Understanding Arthritis

Arthritis is not just a disease; it’s a complex condition which not only damages but also inflames  the  joints.  It has become one of the main reasons for disability among adults. 2 out of every 10 adults have arthritis and the average is feared to go higher as time progresses.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is a very painful condition which accumulates deposition of uric acid in the joints, which results in inflammation.  As joint  is  a  part of  the  body where two  bones meet,  inflammation  makes mobility  harder by causing pain and swelling.

The ends of our bones have  protective coating on them named as cartilage. Which consist of fluids and elastic tissues. This coating helps to reduce the friction when the bones meet while moving. As we grow old, arthritis makes that protective coating wear off and our bones start to rub together causing swelling and making the bones brittle. After 45 years of age, one starts seeing visible signs of change in cartilage.

Types of Arthritis

There are over 100 types of arthritis and  the  number is  feared to  go  higher as  further  research undergoes.  The primary forms are as following :

-  Osteoarthritis

-  Rheumatoid arthritis

-   Septic arthritis

-  Gout and pseudo gout

-  Juvenile idiopathic arthritis

-  Still’s disease

-  Ankylosing spondylitis

 

But Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis remain the most commonly seen.

All arthritides cause pain. Some could be milder , while  others can be  unbearably  discomforting. Osteoarthritis  mostly effect  weight  bearing joints, such  as hip, spine  and knee . Obese patients can  have trouble being productive and active as their weight  will put further pressure on the already damaged joint.

whereas Rheumatoid mainly  effects small  joints  like  finger, wrist and hand. In  the  early  stages, rheumatoid  symptoms show in the form of stiffness in  the body/joints  but  once  the  patient  takes a  morning shower and  get  busy  in  the life the symptoms subside.

The  actual cause of arthritis is still unknown, doctors and  researchers believe  that  the  combination of different  factors could  be  the  reason behind it. Like excessive use of some  particular joint, obesity, old age, hormonal change (menopause), deficiency  in  body, Family  history of  this  disease.  Rheumatoid  can  particularly  be aggrevated by  stress, bacteria  or  virus , or  even  an  excessive  use of drug.

Symptoms of Arthritis:

Arthritis is commonly detected when you have stiffness and swelling around the joints and mobility is painful. In some cases redness and tenderness is very apparent in and around the effected joints.  If the early signs are not taken seriously , Over the time this pain starts to become intense.  Fatigue and muscle aches make it impossible for the patient to be able to accomplish normal chores.

Treatment:

There is no particular medicine for arthritis which can totally cure the disease. But  there  are  numerous ways   that  can  slow  down  its  effect  on  the  body.  Such treatments not only help to decrease the pain, improve the mobility but also reduce  the joint damage and inflammation. The treatments are as follows.

• Medication
• Exercise
• Weight  reduction
• Stress management
• Surgery

There  are  numerous  companies  who  have  come  up  with  amazing  arthritis pain  relievers , these medication  don’t  cure  the  disease but  rather  relieve  from  the  pain  for  some  short  period of time. Every  adult over  the  age  of 30 years must  take  calcium , vitaminD  and mineral  supplement .  One must  try  to  refain from  excessive  use  of  pain killers as  that  can  effect  the stomach.

Regular exercise helps  to  relieve  pain.  Physical therapist  can  design  an  exercise plan for  you which will suit your physical condition.

For an arthritis patient weight reduction is  very  important as  the  more  weight  you  gain, the  more stress and pressure you  are  putting  on   your  already  brittle  bones/joints.  Stress also  aggrevates  the pain  and  inflammation  in  an arthritis  patient  so  it  must be dealt with  it  right away.

Surgery  is  usually  the   last  resort  , but  in  some  cases  joint  replacement  and other similar surgeries  bring  out  a  very  positive  change  in  a  patients   life.  In  the last 25 years  joint  replacement  surgeries  have made  tremendous  development.

Herbal remedies for Arthritis:

The Chinese herb salvia Miltiorrhiza provides anti-inflammatory support for aches associated with arthritis and nerve pain, it  not only  improves inflammation but  also  helps in dilating capillaries and enhancing circulation.

Drink one quarter cup of Black Cherry Juice a day to cure your arthritis.  This is a  rather  slow treatment  which  will  take  couple  of  months to take effect  but  it  surely  helps.

Take a  teaspoon of black sesame seeds, soak in a quarter cup of water and keep it overnight, it  is believed  to  be effective in preventing frequent joint pains. The water in which the seeds are soaked should also be taken along with the seeds empty stomach first  thing  in  the  morning.

Dandelion leaf has diuretic quality that increases output from the kidneys, while its root is a mild laxative and liver tonic that enhances bowel movement and helps in arthritis treatment.

Diabetes.

We have an estimated population of 6.7 billion people on planet earth, out of which 180 million people have got diabetes. Which is an alarming rate. The way our lifestyles are shaping up , the  numbers are feared to go higher.

