First-Aid Kit

Prepare and pack a simple first-aid kit in your suitcase.
This kit should contain the following items:

• Your prescription medicines, in their original containers.
• Medicines for diarrhea and an upset stomach. Obtain from your doctor a prescription for an antibiotic you can take in case you are struck by diarrhea. Ensure that you have packed medicines such as loperamide and antacids.
• Cough and cold medicines, such as pseudoephedrine tablets and cough syrups.
• Pain-relieving medicines, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin.
• Decongestants and antihistamines for treating allergies. Go in for the varieties that don't cause sleepiness or drowsiness.
• Antibiotic ointments, adhesive bandages and hydrocortisone cream.
• Medicines for preventing motion sickness, such as dimenhydrinate and an anti-nausea drug such as promethazine.
• Scissors, tweezers, nail clippers, pocket knife, thermometer, torch and mirror.

If you are travelling abroad, remember that medicines can be very expensive in the West! Also, many medicines are available only on prescription, which means you will need to spend additional money on a doctor's consultation. Therefore, it's far more prudent and much less expensive to carry all your medicines with you! If you are travelling with children or elders, you will need to take extra supplies to be able to meet their needs as well.

A library that empowers patients to learn about their affliction

A library that empowers patients to learn about their affliction


Health information services in India is quite pathetic. We currently run one HELP service (Health Education Library for People) in downtown Mumbai, successfully.The idea is to create at least four such centers in Mumbai this year.Patient education has been shown to improve doctor-patient relationship by providing Information Therapy!

HELP us to help you - donate online

Click here to donate to HELP Library

DNA - Daily News and Analysis
Raise the bar with your charity, get rewarded
Published: Friday, Sep 24, 2010, 0:12 IST
By Namita Handa | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

If you want to contribute to society by supporting your favourite NGO, here’s a golden opportunity. After a successful first year, GiveIndia is back with its second edition of the India Giving Challenge, an online fundraising event that sees NGOs, corporates and individuals getting rewarded for raising funds for their chosen cause.

It provides a way for NGOs to raise even more money for their cause through a matching grant (Rs65 lakh), given out in the form of prizes, from GiveIndia. The Challenge is an initiative under the Joy of Giving Week. The competition began on September 8 and will be on till October 20.

“We are trying to build a community approach of fundraising through this process,” GiveIndia chief information officer Dhaval Udani said. “The competition will run for six weeks and by the end of it, we are certain that around 200 NGOs will enrol,” says Udani. So far, GiveIndia has contacted 40 corporates, out of which 20 have confirmed participation. Around 150 NGOs are participating too.

GiveIndia is a donation platform that allows people to support a cause of their choice from about 200 NGOs, which are scrutinised for transparency and credibility. The organisation helps NGOs with sample letters that must be sent out to the donors and on using social networking sites to ensure optimum benefits. “NGOs are not too technology-savvy. Through this, we try to enhance their fund raising ability,” Udani said.

Vinayak Lohani, founder and head of Parivaar Education Society, an NGO, which won the Challenge last year, said, “A healthy competition like this helps to energise our donors and volunteers, and helps in network building.” The NGO collected 23 lakh last year and won Rs12 lakh from GiveIndia. It has already won the first week of the competition this year. Fourteen corporates and 100 NGOs raised Rs91 lakh from about 5,000 donors last year and received Rs56 lakh in matching grants.

IndiBloggers, the largest community for bloggers, has partnered with GiveIndia for its India Giving Challenge. It has a discussion forum where bloggers clear their doubts or queries about the online competition. “This way, we reach out to a wider audience and their questions are answered by GiveIndia,” explained Renie Ravin, managing director, IndiBloggers.

Those who wish to participate, log on to www.GiveIndia.org/IGC2010 or www.giveindia.org

