Conditions

Dr Shital Raval answers all your questions – from upping your chance of natural conception to treatment options. 1. What can I do to improve my chances of getting pregnant naturally? Before planning to conceive, it’s important to make sure you are healthy and start on daily prenatal vitamins. Also avoiding stress, smoking, alcohol, substance abuse, certain medications etc will all help improve your chance of conceiving.  2. What is the fertile window period? The fertile…

What is depression It is a serious medical illness that affects one’s thoughts, feelings, behaviour, mood and physical health. It may be a lifelong condition in which periods of wellness alternate with recurrences of illness. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide with more than 350 million sufferers, according to the World Health Organisation. The number is growing in all age groups in every community, and with many young people falling prey to…

Find out this and more from Dr Shital Raval  1. Can excess weight cause osteoarthritis? Recent medical opinion points to excess weight as a cause for osteoarthritis. It is also known that obesity makes the symptoms worse in patients with existing osteoarthritis. This is because obesity tends to decrease mobility and puts stress on the back, hips, knees and feet, all the body parts that are commonly affected by osteoarthritis. Over time this stress can cause the…

What is stress Stress is what happens when you have too much to handle. The body goes into fight or flight mode. Your heart rate may go up and you may breathe faster or sweat more. This response is fine within normal limits. But beyond that, it can be harmful. Stress is a global issue with 77% of people in just the US saying that they experience physical symptoms caused by stress, according to Statistic Brain, a research institute.   

What is anxiety disorder Everyone feels anxious at some points in their life. But the anxiety passes once the stressful situation is over. For people with anxiety disorder, the feelings of anxiety are ongoing and don’t subside. They cause great distress and get in the way of them leading a normal life. As many as 450 million people suffer from this disorder and nearly 1 million people commit suicide every year. 1 in 4 families worldwide is likely to have at least…

Stages of prostate cancer                                      In stage I-Cancer is found in the prostate only                                        In stage II-Cancer is more advanced than in stage I, but has not spread outside the prostate.               …

What is migraine Migraine is a chronic type of headache that occurs in episodes and affects the day to day activities of an individual. It usually affects one side of the head. Between migraine episodes, the patient is absolutely free of pain. Migraine is the most common neurological condition in the developed world. A migraine attack can come with an aura, which means a sense of warning, or without an aura.  Migraines are three times more common in women than men.     …

Based on a discussion with Dr. Venkat Rao, Diabetologist 1. My mother has diabetes. Should I get my blood sugar checked? I am now 30 years old.  Everybody should get their blood sugar tested once a year after the age of 30, irrespective of whether or not there is a family history of diabetes. This is especially true for Indians as India has a high incidence of diabetes.  If you have a family history of diabetes with a tendency of early occurrence; if you are obese…

By family practitioner Dr Gita Mathai What is a heart attack? A “heart attack” is a general, rather vague, term used to describe damage to the heart muscle. This occurs when the blood supply to that particular part of the heart is compromised. The blood vessel may be abnormally situated from birth. It may be blocked with atherosclerotic plaques. The vessel may have a compromised lumen (channel inside the vessel) and then go into spasm so that the blood supply falls below critical levels and…