Category Archives: Awareness Day/Month

Osteoporosis: Overview and Recent Advances in its Management

Awareness Day/Month, , , ,

Osteoporosis is a silent age-related skeletal disease characterized by loss of bone mineral density and microarchitectural deterioration leading to increased fragility and susceptibility to fractures. The most common sites of fracture are femoral neck, lumbar spine and distal forearm which more than often are debilitating and disabling if not intervened. Osteoporosis has affected more than 200 million people worldwide, with almost 8.9 million fractures reported annually across the globe. Close to 30% of postmenopausal women in America and Europe suffer from osteoporosis while India estimates not less than 50 million of its people in the plexus of this debilitating bone disease. The overall impact of osteoporosis is presented in Table 1.

Impact of osteoporosis
Table 1: Impact of osteoporosis

Assessed by a T score of less than -2.5 (World Health Organization definition in Figure 1) and a Z score significantly higher or lower than the average, osteoporosis may operationally be classified as the following 2 types:

Postmenopausal (type I): Linked to the fall in oestrogen levels, this type affects women between 50 and 70 years of age.

Senile (type II): Affects both men and women over the age of 70, but predominantly women.

Figure 1: Understanding the T-Score

Risk Factors for Osteoporosis

Using Fracture Risk Assessment Tool Model (FRAX) algorithms, several risk factors have been recognized that predispose men and women to osteoporosis. Smoking, alcohol consumption, high salt intake, immobilization, sedentary life, excessive weight loss reducing the BMI below 18.5 kg/m2, inadequate exposure to sun and socioeconomic factors have been shown to be significantly associated with its risk and incidence. The most common risk factors are shown in Figure 2, of which, modifiable factors like declining levels of sex hormones, anorexia nervosa, low calcium and vitamin D intake are attributed to faulty lifestyle. Public awareness campaigns have been spreading their annex to educate and motivate necessary changes towards preventing osteoporosis.

Figure 2: Common osteoporotic risk factors

RECENT ADVANCES IN OSTEOPOROSIS

Diagnosis

With one in three women and one in every five men over the age of 50 years worldwide are being estimated to face the risk of osteoporotic fractures in their lifetime [1], inclusion of diagnostic tests for bone health in their health check-up plans to help them get therapeutic or preventive measures in time becomes imperative.

  • Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA): Stands as the gold-standard for diagnosis of osteoporosis by determination of bone mineral density (BMD). However, the high capital cost of DXA created a need for alternative diagnostic tools.
  • Bindex®: Recently approved by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for osteoporosis diagnosis, it is a portable hand-held instrument that measures with 90% sensitivity and specificity, cortical bone thickness of the tibia. The algorithm calculates the density index, a parameter which estimates BMD at the hip as measured with DXA.
  • OsCare Sono: This is another inexpensive and small portable ultrasound-based instrument that measures bone strength from the forearm radial bone. It provided measurement results in a few minutes and they correlate well with bone cortical thickness, bone elasticity and BMD, including BMD of the deeper cortical layers. These attributes suggest a promising device that offers enhanced sensitivity to early osteoporotic changes.

Treatment

Currently, to accost the imbalance between bone resorption and build-up in osteoporosis, anti-resorptive and osteoanabolic agents crown the list and fall under the first and second line of therapy [9].

  • Bisphosphonates which bind to bone mineral and also inhibit bone osteoclast activity (resorption), are anti-resorptive agents which mainly increase the trabecular BMD and are one of the reliable and cost-effective first-line therapy options for both primary and secondary osteoporosis.  
  • Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody, inhibits RANKL-induced bone resorption and increased cortical BMD.
  • Teriparatide is an N-terminal 34-amin acid long peptide of the parathyroid hormone which again acts on increasing lumbar BMD and contributes to prevention of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures.
  • Abaloparatide is again a peptide 34-amino acid long and belonging to the N terminal region of PTH-related protein. It has shown to be effective in increasing the lumbar spine- and proximal femoral BMD.
  • Romosozumab, an anti-sclerostin humanized monoclonal antibody, is shown to increase the lumbar spine- and proximal femoral BMD.

Table 2 gives a brief glance over the current mediation used to treat osteoporosis with their trade names.

Medications for osteoporosis
Table 2: Medications for osteoporosis

Apart from these current ones, there have been a surge in development of more efficacious drugs for osteoporosis management (Table 3).

Recent therapeutic agents for osteoporosis
Table 3: Recent therapeutic agents for osteoporosis

A minimally invasive targeted treatment in which local bone loss due to osteoporosis is restored by implanting a unique material that is resorbed and replaced by bone, is being offered as Ossure LOEP (local osteo-enhancement procedure) kit by AgNovos, USA. Also, during the last decade, vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty has also evolved as an effective surgical procedure in certain cases with subacute pain, oedema and focal joint tenderness.

THE KNOWLEDGE-PRACTICE GAP

Despite path-breaking diagnostic and therapeutic advances, there exists a lacuna in their application and compliance. Osteoporosis stays unfortunately and vastly, underdiagnosed and undertreated, and identifying these gaps in patient care becomes indispensable. A few of them are listed below:

  • Failure to follow screening guidelines for osteoporosis by physicians leading to erroneous assumptions and subsequent lack of appropriate treatment plan.
  • Inefficacy to treat patients sustaining fragility fracture with a timely intervention reducing the likelihood of preventing future fractures. One of the commonly observed reason is concerns around side effects of drugs like bisphosphonates, etc. which lead to reluctance from physicians in prescribing medicines and challenges in compliance by patients.
  • Underestimating the menace of osteoporosis especially by women who are more at risk but are unfortunately lesser concerned about its consequences; poor communication with physicians and non-compliance of screening and diagnostic recommendations puts patients at irreversibly damaging risks.
  • Inadequate follow-up and non-adherence by patients during the treatment regimen.
  • Insufficient funding and reimbursement of exorbitant diagnostic and therapy costs also remaining one of the main reasons why osteoporosis lies low on the priority list of patients.

