. Guptaji, who is a lecturer at a collage and also society secretary. Mr Gupta always has a smile on his face and has solutions of his sorts to all the problems.

Mr Shukla had gone to Mr. Gupta for some discussion on the general meeting to held in the society and were discussing agenda’s, meanwhile Mrs. Gupta interrupted and asked, will you guys have something tea, coffee snacks? Mr. Shukla replied yes i will have tea but please don’t bring any snacks, cause I have already had a good enough breakfast cum lunch, giggling and contained Mrs. Gupta said, you don’t seem healthy and fit Shuklaji, I think I need to invite you and Mrs Shukla for a breakfast tomorrow and have a good chat over some healthy tasty snacks and breakfast, dont say NO Mr. Shukla because you have to be there.

After completing the session with Mr. Gupta, he went back home and asked Mrs Shukla, do I look unhealthy?  She replies: No not at all, you don’t seem unhealthy to me but unhealthy to a person who is a health conscious, and Mr. Shukla replied; how do you know that? And she replies; well, I just wanted to say, you seem unhealthy but I didn’t want to make you feel bad about it, and Mr. Shukla says did you know what Mrs. Gupta told me? She said I seem unhealthy and unfit and she has called both of us to her place over a chit chat, healthy snacks and breakfast.

Sunday morning and it was a beautiful sunrise, Mr. Shukla and her misses got ready and headed towards Mr. Gupta’s home for a Sunday brunch,  Mr. Shukla  and Mr. Gupta both were discussing about politics and Mrs Gupta called up Mrs. Shukla to the kitchen to discuss about some healthy alternatives considering Mr. Shukla’s health.

Let’s check out the alternatives Mrs. Gupta suggested:

Apple Cinnamon Cornflakes 10341715_1068823029801445_6297259744697487370_n Chapatti Cornflakes Chivda 10400767_1072166286133786_4827741788568150936_n Cornflakes Coconut Ladoos 10987388_1074480939235654_1420944845646161066_n Fulfilling veg cornflake salad 11041788_1069989636351451_2442174925576577749_n

Sitaphal Cornflakes 11081336_1072175216132893_4654613932050038427_n Mrs. Shukla couldn’t thank Mrs. Gupta enough for providing her such useful, easy to make, yummy, light, and delightful yet so power pack with the goodness of nutrition, irons, fibre combine.  So, let’s make our life healthy and include such healthy, nutrition rich food in our daily routine and benefit from the whole goodness of a combination of taste as well as health. 

Rejuvenate Life with Hydro-JAL

Posted on by Aziz Ampanwala

Let’s admit this, we as individuals are always look out for living a healthy lifestyle and try to adapt to new and advance  technology to keep ourselves in shape, but in the process we do miss some quintessential aspect of staying healthy and the most important aspect i.e. WATER. Yes, as we all know that our human body contains 70% water, which means we are missing out on our main diet to stay healthy and fit that is WATER.

You must be thinking that you have fair amount of water daily (3 to 4 liters) to keep yourself healthy and pumped up, but let me just share some information about the difference in water purification process and differentiate which one has more benefits:

First let’s talk about Acidic Water:

Acidic water is purified water, which we use to drink water, wash our daily vegetables and it is used in Cola beverages and soft drinks.

According to U.S. Enviourmental Protection Agency, purified water which is mineral free has high level of active absorbing carbon dioxide from air which makes the water acidic, even COLA beverages and other soft drinks (with or without sugar) are made from purified water which is unhealthy if consumed regularly.

Even many health care practitioners and scientist from around the world have said that ageing and disease is accumulation   of acid waste products in our body mainly of Acidic Water. There is much scientific documentation that supports such theories.

So, what we are understanding is purified water is basically acidic water, its mineral free and due to this it absorbs carbon dioxide from air thus the chances of developing deficiencies in mineral count in our body and an acid state, thou purified water is acidic and it helps in a way of drawing poisons out of the body, but once accomplished it is not a good idea to continue. Diseases and early death is more likely seen with long term drinking of purified water and should be avoid except in special circumstances

What is the solution?

