[Sugeeta]

Urgent help needed for son wrt tonsilitis :

Youngest son aged 13.5 years; he has a poor appetite and tries to shirk eating food, though I try to cook the dishes he likes. Though he is an active boy and plays cricket for his school in the under-15 team, I am noticing somewhat slow growth in terms of height and weight over the last 1 year. He has perpetually enlarged tonsils on either side of the throat which make swallowing of food rather tough. My husband's friend who is a doctor with a reputed hospital recommended some antibiotics, which did not help for long - tonsils remained enlarged. The same doctor has recommended removing the tonsils by operation or using alternative medicine like homeopathy. Many people have mentioned that chronic problems like tonsilis can be cured effectively by homeopathy. I have never tried this branch of medicine on my children.

If any of you have tried homeopathic treatment with success for your children, please share your experience with me. Also, can anyone recommend a good homeopath in Delhi?

Originally Posted by lsp

I went for my anual dental checkup which is almost always in the last fortnight of March every year. My dentist, among other things, advised to get rid of my wisdom teeth, citing reasons that they are not really useful in chewing, people have survived most of their life without them, they are diffivult to clean, decay/cavity in them will lead to the other nearby teeth getting spoilt.

Now this is the first time I am hearing such a thing (and I visit a dentist regularly), as surgically removing wisdom teeth. I politely refused to do so and asked him to just proceed with the couple of cavities I have developed in the last year.

Is this some new age thing - removing the wisdom teeth? Please comment.

Absolutely no reason to touch them if they are not impacting the adjoining teeth or the jaw structure.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

How do I find out what vaccination's I've got? What if I've lost the documentation pertaining to vaccinations I've received so far? Can a blood test be done and can it be found?

Further vaccine questions:

Tetanus inoculation is effective for ten years? ... but I just heard said that that given in India only protects for six months. Is this true?

Rabies ... I took a post-exposure course after being bitten by a cat a few years ago. Do I need a booster for this, and if so, after how long?

[carboy]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

The same doctor has recommended removing the tonsils by operation or using alternative medicine like homeopathy. Many people have mentioned that chronic problems like tonsilis can be cured effectively by homeopathy. I have never tried this branch of medicine on my children.

If any of you have tried homeopathic treatment with success for your children, please share your experience with me. Also, can anyone recommend a good homeopath in Delhi?

There is a separate thread for alternative treatments - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...t-options.html

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Further vaccine questions:

Tetanus inoculation is effective for ten years? ... but I just heard said that that given in India only protects for six months. Is this true?

Rabies ... I took a post-exposure course after being bitten by a cat a few years ago. Do I need a booster for this, and if so, after how long?

Yes, the TTS in india is for 6 months. The DPT booster is for 10 yrs usually available abroad.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Further vaccine questions:

Tetanus inoculation is effective for ten years? ... but I just heard said that that given in India only protects for six months. Is this true?

Rabies ... I took a post-exposure course after being bitten by a cat a few years ago. Do I need a booster for this, and if so, after how long?

TT is effective for 10 years. Do not worry. You are getting confused probably with Anti tetanus Serum which is a new product and gives you passive immunity. Unless you got a very serious wound no doctor would give you anything more than a single shot of TT in your gluteal area.

Rabies no need for booster. The course is completed in 3 months ( textbooks) and some places may give you a shorter course depending upon the wound and the risk of acquiring rabies.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

How do I find out what vaccination's I've got? What if I've lost the documentation pertaining to vaccinations I've received so far? Can a blood test be done and can it be found?

I think you can get Antibody Titres done for all the vaccines that you think you have taken. It will show whether they were/are effective or not. But this will be a costly affair, so avoid if its not truly necessary.

[Deep Blue]

Besides, I dont think antibody titre estimation is available for all vaccines in most labs. Hepatitis B antibody titres are available though.

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hello Doctors,

help to an extent, as in the frequency of the headaches reduced.