PREVENTION

Rebuild. Refuel. Renew.

Although lifestyle choices, genetics and systemic diseases, and even certain medications pose as substantial risk factors, the good news is that osteoporosis is preventable.

  • Weight bearing and cardiovascular exercises: These not only work towards building muscles, but also strengthen bones, ligaments and tendons. In turn they improve agility, strength, balance and posture, considerably reducing the risks of fractures.
  • Dietary calcium and vitamin D3 intake: Falling on the fundamentals of skeletal science, calcium and vitamin D stay incontestable for bone health. A good balanced diet and adequate exposure to sun are always the safest choices to regulate calcium and vitamin D3 levels,
  • Supplements: calcium and vitamin D3 supplements are also often opted in times of nutritional inadequacy. Yet, concerns over prolonged supplementation causing serious adverse effects like hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, have been cropping up lately. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently recommended “against daily supplementation with 400 IU or less of vitamin D3 and 1,000 mg or less of calcium for the primary prevention of fractures in noninstitutionalized postmenopausal women”.

“A thousand tiny steps can conquer the tallest tower”

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions aims to provide information on the latest trends, updates and advances in the field of clinical research, trials and regulatory affairs. Turacoz Healthcare provides an end-to-end support for scientific communications, clinical trial documents and disclosures, regulatory documents writing and submissions, and medico-marketing writing along with e-modules & e-books on healthcare and research.

Myths about HIV/AIDS: Busted

Awareness Day/Month, , , , ,

Ever since HIV/AIDS is discovered, there have been lots of rumors surrounding it. This article aims at busting those myths and presenting the fact.

HIV-Human Immunodeficiency Virus attacks the immune system of human body and makes a person weaker and increases his disability to fight against diseases. This is caused by having unprotected sex with a HIV positive person and using shared needles/syringes for injecting drugs.

There are various myths about HIV. Let’s have a look at them and then get aware of the reality:

  • You can get HIV by being around a HIV positive individual: This is the most popular rumor surrounding this situation, that you can get affected by HIV by staying around a person who suffers from this disease.

Fact: You cannot get affected by HIV by shaking hands, touching, hugging, kissing or sitting together with a HIV positive person. The HIV virus transfers to your body through vaginal fluids, semen and blood of a HIV positive person.

  • HIV is caused by mosquito and insect bites: Another popular myth which says that if a mosquito bites a HIV positive person and bites you too, then you can also get HIV.

Fact: One cannot get HIV from any mosquito or insect bites. Mosquitoes never inject blood in your body, not does any other insect.

  • You cannot live long, if diagnosed with HIV: A common misconception is that if you have HIV than your life is cut-short or say is over. You will die soon.

Fact: HIV does not mean that your life is over. When it came into knowledge, there were any deaths due to it because there was nothing that we knew about this disease. But today, a lot is known about it. Though there is no fix cure for this, but still, there are certain treatments and therapies that help control the damage HIV does to your body. If one follows proper therapy and takes daily doses, one can live a normal, healthy and long life.

  • Having sex with a HIV positive person will get you HIV: Another myth, that says, if you become physically intimate with a person who is HIV positive, you can also get affected by the virus.

Fact: It is very important to understand that how HIV spreads, what are the risk factors and the preventative measures. By using quality condoms, you can lower down the risk of transmission of this virus. Practicing safe sex is the key to stay away from getting infected with this virus.

  • A woman affected by HIV will pass it on to her baby: This myth states that a HIV positive woman will pass on this virus to her baby during pregnancy and the baby with be HIV positive too.

Fact: This can only be possible in the case where no proper measures are taken to prevent the baby from the virus. A HIV positive woman can prevent her baby from getting infected by taking proper treatments at the right time. There are some treatments available that ensure safer deliver of child and keep him/her virus-free.

  • There is no need for condom if you use HIV Prevention Pill: A myth that says, one does not need to use condoms if he/she is taking a PrEP.

Fact: PrEP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a technique through which the use of a regular antiretroviral pills can lower down the risk of getting infected by HIV by as much as 92%. But this does not state that the condoms should not be used at all. It is always good to stay on the safer side.

  • One can stop using condoms if he has an undetectable virus: A myth that says if you have suppressed your viruses to an undetectable level, you should quit using condoms.

Fact: It is true to a certain extent that a person who has suppressed his viruses completely such that they become undetectable, is less likely to transmit the virus. But this doesn’t ensure that there aren’t any factors that can increase or reduce the risk individually.

  • We are on the verge of curing HIV/AIDS: Another false claim that the cure for HIV is about to be discovered.

Fact: There are numerous researches going on and a lot has been understood on this disease. Advances are being made but we are not yet close to disclosing the cure for it. Till date, this disease has no permanent cure and only certain drugs are available which can help control the damage.

  • Straight men and the ones who do not take IV drugs cannot get HIV: Misconception that only gays can get affected by this virus called HIV.

Fact: Though men involved in homosexual sex are more likely to develop HIV, heterosexual contact can also get you affected. Around 3 in 4 women and 1 out of 6 men have this situation.

  • You cannot have children if you’re HIV positive: A very common misconception stating that a HIV positive cannot conceive and extend family.

Fact: It is not necessary that you will not be able to have children if HIV positive. There are certain ways and treatments that can help you conceive. Though HIV is a sexually transmitted disease, there are various options you can consider for conceiving, depending on which partner is HIV positive.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions aims at spreading awareness regarding HIV/AIDS and debunk any myths or misconceptions surrounding it and make people understand the reality.

Turacoz is a medical communication company and provide services like medical writing, regulatory writing, publication writing,  pharmacovigilance, etc. So, being related to pharma industry, we believe in raising awareness among masses for certain diseases and help them in knowing the truth.