Joy of Giving

Experience the Joy of Giving: Donate to Your Favorite NGO: HELP Library

As India continues to struggle with its paradoxes of growth with inequity, of having the most billionaires in the world and the largest impoverished population, the Joy of Giving Week is an opportunity to redeem ourselves. To paraphrase management guru Peter Drucker's words, when we look in the mirror in the morning, we should be looking at a citizen who takes responsibility, a person who as a neighbor cares. HELP plans to set up patient education centers at hospitals to empower patients and their relatives to get better medical care for themselves. We provide researched, evidence-based information to people to look after themselves better - along with doctors and others in the health care field want to create an environment where each one of us feels secure in the knowledge that we are receiving the health care we deserve. HELP feels that patients are the largest untapped health care resource and that Information Therapy is Powerful Medicine ! We help patients save money on medical care by 1. Promoting Self Care and helping them to do as much for themselves as they can 2. Helping them with Evidence-Based Guidelines , so that they can ask for the right medical treatment that they need – no more and no less 3. Helping them with Veto Power, so they can say No to medical care they don’t need, thus preventing over-testing and unnecessary surgery . Help make a difference & change the world! Do not hesitate to donate through GiveIndia. It is simple, totally secure and the most efficient way to help us reach our goal. You will receive tax benefit for your deduction in India. Easy Donate: Donate Online by registering at GiveIndia or send us a cheque for a minimum of Rs.150/- and we will help you to donate to HELP Library – your NGO of choice! Click Here or on the image: OR send us a cheque for a minimum of Rs.150/- favoring: GiveIndia with your (i) Name (ii) Email id (iii) tax receipt generation preference: Indian/NRI/Other (iv) Address/City/State/Pin/Country and telephone number. Anonymous cheques will be posted under our NGO’s email id. GiveIndia acknowledges donors, such as yourself, in its Hall of Fame. For queries on how to donate call: 22061101 and 22031133.

The HELP Team.
Health Education Library for People,
National Insurance Building, Gr Floor,
206, Dr.D.N.Road,
Mumbai - 400 001.
Tel Nos.65952393/ 65952394/22061101
www.helpforhealth.org
www.healthlibrary.com

Join us on India's First Self-Care HEALTH GUIDE
www.myhealthpedia.in

Have a health query ? ASK US FOR FREE - Click here - http://www.healthlibrary.com/information.htm

America's Largest selling "HEALTH WISE HANDBOOK" Now in India, available exclusively at HELP- at a Promotional Price.CLICK HERE AND GRAB YOUR COPY NOW !

Contact Me

--- @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

Vomiting - Measures for Self-Care

Measures for Self-Care

• Don't eat solid foods; don't drink milk.
• Drink only clear liquids (such as clear soups or coconut water). Take small sips; i.e., drink only one to two ounces at a time. Suck on ice chips if nothing else will stay down.
• After you stop vomiting, continue with clear liquids. Gradually return to regular diet, but wait about 8 hours from the last time you vomited to eat solid foods. Start with foods that are easy to digest.
• Don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, and don't take aspirin.

Call Your Doctor for

• Very severe stomach pain, which lasts for more than two hours.
• Yellow looking skin or if the whites or the eyes appear yellow.
• Vomiting which lasts for more than 12 hours (two to six hours for a small child) without subsiding.

Get Immediate Care for

• Vomiting caused by a serious head injury.
• Vomiting accompanied a stiff neck, fever, headache, and lethargy.
• Vomiting which is black or bloody.
• Dehydration (symptoms: very little or no urine, extreme thirst; and lightheadedness; dry skin that doesn't spring back after being pinched; sunken eyes; and confusion). Vomiting occurring after a mild blow or injury to the head.

Health Speaks - Google Translation Toolkit

GOOGLE HEALTH SPEAKS AT HELP
25 Sep 2010 - 10 am - 3.00pm

Learn to Translate from English to Hindi using Google Translation Toolkit !

Learn a smart way to translate articles straight from the masters - GOOGLE.

HELP Library is proud to host the Health Speaks Event at Mumbai on 25th September, 2010 - at 10 am sharp.

To register please send us an email with your name, address, and confirmation latest by 20th September 2010. Registrations will be accepted on a first come first basis - only limited seats available.

We will provide you with the laptop - and also give you a Google certificate for your
participation !

This event is about Google.org's health team which is currently working on a project that is exploring ways to increase the quantity of high-quality health information online, particularly in languages other than English.

One way that we are working on this is through the creation of a community of volunteer health translators who will translate high-quality Wikipedia health articles from English to other languages, including Hindi.

We are reaching out to bilingual Medical/Nursing/Public Health Professors & Students, Health NGOs and Medical Professional Associations to help build this community of volunteer health translators. We will hold trainings & events and have online training available to facilitate the community.

We have selected roughly 500 articles that are on important health topics and are of high quality.

Online translation is going to become increasingly important as the world becomes flatter ! This is a great opportunity to learn more about how to translate - and contribute to the health of Indians by sharing your knowledge !

Sore Throat: Self Care Measures

• Mix one-fourth teaspoon of salt in half a cup of warm water. Gargle every few hours with this mixture, preparing it afresh each time.
• Drink plenty of warm liquids, such as tea and soup.
• Don't smoke at all.
• Avoid eating spicy or hot foods.
• Suck on a medicated lozenge frequently.
• Take an over-the-counter medicine for relieving the pain and/or fever.

