Tag: Tobacco

11 Co-morbid Conditions Associated with Tobacco Use

Opportunity to quit your habit of tobacco !

Co-Morbidity Conditions due to Tobacco Use

“In medicine, comorbidity is the presence of one or more additional diseases or disorders co-occurring with (that is, concomitant or concurrent with) a primary disease or disorder; in the countable sense of the term, a comorbidity is each additional disorder or disease. The additional disorder may also be a behavioural or mental disorder. (Wikipedia, accessed on 10-Feb-2019).

In most of the tobacco users, some comorbid conditions exist and patients visit a general physician to get its cure. These comorbid diseases are amplified due to tobacco use. Neither the doctor nor the patient takes care to get rid of the root cause of the problem – TOBACCO! This is an opportunity for you to quit tobacco.

Check if you are experiencing conditions as mentioned below after you started consuming tobacco. Along with curing the comorbidity, one should try to get rid of tobacco to permanently control the problem; the added benefit – you become healthier and wealthier!

Asthama
  1. Diabetes
  2. Periodontitis or gum disease
  3. Tuberculosis
  4. Asthma  – causing breathlessness and acute attacks
  5. Impaired vision due to increased intraocular pressure
  6. High Blood Pressure
  7. Cataracts – opacity of lens of the eye
  8. Osteoporosis – thinning of the bone
  9. Peptic ulcer disease
  10. Loss of tooth and poor gums
  11. Behavioural or mental disorder
Mental Disorder

Note should be made that when you quit tobacco the above conditions are likely to improve and require adjustment of treatment.

Recognizing the early signs and late signs of harms of tobacco use and taking action can save your life; make your family happy; and save you from the complications of tobacco use which is an irreparable damage.

A Request to all My Medical Colleagues – Please do ask tobacco history whenever a patient visits your clinic for any of the medical conditions.

A Request to all Friends – Anyone who has any of the above medical problems you should let your doctor know of your tobacco use. Ask to be counselled to quit tobacco.

ICanCaRe App

Download the app for more assistance here: Google Play Store

This app will help you explore more on tobacco and yourself by telling you your addiction level, type of addiction, your willpower index, expenditures, finding a doctor for help, self-assessment, and much more!

Whenever you decide to quit, you can visit us at Tobacco Wellness Centre, Sector – 30, Noida Medical Centre, Noida and seek counselling from our cessation expert to win over tobacco.

I’m sure this blog will enlighten you and will help you realize faster the need to quit and adapt to a being a more healthy individual.

Let us spread the message that staying healthy is possible. Let’s all adopt MED and abort using MEDICINE.

19 Late Signs of Harms due to Tobacco Use

How and when should you recognize that you must quit your habit of tobacco?

In my last blog, I had enumerated 27 signs to recognize early subtle changes in our body while taking tobacco. Unfortunately most goes underestimated and unnoticed because enjoying the smoke/tobacco is the priority. We are not aware about these changes until someone points it to us. In this blog I will talk about what is in store if you continue to smoke. Recognize them as early as you can and it may still not be too late to quit tobacco now.

In the second stage of your tobacco use, your consumption will increase sufficiently to cause you more cravings than usual and you will find that you are depleting your financial resources faster than before. This is the beginning of addiction and second hint to quit tobacco or else it will lead to severe and fatal health conditions.

How do you then know if you are addicted and need immediate expert’s help?

Increased Cravings
  1. Increased cravings; requiring more tobacco for satisfaction
  2. Tobacco consumption in routine habits like driving, eating meals, watching TV, etc.
  3. Decreased concentration
  4. unable to control cravings beyond 2 hours; experiencing withdrawal symptoms like panic attacks, depression, trouble in sleeping, increased appetite and weight gain
  5. Infection in lungs leading to severe breathing problems/asthma
  6. Influenza
  7. Infertility
  8. Stains on fingers
  9. Symptoms of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease
  10. Bronchitis
  11. Constricted blood vessels
  12. Blood clotting
bronchitis

For Women specially:

  1. Infertility
  2. Miscarriages
  3. Neural tube defects
  4. Lower infant birth weight
  5. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
  6. Early menopause
  7. Irregular periods

This is the time when you must seriously visit a cessation expert to help you get over your habit of tobacco. You will need both medication and counselling to get de-addicted from tobacco. If you delay in this stage to quit, then the consequences will be very fatal and you might develop severe diseases like COPD, Oral cancer and more!

It is better to adopt MED not Medicine.

Spread the message. Let your friends also be tobacco free.

ICanCaRe App

QUIT TOBACCO NOW!

In the next blog we would talk about the advanced complications due to tobacco consumption.

In case you would like to know further about the signs and damages caused due to tobacco use, download our app on Google Play Store

It has lot many details that can help you understand the impact of tobacco, understanding your addiction level, type of addiction, your willpower index to quit, your expenditures, etc. You can explore more details and use it to also seek assistance for quitting. Download the app, register, take pledge to stay away from tobacco and refer to all your friends to create awareness and help them.