To avail our services or for any query or help, you can contact us at:

[email protected]

It’s about the Blue Circle: Diabetes, its types and challenges

Awareness Day/Month, , , , ,

Not everything sugar is good for you! The overdose of sweetness in your life can be fatal as the threat called ‘Diabetes’ is hovering over the head of millions of people around the globe. It has emerged as the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations, globally.

The worldwide commonness of diabetes among grown-ups of the age 18 years and above has ascended from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% out of 2014, i.e. 108 million to 422 million.

In 2016, an expected 1.6 million deaths were straightforwardly caused by diabetes. Another 2.2 million deaths were inferable from high blood glucose in 2012. As per WHO estimates, diabetes was the 7th prominent cause of deaths in 2016. Diabetes has been prevalent in the middle and low-income nations.

When talking about Asian countries, India accounts for the most number of diabetic people. As per WHO, India is on the top of the list of the countries with highest number of diabetic people. Currently India represents 49% of world’s diabetic population, with around 72 million cases in 2017 and this figure is expected to rise by more than double by the next decade.

A month dedicated to Diabetes:

The month of November is observed as Diabetes month and November 14th of every year is celebrated as World Diabetes Day in order to raise awareness about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, considering the gravity of the ailment.

The theme for the year 2018-2019 is “The Family and Diabetes”.

We all have come across a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness, a red ribbon for AIDS awareness, etc. The World diabetes is denoted by a Big Blue O.

The blue colour is intended to summon the shade of the sky, and the circle is an image of solidarity. This symbol thus stands for “unite for diabetes”.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a critical, long lasting condition where your blood glucose level is extreme. It is chronic disease in which he pancreas either are unable to produce insulin or the body is not able to efficiently use the insulin formed.

Be it any type of diabetes, it holds one thing in common which is that they cause the patients to form extreme level of glucose (sugar) in their blood. It is true that the human body needs glucose as it is the source of energy but excessive formation of it is not good for the body.

Glucose is formed when our body breaks down the carbohydrates which we consume in form of solids or liquids and this glucose is then diffused to the blood. A hormone named ‘Insulin’, secreted by pancreas, helps the glucose in the blood to enter the cells and provide us energy.

A non-diabetic person’s pancreas realizes when the glucose enters the blood and eventually releases the right amount of insulin helping the glucose to enter the cells. This whole process doesn’t function properly in a person affected by diabetes.

The 2 main type of diabetes are: Type 1 and Type 2. They’re diverse conditions, yet they both are serious.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes:

People with Type 1 diabetes are not capable of making insulin, but the case differs for the person with Type 2 diabetes. The person with latter form of diabetes has either insufficient amount of insulin produced, or the insulin formed doesn’t work effectively. Around 90-95% of a diabetic cases accounts for Type 2 diabetes.

In both types of diabetes, the glucose is unable to enter the cells and thus start accumulating into blood, causing various health issues such as heart problems, issues with eyesight, adverse effect on kidneys, etc.

Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes:

  • Polyuria (increased frequency of urination)
  • Feeling excessively thirsty (polydipsia)
  • Frequent hunger
  • Weight loss
  • Changes in eyesight
  • Tiredness

Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes:

These are almost similar to the Type 1 diabetes but may remain undiagnosed in initial or early stage and hence the complications arise.

Other rare types of diabetes are:

  • Maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY): A rare types of diabetes that runs in family and is caused by a change or mutation in a single gene. So if any parent has this mutation, there are 50% chances that their child will inherit it from them and even can develop it before the age of 25 irrespective of their weight, lifestyle, etc.
  • Neonatal diabetes: It is spotted under the age of 6 months. In it the mutation of genes affects the insulin formation resulting in a high blood glucose level. Around 20% of people affected by this have developmental delay or epilepsy. It’s different from Type 1 diabetes on the point that Type 1 doesn’t affect a person below the age group of 6 months.
  • Wolfram syndrome: A rare type of genetic disorder which is also acknowledged as DIDMOAD syndrome, pertaining to its 4 common features (Diabetes Insipidus, Diabetes Mellitus, Optic Atrophy & Deafness).
  • Alstrom syndrome: It is also a rare genetically inherited condition which has features like Retinal decay, loss of hearing capacity, obesity, kidney failure, rheumatic problems, etc.

People suffering with Type 2 diabetes have quite a few issues when monitoring their health, like:

  • Monitoring their blood sugar level at regular intervals, throughout the day.
  • Consuming a diabetic-friendly diet
  • Exercising on daily basis to stay fit and maintain weight.
  • Taking the daily dose of medications.
  • Frequently visiting the doctor for check-ups.

What makes this a tedious task is that only 1% of diabetic people’s time is spent under the guidance of a healthcare expert, rest 99% are managing it on their own. Self-management is the toughest form of management.

Adhering to a strict and healthy diet becomes quite a difficult task for people today, considering their hectic life schedule.

The most crucial aspect in case of diabetes is early diagnosis. The prediabetes is very important in determining the factors related to Type 2 diabetes. When talking about the challenges in diabetes diagnosis, the awareness of the disease is the most crucial part. The prediabetes stage is the phase when one needs to get alert in order to avoid further complications in diabetes and reach out for early and timely diagnosis.

What is prediabetes?

It is concerned with the pre-diagnosis of diabetes. It is basically a warning signal for a person whose blood sugar level is higher than normal. Though it is not considered as diabetes, but still implementing a healthy lifestyle from thereon can help reduce the risk of forming Type 2 diabetes later.

By adapting a healthy lifestyle, eating healthy and exercising daily and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent prediabetes from converting into diabetes.

Prediabetes strikes when your body starts encountering trouble with the use of insulin. It is yet not clear as to what causes the insulin process to go astray in some people.