Call your doctor for

• Sore throat that occurs along with: fever; swollen, enlarged neck glands; headache; chest, or ear pain; bad breath; skin rashes; abdominal pain; vomiting; or discharge of dark urine.
• The back of the throat turning very red or developing white spots.
• A mild sore throat that lasts for more than two weeks.

Get Immediate Care for

• Extreme difficulty while breathing or if the lips turn purple.

• Inability to swallow your own saliva.

Low Back Pain - Measures for Self-Care

Symptoms Back pain can be sharp, dull, acute, or chronic. Measures for Self-Care

• Take an over-the-counter medicine for relieving the pain, if needed.
• For the first 48 hours, apply a cold pack to the pain-afflicted area. Do this for five to ten minutes at a time, several times a day.
• After 48 hours, apply heat (e.g., hot water bottle, hot shower), several times a day. - Continue your regular activities to the extent possible. Rest your back if you must, but don't remain in bed for more than 2 to 3 days, even if your back hurts a lot.

Call your doctor for

• Pain that spreads down the legs and below the knee.
• Pain that is very intense, or has lasted five days or more.
• Increased pain when you move, cough, sneeze, lift something, or strain.
• Loss of control over bladder or bowel.
• Sensation of pain, burning, or itching when you pass urine, or if urine turns bloody or cloudy.
• Fever or vomiting.

Get Immediate Care for

• Any serious injury affecting the neck, spine, or back.
• The onset of pain being sudden and starting with a "cracking" sound.
• Back pain accompanied by difficulty in breathing and lightheadedness.

Heartburn - Measures for Self-Care

Heartburn - Measures for Self-Care
Symptoms
Pain or a burning in the chest after eating and/or after bending over or lying down. Also, belching and a burning feeling in the throat.
Measures for Self-Care

• Sit straight while eating. Sit up, stand up or walk after you have eaten. Don't lie down!
• If heartburn bothers you at night, raise the head of the bed by 6 inches.
• Shed some kilos if are overweight.
• Don't wear tight-fitting clothes.
• Eat small quantities. Limit your intake of alcohol.
• Limit the consumption of foods and beverages that contain gas, such as potatoes and such as soft drinks.
• Don't eat or drink anything two to three hours before bedtime.
• Antacids, such as Tums, can help relieve heartburn.
• Don't smoke at all.
• If you have to take medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, or medicines for arthritis, take them along with food.

Call your doctor for

• Stools that are tar-like and black in colours.
• Pain that goes through to your back or gripping pain in the upper abdomen.
• Difficulty in swallowing.
• Heartburn that occurs frequently.

Get Immediate Care for

• Heartburn accompanied by a tightness or pain in the chest which spreads to the neck, jaw, or arm; a feeling of discomfort in the chest with sweating or shortness of breath, nausea and/or vomiting or uneven pulse or heartbeart.
• Heartburn leading to vomiting blood or what looks like coffee grounds.

Headache - Self Care Measures

• Take an over-the-counter medicine for reducing the pain as soon as possible. Don't wait for the pain to become worse!
• Rest in a quiet, dark room with your eyes closed.
• Massage the base of your head with your thumbs.
• Take a warm bath or shower.
• Place a cold or warm washcloth, whichever feels better, over the area that aches. Or else, place an ice pack on the back or the top of the head.
• Try to relax. Meditation and yoga can help.

Call Your Doctor for

• Headaches that occur at the same time of day, week, or mouth.
• A headache that starts after taking a newly prescribed medicine or an over-the-counter medicine.

Get Immediate Care for

• A serious head injury or loss of consciousness.
• A headache accompanied by pain in one eye, blurred vision, double vision, slurring of speech, mental confusion, personality change, or difficulty in moving arms or legs.
• A headache along with a stiff neck, fever, lethargy nausea and vomiting.

MD Consult: Patient Education for your patients

Doctors Please Click on image to subscribe to MD Consult:

World Oral Health Day:

Dental Hygiene: How to Care for Your Child's Teeth

How can I best care for my child's teeth?

Good dental hygiene habits should begin before your child's first tooth comes in. Wiping your baby's gums with a soft damp cloth after feedings helps to prevent the buildup of bacteria. When teeth appear, start using a soft children's toothbrush twice a day.

