Health = Wealth

How many hours in a day do you exercise? Is your work sedentary in nature? Do you eat your meals on time? Are you fond of junk food? Are you stressed at your work place? How many cigarettes do you smoke? Do you have more than one cup of a coffee a day? Do your parents suffer from any heart disease or diabetes or any other ailment? Did your grand parents expire at an early age? Have you ever experienced any palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness or headache?

…And you thought you were in pink of health. You may be in sound health and look absolutely robust but that doesn’t save you from getting illnesses.

Very often you must have heard someone in your family suffering from a heart disease or undergoing bypass surgery or having diabetes or kidney failure or joint problems or some other health issue. But has this ever made you assess your own health status? Yes, family history is very vital and it can save you from a lot of trouble that diseases bring along

Health is wealth, but have you taken any step to preserve this wealth? So, it is high time to save yourself from diseases for a healthy and wealthy life!

Start Your Health Revolution Now!

Now is the era of soft copies – the Soft Copy Age. Electronic data management has made our lives easy. It has saved us from disarray the huge paper work creates. Medical records are crucial to each one of us, and hence, it is high time that we store these vital details safely and securely from where they are retrievable as and when required.

Online health management is one way through which the health care technology is improving patient involvement in the health care process. People are taking on more of a participatory role in their own health care with the advent of several useful online health management tools. One such secure online health platform is Healthizen that enables you to store, track, manage and access the health and lifestyle information 24/7 from anywhere in the world. Healthizen.com is an initiative by VNurture Healthcare Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd which provides health information and services to consumers at the right time, in the right place and the way they want it.

As quoted in the Economic Times, Mr. Anand Anupam (CEO – Healthizen) says, “The problem we identified was that the Indian healthcare landscape is very doctor-centric and patients often take a backseat. To make healthcare more readily accessible, we wanted to form a network of patients, doctors, pharmacists, wellness centres and insurance companies. Since we commenced operations in January 2008, we have achieved two lakh user-uploaded profiles, of which 20,000 have availed of our service in some form or the other.”

At Healthizen, you can register for systematic documentation of your health records. During emergency you can share your records at the click of a button. The interface also allows patients to find a doctor based on location or medical specialty. These online health records help users to keep their medical information organized and up to date. You can also get health alerts as emails or SMS. Alerts are sent 30 minutes before the designated time so that you don’t miss your crucial appointments or prescriptions.

“Healthizen works like a supplement to a doctor’s diagnosis and is an aggregator of one’s health,” mentions Mr. Anupam in the Asian Age. Healthizen has a panel of medical experts. Individuals can refer their profiles to them based on their requirements for getting immediate responses to health and medical queries as also for second opinion. Some services are available for free online. Telephonic diet and lifestyle consultations are also provided with in-house experts as a premium service, wherein users can achieve their health goals through diet and lifestyle planning. You can also purchase personalized diet plan for a better health and a healthy life.

Other services include the Healthizen Power Card, a healthcare loyalty and discount card, which is currently launched only in Mumbai and Pune, is a paid membership card. It allows users to avail themselves of the services of over 350 partners such as hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, gyms and diagnostic labs. Also printed on this card are your emergency contact details, allergies, blood group and other health-related information that are important to your care.

Healthizen website has vast data assemblage on various health and lifestyle topics for its viewers. It also has an interesting recipe section with quick dishes that are easy to rustle up and healthy too. You can also use the available tools to monitor health parameters using the health calculators and health risk assessments.

“Future plans include making the portal accessible through media other than the Internet, such as the mobile,” says Mr. Anupam as cited in the Business Line. And so, you can expect more on e-health from Healthizen in the near future. Till then, get skilled with the existing tools on Healthizen to take a control on your own health!

MANaging Health

What is to be done to Get FIT?

What is to be eaten to REMAIN Healthy?

What is the diet that helps IMPROVE Fertility?

What should be done to have A GOOD Sex Life?

Does Smoking AFFECTS other body systems besides respiratory?

How to put an END TO the Hair Loss?

How to GET RID of a Hangover?