However, of late, the headaches have started again and that too very frequently [at least once in 2 weeks or so]. The pain in the forehead region is quite bad, but even worse than that is the pain in the neck, shoulder and at the back of the skull, where the hairline ends. Sometimes the pain is so much that I cannot even keep my eyes open or bear any noise at all. Saridon/Anacin/Disprin/pain balms - nothing helps, except Nise.

I've heard from quite a few people that too much of Nise consumption is not advisable.

Cheers,
Vikram

NISE or NIMESULIDE is banned or never introduced in most countries abroad. I thought it was banned in India sometime last year or was it only for paediatric use?

[johnjacob]

Hi experts,

The past couple of years, I have started flossing my teeth on a daily basis, just before brushing in the mornings. This makes my teeth feel really clean and I don't think I can go back to just brushing.

But where can I get good dental floss in Bangalore? I stay in the Marathahalli area, and I used to get floss from Hypercity. At first, Hypercity stocked good quality Oral-B waxed floss, Rs 85 for 100 meters. Later, they started stocking some poorer quality Oral-B starter floss, Rs 130 odd for 50 meters. And this starter floss frays quickly and sometimes breaks and gets stuck in my teeth, which is very annoying. Now Hypercity has stopped stocking floss completely.

None of the medical shops I have visited have floss available. I have visited several popular medical shops, but I have of course not gone to every single one in the area. I searched online (flipkart and letsbuy) but no luck there either. Ebay India has some, but at exorbitant prices.

So where can I get some good quality waxed dental floss in Bangalore?

Thanks!
- John

[abdriver2000]

My father (81 yrs) had swelling in his right leg near the ankle about a year ago. Doctor said it was due to narrow arteries. He was put on medication for about 6 months and the medication was stopped last month. 2 days ago, his other foot had a similar swelling. However, this time the doctor says it is internal infection and has put him on antibiotics. He has advised admitting him in hospital if no significant improvement happens in next 2 days. His Serum Uric acid is 7.7

Is there a specialist for such ailments? If he is only going to be administered medicines or tests, I can do that at home. Don't want to go the hospital route if it is a minor thing.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

Hi experts,

The past couple of years, I have started flossing my teeth on a daily basis, just before brushing in the mornings. This makes my teeth feel really clean and I don't think I can go back to just brushing.

But where can I get good dental floss in Bangalore? I stay in the Marathahalli area, and I used to get floss from Hypercity. At first, Hypercity stocked good quality Oral-B waxed floss, Rs 85 for 100 meters. Later, they started stocking some poorer quality Oral-B starter floss, Rs 130 odd for 50 meters. And this starter floss frays quickly and sometimes breaks and gets stuck in my teeth, which is very annoying. Now Hypercity has stopped stocking floss completely.

None of the medical shops I have visited have floss available. I have visited several popular medical shops, but I have of course not gone to every single one in the area. I searched online (flipkart and letsbuy) but no luck there either. Ebay India has some, but at exorbitant prices.

So where can I get some good quality waxed dental floss in Bangalore?

Thanks!
- John

Oral B is not the only player in the floss market. Colgate have also come up with their waxed floss and i think the price is around 50 for 25 metres. Ive been using it for over a year and a half now and am satisfied with it. I had a bit of an incident with the oral b superfloss and have therefore avoided it after i moved to colgate. Havent had similar incidents till date.
Also you can check out foodworld and health and glow. Usually i get mine from these places.

[searchingheaven]

Doctors, I am a XII std. 18 year old boy, preparing for entrances. Due to exam pressure, i am not able to concentrate. Whenever i have to study, i just don't feel like doing it. Even during study my mind wavers off and i find that i did not complete my targeted study.I am depressed due to this.I drink a lot of caffiene drinks. Please suggest some remedies for my decreasing concentration. I sleep well too(12:00 AM to 07:00 AM).

[bblost]

Originally Posted by searchingheaven

Doctors, I am a XII std. 18 year old boy, preparing for entrances. Due to exam pressure, i am not able to concentrate. Whenever i have to study, i just don't feel like doing it. Even during study my mind wavers off and i find that i did not complete my targeted study.I am depressed due to this.I drink a lot of caffiene drinks. Please suggest some remedies for my decreasing concentration. I sleep well too(12:00 AM to 07:00 AM).