If you read the reports posted on http://alkalinewaterfilterexperts.com, you will begin to understand why the body requires water which is rich in minerals like calcium and magnesium, also known as Alkaline, longevity is associated with regular consumption of alkaline water which are high on minerals, Ionized water is the best possible drinking water.

What is pH Level?

pH level is a range between 0 to 14 and it scales how much acidic or alkaline the water is, lower value is acidic, 7 is neutral and above that is alkaline.

pH Scale

Let’s compare and see why tap water is dangerous to our health and how Ionized Alkaline water helps?

COMPARISION OF ORDINARY  WATER AND IONIZED WATER
Ordinary  Water Ionized/Alkaline Water
· Highly Contaminated due to environment  hazard

·  Chlorinated

· Toxic Metals inclusion

· Chemically treated to kill bacteria

· Bacteria even after chemically treated means toxic for body

·  Adding of Fluoride for teeth strengthens thou too much fluoride consumption can lead to dental fluorosis

 · Balanced PH level between 7.5 to 10 means optimum for drinking water.

·  Purified, Ionized and Alkaline so all the harmful chemical and bacteria are filtered and the richness of Alkaline makes it balanced for drinking water

·  Supports healthy immune

·  Antioxidant Rich

How can we get avail benefits of Ionized Alkaline Water?

Without any further delay, let me introduce to you the future smart of purified Alkaline water solution Hydro-Jal, basically it’s not just a water purifier with High pH level but also a multi solution to household water need as per  lower pH levels needed at different times.

Hydro-Jal Model

Let me just share with you the benefits of clean, filtered, and alkaline water produced by Hydro-Jal Plus and see how beneficial it can be for your body.Glass of Water

  • Perfect pH: Instantly delivers the selected pH water with a range of 5 to 10.5. You are equipped with the best tool to throw out harmful acids from your body and infuse your body with alkalinity.
  • Antioxidant-rich Water: The antioxidant rich water removes free radicals from your body and slows down the aging process.
  • More Hydrating than Tap Water: The micro-clustered water is more easily absorbed, has the ability to better penetrate body cells, delivers increased hydration, and vital nutrients are better absorbed by the body.
  • Easy to Operate: Hydro-Jal Plus comes with soft touch buttons on a large LCD touch screen display that shows pH and ORP value of the outgoing water, rate of water flow through the ionizer, temperature of the water, electrolysis status of the ionizer, cleaning status of the ionizer, total water output of the ionizer.
  • Easy to Install: Hydro-Jal Plus can be installed within minutes. It comes with a diverter kit that fits all standard kitchen faucets and you do not have to be an expert to complete the installation process.

On the other hand Hydro-Jal is also used for source of providing Acidic water for household practical use, so its multi tasking/multi purpose, lets first look at what are the specifications of acidic water:

  • Has a pH between 2 and 4
  • Has an ORP between +800 and +1200
  • Has a hypochlorous acid component from 1 to 30 mg/l
  • Is micro-clustered
  • Is heavy in H+ ions

Acid Water is of two types:

  1. Mild: Used on skin, hair, and nails
  2. Strong: Used for cleaning and sterilizing

Skin and Hair

Useful for dry skin patches or rough skin.
Use as a hand sanitizer. It will not dry out the hands.
Replace expensive skin moisturizers and creams with acid water.
Use for skin rashes or baby diaper rash.
Use to prevent shaving bumps.
Use as an aftershave.
Use for poison ivy and other plant rashes.
Use on skin for Eczema. Spray three times a day and let air dry.
Use for dandruff. Spray after shampoo and let air dry.
Use for acne of every type. Spray after washing and let air dry.
Use to lessen the appearance of scars.
Spray in shoes to disinfect and deodorize.
Use in place of deodorant
Pour into bath water to soften skin.
Spray on face for a refreshing feeling.
Use as a soak for sore rough feet.
Use for Athletes Foot.
Use for female yeast infections and other female issues.
Use for toe fungus.

