Cervical Cancer- Everything You Want to Know

As soon as you hear the word ‘cancer’, there is a sense of panic that sets in. No one would wish for themselves or any of their friends/relatives to suffer from a disease like cervical cancer. However, you would do well to note that most cases of cervical cancer are preventable with the aid of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccination as well as appropriate screening. Now what is this HPV and how is it related to cervical cancer? All that is lacking amongst the audience is appropriate awareness about cervical cancer. During this Cervical Health Awareness Month (January is designated as one), let us know more about the risk associated with cervical cancer as well as its prevention.

What is Cervical Cancer and How is it Caused?

HPV is a highly common infection that is known to spread through sexual activities, and most people suffer from cervical cancer due to this virus infection. While many people have this infection without even knowing about it, not all of them (HPV infected population) suffer from cervical cancer.

Majority of the deaths (around 90%) caused by cervical cancer happen in low and middle- income nations. This mortality rate can be reduced with the help of prevention, early diagnosis, appropriate screening and, effective treatment programs.

 

How can Cervical Cancer be Prevented?

HPV vaccination at the right stage can prevent a person from suffering from cervical cancer.

Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer

Effective screening tests for cervical cancer can detect abnormal growth of cells at an early stage before those cells turn into cancer. These regular screenings can be followed up with appropriate care to prevent cervical cancer. Some of the popular screening tests for cervical cancer include HPV testing, VIA (Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid) and Cytology.

Having said that, screening options for cervical cancer may not be available in all the countries, and also it may not be possible for every person to keep doing these tests without understanding or detecting the symptoms of cervical cancer.

Common Symptoms of Cervical Cancer

Some of these might include the following:

  • Pain in the back, leg or pelvic and maybe a swollen leg
  • Vaginal discomfort and odorous (smelly) discharge
  • Vaginal bleeding (after sexual intercourse) that occurs irregularly, between periods, and is not normal
  • Loss of appetite, fatigue, and weight loss

 

What is the Treatment for Cervical Cancer?

Once someone is detected with abnormal cells or precancerous modifications through screening tests, that person needs to undergo follow-up, diagnosis as well as treatment to avoid cervical cancer from setting in or growing to an advanced stage.

BPL ColpoView C1 is a device with an LED lighting system &  powerful data management software for the cervical examination, which helps gynecologists in detecting and treating precancerous lesions.

Depending on the complexity or stage of cancer, various treatment methods can be applied. If you are at a cervical pre-cancer stage, LEEP (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure) or Cryotherapy can prove to be useful.

Most Important things to Keep in Mind for Cervical Cancer Awareness

You can educate others around you to go for HPV shots (vaccine) at a pre-teenage after consulting doctors. Check if you can get hold of any insurance that covers the screening tests for cervical cancer. Keep in mind the symptoms, and note that HPV infection mainly arises out of sexual activity.

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Top Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle in 2020

2020 has begun and many of us have tried to make new resolutions for the year – with fitness being a must in this new decade. Many of us tend to relate fitness with only workouts at the gym, but forget that overall health revolves around a lot of other factors related to eating, drinking, sleeping, physical activity, mental activity, and more. So, what are the things you need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle in 2020? Let us discuss some of these healthy living tips below.

 

6 Best Ways for Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Consistent Physical Activity

Going for swimming sessions or a game of football/cricket every Sunday morning may not be enough to keep your body active, especially when the rest of the week you are sitting for the whole day at work in front of your laptop / PC. Aim for consistency in any physical activity that you do. To avoid boredom, involve yourself in a variety of physical activities on a regular basis – which may be hitting the gym, or going for a swim, or going for a round on cycle, or even playing a game of cricket or football on the turf.

2. Eating at Regular Intervals

Before we dwell on what you should eat and what you shouldn’t, it is important to ensure that you eat something at regular intervals of time. Regardless of how busy you are, do not keep your stomach empty for a long duration.

3. Sleep Well

Ensure your body gets enough sleep on a daily basis. If for some reason you couldn’t sleep for at least 7 hours at night, make sure you have good sleep on the following night. A good night’s sleep will ensure you stay active the whole day and will even improve your efficiency and productivity at work and otherwise.

4. Own Your Mornings

Many of you will give the excuse of lack of time to do any physical activity or maybe to give attention to your own body. Aim to sleep early around 11 p.m. and wake up by 6 a.m. on most days of the week. Keep aside the time from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. for yourself and engage in a few minutes of walking, yoga, cycling, or even a quick yet effective HIIT workout at the gym. This habit shall ensure that your body and your mind stays active for a longer amount of time.

5. Healthy Eating Habits

Have a wholesome breakfast in the morning comprising of idlis or egg omelettes or similar hot food items, along with cereals/oats/muesli, dry fruits, and a glass of milk or fresh fruit juice. Make sure you consume at least two fruits and some salad every day. Drink 2-3 glasses of warm water immediately after waking up in the morning, and drink a minimum of 11 to 12 glasses of water throughout the day. Ensure that your dinner is the lightest meal of the day, and make sure you have it before 8:30 p.m. every day.

6. Prepare Yourself for Tougher Physical Challenges

To keep yourself motivated throughout the year to indulge in physical activities and a healthier diet, try involving your family/ friends in your fitness journey. Try group activities like marathons, hikes, or treks to bring an element of fun and competition into fitness, so you’re always feeling engaged and challenged!

By integrating these tips into your lifestyle, you’ll find yourself loving its positive effects on your overall well-being. So try it out and start 2020 on the right foot!

