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Taking Good deeds forwards

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 14, 2020 3

It’s important to always take good deeds forward. That’s what makes blogging and digital platforms so fulfilling. Every time you write and publish, you are helping someone in your own way. This January, I am also sharing a few of my books to download for free, on Amazon. Bookmark this page, so that you don’t miss out on the offers.

If you are a teacher, lawyer, Doctor, creative artist, writer,a professional with both qualifications and experience backing your learnings, you must write a book. It’s never been easier. If you have used the internet to find information, research or decide about a purchase, you owe it yourself, to take this forward.

I have seen that professionals, always have unique insights. When you put that in a book, it makes your wisdom available for generations to come.

You can help train your employees and inspire your children. It’s also a quick guide for all those who want to get started on a similar journey.

This plan may not be for everyone. If you dabble in a lot of things, whether all your skills can come together in a narrative, will depend on how they have helped you. You can host it on your website and give it away to build your authority, grow your email list or just to do a good deed.

You could sell it on your site, Amazon and others.

You could approach a publisher and get it published or self-publish as a form of spreading the word about your business.

The best part about having a digital book is, you can update it with little headache. You could provide links to your work and when shared it could reach more people than just the scope of your website.

As a medical content editor, I have helped with the developmental editing for several such works, in the nonfiction genre.

In case you are thinking about writing a book to help spread awareness about a cause, this is a great time to get started. A new year and new goals make sense, right?

Want help brainstorming or planning an outline? WhatsApp me at 9735796809 or send a voice message to book your consult. You can also email me at dramrita@healthwealthbridge.com .

This is a limited time offer and available till 26^th January 2020.

A Free Book for my Readers

The promo times start and end at 12 am-midnight PST on dates mentioned. That’s 1.30 pm IST on the next day when it ends.14th to 16th January. Do leave a review on Amazon if you find this helpful.

Amazon.com link: How to WALK, Write & Garden for the Healthy Life you want (Wellness Secrets S… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0814FXX32/

Amazon.in link
How to WALK, Write & Garden for the Healthy Life you want (Wellness Secrets… https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0814FXX32/

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How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

Health of the Nation Report — Apollo Pro Health

Fruits for life: on Amazon Prime Reading! (Plus Free books)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 13, 2020 6

Fruits for life my first book is on Prime Reading India, for the next 90 days. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you get a chance to read it for free.

When I was a medical student, the only teachers who discussed food and nutrition were our Pediatricians and community medicine teachers.

Sometimes they were interesting sometimes a drag. But what as a student I failed to appreciate, I understood deeply as a doctor.

Every time I wrote a prescription for someone the last question was, what should I eat, doctor? A simple question but with a deep significance.

If food, water, and shelter are basic necessities, it makes little sense, to not talk about food, nutrition, and healthy habits.

The right food has healing power. Nutrition myths can be dangerous. It’s much easier to assimilate and utilize nutrients from natural sources than just supplements. The reason behind it is complex and goes down to cellular levels.

But the problem of rapid urbanization and the economic drive, displacement, work culture, has made us eat the wrong sort of food, driving up the healthcare cost which is a fallout of poor nutrition & lifestyle. The sedentary lifestyle compounds this problem precipitating metabolic diseases . All the extra money earned goes to fund health insurance, gyms, and healthcare costs.

The problem of modern life is this nature disconnect and lack of balance between an urban and rural life. Overcrowded cities, fast food and faster health problems were something I realized early on. While Mr.Moneymustache has been a massive inspiration behind trying FIRE, trying to share info about food and health is the reason I write.

As India celebrates it’s Republic day on 26th January, I am sharing some of my books as gifts with all those who want to start being healthier now.

While habits do need at least 21 days of repetitions takes a lifetime to make a difference. Pin this blog post and bookmark it. Don’t miss out on these free books.

Self-publishing my eBooks on Amazon was more fun than anything else. Amazon has a lot of pros cons and marketing clout. It’s the balance of all things good which makes me write and publish on Amazon

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How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

How Amazon KDP select helped me

Amazon helps you get your book out there to reach more people than just those who read your blogs. If making an impact through your work and writing is your goal, then you need help as a solopreneur.

This is where Amazon can help you. But this may also be a controversial statement!

You get eyeballs on your book with the KDP promos or that’s what I think has helped me. For now, save this post and don’t forget to get these books for free in the dates provided. Do leave a review on Amazon, if you find this helpful.

Books as gifts for my readers — Pin this and don’t forget to download the books.

Indoor gardening with Pindfresh (part1): Podcast

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 11, 2020 6

Indoor gardening, Hydroponics, and aquaponics are my favorite thing to research.

If you don’t know what they are let me tell you in brief.