Food Preparation
Use to kill bacteria on fruits and vegetables by using the mist or dipping.
Use in meat and dairy product facilities as a sterilizing and cleaning agent.

Internal Disinfectant
Use as a mouthwash and gargle.
Use as toothpaste.
Use for pink eye.
Use for ear infections.
Use for infected tooth or gums.
Use as a gargle for sore throat.
Use as an enema.
Use to treat bad breath.

First Aid and Sterilizer
Use for burns.
Use for minor cuts and scrapes.
Use to promote faster healing of cuts and wounds.
Use to stop bleeding in minor cuts.
Use on boils.
Use in doctor’s office for cleaning and as an antibacterial agent.
Use in clinical applications to sterilize surgical instruments.

Cleaning Purposes
Use to sanitize bathrooms and kitchen counters.
Use as a streak free glass and mirror cleaner.
Use for cleaning wooden floors.
Use to clean dirt from all over the house.
Use to disinfect human and pet bedding.
Use for auto glass.
Use for chrome polishing.
Use to sanitize phones.
Use to sanitize computer keyboards (light spray).
Use on doorknobs and handles to disinfect.
Use for deodorizing.

Pets
Use in cat litter boxes to kill odor and bacteria.
Use on animal skin for any kind of skin issue.
Spray in bird cages. The water will not hurt the bird.

Bug Control
Spray on ant trails to deter them.
Kills many types of spiders and insects.

How to Produce Acid Water

Acid water is produced as a byproduct of electrolysis process, which is drained in your kitchen sink. You can make arrangements to collect this water. If you want more acid water, you can choose “Beauty or “Wash” settings on Hydro-Jal Plus.

The Big Added Advantage

The best thing about using acid water for skin and as a cleaning agent around the house is that you avoid using any harmful chemicals. This is great for your health as well as safe for the environment.

Free demo of Hydro-Jal at your home that also includes testing of acidic level of your drinking water, that’s amazing, isn’t it!

Hydrp-JAL Ask for a demo

Banega Swachh India – A Mission for Cleaner India

Posted on by Aziz Ampanwala

About the Campaign: “Banega Swachh India”

RB Group (formerly called Reckitt Benckiser) has  initiated a campaign “Dettol – Banega Swachh India” with a 100 crore fund infusion and  5 year Mission to spread the message of sanitation and hygiene through partnering with  TV media  NDTV and social media platform facebook  to educate people across the country about the message of sanitation and hygiene, they have joined hands with knowledge partners Feedback Foundation for this campaign.

 What is the Initiative based on:

Swachh Bharat Abyaan, a intiative by the present government and Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi to spread the message across the nation about basic sanitation, hygiene and setting up of toilets for people who do not have facility in their own premises or slums/cluster to build/construct toilets with the help of government run schemes, policies and awareness.

Facts:

India is a vast country and there are many states, cities, towns and villages so it gets difficult to spread the message across in each and every corner for any public related curriculum/message to be voiced across equally.

The Swachh Express

The Swachh Express was on a mission to give voice to the message across 400 villages which is spread across 8 states which included Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, MP and Maharashtra. The objective of the bus was to create awareness around hygiene and sanitation through interactive videos, flyer distributions, posters, hand-washing sessions and street plays.

As a part of the campaign folks at indiblogger presented me the opportunity to be a part of the Swachh Express campaign which I accepted gladly and joined the Swachh Express & NDTV media team in the ending phase of the campaign, Sharing my experience, views on the same.