Here are the risk factors that contribute to the development of prediabetes:

  • Weight issues: Being overweight i.e. having a BMI more than 25 can result in prediabetes.
  • Absence of exercise: Not doing any form of physical activity can result into mismanagement of weight and leading to problem like obesity which is the root cause of prediabetes.
  • Family history: If someone in your close blood relation or a family member near to you has diabetes, then you are likely to develop it too, as it is hereditary in nature.
  • Age: Getting older has its own set of cons and one such is the risk of developing diabetes. People with age 45 & above can expect to be at the risk of prediabetes and post 65, this risk increases even more.
  • Other health issues: People with high blood pressure/hypertension are at the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
  • PCOS: In women, PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), wherein multiple cysts get formed into ovaries, increases the risk of developing prediabetes as one cause for these cysts can be insulin resistance.
  • Gestational diabetes: If a woman has developed diabetes during the pregnancy, there are higher chances of developing prediabetes in the long run.

Challenges in health management during diabetes:

  • Absence of disease arbitration for pre-diabetics: As per American Diabetes Association, the predominance of diabetes has hiked up by 40%, during the last decade. Without any mediation, these numbers will constantly rise in the coming years. 1 in every 3 adults is suffering from prediabetes, but dismally only 7-10% are informed of it. In the absence of intervention, around 30% of such people will fall prey to Type 2 diabetes in a time-span of 3 years.
  • Cohesion with medication: Diabetic people juggle between the costs, avenues, competing arrangements and absence of awareness when they struggling to adhere to the medication.
  • Expensive treatments: The treatment expenses for diabetes are really high. The minimum cost care is impediment, early diagnosis and treatment soon after to minimize the chances of any complications.
  • Inclusion for meds and supplies associated with diabetes: The patients today bear a huge responsibility towards their healthcare costs. Along with the payment of rising insurance premiums, they also have to cope-up with the extra costs of co-pays, co-insurance, etc.

Every problem comes with a solution and so is the case with diabetes. Here are the solutions for the complexities of diabetes management:

  • As mentioned, that early diagnosis is very crucial, staying alert and vigilant about the early symptoms is very important which helps in early detection of diabetes. Symptoms like excessive hunger and urination, excessive thirst, fatigueness, etc. are to be watched out for and in case of any doubt consulting with the physician will help in the diagnostics of prediabetes.
  • A fasting plasma glucose test is used to detect diabetes (126 mg/dl & more) or prediabetes (100mg/dl-125mg/dl) and provides with the measurement of blood glucose, post eating for a minimum of 8 hours.
  • Oral Glucose Tolerance is used to measure blood sugar, post 8 hours of eating anything and post 2 hours of drinking glucose drink. It tests diabetes (200mg/dl & above) and prediabetes (140mg/dl-199mg/dl).
  • There is a random plasma glucose test which in conducted test blood sugar irrespective of when the food is consumed. With particular symptoms like excessive urination, hunger or thirst and weight loss, etc., values of 200mg/dl or more is tested.

Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed earlier as compared to Type 2 diabetes as the symptoms are quite evident and it requires immediate medical care. In case of Type 2 diabetes, the symptoms are too mild to be detected early and can go unnoticed for 7-10 years, inviting more complications and greater health risks.

Now it is about the lifestyle choices that you make. The sedentary lifestyle which people lead today has given birth to various health issues, diabetes being the main. Try to live a more active and healthy lifestyle to prevent yourself against this disease. Healthy eating and healthy living is the key to a healthy life. Being aware regarding the disease can help reduce the risk of its development.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions-a medical communications company, understands the complexity of diabetes and acknowledges that the hectic schedule of the corporate has fuelled the condition. Turacoz practices a healthy working style for its employees. Practicing desktop yoga, eating healthy and taking breaks in-between work is the culture practiced here. Turacoz values its employees and understands the fact that ‘health is wealth’ and is constantly working towards making work-life healthier for the employees and practicing a active and healthy living style.

Turacoz follows a ‘NO-STRESS’ policy for its employees and believes in keeping the work environment friendly and healthier to avoid any work or workstation related stress and pressure, as stress is also a key factor in triggering diabetes among people.

“Healthy living, healthy eating and healthy working are the mantra for Turacoz Healthcare Solutions”.

 

 

Breast cancer does not define you nor does it end your life!

Awareness Day/Month, , ,

The month of October is dedicated to breast cancer to create awareness regarding this prevalent cancer in women, globally. Breast cancer accounts for up to 25% of all new cancers diagnosed in women worldwide. With this being such a serious health issue, it is important to raise awareness about the same.

Here are few of the stories from some of the brave breast cancer survivors:

1. This story is of Kajal:

“My world fell apart on learning that I had breast cancer. It was discovered that my tumor was 1.2 cm and my cancer turned out to be both estrogen and progesterone positive. I cried my eyes out. I was only 24, it wasn’t the time for me to be dealing with cancer. I had different dreams and aspirations but now everything was so different.

I had no family history of breast cancer, so I never ever imagined that I would be going through this. My family and the doctors were my greatest support at this very terrifying phase of my life. Post discussions it was decided that I would be going through double mastectomy. My doctors weren’t concerned about the preservation of fertility until they discovered that I would be needing chemotherapy.

I was clueless when asked that whether I wanted to freeze my eggs, considering that I was so young. But I went on for it. I didn’t wanted to give up on my long hair locks but seeing them fall out in chunks was heartbreaking and I ended up shaving my head.

I was scared to look at myself in the mirror. I was frustrated, sad and miserable complaining why it had to be me! Life was so unfair. But I came in touch with other women who were fighting the same ailment as me. Slowly I began to regain the lost spirit and strength and was determined to defeat cancer. I decided to be a fighter. Everyone around me was so supportive.

It has been 1 year, and I have survived various round of chemo and radiations and I am still going strong. To all the young girls out there struggling with cancer, I would say that don’t let cancer break you, your dreams and your soul. Pull up your socks and fight back and you would emerge victorious.”