Hydroponic has nutrient-rich water helping the roots absorb nutrients, while the plant grows. You don’t need soil, but a little bit of holding material.

Aquaponics: Its hydroponics with fish involved. The fish waste is used by the plants in the water, to grow. It’s a beautifully symbiotic relationship, where the plant roots clean and purifies the water where the fish live.

Indoor gardening with Pindfresh (part1): Podcast

TASHI PINDFRESH HYDROPONICS INDOOR GARDEN(1)

Aquaponics has fishes helping in growing plants. At my home, the aquarium water gets used as plant food. But hydroponics needs a setup and I don’t have working- with-power-tools skills. My husband does those stuff well. But he needs a good plan.

I, on the other hand, am forever planning. But I don’t want to kill the plant babies. This had put me in sort of quandary. But there was good news.

2020 arrived bright and sunny and us being freshly back from Dharamshala,I was missing something. I went searching online, for hydroponic, easy to set up gardens. I loved what they were doing at Plantagon and wished I could have a home in a building like that. Then I found this on amazon.

Pindfresh

The best thing about writing about food and nutrition is, you end up practicing all the good things you learn. That’s the only way to imbibe all the research and find a way to take it forward,

We live in a small town in India. While going back to nature takes a half-hour drive, its another matter growing your own food. Living in a rental means minimal structural changes possible. I grow a lot of flowers, indoor plants and plenty of Tulsi (basil in my balcony garden).

But growing veggies was always a problem I had some success with tomatoes lettuce, greens, even potatoes, bitter gourd and one stray year of homegrown strawberries. But the effort for making fruits and veggies meets its biggest problem with light, and right nutrient balance. I want to go organic but in pots, you need organic liquid fertilizer which is not easy to get locally.

I also want to recycle water.

Easy Ways I Save Water at Home

I want it to be automated.

I also want to grow lights that work. A lot of wants, but no simple solution.

This meant my veggie journey had come down to a dream. Until I found a company online called Pindfresh.

I have ordered their Pindfresh Hydroponic Home Kit version which comes equipped with a motor hydroponic solution seeds and a guide to set it all up.

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I am excited about growing my own food. Hope this experiment works out. I plan to share exactly what I am doing, to grow my own homegrown fresh organic salad.

Do you grow your own food? Let me know in the comments below.

5 Powerful Ways Steam inhalation Helps You?

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 10, 2020 1

Does steam inhalation have any benefits?

Is it a Grandma tale, winter myth? The story is , that it often gives symptomatic relief, but research data give surprising answers.

When to take steam?

Steam inhalation for cold and Flu

Steam inhalation when you have sinusitis and postnasal drip

Allergic rhinitis needs steam inhalation as a lifestyle tool habit that has good results with treatment.

When you have laryngitis and hoarseness, steam inhalation helps to give warm fomentation to your swollen vocal cords. Professional speakers, singers’ teachers, television reporters, vloggers, podcasters all will be helped with a habit of steam inhalation.

What are the benefits of Steam inhalation?

1.It helps to clear, blocked-up sinuses. The secretions which are sticky gets liquefied and gets cleared more easily. Helps clear congested (stuffy) nose.

2. It helps in the humidification of the dry nasal cavity sinuses and upper airways.

3. It helps lower dryness and stickiness from postnasal drip.

Helps with foreign body sensation of the throat and irritation of the throat

4. Headache associated with cold may be reduced.

5. Cough is relieved.

How to Start Steam Inhalation?

How to take steam inhalation?

Boil water in a kettle. Use a rolled-up paper, or an old Xray film, to take steam gently through your nose or mouth. You can also use a steam machine.

If the steam appears too hot, let it rest for some time before starting inhalation. If you feel uncomfortable, give a few minutes gap.

How long do you need to take steam?

10 to 20 minutes of steam twice a day is good cold, sinusitis, laryngitis, and allergic rhinitis.

With or without vapocap?

Plain steam with no additional vapocap or tablets works well enough.

Dangers of Steam inhalation

First do no harm is most important.

Steam inhalation not recommended for children [3,4].

It’s best to use a steam inhalation machine in a safe environment and never in front of children.

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What research says

Steam inhalation often results in lowering the cold symptoms and clearing the stuffy nose.

But a Cochrane review [2] mentioned the evidence in favor of it is ambiguous. But it also said that steam inhalation did not increase symptoms. Now most of my patients over the last 13 years have all responded favorably to steam inhalation

Is it the placebo effect? What do you think?Let me know in the comments below.

ALLERGIC RHINITIS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (Part 1)

Test and Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis (Part 2)

6 Things you can do to Fight Indoor Allergy

Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in Polyps: Breath Easy!

