Archive for the ‘Womens Health’ Category

You must have noticed a steady swelling of ankles in pregnant women. It can make women highly self-conscious and frustrated. Firstly, know that swollen foot is nothing to worry about health wise unless you count the slight discomfort.

Apart from hormonal changes, it happens because your body generates and holds more water than normal when you’re expecting. And fluids tend to collect in ankles which results in swelling.

Though normal, swollen feet can be easily avoided or alleviated if you take certain precautions.

• Avoid standing for long periods as standing for too long can obstruct proper blood circulation.
• Avoid sitting cross-legged as much as you can.
• Always go for comfortable and strong footwear rather than those with tight straps, heels and shoes that are either loose or tight.
• While sitting, always rest your feet propped up on a stool, or cushions. Resting foot for atleast 30 minutes a day is must. Ideally feet should be kept higher than your heart level as your rest.
• It may be relaxing to apply ice packed in a plastic cover to swollen areas.

Foot exercises can make it flexible & improve blood circulation to and from leg and heart. Here are some foot exercises especially for pregnant women (and others too) that don’t cause much exertion.

• While sitting, curve and stretch your feet up and down- This can be done in office, as you watch TV, as you travel in bus etc.
• Rotate one foot clockwise 10 times and then do it anticlockwise. Do the same with the other foot.

Just as the gradual swelling of feet is normal, sudden swelling warrants expert medical help to make sure that there are no underlying causes. Your gynecologist can monitor this and confirm or rule out any cause for worry.

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Urinary Infections are infections caused by bacteria in your urinary tract, which can be said as your body’s cleanup system. Statistics show that women are the worst affected due to anatomical reasons. Certain microbes and fungus tend to leech themselves to your urinary tract lining for long, making the infection a painful affair.

Fighting Constipation & Urinary Infection with Diet:

Constipation is often an underlying cause for urinary infection. If you have constipation, this has to be dealt with immediately.

• Increase the quantity of fiber in your daily diet.
• Include greens, spinach dish etc as side dish with your lunch.
• Munch on fruits like banana, mango, orange etc in between work.
• See that your water bottle filled is always kept filled and keep sipping whether you’re thirsty or not. Recommended water intake for a day is 8-10 glasses of water.

To keep your urinary tract infection-free, you can stick to the following pointers:

• Go to the loo as soon as you feel the urge to urinate rather than controlling it till you are free. Bacteria multiply when urine remains in the bladder for long.
• If you’re on the move, you can use the restroom in a shop or mall.
• See that a roll of toilet paper is a permanent resident in your handbag.
• Hygiene can go a long way in preventing infection. Let washing genitals before sexual intercourse be a norm for you.
• It is advised that you urinate after sex.
• Opt for cotton undergarments. Tight and synthetic clothes trap moisture making it a breeding ground for bacteria.

Urinary Infection Red Flags:

• a recurrent and strong urge to go to toilet
• urination in droplets despite the strong urge to urinate
• if your urine stinks and is dark yellow, orange or bloody
• a throbbing pain when urinating
• fatigue, muscle cramp and tummy ache

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Mindless Eating is more common than it appears and one of the major hidden causes of overweight & obesity. Life can get so time-crunched that we feel that devoting exclusive time for eating is a waste. You may feel that why do that when you can read, work, drive, watch TV & get many other things done while eating.

Here’s the hitch. You lose touch with your body. You miss to relish the different tastes & your stomach’s ability to signal you to stop gets weaker. In fact you overeat without knowing you are overeating. Here are some factors that influence your portion sizes and ways to overcome them:

A Classic Eg of Treating Eating as Secondary

Your Plate Size:

According to research, it is almost automatic for people to help themselves to larger portions when using larger platters. Know that your usual portion appears smaller if dished on a larger plate. Whoever thought ‘illusion’ too had a say in your mindless eating!

Chew Well:

Yes, you are in a hurry. Understandable! But that doesn’t mean you should gobble down food at top speed. Your stomach needs time to register the amount of food you need. And by the time your stomach gives the ‘full’ signal, you will have eaten almost double the amount. Also, how much ever busy you are, it is better to take a break for meals rather than grabbing a sandwich while working.

Out of Sight… Out of Mind:

It is better not to store junk foods like fried stuffs, maida snacks etc at home. And if you must (for guests), keep them out of sight. Try keeping them in the bottom drawer of your cupboard or at the back of storeroom. You may not grab them as often as you do, if those foods do not tempt you tantalizingly in your eye level.