What is Diabetes:

Diabetes can  be termed as disorder of metabolism. After the food intake  our digestive system helps to turn  the food into glucose, which is a source of energy to our body. but for that energy to reach the cells it  has to depend on a hormone called insulin, which  is  produced by pancreas (a large gland behind the stomach).  Throughout  digestion pancreas keeps producing right amount  of insulin so  that  glucose can travel from blood to the cells.

However with people suffering from diabetes, the pancrease  either stop producing insulin or  not enough to help glucose go into the cells. In that case  the glucose remains  in  the body and the sugar level goes higher. Even though the blood has large amount of energy but  as the energy is  not passed on  to  the cell  it  excretes through urine. So, the higher glucose content in blood and lack of insulin production can be termed as diabetes.

Types of Diabetes:

There are three types of commonly known diabetes.

• Type 1
• Type 2
• Gestational

Type 1 diabetes is more of an autoimmune disease in which  your immune system start working  against  the works of  your body and  disrupt  your functionality. For instance in diabetes the pancreas is attacked which kills the  insulin producing beta cells. The type 1 patient take insulin all his  life in order to artificially  induce the insulin so that  the glucose can reach the cells in order  to provide  energy.

Type 2 diabetes is very different from  type 1 as it is  not insulin dependent. The pancreas produce enough insulin for  the  gloucose to pass onto teh cells  but  the cells are insulin resistant. which results in accumulation of glucose in blood. Som people can handel the problem with insulin injection but type2  diabetes can be controlled by  physical excercise, healthy change in lifestyle (weightlose) and oral insulin medications.

Gestational diabetes  develop during pregnancy. Usually in ideal situations after  the birth it goes away  but  the researches show that woman who have had gestational diabetes are more likely to  have type 2 diabetes  later in life.

Causes of Diabetes:

• A family history of the disease can mean  that most likely you will develop symptoms sometime in life.
• obesity
• lack of physical exercise
• Stress and anxiety
• High calorie /carbohydrate diet
• Any disease which specifically disrupt  the functionality of pancreas
  
• Nutritional deficiencies
  

Symptoms of Diabetes:

diabetes may appear suddenly but the disease work silently in the body for a very long period of time.  You maybe notice certain changes in your physical health or emotional behaviour , for instance  having frequent urination, for erratic hunger patterns, thirst, sudden weight loss, weakness, tiredness, fatigue, emotional distress, nausea and vomiting.

Diabetes can be diagnosed by  getting  it  checked through urine tests and blood tests. Once  you have detected the disease it needs to be supervised by a physician and it is the responsibility of  a patient  to  keep a check on  the sugar level by  doing  the home blood sugar  tests.

Effects Of Diabetes:
If diabetes  is  not controlled or treated in a proper manner  than it can cause both longterm and  short  term  damage to one’s health. the most common effect is severe vision loss and blindness. Due to micro damage to blood vessel  a person  can also have decrease or abnormal sensation in hands and feet. Diabetes play a mojor role in kidney failures. In the developed countries most  of  the diabetes patients are on dialysis. during diabetes  Macrovascular Disease is very common  which results in  angina attacks, slow healing  of wounds (which can result in  skin ulcers,infections, necrosis and gangrene; and all these things lead to amputations). in male diabetes patience impotence is a major problem as well.  In severe cases of fluctuation in blood sugar the patient can be unconsious resulting into coma,  brain damage or death.

Herbal Cure for Diabetes:

Other than taking insulin injections and  oral medications there are a lot of people who have controlled their diabetes by the help of herbal treatments.

Bittermelon is  one  of the best options for home remedies. Take  half a cup of bittermelon juice , twice a day  prefferably empty stomach. do it for couple of months and  you  will  see major difference in  your sugar level. If you feel  that bittermelon is too bitter for  you then  you can also  take 50-60 seeds of fenugreek  seeds in  200ml of  water and leave it overnight . You can sieve it through in the cloth and  can  have  the fenugreek water empty stomach before starting  the day. With consistency you can control your diabetes  in 2 months time. cinnamon is also another spice  that  helps to treat  blood sugar naturally. it  has some combinaation of chemical  that  helps in  diabetes. Diabetics should make it a daily routine  to  have grape juice and soaked almonds in the morning. Mango tree leaves when boiled in water can also help to control  diabetes. But all these remedies do  not work until the patient is not careful about  his food intake,a low calorie, low fat and low alkaline diet helps if  taken in moderation.

A diabetic person  must understand  that he needs to remain positive in life and not let  this disease crush the dreams and aims in life. Build a support system around you,  see a proper dietician who can guide you exactly what  to eat and  what not to .As every individual varies in  lifestyle and in health. A diabetes  patient  must pay regular visit to an endocrinologist, a podiatrist (for foot care) and an ophthalmologist or an optometrist (for eye care).

Diabetes demands order and responsibility in life. Its not about treatments and cures… its about changing your lifestyle.