These questions are always on the back of my mind. But you often shrug away to answer these.

What is it that keeps you away from having a response for these?

We help you find answers to these enigmatic puzzles.

Everyone wants to know more on health. It is absolutely fine if you are a man and you want to look good. Beauty and good looks are not always associated with women. Even men can look good and stunning and can have lustrous hair and glowing skin. Even men can face the problem of hair loss and would like to have a solution for it. Even men can have problems related to fertility and want to seek measures to combat these problems.

But to seek a solution it is important to identify the problem. Here we have some articles that focus on Men’s Health and hope our male readers find what they want in these articles!

HEalthy surfing!

Swine Flu Advisory

With the swine flu deaths being recorded in India now, it is crucial for every citizen to get aware of this disease, its correct symptoms and the right place for treatment. Information on swine flu will be helpful in saving yourself and also in guiding someone you know having the symptoms to the right hospital. This article is aimed at providing you with the details about swine flu, its symptoms and the actions that need to be initiated so that we can stop the spread of this pandemic and treat the affected ones with timely and accurate treatment.

Overview:

• Swine Flu/Swine Influenza refers to influenza caused by any strain of the influenza virus endemic in pigs (swine)

• Swine flu is common in swine and rare in humans

• People who work with swine are at risk of getting swine influenza if the swine carries a virus strain capable to infect humans (zoonotic transmission)

• The outbreak of swine flu is due to mutation of Swine Influenza Virus (SIV) into a form which can pass easily from human to human

• Swine Flu is also known as H1N1 flu, hog flu, and pig flu

Cause:

• Agent: For the 2009 swine flu outbreak, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2 and H2N3 – these are a genetic mixture of viruses that have been seen in pigs, birds and people but it is called Swine Flu as the structure of this virus is similar to SIV

• Source of Infection: This virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around you or by touching something (like desk, doorknob, phone handset, etc.) with the flu virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes with your now infected hands

• Infected people may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to seven or more days after becoming sick which means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick as well as while you are sick

Signs & Symptoms:

• In humans the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza which includes: Fever, Chills, Cough, Sore Throat, Body Aches, Headache and Fatigue

• Some people have reported diarrhoea and vomiting associated with swine flu

• Swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions

• Severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing

• Bluish skin colour

• Not drinking enough fluids

• Not waking up or not interacting

• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held

• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

• Fever with a rash

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen

• Sudden dizziness

• Confusion

• Severe or persistent vomiting

Investigation:

• The rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel diagnostic test is used to scan samples from flu patients to determine if they have the new strain but the current tests cannot detect all the virus subtypes that are suspected of creating the new strain of swine flu

• In the rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel diagnostic test, a nasal or nasopharyngeal swab is used to amplify the genetic profile of the virus. A positive test result presumably concludes that the patient is carrying the swine flu but it cannot determine the stage of infection and a negative test result does not conclude that a person does not carry the swine flu virus

• This test is done in a specialized laboratory and is not done by many clinics or hospital laboratories

Prevention:

Some hygiene steps that can help in preventing the spread of germs are:

• Try to avoid close contact with sick people

• Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as the virus can spread this way

• Avoid being in crowded settings. If you happen to be in crowded places then the time spent should be as short as possible

• Use of face masks and respirators to some extent help but should be combined with other preventive measures for effective prevention

• Facemasks should be considered for use by individuals who enter crowded settings in order to protect their nose and mouth from other people’s coughs and sneezes. This will also reduce the wearer’s possibility of coughing or sneezing on others

• Respirators should be considered for use by those individuals for whom close contact with an infectious person is unavoidable like people taking care of a sick person

• If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough and throw the tissue in the trash after you use it

• Cover your mouth with hands while you sneeze or cough if you do not have a tissue. Then, clean your hands and do so every time you cough or sneeze

• Linens, eating utensils, and dishes used by the ill person should be thoroughly washed with soap and water before use by other persons

• If you live in areas where swine influenza cases have been identified and become ill with influenza-like symptoms like fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, cough, nausea or vomiting or diarrhoea then you should contact your doctor. Your doctor will determine whether influenza testing or treatment is needed