Once your child is preschool-age, start using fluoride toothpaste. Don't cover the brush with toothpaste; a pea-sized amount is just right (see picture above). Young children tend to swallow most of the toothpaste, and swallowing too much fluoride toothpaste can cause permanent stains on their teeth.

What about using fluoride tablets?

Fluoride helps make teeth strong by hardening the tooth enamel. Many cities are required to add fluoride to tap water. If you live in an area where the tap water doesn't contain fluoride, your doctor may prescribe daily fluoride tablets when your child is about 6 months old. Fluoride is an important part of your child's dental health, but don't give him or her more than the directions call for. If you miss a dose, don't give your child extra fluoride to make up. Just as with swallowed toothpaste, too much oral fluoride can cause stains on your child's teeth.

What are cavities?

Cavities are holes that are formed when bacteria (germs) in your mouth use the sugar in food to make acid. This acid eats away at the teeth. Cavities are the most common disease in children. Good tooth care can keep cavities from happening in your child

Is my child at risk for cavities?

Your child might be at risk for cavities if he or she eats a lot of sugary foods (such as raisins, cookies and candy) and drinks a lot of sweet liquids (such as fruit juice and punch, soda and sweetened drinks). Your child also might be at risk if he or she has any of the following risk factors:

• Was born early (prematurely) or weighed very little at birth (low birth weight)

• Has ongoing special health care needs

• Has white spots or brown areas on any teeth

• Does not go to the dentist very often

How can I help stop cavities?

Everyone in your family should take good care of their teeth. Family members with lots of cavities can pass the cavity-causing bacteria to babies and children.

Teeth should be brushed at least twice a day and adults should floss once a day. Everyone should see the dentist twice a year. Have your doctor or dentist show you the right way to brush your child's teeth.

Does diet affect my child's teeth?

Yes. Avoiding sweets, sticky foods and between-meal snacks is good advice. To avoid cavities, limit sweet snacks and drinks between meals. Have meals and snacks at regular times. Teeth-friendly snacks include fresh fruits and vegetables, and cheese and crackers.

Baby bottles can create additional problems with your child's dental health. When liquid from a bottle--like milk and juice--stays in contact with the teeth for a long time, the sugars cause tooth decay. This can create a condition called bottle mouth. Your baby's teeth can develop cavities and become pitted or discolored. Never put a baby to bed with a bottle, unless it contains plain water. Don't let your child walk around during the day with a bottle, and teach your child to use a drinking cup around his or her first birthday.

Is thumb-sucking bad for my child?

It's normal for children to suck their thumbs, their fingers or a pacifier. Most children give up this habit on their own by age 4, with no harm done to their teeth. If your child still has a sucking habit after age 4, tell your dentist. Your dentist can watch carefully for any problems as the teeth develop. In most children there is no reason to worry about a sucking habit until around age 6, when the permanent front teeth come in.

When should I start taking my child to the dentist?

The American Dental Association recommends that parents take their child to a dentist around his or her first birthday. This gives the dentist a chance to look for early problems with your child's teeth. Pediatric dentists specialize in treating children's dental health. You and your child's dentist should review important information about diet, bottles, tooth brushing and fluoride use. Visiting the dentist from a young age will help your child become comfortable with his or her dentist. It also establishes the good habit of regular dental check-ups.

Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians 2008

Fever - Self-Care Measures

Elevated body temperature, usually over 100° F (by way of mouth) or over 101° F (by way of rectum). Measures for Self-Care

• Consume plenty of fluids.
• Take a sponge bath with warm water.
• Take an over-the-counter medicine (paracetamol) to reduce the fever.
• Don't wear too many clothes or cover yourself with too many blankets.

Call Your Doctor for

• Fever that is accompanied by: ear pain; sore throat; vomiting; diarrhea; abdominal pain; burning urinary pain, skin rashes or skin that has turned red and swollen or developed areas of pus.
• Fever that occurs in a baby less than six months old.

Get Immediate Care for

• Fever that occurs with rapid heartbeat, confusion, disorientation and loss of consciousness.
• Fever with stiff neck, headache, lethargy, nausea and vomiting.
• Fever accompanied by lightheadedness and shortness of breath

SMS Channel: You and Your Doctor

Description: When we fall ill, we expect our doctor to treat us and help us to get better. Find out how you can work along with your doctor to get the best medical care. Read the complete book, How to get the Best Medical Care by Drs. Malpani on http://www.thebestmedicalcare.com Subscribe to the sms channel now: with 3-day free trial To subscribe via SMS send start HELP-DOCTOR to 09212 012345.