2. Neeta’s story:

“Life was going smooth. I got married to the love of my life at the age of 32. We were thinking of a beautiful future ahead, but my world flipped upside down on learning that I had breast cancer. I was noticing a lump on my right breast and ignored it for several days think of it as a normal cyst. My husband insisted that I once get it checked. I had an ultrasound, escalated to mammogram and then biopsy to confirm that I my diagnosis would be for stage 2 triple negative breast cancer.

I was shattered. I knew being a cancer patient means taking all those painful chemo sessions and a lot more and going through various side-effects of the therapies. All I could think of was that it couldn’t have happened to me. I felt helpless but my husband, family and the doctors comforted me and made me believe that I could be cured.

As the chances for pregnancy would eventually decrease with chemo, I went through IVF and got my eggs freezed in hopes of becoming a mother someday. It all began then. I have completed 17 rounds of chemo and dealt with various extra drugs helping me to fight cancer.

I cried seeing my hair fall. I sometimes didn’t had strength to even speak loudly and I ended up crying silently blaming god for my condition. I was dealing with fatigue, nausea and some neuropathy issues.

Undergoing 30 rounds of radiations was not half as painful as the mental and emotional pain I was going through. At one point I even stopped thinking of any future fearing that there might be no future for me. But the support I received from my family, husband, doctors and friends dragged me out of the big black hole of depression I was plunged into.

I came in contact with other cancer patients and interacting with them I learned many things that helped me cope up with this frightening disease. I learnt to be thankful for each day I was breathing, realizing how precious life was. I felt blessed to have such a supporting husband and lovely family and friends besides me, who stood out for me in my toughest times.

It has already been 4 years now and I am all better. I do visit my doctors for health checkups and other essential. I have learned to live even better post cancer. May be not in the best possible way, but I feel cancer has made me a better human being.

Never give up and keep up the spirit. Nothing can bring you down, not even cancer. Just learn how lucky you are to be alive. Learn to give and spread happiness all around.”

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions stands in support of all the women and men dealing with breast cancer and wants to convey them a message that:

“Cancer is not the definition of you. Cancer is just a situation that happened to you. It does not need to define you personally. Gather all your strength and courage and fight against it. No ailment is stronger than your will to live. Be brave, be bold. Wear your pink gloves on and punch the cancer in its face!”

World Rabies Day: September 28th, 2018

Awareness Day/Month, , , , , , ,

Rabies, a viral disease that is mainly transmitted by an infected animal bite, is a 100% preventable disease. However, it is still major a public health problem with one death reported every 15 minutes worldwide. Therefore, to raise awareness regarding the burden of rabies, and to unite efforts for its prevention and control, 28th September is celebrated globally as World Rabies Day. This day also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. Celebrating the World Rabies Day serves a reminder that our fight against this deadly disease is far from over.

The first World Rabies Day was observed in 2007, which was a collaboration between the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, with the co-sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Pan American Health Organization. It proved to be an extremely successful campaign, and by 2009, nearly 100 million people worldwide had been educated about rabies and ~3 million dogs had been vaccinated (as estimated by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control). On the last World Rabies Day in 2017, several major health organizations, including WHO, OIE, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), pledged to eliminate human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies by 2030.

The World Rabies Day has been identified as an important tool that can assist in rabies prevention by educating and mobilizing at-risk communities, animal health workers, public health practitioners, governments, key opinion leaders, and experts. Today, we have safe and efficacious animal and human vaccines that can eliminate human deaths from rabies; however, lack of awareness is the major roadblock in successfully engaging communities for rabies prevention. Rabies prevention and control has two broad components: animal rabies control and human rabies prevention. Pictorial description of both are shown in Figure 1.

 

 

Figure 1          Rabies prevention and control

The World Rabies Day campaign has a centralized online platform where groups can register their World Rabies Day events and download resources, in print and online, that can support their message for rabies prevention. Moreover, since rabies is a disease that can easily cross borders, especially in wild animal populations, the campaign encourages trans‑national collaboration of rabies control and prevention. The World Rabies Day logo represents the complexity of rabies, which can infect human beings, wildlife and domestic animals, and therefore, needs an interdisciplinary approach to control it.

Overall, the World Rabies Day is a campaign for education, awareness, and action to encourage organizations across all levels-international and local-to increase the spread of messages for rabies prevention. With this blog, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (a medical communication company) aim to raise awareness about rabies prevention and highlight progress in defeating this animal transmitted viral disease.

Being a Star in your Industry is a Matter of Corporate Etiquettes!

Awareness Day/Month, , , , , ,

You might wonder about the title of this article, figuring out how manners can make you a star. But before we explain you how, let’s look at the story of 2 individuals, Mr. X, who is an MBA graduate with 90% and is working for a big company for 3 years. Mr. Z, who serves the same company as Mr. X but with qualifications of bachelors & work experience of only a year. Mr. X excels in terms of qualifications & experience.

Both left to meet their clients one day for some work. Mr. X went into the cabin without knocking and discovered that client was his batch-mate & seeing this he said while patting on his client’s shoulders –“Hey! Good morning. How are you doing? Long time. (flipping the file on the table) have a look at my new proposal, I bet it is awesome dude.”

Mr. Z went in after knocking and receiving a welcome gesture from his client. He recognized the client was someone he knew. He then asked for the permission to sit and spoke-“Good Morning, sir. As per the telephonic discussion, I have prepared a draft of the proposal. Kindly have a look. (handing over the file to the client)”

He then stands up, greets again and then leaves.

The client thrashed Mr. X while Mr. Z got an appreciation for his efforts.

Now you must marvel, what went so wrong with Mr. X? Well, the lack of proper business etiquettes landed Mr. X in this situation. No matter how well qualified he was and how much experience he had, he didn’t act accordingly. When into business, your personal relationships don’t signify, you must act formally.

Mr. Z though being less qualified and experienced than Mr. X, knew how to act professionally and thus strike the chord right.

So, when you are driving in a corporate set up, it signifies how you behave in the business environment.

What are Corporate Etiquettes?