Treatment:

• Antivirals: Oseltamivir and Zanamivir – are recommended for the treatment and prevention of the infection with swine flu virus

• If a person gets sick, antiviral drugs, which work best if started within 2 days of getting symptoms, can make the illness milder as well as prevent serious flu complications, and hence, make the patient feel better faster

• These drugs should not be used indiscriminately as viral resistance to them can occur

• Severe infections in some patients may require additional supportive measures such as ventilation support and treatment of other infections/complications like pneumonia that can occur in patients with a severe flu infection

Some Facts:

• Pork and other pig-derived products (like ham, sausages, etc) if properly handled and cooked do not transmit swine flu as the flu virus is killed by cooking temperature of 160 degree F (70 degree C)

• As per research studies, any new virus which is able to spread from an animal to a person and then spread from person to person – is always a source of concern as such virus when in human to human transmission can continue to mutate making it difficult to treat

• Studies also say that a new strain of the flu virus can spread faster because people do not have natural immunity and the development of vaccine to such virus may take months

• If you have any symptoms then it is advisable to refer to your doctor at the earliest as an early treatment is found to be effective in the cases of swine flu

Yey! We are HONCode compliant

Yes, it happened a couple of days ago. Our website, http://www.healthizen.com was reviewed by the experts over at Health on the Net Foundation for 8 principles(see below) and we have the certificate from them.

HONcode application status: Healthizen is in compliance with the HONcode Title of the site: Healthizen Web address: http://www.healthizen.com/ HONcode PIN number : HONConduct497929 Date of initial review: 17 Mar 2009 Date of last subsequent review: 28 May 2009 Duration of validity of certificate 1 year with regular evaluation Show the HONcode seal on this site This certificate confirms the revision of the site by the HONcode Team at the above date. It respects and pledges to honor the 8 principles * of the HON Code of Conduct (HONcode).* 1. Authoritative   2. Complementarity   3. Privacy   4. Attribution   5. Justifiability   6. Transparency 7. Financial disclosure   8. Advertising policy

NB: HONcode certifies this website only and not the services it offers.

Health Mantra

Body comprises of skin, eyes, ears, face, lips, teeth, hands, feet – many parts to take care of, right?  And this care is essential so as to take care of your body in total. Various factors affect your health and your body. Your every day diet, your every day physical activity, your overall health status, your surroundings and the environment you stay in, your age, your genetics and many more.

Out of these there are some things which are in your hands to make them perfect and some aren’t. You can not control or change your genetics, you can not stop your age from advancing but you can plan your diet and increase your physical activity. Similarly, you can regularly assess your health status, and also, you can make your surroundings healthy to stay in.

You can also take care of your health by taking up health insurance plans. Illnesses are not unknown and mishaps are not uncommon. One does not know what fate awaits, but one can take precautions which will combat in the trying times. And one such measure is health insurance plan. Health is the most important wealth but one tends to ignore this precious wealth. So, this time preserve your health by getting it insured! These plans not just keep your health insured but also lessen the financial burden which the use of some latest medical technologies cost while preserving your health.

You should always take care of your body in every possible way you can. So now is the time to get rid of all those bothersome issues to see the Beautiful You the next time you look in the mirror. Make your life more healthy and beautiful!

It’s Raining Now!

 

The smell of earth that raises along with the first rains, the feel of cool breeze on your skin, the splash of water drops drizzling from the grey clouds…all bring a broad smile on your face.

Yes, with the monsoon approaching, soon will be the time to hunt for your umbrellas and raincoats which you have kept somewhere in your closet. Rains just don’t please our farmers but they also relieve all of us from the scorching summer heat. Monsoon is the climate to relax, munch on delicious recipes, enjoy those waterfalls at picnic spots and much more. But amidst all the fun, it is very essential to keep a check on your health and fitness.

During rainy season, there are a host of infectious diseases that arise and it is necessary to take precautions to save yourself from them. Fever, body ache, stomach cramps, loose motions, headache, weakness…all are symptoms of infections. Stomach infections as well as other infections are very common during monsoons.

