vital signs

 

 Four vital signs – 

  temperature

 pulse rate

blood pressure

 respiratory rate

These were routinely recorded by doctors and nurses to decide on a patient’s overall health condition.

Blood Sugar level should be considered as the fifth vital sign in terms general wellbeing for all hospitalized patients, irrespective of whether they have diabetes or not.

by,

Dr.Renju T George,

India

covid tongue

 COVID TONGUE

 ' COVID tongue'  or Coated tongue  has  been identified as a new coronavirus symptom.

According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.

COVID-19 can cause an acute infection inside the mouth and form thick patches all over the tongue  called COVID tongue.

It can also  cause patches and ulcers all across your mouth. 

It can  be a  serious infection inside the mouth . This may seem alarming initially but it's a harmless condition. The tongue gets back to normal in few days or a week's time.

Studies suggest that the mouth might be a vulnerable area to coronavirus due to the abundance of the ACE2 (angiotensin converting enzyme) receptor in oral tissue.

Tongue features of patients with covid19: a retrospective cross-sectional study

Patients diagnosed with  mild to moderate COVID-19 commonly had light red tongue and white coating. 

Severe patients had purple tongue and yellow coating. 

The proportion of critical patients with tender tongue increased to 75%.

 Greasy coating was a significant characteristic of patients with COVID-19. The proportions of greasy coating were 53.3%, 73.3%, 83.6% and 87.5% in disease category of mild, moderate, severe and critical. 

In addition, the thick coating proportion increased from mild (24.9%) to critical (50.0%).

 There is an increase in the number of Covid patients suffering from uncomfortable mouth symptoms like oral ulcers - not yet listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the Covid-19 symptoms. There are cases which presented with an oral rash too.

A recent New York Times article said that Covid survivors described oral problems they're experiencing such as "teeth falling out, sensitive gums, teeth turning grey, and teeth cracking."

by ,

Dr.Renju T George,

India

covid19 vaccine

 

COVID‑19 vaccine is a vaccine developed to provide acquired immunity against COVID-19.

 The work to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus diseases SARS and MERS had established knowledge about the structure and function of coronaviruses, which accelerated development during early 2020 of varied technology platforms for a COVID‑19 vaccine.

National regulatory authorities have approved six vaccines for public use:

2 RNA vaccines (the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 

     and

 mRNA-1273 from Moderna), 

2 conventional inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV from Sinopharm and CoronaVac from Sinovac),

 and

2 viral vector vaccines (Gam-COVID-Vac from the Gamaleya Research Institute

 and

 AZD1222 from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca).

Emergency authorisation to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine or the Serum Institute version: the UK, India, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Morocco

The name of covid 19 vaccines developed by

UK   -   Pfizer Covid-19

INDIA   ---    Covishield, COVAXIN

Covid19 vaccination started in India on 16th Jan 2021.

COVAXIN, India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech is developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - National Institute of Virology (NIV).

 The indigenous, inactivated vaccine is developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech's BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) high containment facility.

ARGENTINA -- Sputnik V vaccine

Dominican Republic ---  AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine

El Salvador -- 

El Salvador greenlights AstraZeneca, Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine. SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by British drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University was approved for use in El Salvador

MEXICO ---  Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

MOROCCO ----    AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, jointly developed with the U.K.'s Oxford University.

UAE ---    Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm

CANADA ---  Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna

Please note -List of vaccines varies in each countries day by day. Most of them have approved using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

by,

Dr.Renju T George

India

 

 what loneliness looks like in the brain

A new study shows a signature in the brains of lonely people that make them distinct in fundamental ways, based on variations in the volume of different brain regions as well as based on how those regions communicate with one another across brain networks.

Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. 

Loneliness is increasingly being recognized as a major health problem, and previous studies have shown older people who experience loneliness have a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Understanding how loneliness manifests itself in the brain could be key to preventing neurological disease and developing better treatments.

A team of researchers examined the MRI data, genetics and psychological self-assessments of approximately 40,000 middle-aged and older adults . They compared the MRI data of participants who reported often feeling lonely with those who did not.

The researchers found many differences in the brains of lonely people. 

These brain manifestations were centred on default network: a set of brain regions involved in inner thoughts such as reminiscing, future planning, imagining and thinking about others.

Researchers found that the default networks of lonely people were more strongly wired together and surprisingly, their grey matter volume in regions of the default network was greater. 

Loneliness also cause differences in the fornix: a bundle of nerve fibres that carries signals from the hippocampus to the default network. In lonely people, the structure of this fibre tract was better preserved.

We use the default network when remembering the past, envisioning the future or thinking about a hypothetical present. The fact the structure and function of this network is positively associated with loneliness maybe because lonely people are more likely to use imagination, memories of the past or hopes for the future to overcome their social isolation.

So this heightened focus on self-reflection, and possibly imagined social experiences, would naturally engage the memory-based functions of the default network.

by,

Dr.Renju T George,

India.

Dental Emergencies

 

Dental Emergencies

Any dental problem that needs immediate treatment to stop bleeding, alleviate severe pain, or save a tooth is considered an emergency. This consideration also applies to severe infections that can be life-threatening.

• Uncontrolled bleeding
• severe uncontrolled pain
• cellulitis or a diffuse tissue swelling
• Infection with intra oral or extra oral swelling that compromises airway
• Trauma of face or facial bone
• Severe trismus
• Persistent non healing ulcer

Here are some simple precautions you can take to avoid accident and injury to the teeth:   

Wear a mouthguard when participating in sports or recreational activities.

Avoid chewing ice, popcorn kernels and hard candy, all of which can crack a tooth.

Use scissors, and not  your teeth, to cut things.

by,

DR.RENJU T GEROGE,

INDIA