These are an array of generally recognized rules for acting reasonably in a business environment. It is a way of displaying socially relevant behavior in business relationships.

Why Corporate Etiquettes?

  • It gives a positive perception of you
  • Behaving properly makes you feel confident & composed, letting you focus on your work
  • It saves your time as you don’t have to appease the individual whose sentiments you have hurt
  • It makes people around you comfortable & they would like to work with you
  • Forms an amicable environment
  • Ward offs misunderstandings to a remarkable extent

As per research organized by the American Society of Quality Control, 68% of business is cast away by corporate because of the improper attitude of employees’ while approaching expected clients.

So, you can simply infer the importance of Corporate Etiquettes now.

Basic Business Etiquettes to follow:

Being a Star in your Industry is a Matter of Corporate Etiquettes!

Here are some absolute DOs & DON’Ts in a corporate set-up:

DOs:

  • Dress properly/formally
  • Respect your fellow employees, juniors & seniors
  • Keep your workplace neat & clean
  • Be punctual, reach office on time
  • Respect the privacy of other employees
  • Take care of your tone & language

DON’Ts:

  • Never adopt a casual attitude at work
  • Don’t squeak into other’s cubicles/workstations
  • Don’t keep your phone on ringing mode
  • Don’t touch or use other people’s belongings without their permission
  • Don’t bully or make fun of fellow employees
  • Never wear flashy or exposing clothes to workplace
  • Never drink while you are at work

By following these simple tricks & tips you can shine at your workplace and be a star. Incorporate these into your daily life & see the difference. Turacoz Healthcare Solutions encourages the practice of good business etiquettes within its employees and promotes the same. Remember:

                            “Standards are not established by your proclamations, but by your routines.”

Because if you kill yourself, you’re also going to kill those who love you

Awareness Day/Month, HR, , , , , ,

Suicide has become the 3rd highest reason for deaths today in the world, notably among the age group of 15-44 years (male & female). As per the reports, there is 1 death every 40 seconds globally. The suicide rate, globally, has increased by 60% in the last 45 years. Suicide endeavors are up to 20 times more incessant than finished suicides.

This is undeniably a sad state as predominantly the youth is becoming suicidal. When you are surrounded by problems and cannot figure out a way, suicide is not the solution. But still, many people fail to understand this fact and end up taking their lives, leaving their near & dear ones in immense pain, shock & trauma.

The world celebrates “World Suicide Prevention Day” on 10th September to spread awareness about suicide & offer worldwide commitment & action to prevent suicides.

The theme for 2018 is “Working together to prevent suicide.”

There are various reasons for suicide, to name some:

  • Unemployment
  • Losing a loved one
  • Family problems
  • Financial issues
  • Alienation from community, society or any group
  • Mental disorders like depression, substance abuse, etc.

As per a survey, mental states like depression account for most suicides in the world, about 90%.

According to the reports by WHO:

  • The Eastern European region has the highest suicide rate for both the genders.
  • India & China contribute to 30% of total suicides worldwide.
  • 55% of people aged between 15-44 years & 45% aged 45 or above commit suicide.
  • Suicide among the youth is becoming a major reason for concern.

Suicide in India:

A land of over 1.32 billion people has a suicide rate of 16.4 per 100,000 women (6th highest globally) & 25.8 for men (22nd highest in the world), according to WHO. The major causes are identified as family issues, prolonged illness & any mental disorder. People in the age group of 15-44 had the highest number of suicides.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions understands the severity of the problem and presents some tips to help a suicidal person.

First, let’s get ourselves clear about common misconceptions about suicide:

  • Individuals who discuss suicide won’t usually do it
  • Any individual who tries to kill him/herself must be insane
  • In the event that a man is resolved to murder him/herself, nothing will stop them
  • Individuals who committed suicide were individuals unwilling to have looked for help
  • Discussing suicide may give somebody the thought

If you pay attention, then anyone who is about to attempt a suicide or is having suicidal thoughts, won’t commit it abruptly. He/she will drop some or the other hint. Being alert & noticing the hints can aid in preventing the suicide

Below mentioned are some hints that a person thinking of suicide might drop:

  • Discussing suicide
  • Searching out deadly means like pills, gun, etc.
  • Distraction with death
  • No expectation for what’s to come
  • Self-hatred, self-loathing
  • Getting undertakings all together like making a will, etc.
  • Saying farewell
  • Pulling back from others
  • Causing harm to themselves
  • A sudden feeling of quiet

Preventing the suicide:

Because if you kill yourself, you’re also going to kill those who love you

  • Speak up to the individual whom you are really concerned about. If you think he/she is having suicidal intentions, you, being the individual to share the sentiments with might make him feel comfortable and by talking, you will also get an idea of his mental state and judge the gravity of the situation.
  • Respond promptly in a deadlock. Once you have analyzed the urgency of the situation and sensed the degree of the threat, respond accordingly. Call emergency services, remove any hazardous material or weapons & make sure to stick with the person about to commit suicide.
  • Extend your support & sympathy. Lay an ear to the person and hear out all he/she has to say. Comfort the individual and try to console him/her. Show your faith in him/her and make the person believe that they are much needed here and are loved and cared for.

To help a suicidal person you should:

  • Reach out for professional help
  • Have a follow-up on the treatment
  • Raise the person’s morale & encourage a healthy lifestyle for him
  • Keep the person distant from any measures of suicide
  • Keep supporting and caring

There are various Suicide helplines you can reach out to even if you are the person concerned or the victim itself. Below are the list & details of a few 24/7 suicide helplines for India:

  1. AASRA: +91 22-27546669/ +91 22-27546667

      Email: [email protected]

  1. 1life: +91 78930-78930

      Email: [email protected]

  1. Vandrevala Foundation: 1860-266-2345/ 1800-233-3330

      Email: [email protected]

Suicide is an issue that needs to be taken care of immediately. Your support and love for such people can make them love their life again. The individuals suffering from suicidal thoughts don’t want to die; they want their pain to die. We can help them with ending their suffering or at least make them forget their misery and live again.