 Monson is the season when your appetite increases. You feel like having all crispy and crunchy recipes. And with every such recipe comes along those dreaded calories. More the calories more will be the weight gain. Having no time, rains and ill heath – are some reasons that can affect your fitness regime. But always remember that having a healthy diet and following a regular exercise plan are the keys to good health. To be in pink of health is what everyone desires, and to be so, you should regularly monitor your health status be it summer, winter or monsoons!

An Era Of Women Expressions

“I have worshipped woman as the living embodiment of the spirit of service and sacrifice.”
                                                                                                               - Mohandas Gandhi

Service and sacrifice are practised by every woman knowingly or unknowingly as a daughter, a wife or a mother. We have evolved out of those times where a girl born was regarded as a curse to this age where woman is a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, an architect, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a politician, a celebrity….and a person of which her parents are proud of. Being a woman and at the same time being a career woman calls for a celebration, and hence, there is the International Women’s Day.

The ‘International Women’s Day’ is celebrated on 8th March every year since 1975. This day is to felicitate all women in the world for their role in the economy and social development. This day reminds the contribution of those women in the history who struggled hard to achieve better working conditions, better wages and better rights for the women labour force. This day is celebrated around the world at the local and national levels to honour the struggle to improve women’s lives.

This newsletter is dedicated to all those heroic ladies who lived to bring a change, those who live to make a difference and those who will in future live to make a mark in the society and the world.

Very true in the words of Anon…

                                               “There’s not a blessing or a woe,
                                               There’s not a whisper, yes, or no,
                                             There’s not a life, or death, or birth,
                                             That has a feather’s weight of worth,
                                               Without a woman a woman in it.”

                                                    BRAVO TO ALL LADIES!

Healthy New Year – 2009

We wish all our users a very happy and healthy New Year 2009! Thanks for all the support and encouragement, bouquets and brickbats.

Year 2009 would bring out some more products from our stable, and we hope you like them too. We hope to keep serving your healthcare needs and will continue to strive to make your health better.

“Cheers to your good health“

- Team Healthizen

Healthizen: Healthy New Year

SMOKING – A Suicide & A Homicide

We all are aware of the fact that smoking is injurious to health. This statement is printed on the cigarette packs but still the packs are sold. The increase in the sales of these cigarette packs is because smoking is an addiction. Some common reasons for getting involved in smoking are peer pressure or following examples of siblings and parents, employment outside the house, stress, homesickness or just as a fashion. May it be any reason for smoking, the bottom line that ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ remains the same.

 

According to World Health Organization, about 4 million deaths occur in a year from tobacco, which is expected to rise about 10 million by 2030. Tobacco is responsible for about 30% of all cancer deaths in developed countries. Other ill effects are diseases like stroke, myocardial infarction, aortic aneurysm and peptic ulcer.

 

There is evidence that the earlier a person begins to smoke, the greater is the risk of any life threatening disease to develop, and hence, the life expectancy reduces by almost 25 years as compared to a non-smoker. Smoking brings environmental pollution and the environmental tobacco smoke causes diseases even amongst the non-smokers. Smoking is extremely harmful during pregnancy. The babies of mothers who smoke weigh on an average 200 grams less at birth than those of non-smokers.

 

WHO has organized “Tobacco Free Initiative Programme” to galvanize global support for tobacco control, and to heighten the awareness of social, human and economic harm caused by tobacco consumption. But no program can be successful without mass participation.

 

Tobacco is a killer and it should not be advertised, subsidized or glamorized. Smoking is suicidal and homicidal. Suicidal because smoking will leave you vulnerable to several life threatening diseases, and homicidal as by polluting the environment, you are threatening the health of others around you. And no one wants to be criminal, right? 

 

So, dear readers, if you are a non smoker then never fall prey to this addiction anytime in your life. And if you are a smoker then quit smoking. Withdrawal sounds scary and difficult but it is not impossible. By doing so you are not just helping yourself, but also, the nation and the world. Always remember ‘Where there is a will, there is a way!’