COVID 19

Swine Flu: Symptoms

Everyday practices to prevent Swine Flu

Cold and Flu

Reference

1)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3303983

2) https://www.cochrane.org/CD001728/ARI_heated-humidified-air-common-cold

3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4758472/

4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3381273/

Betadine Gargle Helps my sore throat get better(Review)

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 9, 2020 7

Betadine for Gargle is something I advice as an ENT surgeon to most of my patients with sore throat.

But why do I love using it?

Betadine gargle is the brand name for Povidone-iodine. It’s synonymous with “my favorite” gargle. I have been using it myself and prescribing it for my patients for as long as I can remember.

How does Betadine work?[1,2,3,4]

Povidone Iodine gargle has proven bactericidal and virucidal action both in -vitro and in vivo. There are over sixty years of evidence of efficacy in fighting oral and oropharyngeal germs.

PVP-I gargle inactivate-adenovirus, mumps, rotavirus, poliovirus (types 1 and 3), coxsackievirus, rhinovirus, herpes simplex virus, rubella, measles, influenza, and human immunodeficiency virus.

1% gargle/mouthwash works against MERS-CoV.

Application of PVP-I with 0.23–1% concentration, for 1–2 min reduced SARS-CoV virus infectivity from 1.17 × 106 TCID50/ml to below detectable levels in a study by Kariwa et al. Studies for shorter contact times are not available.

Following the H1N1 swine flu outbreak in 2009, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommended daily gargling as a protective hygiene measure to prevent upper respiratory tract infections.

In patients with chronic respiratory diseases, gargling with PVP-I was found to lower infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA) and Haemophilus influenzae by half .

Oral hygiene using PVP-I will benefit immunocompromised patients at risk of prolonged virus shedding. Prolonged virus shedding increases the potential for antiviral drug resistance and nosocomial transmission and secondary bacterial infection and hospitalization.

Ito et al. reported lowering of viral infectious titres of avian influenza A viruses (H5N1, H5N3, H7N7, and H9N2) to below detectable limits after incubation for only 10 s.

How to use Betadine gargle?

An equal volume of gargle liquid in an equal volume of water preferably warm/. This helps the povidone-iodine to be in adequate amount to have effective action against the germs in your throat. Gargle for at least 15 seconds.

Betadine has Povidone -Iodine 2% w/v

How does povidone-iodine work?

Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) has a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity used and known for over 60 years. It also has virucidal actions. It is used in many ways for disinfecting skin, hands, mucosal surfaces, wound treatment, oral and pharyngeal infection. Not only does it help in prevention but it also helps to lower the infectivity period and shedding of germs.

When do you use Betadine gargle for sore throat?

It’s best to start using it as soon you have a hawking sensation scratchy feel postnasal drip or itchy throat.

Sore throat

Throat pain

Together with steam inhalation, it works great in the early stages of cold to kill those viruses.

Acute and chronic pharyngitis

Acute and chronic tonsillitis

Poor oral and dental hygiene

Preoperatively before orotracheal intubation, prevents nosocomial infection.

Postoperatively for maintaining oral hygiene after surgery of oral and oropharyngeal cavity

Povidone-iodine 1% mouthwash also lowers reduces the incidence of dry socket after removal of impacted mandibular third molars.

When to avoid gargling?

When you have associated hoarseness, vigorous gargling can cause more trouble,

Who shouldn’t use it?

If you are allergic to iodine or any other components.

Children often can’t gargle and better avoided.

People with thyroid disorders.

Safety profile

If you are on lithium.

The safety profile of PVP-I is well established. In contrast to other antiseptic agents, PVP-I oral care products do not lead to any irritation or damage of the oral mucosa, even with prolonged use [44, 45]. Although measurable systemic iodine absorption may occur with the long-term use of PVP-I, its clinical manifestation as thyroid dysfunction is not very common [39].

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Why can’t I dilute it more?

It doesn’t work in that case

Does any gargle other than betadine gargle work?

I like a hypertonic saline gargle. But efficacy studies are not comparable.

Take warm water. Dissolve table salt till you can’t dissolve anymore. That’s hypertonic saline. Now start gargling with it. It’s better to use betadine gargle though since its evidence-backed.

References:

1 ) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986684/

2)Inactivation of SARS coronavirus by means of povidone-iodine, physical conditions and chemical reagents.
Kariwa H, Fujii N, Takashima I
Dermatology. 2006; 212 Suppl 1():119-23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16490989

3)Ito H, Ito T, Hikida M, et al. Outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Japan and ant-influenza virus activity of povidone-iodine products. Dermatology. 2006;212(Suppl 1):115–118. doi: 10.1159/000089210.

4)Rapid and Effective Virucidal Activity of Povidone-Iodine Products Against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara (MVA).
Eggers M, Eickmann M, Zorn J
Infect Dis Ther. 2015 Dec; 4(4):491-501.

5) Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Pandemic influenza preparedness action plan of the Japanese Government. 2007. http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/influenza/dl/pandemic02.pdf.

6. Silva A, Azevedo M, Sampaio-Maia B, Sousa-Pinto B. The effect of mouthrinses on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus two viral load

: A systematic review. J Am Dent Assoc. 2022 Jul;153(7):635-648.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.adaj.2021.12.007.

Prevention helps. Always.

Nose bleeds in Adults: What you must Know

By Dr.Amrita Basu(MBBS,MS) on January 7, 2020 12

Nose bleeds is a very common ENT problem that causes people to visit the emergency room. Nose picking is easily the commonest cause of nose bleeds in children. But it happens in the case of adults too. What happens when you are fifty years old and have a use bleed when you have never picked your nose?

You must get checked by a professional.

Can nosebleeds be caused by high blood pressure

Yes, that is common in older hypertensive adults and often causes more of posterior epistaxis, where you have blood trickling down your throat like a postnasal drip. Nose bleeds can be due to a local cause or something more generalized like hypertension. It’s often a warning in case undiagnosed high blood pressure and acts to prevent other cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, strokes.

In Dengue, leukemia and any condition which causes poor clotting, bleeding can occur.

Nose bleeds can occur frequently

Local causes like sinusitis, septal hematoma, nasopharyngeal angiofibroma and other tumors of nose and sinuses can present with nose bleeds. A chronic post nasal drip in a hypertensive, diabetic fifty-year-old needs a full checkup.

The important thing to remember is early diagnosis and management are best for the management of nose bleeds.

Remember

In the elderly age, group hypertension must always be ruled out.

If sinusitis is present in older age groups them diabetes mellitus is screened for, to ensure better management.

In the case of kids, nose-picking must be ruled out.

What causes nose bleeds in adults:

Hypertension

Trauma

Septal spur, deviation, septal perforation

Septal angioma/haemangioma

Rhinosporidiosis

Chronic sinusitis

Tumors

Fungal infection of nose and sinuses

Cocaine use

Extreme temperature

Barotrauma

Blood dyscrasias and leukemia

Infections like Dengue Haemorrhagic fever

Certain medications(NSAIDS, Warfarin, Aspirin, Clopidogrel)

Alcoholism and other causes of liver dysfunction

Certain Granulomatous diseases

Others.

Frequent nosebleeds are cause for concern

In all cases, in-person consultation by an ENT surgeon is needed for a full evaluation. The doctor will do a local examination of your nose, oral cavity oropharynx.

What your Doctor may ask

History about previous nasal bleeds or bleeding from other sides is important. Comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes, allergies, blood dyscrasias, fever need to be ruled out. Any history of forceful nose blowing or nose picking is vitally important and the nasal examination gives clues about the latter.

A family history of nose bleeds needs to be asked for and in the presence of fever, several more questions are asked.

The systemic examination will include measuring your BP and checking for any bruising petechiae and a few other things which are beyond the scope of discussion here.

Investigation

In case of acute nasal bleeding which is recurrent, persistent to not stopping needs urgent visit to an Emergency facility of a well-equipped hospital.

Computer tomography (CT scan) with or without contrast may be needed for the nose and Paranasal sinuses. A CT of the brain may also be needed to rule out any associated intracranial bleed.

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How is the Health of the Nation: The report is an eye-opener!

A detailed blood workup, ECG is carried out to screen for infectious diseases and systemic causes.

Nasal endoscopy may be carried out as a diagnostic or therapeutic tool depending on the condition.

Nose bleed treatment often needs a hospital setup and is best done by a professional. Read about some of the ways of nasal packing in this post.

Blog

A Free Book for my Readers

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Sharing is good Karma!

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How Amazon KDP select helped me

Sharing is good Karma!

Indoor gardening with Pindfresh (part1): Podcast

Featured post

Sharing is good Karma!

Does steam inhalation have any benefits?

When to take steam?

What are the benefits of Steam inhalation?

How to Start Steam Inhalation?

How to take steam inhalation?

With or without vapocap?

Dangers of Steam inhalation

Featured post

What research says

Sharing is good Karma!

Betadine for Gargle is something I advice as an ENT surgeon to most of my patients with sore throat.

How does Betadine work?[1,2,3,4]

How to use Betadine gargle?

How does povidone-iodine work?

When do you use Betadine gargle for sore throat?

When to avoid gargling?

Who shouldn’t use it?

Safety profile

Featured post

Why can’t I dilute it more?

Does any gargle other than betadine gargle work?

References:

Sharing is good Karma!

Can nosebleeds be caused by high blood pressure

Nose bleeds can occur frequently

Remember

What causes nose bleeds in adults:

What your Doctor may ask

Investigation

Featured post

Sharing is good Karma!

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