Your Environment:

Read beauty tips by any movie actress, 2 advices will be common in their interviews. Drink plenty of water & get a good night’s sleep (6-8 hrs) . They make sense. Compromising on sleep leads to slower metabolism & reduced calorie burning rate. And most importantly, its been linked to increased mindless eating during the day.

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Of course! Aerobics is the exercise to burn or lose extra belly fat. No need to squander a fortune to tauten and tone that Abs! Aerobics exercise is any physical activity intense enough to work your lungs and heart harder- resulting in increased blood circulation and fitness.

“Belly fat located deep within the abdominal cavity fills the spaces between internal organs and is linked with increased risks for heart diseases, diabetes and some cancers.” -  MayoClinic

Aerobics exercise is a safe bet to combat these risks. Let us see how.

Brisk Walk

Did you know brisk walking too is as good as aerobics? Brisk walking puts all your Ab muscles through its paces. It is important to swing your arms and pull in your tummy while at it. Walking in this manner for atleast 30 minutes a day can attain the aerobic effect. Make it a point to do this before breakfast, post lunch and after evening tea, 10 minutes each. This will largely increase the chances of you sticking to it.

Weight Train (Resistance Training)

Weight training not only boosts your metabolism, but also good for bones. It reduces the odds for osteoporosis after middle age. No, weight lifts do not make you masculine as commonly believed. Moreover, it enhances your energy level while burning most of those unhealthy belly fats. Same can be achieved through regular push-ups.

Link earlier blog on the same?

Play a sport

Playing a sport is the best bet to make one break into sweat. Not everyone may have access to tennis court, basket ball court or swimming pool. But one can easily rig up a net on a nearby ground and enjoy a spot of badminton. Same can be said for sports like cricket and football if you can gather enough people. It will set your heart racing and shed those bad fats.

Remember, you need to start somewhere and crossing the starting-trouble hurdle is a huge step. So ready to face that aerobic challenge that leaves you out of breath to make Ab fats history?

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The Christmas holiday is often stressful, especially with kids at home- what with the festivals and guests and visiting around. But returning to work, school and the same old routine can be even more so. You might wish for another holiday to recover from it. You are not alone in coming back to routine life with tales of family fights, money problems after overspending or even a mere end-of-holiday gloom.

Shall we explore some tried-tested tips to manage post holiday stress?

Slowly easing back to normal routine:

Late nights and afternoon wakeups take time to alter. Try going to sleep and setting the alarm for the same time. Within a week, your bio-clock will (or forced to?) reinstate itself. This alone can cut down half the post holiday blues. If your diet or workouts have gone down the hill over the holidays, try fishing out the old diet chart and get them back to normal.

Appraise the happenings during the hols (both good & bad):

If your vacation hasn’t gone as smoothly as you wanted, think over what went wrong calmly. Perhaps there were some petty quarrels with friends or family, or may be your boss imposed an urgent assignment unexpectedly or budget didn’t go as planned. It would be easier to be objective if you think over things now. Talking to a trusted friend can put things into perspective.

It sounds unreal. But while solving post holiday stress, one often faces a wake-up call about what you want from life. Of course it is your choice to act on it. But it can make a sizable difference in your professional and personal life. Technically, however you holidayed, whether you liked or tolerated, it is now in the past. Focusing on the present can lessen any post holiday stress tremendously.

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Are you one of them who wake up incredibly grouchy, especially on cold winter mornings? Admit it, you are secretly jealous of those ‘morning people’ who not only manage house chores in record time, but also keep their spirits up as they cheerfully set to tackle the day’s assignments. The funda is simple- they i.e. their brains are all set for the day and yours unfortunately are not.

Morning people are not born that way. They become that way through certain practices and lifestyles- just the way you have become a regular sourpuss in the morning by years of practice. Lets see what you can do to wake up smiling and have a great day ahead every day.

• Had a great sleep? First things first. Nothing will help improve your morning tempo unless you have had a good night’s sleep- advantage of well-rested body, mind and all that! So please work on polishing your sleep hygiene before doing anything. The best sleep strategy you can follow is to try going to bed and getting up in the morning at the same time.