Whenever you decide to quit, you can visit us at Tobacco Wellness Centre, Sector – 30, Noida Medical Centre, Noida and seek counselling from our cessation expert to win over tobacco.

Win Over Cancer – Cancer Prevention Tips

Just a mere suspicion of having any form of Cancer sends shivers to anybody and it is natural to feel intimidated and terrorized. Based on the cancer registry data it is estimated that there will be about 800,000 new cancers cases in India every year. At any given point there is likely to be 3 times this load that about 240,000 cases. Yet, many of these deaths can be avoided. Over 30% of all cancers can be prevented. Others can be detected early, treated and cured. Even with late stage cancer, the suffering of patients can be relieved with good palliative care.

Cancer can affect just anyone – the young, the old, the rich and the poor, men, women and children – and represents a tremendous burden on the patients, their families and the society. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly in developing countries. It is anyone’s diseases and not someone else’s disease. It is time that we must act now; else we may be too late!

Cancer is no more a dreaded and mysterious disease. A lot of developments and researches have taken place in the past two decades. We have new surgical techniques, new drugs, new radiation machines all which has changed the outcome of the disease, we now are into organ preservation and improved quality of life for the affected. The problem is that, still, patients come for treatment at a very advance stages. If we have to win over cancer we have to change this scenario. The message which needs to be propagated is “BE CAREFUL NOT FEARFUL”. Cancer of the breast, oral cavity and cervix constitutes almost 60% of cancer in India.

One third of the cancer in India are preventable. The seven steps of prevention include:

  • step 1: Don’t use tobacco
  • step 2: Eat a variety of healthy foods
  • step 3: Stay active and maintain a healthy weight
  • step 4: Protect yourself from the sun
  • step 5: Get immunized
  • step 6: Avoid risky behaviors
  • step 7: Get screened

A cancer winner can spend his or her life in two ways – one is silently, pitying herself/himself, the other is to come out and speak aloud about the fight, to win over this dreaded disease. Today we have so many cancer winners with us and I really congratulate them for having taken this path of speaking out.

 

 

Cancer prevention: 7 tips to reduce your risk

Concerned about cancer prevention? Take charge by making small changes in your daily life, from eating a healthy diet to scheduling regular cancer screenings.

You’ve probably heard conflicting reports about cancer prevention. Sometimes the specific cancer-prevention tip recommended in one study or news report is advised against in another. If you’re concerned about cancer prevention, take comfort in the fact that small changes in your daily life can make a big difference. Consider seven real-life cancer prevention tips.

  1. Don’t use tobacco

Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer — including cancer of the lung, bladder, cervix and kidney — and chewing tobacco has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Even if you don’t use tobacco, exposure to secondhand smoke may increase your risk of lung cancer.

Avoiding tobacco — or deciding to stop using it — is one of the most important health decisions you can make. It’s also an important part of cancer prevention. If you need help quitting tobacco, ask your doctor about stop-smoking products and other strategies for quitting.

  1. Eat a healthy diet

Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can’t guarantee cancer prevention, it may help reduce your risk. Consider these guidelines:

  • Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans.
  • Limit fat.Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-fat foods, particularly those from animal sources. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and may increase the risk of overweight or obesity — which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.
  • If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation.The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you’ve been drinking regularly.
  1. Maintain a healthy weight and include physical activity in your daily routine

Maintaining a healthy weight may lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney. Physical activity counts, too. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own may lower the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer.

As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine — and if you can do more, even better. Try a fitness class, rediscover a favorite sport or meet a friend for daily brisk walks.

  1. Protect yourself from the sun

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Try these tips:

  • Avoid midday sun.Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest.
  • Stay in the shade.When you’re outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat help, too.
  • Cover exposed areas.Wear tightly woven, loosefitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible. Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than pastels or bleached cotton.
  • Don’t skimp on sunscreen.Use generous amounts of sunscreen when you’re outdoors, and reapply often.
  • Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps.These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.
  1. Get immunized

Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about immunization against:

  • Hepatitis B.Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is routinely given to infants. It’s also recommended for certain high-risk adults — such as adults who are sexually active but not in a mutually monogamous relationship, men who have sex with men, and health care or public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids.
  • Human papillomavirus (HPV).HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine is available to both men and women age 26 or younger who didn’t have the vaccine as an adolescent.
  1. Avoid risky behaviors

Another effective cancer prevention tactic is to avoid risky behaviors that can lead to infections that, in turn, may increase the risk of cancer. For example:

  • Practice safe sex.Limit your number of sexual partners, and use a condom when you do have sex. The more sexual partners you have in your lifetime, the more likely you are to contract a sexually transmitted infection — such as HIV or HPV. People who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of cancer of the anus, cervix, lung and immune system. HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it may also increase the risk of cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.
  • Don’t share needles.Sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C — which can increase the risk of liver cancer. If you’re concerned about drug abuse or addiction, seek professional help.
  1. Take early detection seriously

Regular self-exams and professional screening for various types of cancers — such as cancer of the skin, colon, prostate, cervix and breast — can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about the best cancer screening schedule for you.

Take cancer prevention into your own hands, starting today. The rewards will last a lifetime.