Nail fungus is a common occurrence and it has no restrictions of age or gender. It begins as a white or yellow spot under the tip of the fingernail or toenail. The fungal infection then moves deeper and causes discolouration of the nail. It can spread and affect the neighbouring nails as well.

When nail fungus affects the areas between your toes and the skin of your feet, it is called as athlete’s foot (tinea pedis).

What are the symptoms?

Nail fungus is diagnosed if one or more of your nails are thickened, whitish to yellow brown discolouration, brittle, crumbly or ragged, shape  distorted, has slight foul smell and  dark colour is seen at the sides of the nails. Nail fungus usually affect the toe nails rather than the finger nails.

What causes nail fungus?

Nail fungus is mainly caused by  dermatophyte, yeast and molds.

Fungal nail infections are more common in adults rather than children. As nails age, nails become brittle, dry, then fungi enter the resulting cracks in the nails and cause the infection. Other factors like reduced blood supply to the feet and weakened immune system also are reasons for nail infection.

Toenail infection can spread from one nail to the other nail but it is non contagious.

What are the risk factors?

Reduced blood flow to the limbs, increases the risk. Walking barefoot in damp communal areas such as swimming pools and gyms, having a minor skin or nail injury and some lifestyle diseases like diabetes are all factors that increase the chance for nail infection.

How to prevent nail fungus?

Wash hands and feet regularly, wipe off the moisture in between fingers. Trim nails straight across, smooth the edges with a file. Wear sweat absorbing socks or change it at regular intervals. Choose shoes that are made out of materials that can breathe, discard old shoes or disinfect them with antifungal powders. Give up nail polish and artificial nails. When in a nail parlour insist on well sterilized manicure tools.

Sinusitis occurs due to a swelling in the sinuses that results in congestion, discomfort and sometimes severe pain in the nasal region. There are many causes for nasal passage to get blocked including infections by bacteria, fungi or viruses. Small growths called polyps line the sinuses and cause blockage. Some allergies and structural problem of the nasal passage can cause sinusitis.

Most of the infections clear up by itself or with antibiotic treatment. Use of saline sprays, nasal steroids and medicines often bring relief. But there are exceptions which when your pain and trouble becomes unbearable and a condition like this if prolonged can lead to surgery for cure.

When do you need surgery?

When the use of antibiotics, nasal rinses or other treatments fail, it is better to consult your doctor immediately.  A specialist will examine the nasal passage and look for structural problems including deviated septum, polyps or other problems. These structural problems can be corrected using surgery including removal of polyps which may be growing inside the nasal passage.

The main purpose of sinus surgery is to get relief from the symptoms and reduce chances of infection. Surgery will also help a patient breathe better through the nose.

Types of surgery

Mainly there are two types of surgery including endoscopy and balloon sinuplasty. Endoscopy is done by inserting thin and flexible instrument in to the nose and balloon sinuplasty is where the doctor inserts a thin tube with an attached balloon on one end, in to the nasal passage. The doctor guides the balloon to the area where there is a block and will inflate the balloon to remove the block, so that your sinus can drain better and it won’t get congested.

Risks of sinus surgery

The sinus surgery has relatively very less risks involved. The most common may be tissue injury and further infection and more serious ones may be injury to the eyes or rarely the brain. As with any surgery always get a second opinion if you still have concerns.

Prediabetes is a condition where you accidentally find out that your blood sugar is slightly higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. In this condition you will hardly notice any symptoms of diabetes. If you are overweight, over 45 or have a family history of diabetes you are at higher risk to get diabetes. Lack of exercise added to the above conditions makes it more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease.

There are certain steps you can take to change your possibility of getting type 2 diabetes due to lifestyle.

Blood sugar fasting value ranges from 110-126. The values after food will be between 140-200.

Decide to lose weight

You just have to lose about 7% of your body weight and it will make a huge difference. Towards this, first you have to change your diet and start eating a healthy diet with fewer calories. Keep track of your weight, eating habits and physical activities.

Have healthy food habits

As a rule just fills half of your plat with non-starchy vegetables like asparagus, Brussel sprouts carrots etc). One quarter should have starchy foods like potato, corn and peas. The remaining quarter will contain chicken, fish, or beans. Have limited carbs like baked pasta since they raise blood sugar.

