Anaemia

Anemia
Anemia is also known as Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA) caused due to the shortage of iron, important micro nutrients of food. Iron is one of the most important micro nutrients essential for making hemoglobin, which supplies oxygen to each and every tissue of the body from lungs. Anemia is mostly found in children and pregnant women. Deficiency of iron in the body makes it weak and reduces immunity power. Females, especially pregnant and postnatal ones suffer from it. The babies, born from mother suffering from anemia have low weight and are more vulnerable from death. The adults, victims of anemia, seem feebler and have low capacity to perform different tasks. Children suffering from anemia grow slowly, understand very late and may die early.

Causes and symptoms

Anemia is a disease caused by the deficiency of haemoglobin or the lack of red blood cells. This problem is mostly found in small children, woman and pregnant mother. This caused due to the lack of iron in food. It may also be caused by hookworm parasites.
Symptoms

• Feeling of dizziness and tiredness
• In the case of babies, loss of appetite and weeping for no specific reason can be observed
• The facial appearance is pale and yellow
• Pigmentation of the skin, paleness in the eyes and the fingernails
• The patient feels giddiness
• Difficulty in breathing

Safety measures of Anemia

• We should take iron containing food like livers, meat, fish, eggs, green vegetables, grains, beans, cereals etc.
• Food that contains vitamin ‘C’ like lemon, orange, vegetables etc should be taken, which help to absorb the iron element in the food.
• Hookworm is one of the major causes of anemia. So, we must have a habit of wearing shoes.
• Iron tablets can also be given to babies for immediate supply of iron.

Diabetes

Diabetes 

Diabetes is also known as sugar disease. It is the disorder in which either the pancreas cannot secrete insulin at all or body cannot use the secreted insulin. The pancreas may still secrete insulin for all the ells of the body, but some cells may not respond to it. Again glucose can’t enter into the cells and energy is not produced to satisfy the body’s needs. Consequently, it causes extremely high concentration of sugar in the blood. This condition is called diabetes. Depending on the nature, diabetes can be grouped into two types: i.e. Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus.

Diabetes insipidus
In diabetes insipidus, there is insufficient production of pituitary hormone (vasopressin), that controls the function of kidneys. In this condition, a rare metabolic disorder appears in the patient’s body and the water passed by blood vessels to kidneys is not absorbed properly by them. As a result, the patient with diabetes insipidus produces large quantities of dilute urine and he is constantly thirsty. This type of diabetes is observed because of diseases like encephalitis, meningitis, syphilis or injury in brain especially at pituitary gland. Patient of this disease feels raging thirst, increased appetite and weakness. This disease can be treated with the intake of vasopressin injection.

Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an auto immune disease which mainly occurs in children between ages of 5-15 years. It commonly occurs after throat infection by the causative agent of group ‘A’ beta hemolytic streptococcus. The body produces antibodies against these organisms but, there antibodies can cross reach with cells of the heart, joint and kidney. It affects joints to cause rheumatic arthritis, and affect heat to cause rheumatic heart disease. So, it is described as “Rheumatic fever licks the joint but bites the heart.”

Rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic heart disease is caused by bacteria called ‘Beta-Haemolytic Streptococcus’. It is the most common acquired heart disease in Nepal. It commonly damages the vulves of the heart. This disease begins with pain in throat initially. Untreated throat infection (Tonsilitis and Pharyngitis) can later on lead to infection of heart and this condition is attributed to damage of the vulves of the heart in the secondary stage. This disease mostly attacks the children from 3 to 15 years age group.