The Campaign Chronicle

 Part: 1 – Dahisar – Mumbai

There are cluster of slums in and around the Dahisar stretch and we visited one of the them with the help and support of local Co-operator. After we reached the slums, we saw that many people were noticing the SWACHH EXPRESS BUS and were curious about what was going on, we all tried our bit to make them comfortable and went on to explain them to come and know about the SWACHH BANEGA India campaign and how it is related to everyone of us. One by one people started to gather and a message across the slum was floated to which many came to attend what we had to convey them

.IMG_2290

Mr. Vinod Kumar Pathak of feedback foundation started speaking and educating people about the message of Banega  Swachh India campaign and why cleanliness, basic hygiene such has hand washing, personal sanitation and toilets within the slum/premises are essential for eliminating major diseases and for a better and cleaner tomorrow.

People started to take more interest in his speech and how he was putting the message forward, why defecate in open is effecting them and why is there a need for proper sanitation and toilets, to which they also interacted and asked many question and shared their grievances, some of the major issues were:

  1. Lack of knowledge and know how on about constructing toilets in a cost effective budget
  2. No place for constructing toilets
  3. No major help from the Nagar Palika (Local body administration)
  4. No real initiative or campaign before this about such topics in their area/locality.

To which Mr. Pathak explained them one by one what can be the solutions and how they can make things work within their budget to build toilets and have proper sanitation measures, the former local Co-operator also joined in to explain them patiently and made them understand what Mr. Pathak was conveying them,  some of the pointer were:

  1. If there is unity within the slum for sanitation and building toilets, then the Nagar Palika shall help in with space.
  2. If Nagar Palika is not aware of the poor state of sanitation and hygiene in the area, make them aware about it.
  3. Charity begins at home, so unite and collect enough to start initiating for a toilet in your slum at every juntion; there should be an agenda that no one goes out in the open for defecating.IMG_2299

Overall people went back home happy and contained  with a sense and knowledge of sanitation, hygiene  and importance of why build toilets and why defecating will only build up to the problems and spread diseases.

Part: 2 – Shivaji Nagar, Baianwadi – Waste Dumping Ground  (Govandi) – Mumbai

 It was daylong nationwide event-  part of cleanathon and what better place to spread the message across, WE went early in the morning at Mumbai’s oldest  dumping ground at  Shivaji Nagar, Baianwadi  , the team(NDTV and Swachh Express)  had asked  children from Magic bus Foundation to join and share their experience and spread the message across as it was recording live.

IMG-20141215-WA0015                           IMG-20141215-WA0012IMG-20141215-WA0007

Impact Area – Magic Bus : Health and Hygiene (Extract from https://www.magicbus.org/impact)

  1. By the time a Magic Bus child finishes his or her first year, she or he starts exhibiting a high degree of health-related knowledge, beliefs and practices.
  2. 77.52% of children at Magic Bus follow good practices related to personal hygiene including hand washing, brushing, bathing and cutting nails. (Study 1 )
  3. 100% of the sample selected of Magic Bus children who graduate from our programme believe:
  • That open defecation is a major health hazard. (This is significant especially in light of the fact that 60% of Indians still defecate in the open. (Study 3)
  • That substance abuse (including smoking cigarettes) is harmful. (Study 3)
  • That playing sports is crucial to maintaining a healthy mind and body. (Study 3)IMG-20141215-WA0014

My Experience/take on Campaign :

The Swachh Express is a positive initiative and it’s bringing positive change in the mindset towards sanitation, hygiene and other grey areas and I have seen it in the campaign itself, people initially do lash out as they are frustrated but if they are educated well they do corporate and help in spreading the word and try to accept and build upon a change because hygiene and sanitation is something related to you me and all.

Special Thanks to the NDTV crew members – Saurabh Khanna, cordinator and briefing, Manoj Kumar administration, Sanjay Kaushik  behind the lens, Balbir and Kuldeep, the drivers  and Mr. Vinod  Pathak of Feedback Foundation who were very cooperative throughout my trip.

To know more about the campaign and other details : click here – Banega Swachh India