“Love Your Bones and Protect Your Future”

World Osteoporosis Day is observed every year on October 20, with a year-long campaign to raise global awareness on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases. Organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) every year, the campaign aims to promote awareness about the disease and its associated risk factors. It encourages high-risk individuals to become proactive about their own bone health and advocate for a worldwide preventive care.

Osteoporosis: The Disease

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by decreased bone mass and deterioration of the bone tissue, leading to an increased risk of fracture. It causes a net loss of bone strength; as a result, even a slight bump or fall can lead to a broken bone (referred to as a fragility fracture). Osteoporosis affects all bones in the body; however, fractures occur most frequently in the vertebrae (spine), wrist, and hip. Osteoporotic fractures may also occur in the pelvis, upper arm and lower leg. Osteoporosis itself is not painful but the broken bones can result in severe pain,major physical disability and sometimes, complete immobility.

Signs and Symptoms

• Bone pain or tenderness
• Fractures with minimum or no trauma
• Loss of height with time and age
• Neck or lower back pain
• Stooped posture

Risk Factors

Treatment Options for Osteoporosis

Goals of osteoporosis treatment includes pain management, stopping or slowing down bone loss, preventing bone fractures, and minimizing the risk of falls.

Treatment

Preventive Measures

Proper nutrition with regular weight-bearing and resistance exercises are very crucial in protecting bone and muscle health, irrespective of age. Every individual must proactively try to identify their personal risk factors and seek early diagnosis and treatment. Lifestyle modification and medical assistance together could significantly reduce the likelihood for future fractures in osteoporotic patients and give them a better quality of life.

Food for Healthy Bones

It’s very important to include adequate daily amounts of calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, and magnesium for good bone health. These vitamins and minerals are the most important in building bones and teeth. Examples include:

• ¾ Dairy products (low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese)
• ¾ Fish
• ¾ Green vegetables
• ¾ Fruits
• ¾ Fortified foods (soy milk, rice milk, breakfast cereals, and breads)

Dietary supplements of calcium and vitamin D might be needed,if our diet does not provide us with the required minimum dose.

Though our genes are responsible for our skeletal properties like body height and bone strength, we can positively influence our bone health by incorporating certain lifestyle changes (diet and exercise) and becoming actively involved in monitoring the early signs of osteoporosis.

So much we ignore our bone health and intake of nutritious diet,that we forget that deficiency of calcium and vitamin D may lead to osteoporosis and serious fractures. The disease osteoporosis is not gender-specific; both men and women are affected by its painful consequences. Turacoz Healthcare Solutions supports the cause of healthy bones and tells you about the osteoporosis. So, learn to love your bones and protect your future. On World Osteoporosis Day, let’s join in to know more about your bone health.Include healthy food in your diet and say cheers to the healthy bones!

October is the “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”. Breast cancer is the second most common cause of death due to cancer in women, after lung cancer. Lately, there has been an increase in the incidence of breast cancer in the developing world, owing to increase in life expectancy, urbanization and adoption of western lifestyle.

Some Statistical Facts about Breast Cancer

According to the World Health Organization (WHO),

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, both in the developed and the less developed countries
• Over 508, 000 women died due to breast cancerin 2011
• 58% of breast cancer deaths occur in less developed countries
• Incidence rates are quite high in non-Hispanic white women
• Asian/Pacific Islander women have the lowest incidence and death rates due to breast cancer

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

There are no specific symptoms when the tumor is small. Therefore, it is very important for women to follow recommended screening guidelines for detecting breast cancer at an early stage. When breast cancer has grown to a large size, it can be felt as a painless lump.Breast cancer can spread to underarm lymph nodes and cause a lump or swelling. Less common signs and symptoms include:

• Breast pain or heaviness
• Persistent changes to the breast, such as swelling, thickening, or redness of the breast’s skin
• Abnormal discharge from nipple

Prevention of Breast Cancer

The American Cancer Society has recommended guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention. They can be enlisted as:

• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight throughout life.
  • Be fit throughout life without being underweight.
  • Avoid excess weight gain at all ages.
  • Do regular physical activity and limit the intake of high-calorie foods and drinks.
• Adopt a physically active lifestyle.
  • Adults should doat least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week.
  • Children and adolescents should performat least 1 hour of moderate- or vigorous activity each day.
  • Limit the sedentary behavior such as sitting, lying down, watching television, and other forms of screen-based entertainment.
• Follow a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant foods.
  • Choose foods and beverages in amounts that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
  • Reduce the consumption of processed meat and red meat.
  • Eat at least 2½ cups of vegetables and fruits each day.
  • Choose whole grains over refined-grain products.
• Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages.
  • Limit to no more than 1 drink (per day) for women or 2 (per day) for men.