• Morning Shower: You know what they say. “Whatever makes you feel lazy to follow is probably good for you”. A cool morning shower may top this list which includes daily exercise, diet control etc. Yes, you hate the cold plunge, we know. But it’s a good (rude?) wakeup call to your brain and you feel dynamic and energetic enough to face whatever is thrown at you.

• Energetic Music for Energetic Morning: If slow soothing music is an aid to good sleep hygiene, then it can work in reverse. That is, if you put on some lively music in the morning, will you be able to stop your body moving and get geared up? Mix up a few jazzy numbers and try it. Who knows, you may even be game enough to go for a morning shower.

• Having fruit juice to fire up brain cells: Having juice with breakfast is the best way to ensure essential nutrient intake that you often miss in the whirl of junks and fizzies. Fruit juices have everything you need like vitamins and minerals to keep you chirpy and productive all day. Some of those Ads do talk sense once in a while, don’t they?

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When people hear the term ‘Facial Exercise’, it is not rare to see their raised eyebrows as their standard reactions (which in fact is one way of doing it). Saying that it is as good as a plastic surgery is without doubt an exaggeration. But conscientious practice of facercise can and will give you a face-lift! And this fact is now backed by ample research and studies. So you really needn’t lose weight (unless you are overweight) to slim and beautify your face.

Why would you doubt the benefits of facial exercise anyhow? If exercising legs and arms can tone them, regular workouts can result in flat belly, why can’t face exercises tone and strengthen your face muscles? Increased blood circulation promotes formation of new cells. This stimulates your skin layers to produce collagen and elastin proteins, giving your skin that elasticity and smoothness that you craved for. A facercise routine can also activate creation of natural oils that keep your natural glow always.

Droopy & dull eyes can take the life out of any conversation as it may make one think that you are not interested. Since eyes are the most eye-catching feature of face, lets focus on some eye-lift techniques as a first step to face-lift:

Gazing around:

‘Well, we do it all the time’. Is that what you are thinking? Not in that mechanical way without taking in anything! Sit somewhere and look up… deliberately and as far as your eyes can see. Repeat the same and look down, leftwards and to the right side. Doing this eye-xercise atleast 10 times for each side every day will gradually sharpen eye muscles and make your eyes appear bright & sharp.

Practicing your typical surprise reaction:

Yes, you heard right. Take a break from whatever you are doing and raise your eyebrows like its in the danger of disappearing into your hair. Relax. Do it again with closed eyes.

Blinking away your eye wrinkles:

Sit on a chair. Keep 2 fingers on either side of your eyes near your forehead. Stretch a little and then blink many times. Relax and do the same. Within 2-3 weeks, this face-lifter can take care of the first wrinkles that appear on a woman’s face.

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Every year since 1948, people worldwide have been observing Human Rights Day on 10 December. Having kick-started with the declaration that all human beings are born with equal rights & fundamental freedoms, this initiative of WHO has taught us to claim what is ours- Right to health.

“The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being…” ~ World Health Organization

What makes your average Indian woman hesitate to grab this right? As women we are guilty of putting our health in the last strung of the priority-ladder. Setting aside the deep-seated conditioning, it is high time we accept that taking charge of one’s health & life doesn’t dilute womanliness in any way. And yes, it is time to scrutinize our mechanical compliance so that health becomes atleast one of the top 5 priority.

“Fish did not discover water. Infact because they are completely immersed in it, they live unaware of its existence. Similarly when a conduct is normalized by a dominant cultural environment it becomes invisible.” ~ Marshall McLuhen

Lets explore some common trends that violate women’s Right to good nutrition & eventually Right to health by women themselves.

• Eating last: It is common, particularly in middle class homes, for women to eat after everybody else had their meals. A double-edged sword attitude it is.

Whys it bad: Not only do they eat much late after repeated growl-alarms from their stomachs, there may not be enough food (especially side dishes) left. A major nutritional compromise! On the other hand when too much is left over, guilty of wasting, they tend to wipe the vessel clean.

How to rectify: Make your mealtimes a family time!

• Eating old food: Another common trend is eating old refrigerated food even when fresh food is available. Again, due to the guilt of wasting food!

Whys it bad: Eating fresh means better nourishment! The longer it takes you to eat that roti sabzi, the faster its nutrients escape from it.

How to rectify: That’s quite straightforward. Eat fresh i.e. eat food atleast within 3 hours of preparation.