To all those people who are thinking of ending their existence, Turacoz wants to convey to them the message that-

“You are not alone. Everyone feels lonely at some stage in his or her life. But this feeling is momentary and will not last forever. The world is a predominant place with you in it. Love yourself!”

World Senior Citizen Day- Let us join hands to create awareness about quality healthcare to the elderly

Awareness Day/Month, , , , , , ,

The World Senior Citizens Day is observed on 21st August every year with the intention to acknowledge the contributions of senior citizens of to the society. Further, it intends to make people aware about the condition of elderly and support them while aging. Aging is an unstoppable phenomenon which is also related to numerous health concerns. The global improvement in standard of living has increased longevity and is associated with aging of population. In the year 2011, the estimated number of adults living in India over 60 years of age was about 104 million. This number is expected to increase up to 323 million by 2050, thus constituting approximately 20% of the total Indian population. Furthermore, older people across the globe are estimated by World Health Organization (WHO) to outnumber children under age of 14 years by the year 2050.

With such drastic increase in elderly population, there has been increased burden of geriatric health problems worldwide including India. Therefore, for any nation to prosper in current scenario, wellbeing of its geriatric population is very important. This necessitates proper understanding of their health issues and related needs.

In view of this, WHO in collaboration with the Government of India conducted a cross-sectional survey on elderly population of 60 years and above in 10 different sites of different states and union territories of India. As per this survey, older people are commonly afflicted by diseases such as visual impairment (including uncorrected long sightedness/ reduced near vision), unoperated cataract, uncorrected hearing impairment, urinary problems, obesity, poor nutrition, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, dental problems, and depression. Thus, overall morbidity is higher in older population of any country. This highlights the need for preventive health checkup camps for them, with affordable laboratory investigation packages, transport service to labs and hospitals. Furthermore, government and other private/charitable hospitals/organizations should come forward and take initiatives either individually or in collaboration to strengthen the healthcare facilities for senior citizens in the country which may be in form of immunization programs or measures for improving their nutrition or simple health awareness programs for elderly.

Further, it is certain that older people suffer from multiple comorbid conditions which leads to polypharmacy i.e., concurrent use of multiple pills. It is known that polypharmacy negatively affects patient’s adherence to treatment protocol which makes medication schedule irregular. Medication non-adherence basically, is a failure to adopt a prescribed medication regimen adequately. It involves either stopping the intake of prescribed medicines, and/or alterations in their dosage or missing doses in between. This non-adherence adversely affects individual’s health. This results in worsening of health issues and leads to increased medical emergencies and hospitalizations, and thus decreases quality of life.

Apart from polypharmacy, medication non-adherence in elders may be due to physical barriers such as cognitive deficits or diminished physical senses. Low health literacy and low socioeconomic status can also negatively impact individual’s ability to manage the prescribed medicines adequately. Furthermore, medication non-adherence might sometimes be because of more faith of elderly people on traditional medicines and the local doctors than specialists. In view of above mentioned health issues related to elderly people, it is of utmost important that they take good care of their health to lead healthy and quality lives. So, below mentioned are few health tips for them.

Tips to keep yourselves healthy while aging:

  • Keep yourself physically active as much as possible by doing regular exercise and walking.
  • Remain socially active by meeting friends, relatives or joining some social clubs, yoga clubs etc.
  • Eat healthy and balanced diet as per your medical condition. Seek advice from dietician or nutritionist if required.
  • Avoid use of tobacco in any form.
  • Visit your doctor and get your health checkups done at regular intervals.
  • Take your medicines as prescribed. If you tend to forget, set alarms in your phone or watch or ask someone you trust to remind you.
  • Join a pharmacy that delivers medicines to you. Your pharmacist can also remind you when your next prescription is due.

Elderly people many times are either completely or partially dependent on their care providers who are usually of comparatively younger generation. Therefore, onus lies on these care givers from younger generation or the youth of nation to take adequate care of older people. So, below mentioned are few tips which can help younger care givers provide adequate care to their elderly to improve their quality of life.

Tips for caregivers for taking care of elderly:

  • Keep track of health of dependent elderly and take them to visit their doctor at regular intervals for routine health checkup and other body investigations.
  • As elderly people tend to become forgetful and miss their medicines, therefore keep track of their medications and ensure a regular intake of medicines.
  • Ensure that the dependent elderly is fed with healthy and nutritious diet as per their health requirements.
  • Accompany dependent elderly during morning and evening walks so that they feel refreshed.
  • Spend some time with dependent elderly so that they do not feel lonely and depressed.

If it is the responsibility of caregiver to take care of good health of their elderly, it is important for caregivers to keep themselves fit and healthy.

If our elderly become self-reliant and if their caregivers and the society become sensitive to their needs, the elderly can lead a healthy meaningful life. The society can benefit from their experience and the growing geriatric population can be a healthy one.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions take an initiative to draw attention of youth towards health concerns of elderly people in nation and shares tips to ensure a better quality of life for them. Turacoz is a medical communication company that provides scientific/medical writing support to the industry and academicians.

Breastfeeding & Love: How they are the same?

Awareness Day/Month, , , , , , , , , , ,

With the World Breastfeeding Week (1st Aug-7th Aug) towards its wrap for the year 2018, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions brings to you a beautiful story we received from one of the amazing mothers. The narrative is as expressed by her:

I became mother for the first time. It is a feeling I cannot explain. Being a mother is what completes a woman and my baby gave me that feeling of completeness.

3rd April 2018, the day my baby boy was born, is the happiest day of my life. I have been waiting to meet him for so long. During my pregnancy, I took care of everything and learned about the most important aspect of being a mother, Breastfeeding.