Approximately,eight out of ten women develop malignant lumps in the breast. Therefore, don’t underestimate the importance of a monthly breast self-exam. Breast cancer can be fatal at any age. Women should therefore undergo proper counseling and screening for early detection. Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) aims to raise awareness about the breast cancer. We, as a medical writing company in Delhi, consider it our corporate responsibility to share the healthcare measures for prevention of breast cancer.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and the blood vessels which include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, ischemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, raised blood pressure, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and heart failure. The usual acute events are heart attack and stroke that are mainly caused by the blockage due to fatty-acid deposition which prevents the blood from flowing to the heart or brain.

Disease burden

• Globally, CVDs are the prime cause of death
• Around 17.5 million people died from CVDs in 2012
• Around 7.4 million deaths were due to coronary heart disease only
• More than half of the CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries

Causes

Cardiovascular diseases may be caused due one or more of the following factors:

• Tobacco and/or alcohol consumption
• Unhealthy diet
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Dyslipidemia

Symptoms

A person experiencing any cardiovascular disease can be noted with the symptoms like:

• Pain/discomfort in the centre of the chest(in case ofheart attack)
• Discomfort in the arms, left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back
• Sudden weakness of the face, most often on one side of the body (in case of stroke)
• Difficulty in walking, speech, or vision
• Shortness of breath, fatigue, irregular heartbeats and chest pain (in case of rheumatic heart disease)
• Light-headednessor severe headache
• Cold sweating

Prevention

Thomas Fuller once said, “He who cures a disease may be the ‘skill-fullest’, but he who prevents it is the safest physician.”

Some precautionary measures and effective healthcare can definitely help in preventing the CVDs. Here are listed some healthcare measures that one should take to reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems:

• Abstain from tobacco use
• Reduce harmful consumption of alcohol
• Cut down the intake of salt in diet
• Include 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in daily diet
• Exercise for 30 minutes every day
• Get yourself checked for blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar (diabetes) every three months

Preventive measures suggested by the World Health Organisation include:

• Comprehensive tobacco control policies
• Taxation on foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt
• Campaigns to encourage physical activities such as walking and cycling
• Regulations to reduce the consumption of alcohol
• Healthy school meals for children

Individual healthcare interventions targeted to those at high cardiovascular risks

Your heart is at the heart of your health. Together with the World Heart Federation, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) raises awareness about the CVDs and wants to make you understand what you can do to fuel your heart and give power to your life. You ought to give your heart the care it deserves. So eat healthy, reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption, and keep your heart healthy. Being involved in the medical writing services, THS provides assistance in publication writing, clinical research and regulatory writing, medico-marketing writing, and support for conducting medical advisory board meetings.

This year marks the 10^th World Rabies Day, which has become a global phenomenon since its beginning in the year 2007. The theme of this year is: “Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate.” which emphasizes on the two important actions that we need to take to prevent rabies. Also, the theme reflects the global target of eliminating deaths due to canine rabies by 2030.

Rabies is a viral disease in mammals that is transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal and infects the central nervous system (CNS). Its symptoms range from fever, headache, and general weakness to insomnia, anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, agitation, and difficulty in swallowing. Once clinical signs and symptoms appear, the disease is nearly fatal and the patient can be given only supportive treatment. Thus, it is very important to prevent the disease. Rightly said, prevention is better than cure and after all, prevention is the only remedy for this deadly disease.

Preventing rabies

Rabies can be easily prevented by vaccination. Following measures can help in easy eradication of the disease:

• Vaccinating dogs to eliminate rabies.
• Pre-exposure immunization in people, especially those involved in high risk occupations like laboratory workers dealing with animals, children etc.
• Post-exposure prophylaxis immediately after exposure to rabies can prevent the infection from entering the CNS. This can be done via:
  • Local treatment of the bitten area/wound immediately after exposure
  • Administration of potent rabies vaccines
  • Administration of rabies immunoglobulin, if needed

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions, a medical writing company, aims to spread awareness about the rabies and ways to prevention, in order to help attain the global target of attaining ZERO deaths due to canine rabies by 2030. We offer services to healthcare professionals in publications writing, clinical research and regulatory writing, medico-marketing writing, and support for medical advisory board meetings. We aim to provide health solutions for everyone to live a happy and healthy life.