• Never opting for their personal favourite food: Post marriage, woman not only change their surname but also eating habits, albeit unconsciously, but also their favourite food cooked in a way they have liked since small.

Whys it bad: Changes in food habits & late-nights after wedding will result in deficiency of your metabolizing and energy-giving Vitamin B stores.

How to rectify: Make it a point to eat your favourite dish atleast once a week.

Simple funda is, if you take complete responsibility for your family’s overall well-being, you need to be healthy. It is your right to health & you owe it your body!

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You are drained physically, emotionally as well as mentally during your pregnancy and delivery. Now, your health front needs to be in the forefront. Along with your newborn, your health also needs your special attention. It is necessary for you to keep hale and hearty as your newborn care can quickly make you drained and exhausted. So, do not miss your share of self-care.

En Route to Fitness

With the newborn, it is obviously difficult to find time for exercise, but you have to make the effort. It is not about getting back to your original shape soon after childbirth, but it is about staying fit as your body needs it. There is absolutely no need for any organized fitness classes; just a few exercises done at home can do wonders.

• Dance a little! The foot taps can tap your fitness.
• Chalk out some time for a small walk. Take your baby on a pram tram ride too in a park while you move your legs a bit.
• Swim away a little from your baby for a swim. You can leave your baby  with his/ her dad for a while and you go for a swim.
• Postnatal exercises are taught in child health clinics. Certainly, attending a class or two will give you a fair idea as to how to go about it.

Eat Right

As you would be breast-feeding your baby, so it becomes even more important for you to eat right. Never skip on the sips of water. Increase dietary calcium with lots of milk and dairy products. Even the temptations of snacking should be met with some healthy options like sliced and salted raw vegetables, vegetable soup, breadsticks, baked beans or scrambled eggs every now and then.

Come Out of Your Shell and Socialize

The more you meet your loved ones, family members, relatives and friends, the more you will feel reassured. Socializing helps! Try to interact with other new mothers who can be some of your friends or relatives, meet them frequently by visiting their houses, plan for outings together if possible. Getting to see the same pediatrician or exercising at the same dance class will further motivate you to keep fit and to stay healthy without affecting your bond with your newborn.

How has the phase of new motherhood added fun and excitement to your life?

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December 1 every year, World AIDS Days is celebrated around the world. 2012 is the year of commitment by WHO (World Health Organisation) towards Aid Eradication. “Getting to Zero” with Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS related deaths, clearly signifies a greater push towards near-access to treatment for all by 2015.

When sex is on your mind, AIDS is surely nowhere on your brain, which is a wrong practice. Temptation cannot be overruled but protection can rule out any AIDS possibility. Unprotected sex at any time can make you an easy victim of AIDS. Aid the avoidance of AIDS with a little conscious effort from your part by being well informed. It is better to prevent and prepare, rather than repent and repair.

• Some fear is good! This fear should be ingrained in your mind that HIV virus can be easily passed to you during any unprotected encounter. Penetrative anal or vaginal sex carry the greatest risks, however, the infection can even be transmitted with oral sex.

• Always be skeptical! Ingrain some skepticism regarding not using a condom. If you cannot give away the temptation, give way to a condom. Both female and male condoms are effective in protecting HIV infection to a good extent.

• Don’t Even Think of Playing with someone who is HIV Positive! Don’t inherit the virus from someone who is carrying it by indulging into unprotected sex. Do justice to your health by staying away and protected.

• Spontaneous with your urges? Better to check your spontaneity. If you cannot, at least be prepared. Always keep a condom or two handy.

World AIDS Day

The Red Ribbon still stays as a potent symbol for this awareness day for AIDS.

• What is YOUR ROLE? Practice Safe Sex always.

• PROTECT: Yourself! By complete abstinence from unprotected sexual activities. If that is not viable, then, protect yourself by using condoms whenever you have sex with more than one partner.

• AWARENESS: Try to know the facts related to HIV. Always remember that having unprotected sex with a person who has HIV/AIDS would pass the infection to you as well.

• TESTING: If you anytime feel a strong possibility of being exposed to HIV virus, then go for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, which can be availed from any nearby sexual clinic. This considerably reduces your chances of becoming HIV infected if you take it within the time-period of 72 hours from being exposed to the virus.

• For being tested, contact any nearby Genito-Urinary Medicine clinic.

How would you scale your knowledge on HIV & AIDS on a scale of 1 to 10?

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