Too much caffeine is counter productive.

[archat68]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hello Doctors,

4 years or so ago, I used to get really bad and frequent headaches, prompting me to check my vision and also visit a neurosurgeon. The outcome of that was "all okay", except that I suffered from migraine. I was advised to sleep well, not take too much stress and try and identify what foodstuffs & beverages I consumed before the onset of the headache. I did this, but could not pin down any common occurrence except Paneer. Following the above advice did help to an extent, as in the frequency of the headaches reduced.

However, of late, the headaches have started again and that too very frequently [at least once in 2 weeks or so]. The pain in the forehead region is quite bad, but even worse than that is the pain in the neck, shoulder and at the back of the skull, where the hairline ends. Sometimes the pain is so much that I cannot even keep my eyes open or bear any noise at all. Saridon/Anacin/Disprin/pain balms - nothing helps, except Nise.

I've heard from quite a few people that too much of Nise consumption is not advisable. Is that right? If yes, what is a reasonable dose? Is once or twice in 15 days also too much? Also, isn't there any cure for migraine at all? I'm willing to try alternative medicines like Homeopathy too.

I am 36 years old, 5'9'', 70 kgs, exercise at least 4 times a week and eat a balanced diet [IMO ]. Not a fan of junk food or colas either.

Cheers,
Vikram

Visit a good doctor of medicine or neurologist. There are some good preventive medicines for migraines which if taken regularly will lessen both frequency and intensity of your symptoms. The doctor will be able to assess your condition and will prescribe you correct medicine according to intensity and frequency of your symptoms.
I also suffer from migraine :( .

[carboy]

Originally Posted by archat68

Visit a good doctor of medicine or neurologist. There are some good preventive medicines for migraines which if taken regularly will lessen both frequency and intensity of your symptoms. The doctor will be able to assess your condition and will prescribe you correct medicine according to intensity and frequency of your symptoms.
I also suffer from migraine :( .

My wife was recently diagnosed with migraine. This was not by our regular doc, but a doc we go to only on emergencies (coz he is near). This guy never gives out a prescription, but gives meds (from his stock) for 2 days only. He gave some meds which worked like a charm. (my wife just had to take 3 doses out of the given 6 doses - each dose having 3 tablets). But we have no clue what the meds are. The doc had said it's caused by monthly hormonal changes. I am going to him again to ask him what the meds are but not sure if he will tell me - sometimes he seems reluctant.

So I wanted to ask docs here - what's the latest line of treatment for migraine?

[archat68]

Originally Posted by carboy

My wife was recently diagnosed with migraine. This was not by our regular doc, but a doc we go to only on emergencies (coz he is near). This guy never gives out a prescription, but gives meds (from his stock) for 2 days only. He gave some meds which worked like a charm. (my wife just had to take 3 doses out of the given 6 doses - each dose having 3 tablets). But we have no clue what the meds are. The doc had said it's caused by monthly hormonal changes. I am going to him again to ask him what the meds are but not sure if he will tell me - sometimes he seems reluctant.

So I wanted to ask docs here - what's the latest line of treatment for migraine?

Depends on the frequency of attack. If you get headache quite regularly, you'll need a preventive. Else you'll be prescribed some medicines to treat the acute phase of migraine which has to be taken as and when required.
There are several preventives starting from Flunarizine, there are some anti-depressants, some anti-epileptic drugs and some medicines used to treat high blood pressure. The doctor will be the best judge to suggest the best preventive if you need a preventive at all.

For acute attacks there are certain group of medicines which work very well (triptans and ergot derivatives). Even for some combination of Paracetamol and an anti-nauseant medicine works well.

But all the medicines have one or another side-effects. So, your doctors will be the best judge to weigh the risk/benefit ratio for a particular medicine and prescribe it to you.

BTW I'm not a doctor and I do not prefer doctors who doesn't write a prescription but that's my preference.