Get into regular exercise

Regular exercise will help to lose weight and feel better when you burn more calories. A brisk walk for 30 minute, 5 times a week should be the trick. Join a gym or get a friend to work out with you so that you maintain a regular schedule. Aerobic exercises like walking, swimming, dancing and strength exercises like weight lifting, pushups, pull-ups are some exercises that help.

Get your sleep

One effect of good night’s sleep is that your blood sugar remains under control and helps maintain healthy levels during the day. If you can’t sleep at night, wakes up too early or gets less than 5 hours of sleep then you are more at risk of getting diabetes. For ensuring better sleep avoid alcohol or caffeine late in the day. Keep a regular sleeping time and stick to a calm and quite bedtime habit.

Quit Smoking

Quit the habit of smoking since 30% – 40% of the smokers are prone to get diabetes sooner or later. If you have diabetes and still smoke then there is no question you will suffer from various health problems.

Metabolic Syndrome increases heart problems, risk of stroke, prediabetes, diabetes, Triglycerides high, low HDL good cholesterol, exercise weight.

Sometimes chronic pain is unavoidable and makes life most unbearable. The best we can do is to learn how to manage pain flare-ups. A pain flare-up is a sudden increase in the intensity of the chronic pain problem. Though pain level changes it is not a new pain.

When you are sure that your pain fits the above platform, you must try to identity the reason for flare up.

Causes for pain flare-ups

• Physical activity – Something as simple as bending the wrong way or sitting too long in a vehicle can trigger pain crisis.
• Stress – When under emotional or physical stress we become more sensitive to pain. The stress in our body is carried where it hurts most.
• Lack of sleep – Staying awake for long hours than needed or even for an hour late than usual can increase the possibility of sensitivity towards pain.
• More work – Trying to do too many things at a time or doing an activity longer duration.
• Wrong foods – Eating foods that cause inflammation, fluid retention or dehydration can aggravate pain.
• Virus attack – A flu infection or common cold can cause achy muscles and joints which can easily increase chronic pain.

When the communication between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system is upset then it causes the flare-up and the trigger can be anything, not even the causes mentioned above.

Here are few tips to manage this flare-up:

• Pacing – You can manage chronic pain flare-up by learning to slow down and pace your activities. Overdoing can cause a crash within few days, whereas pacing will actually help to get more done in the long run.
• Don’t Shut down – Too much of inactivity can also lead to pain aggravation, so even if rest is necessary a balance should be struck between work and rest.
• Don’t Panic – A bad flare-up can set off many alarms, this mindset will only increase the pain. Medication is a good technique that can help.
• Movement – The right movement can help manage pain when a flare-up occurs. Stretches or yoga can reduce the tight muscles. Even a nice walk in the park can help both mentally and physically.
• Massage therapy – Try to get a good massage, with a certified therapist.

Creating the right kind of pain management strategy can help you manage flare=ups and all the steps above can be the tools to support it.

At any point if the pain aggrevates seek medical help immediately. your doctor will examine you and can also advise you about other modalities of chronic pain management.

Walnuts are one of the healthiest foods for daily consumption. The nuts are loaded with healthy omega 3 fatty acids as well as good amount of fibre.

Walnuts are particularly beneficial for those suffering from metabolic syndrome. They have the potential to bring down the risk of long standing diabetes. They are known to bring down fasting glucose levels.

Walnuts also increase the levels of good cholesterol or High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) in our body.

Heart Health

The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids found in walnuts have been observed to decrease the harmful LDL cholesterol or Low Density Lipids in the body. Walnuts also help manage the triglyceride levels in our body.

Weight management

The routine consumption of walnuts is associated with higher levels of energy usage even while the body is at rest. In a number of research that compared weight loss using a diet that include or exclude the nuts, it was seen that diets which included the walnuts showed greater result in weight loss.

Gallstone disease

Research has also proven that consumption of walnuts on a daily basis reduces the risk of cholecystectomy, which is a surgery to remove the gall bladder. Which means it reduces the risk of gallbladder cancer. Women who consumed 5 ounces of walnuts every week had lesser chance of gallbladder problems compared to women who ate just 1 ounce of walnuts each week.

Bone Health

Walnuts are always considered a good source of mineral copper, severe copper deficiency causes lower bone mineral density and increased risk of osteoporosis.

Walnuts also contain a high amount of manganese, which has been known to prevent osteoporosis in combination with minerals like calcium and copper. Magnesium another component in walnuts is a very important ingredient for bone formation. It helps in absorption of calcium into the bone.