Diarrhea - Measures for Self-Care

Diarrhea - Measures for Self-Care
Watery, loose bowel movements passed many times a day. Measures for Self-Care

• Drink plenty of liquids; for example, lime juice, lassi (whipped up curds or buttermilk with salt or sugar), fruit juice and soft drinks (after releasing the fizz).
• Try an over-the-counter medication, such as Imodium or Lomotil, if your condition does not improve even after 12 hours. You may need to take a tablet after each bowel movement.
• Once the diarrhea has subsided, you can eat small amounts of soft foods, such as cooked potatoes, yogurt (curds) and rice.
• If a small child (less than three years old) has diarrhoea, then start him on oral rehydration therapy. You can use rice kanji, the ORS solution available at the chemist's, or make it up at home yourself (by adding eight teaspoons of sugar and a half a teaspoon of salt to a litre of water). Continue breastfeeding (or his regular food) - don't starve him!

Call Your Doctor for

• Diarrhea that has lasted 48 hours or more.
• Diarrhea which entails bowel movements more than eight times a day in an infant or a chronically ill person.
• Diarrhea that has started only after taking medication (s).

Get Immediate Care for

• Dehydration (symptoms: passing very little or no urine, being very thirsty and lightheaded, dry skin that doesn't spring back after being pinched, sunken eyes, and disorientation).
• Severe abdominal or rectal pain or blood in the stool.

Google: Health Speaks

This event is regarding Google.org's(http://www.google.org/about.html) health team currently working on a project that is exploring ways to increase the quantity of high-quality health information online, particularly in languages other than English.

One way that we are working on this is through the creation of a community of volunteer health translators who will translate high-quality Wikipedia health articles from English to other languages, including Hindi. (The other two languages we are currently focusing on our Arabic and Swahili.)

We are reaching out to Medical/Nursing/Public Health Professors & Students, Health NGOs and Medical Professional Associations to help build this community of volunteer health translators. We will hold trainings & events and have online training available to facilitate the community.

We have selected roughly 500 articles that are on important health topics and are of high quality. We've also excluded topics that already have good Wikipedia articles in Hindi. To facilitate the translation of these articles, Google has a tool, Google Translator Toolkit.

We'd really appreciate some support from the Hindi Wikipedia community in our endeavors to build the community of volunteer health translators - they could volunteer themselves or direct people to us who they think are passionate about the language.

You could be very helpful if you could spread the message to others interested.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information

Thanks and Regards
Sridhar


--
Sridhar V
QA and Ops Lead
Google India -Hyderabad
+91-9849897854

Cough: Self-care Measures

Cough can be of two kinds: a dry cough, or one that brings up sputum ( productive) Self-Care Measures For coughs that bring up sputum:

• Drink plenty of liquids.
• Use a vaporizer.
• Take a shower. ITake an over-the -counter cough medicine that contains guaiphenisen.

For coughs that are dry:

• Drink plenty of liquids, essentially hot beverages such as tea, milk or soup. - Suck on cough lozenges.
• Take an over-the-counter cough medicine that contains dextromethorphan.

Call Your Doctor For

• A cough that has started suddenly and lasts for one hour or more without stopping
• A cough afflicting a baby or small child that sounds like a whoop or seal's bark (high pitched like a whistle), and if the baby or child develops a fever of 102° F or higher.
• Weight loss (for no apparent reason), feeling tired, and sweating a lot at night.
• Wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and swelling of the abdomen, legs, and ankles.
• A cough with sputum of any colour. IA cough lasting for more than two weeks.

Get Immediate Care for

• Very hard time breathing or if lips become purple.
• chest pain that spreads to the neck, arm, or jaw.
• Fainting.
• Coughing up blood.

Self-Care Measures: Cold

Symptoms: Sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, dry cough, low-grade fever. Self-Care Measures

• Take adequate rest if you have a fever.
• Drink lots of liquids. Take an over- the -counter medicine (paracetamol and/ or aspirin) for relieving pain and/or fever.
• Use salt water drops for nasal de-congestion. The procedure is as follows: Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water and put three to four drops into each nostril several times a day, using a clean medicine dropper.
• Use a vaporizer or a humidifier, if possible.
• Eat hot and spicy foods, which help in draining the mucus.

Call Your Doctor for

• Quick breathing, troubled breathing or wheezing
• A feeling of weakness or with loss of energy along with delirium
• A bad earache or swollen, painful neck glands - Fever lasting more than three to four days or over 102° F.
• A sore throat that looks red or has white spots.
• A cough that brings up sputum of any color.
• Pain or swelling over your sinuses.