After Ansh (my boy) was born, I breastfed him. He is 4 months old now and I make sure to exclusively breastfeed him. I am aware of all the benefits of breastfeeding and want to deliver the best to my baby.

At first, I struggled a lot with it, as my nipples would hurt a lot when he latched onto them, but slowly it began to settle. Never once in mind, this thought of giving up breastfeeding occurred to me. I knew this is the best thing I can give to my baby as his mother.
I had sore nipples and cracks on them in the beginning and I was worried all the time whether he is receiving enough milk or not. But doctors told me that I would settle down with time and so will the baby. I decided to forget about the pain and discomfort and focus on feeding my baby, which he needed the most. Despite the discomfort, I fed him for 30 minutes every 2-3 hours in a day.

Today my baby is all healthy and naughty. The expressions on his face while he is being breastfed are so satisfying to me that I will go to any extent of pain or discomfort to make him happy.

This is my request to all mothers who hesitate in breastfeeding their baby, that, you should not keep your baby away from this wonderful gift. It not only gives your baby the strength and nutrients he needs but also is beneficial for you and completes you as a mother.

This is so right!

Breastfeeding is important for both babies and mothers. Here is why:

For babies:

  • It provides the best nutrition to the babies: this is what they need at least for the first 6 months of their life. Ideally, breastfeeding is recommended for a year, meanwhile, your baby can try different foods.
  • Breast milk is the source of essential antibodies: it gives babies the immunity to fight against bacteria & viruses. Colostrum, the first milk of a mother is very important for the baby and helps the most to build up the immune system. It contains immunoglobulin A, which enhances the immunity.
  • Breast milk helps in minimizing the risk of diseases: if a baby is exclusively breastfed, the chances of him/her being ill gets low. It gives the baby the strength he/she requires to stay healthy.
  • It reduces the risk of obesity: if you are exclusively breastfeeding the baby, it helps in reducing the risk of childhood obesity and helps in gaining weight healthily.

For mothers:

  • Breastfeeding can help you reduce weight: every mother puts on weight during pregnancy. Many studies have proven that breastfeeding helps you shed the extra weight off your body. For the initial 3 months, mothers who breastfeed may lose weight as compared to the mothers who don’t breastfeed.
  • Breastfeeding stimulates the contraction of the uterus: during pregnancy, the uterus expands a lot and post-delivery it goes through a process known as involution, which assists in returning the uterus to its normal size. It happens due to a hormone Oxytocin released during the pregnancy. The mothers who breastfeed have faster uterus contraction.
  • Breastfeeding lowers the risk of post-partum depression: many mothers suffer from post-partum depression which occurs shortly after delivery. Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of suffering from this condition.
  • Breastfeeding prevents you against diseases: breastfeeding can save you against deadly disease like breast & ovarian cancer.
  • Breastfeeding helps restrict menstruation: it provides a halt to ovulation process for some time thus preventing you from menstruating. This acts as a natural birth control.

Breastfeeding is nothing but the love you can give to your baby. Don’t hesitate or restrict yourself from loving your baby. The other name for breastfeeding is surely LOVE.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (a medical communication company) support and encourages exclusive breastfeeding to newborns in their first six months.

Desktop Yoga: Don’t just sit there! Start Yoga

Awareness Day/Month, ,

 

With the years passing, International Yoga Day, has received super positive response from people from all walks of life.
Yoga, introduced to the world by India, was developed in ancient India. Current Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi actively performs Yoga and encourages people to take it up. Each year on International Yoga Day, he performs Yoga himself amongst thousands of Indian citizens.

With our lives getting increasingly busy, we hardly find time to devote to our health which leads to increasing health issues. Yoga helps us to relax and rejuvenate and improve our health in the long run.

Current lifestyle of corporate personnels forces everyone to be at their desk for 8-12 hours a day. This sedentary lifestyle among office-goers takes a huge toll on the respective physical health.

How our bodies get affected?
Constantly glaring at the computer screens while sitting might seem normal but alas! For our bodies it is different. Being a couch potato doesn’t help at all. By constantly being seated in the office chair or couch:

  • Our risk of getting a heart disease increases by 64%.
  • We can become prone to specific types of cancer.
  • We are technically wasting 7 precious years of your life.

So, in simple words, sitting is bumping us off.

What must be done?
Not going to office is not the solution. Then what? If we go to office, we need to sit. But worry not, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions lists out a logical and practical way to help you cope with the issue.

While we cannot convert your office seat to a gym, we can do something light yet effective for our body to keep it healthy. Let us all benefit from “DESKTOP YOGA”.

What is DESKTOP YOGA?
Desktop Yoga is simply a string of easy-to-perform exercises based on traditional yoga and are crafted particularly for the community of working people.

These exercises not only helps our body to relax but also re-energizes us helping us to focus better. It’s also appropriate for people who don’t want to put in much effort and exercise. We can perform desktop yoga easily while sitting on your office chair and ensure towards minimizing your stress.

Desktop yoga spots the muscles that are usually affected while we sit for prolonged hours. It is body part specific, so it is up to us in terms of duration in which we want to practice it.

We, at Turacoz HealthCare Solutions practice Desktop Yoga and aim to spread awareness regarding it thus promoting its practice. For us, the well-being of our employees is of primary concern and we sincerely believe that only a fit and healthy employee can perform at his true and best potential.

The following images depicts the different steps and types of “DESKTOP YOGA”

Desktop yoga

Along with performing these basic exercises, we must also follow few basic but golden tips to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally:

  • Must eat healthy food, avoid junk
  • Avoid sitting in one position for too long. We must stand up and take a walk and stretch our body at regular intervals
  • Avoid looking at the screen for elongated hours, must blink frequently to keep our eyes moist.
  • Avoid stress as much as possible and take interest in various hobbies
  • Practice meditation and
  • Stay positive and happy

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions wishes everyone a very happy International Yoga Day and urges all to opt for a healthy and happy lifestyle. STAY FIT, STAY HIT.