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Childcare During Pregnancy

The experiences of a woman during her pregnancy are both exciting as well as nervous. If you are someone who has gone through pregnancy or are currently going through one, you would understand the anxiety you have to just ensure everything about the baby (in your growing belly) is perfect! It is normal to be anxious, but it is also necessary to focus on the things in your hand – like eating healthy foodstuffs, keeping your body active and fit, and keeping your mind stress-free.

Let us touch upon these points in brief before we discuss ways to check the heartbeats of the baby after the initial few weeks of pregnancy.

Wholesome Diet

You will crave for different kinds of food items during pregnancy, and you may consume them subject to approval from your gynaecologist. Additionally, you need to ensure that you do consume enough fruits, vegetables, dry fruits, etc. to have an appropriate intake of protein, carbohydrates, calcium, minerals, and fats, that are required for you and the baby.

Body Fitness

Do not stop working just because you are pregnant. Keep yourself engaged in your office work and household work, as well as try and go for early morning walks to get fresh air into the body.

The well-being of the Baby

As you happen to read more about how to bond well with the baby as well as know everything is OK with the baby, you will come to know about the ability of certain devices to help you hear the heartbeats of your baby. How wonderful is that experience going to be? For the initial period of your pregnancy (before the baby starts kicking), these heartbeats will perhaps be the only way by which you identify the baby. This is when you will bump into words like ‘fetal doppler’, which is a hand-held, ultrasound device that is used by practitioners to enable you to hear the heartbeat of the baby during prenatal checkups/appointments.

How does the Fetal Doppler Work?

It makes use of sound waves to enable you to detect the heartbeats of the baby and make you hear the same. To start off, the device sends out high-frequency sound waves that get reflected from various tissues. Once the doppler is able to detect a heartbeat, it manages to convert the same into an auditory signal – so the doctor and you can hear the heartbeat. Isn’t this exciting for the to-be parents of the baby?

A reliable fetal doppler is offered by BPL Medical Technologies along with an LCD display so that the doctor can monitor the heart rate accurately. It makes sense to use the doppler under the guidance of the doctor so that he/she can guide you to look at the necessary things and hear the heartbeat in the best way possible.

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Defibrillators: What Do They Do?

In this digital age, we seem to have more options for entertainment and recreation. However, our hectic lifestyle and inconsistent food habits have made us vulnerable to several diseases and some severe conditions like cardiac arrests.

Gone are the days when only people with cholesterol and heart problems suffer from cardiac arrests. There are several cases of Sudden Cardiac Arrests (SCAs) and millions of Indians seem to succumb to this, sometimes without any obvious health warnings. When SCA occurs, the heart of the person stops beating/functioning abruptly. If this situation is not handled immediately, it can lead to the death of the individual. These SCAs are caused due to a condition called as Ventricular Fibrillation (VF). In such conditions, it is mandatory to get the heart ‘defibrillated’ as soon as possible – as the chances of survival for the person (suffering from SCA) decreases by 7 to 10% for every minute lost (and in which normal heartbeat is not restored).

Clearly, minutes (or even seconds) stand between you remaining alive and you giving up your life to a SCA. This is where a portable device like Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can help you. These AEDs enable you to save a life within a few minutes.

What exactly does an Automated External Defibrillator do?

The good part about an AED medical device is that it is easy to operate, equipped with automated voice controls, and relatively light in weight to carry around. So, you can easily keep it in your medical emergency kit (in an ambulance or other first-response vehicles) and use it whenever the situation arises with the help of the voice commands.

AEDs are known to deliver an electric shock via the chest, to the heart. This kind of shock is used to potentially halt an irregular heartbeat and resume a normal heartbeat, after the occurrence of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA).

 

Steps to Effectively Use Automated External Defibrillators

1. With the help of electrodes, the AED checks the person’s heart rhythm and determines if defibrillation is required.

2. If heart rhythm is irregular and defibrillation is needed, the voice command will instruct the device user (rescuer) to press the ‘Shock’ button.

3. Once the shock is given, the heart stops all activities for a moment and gets the chance to resume normal heartbeats.

4. The user simply has to follow the rest of the steps as per the voice commands.

The AEDs (also known as Public Access Defibrillators) available at BPL Medical Technologies, can be installed in public places such as malls, theatres, airports, railway stations, bus stations, office buildings, hotels, and so on so that life can be saved just in time when needed. In short, these should be present at locations where someone suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest need not depend on timely help from a doctor. They are so compact that they can be strategically placed outside elevators, inside cafeterias, inside convention centers, near changing rooms at sports venues, in main corridors or reception areas, and more.

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Air Purifier: An alarming need to invest in your health

Where do you spend a major part of your day? Is it at home or in the office? Or maybe you are the third category of people who spend a lot of time on the road (travelling) if your work demands the same? Most of us are likely to belong to the initial two categories – which involves spending maximum time indoors.

You often hear people complain about the deteriorating air quality while travelling outside. But, do you know that the quality of indoor air (at home or office) is much worse than the air outside (as per EPA estimates). The indoor air is susceptible to different kinds of dust particles, germs, and similar micro-sized items, which when inhaled by you can cause allergies, breathing problems and related diseases, and even serious health issues.

This is scary – considering the amount of time you spend at the office for work, and at home for relaxation, unwinding, and getting some much-needed sleep. So, how do you ensure you breathe better quality of air indoors? Invest in a good set of air purifiers – and ensure better health for yourself, your family members, and your office colleagues.

In this post, let us find out how air purifiers can be an effective investment for your health maintenance through purification of indoor air.

What do Air Purifiers Do?

These purifiers comprise of few internal fans that pull the air circulating in your rooms/office space. They start removing airborne germs (bacteria), dust particles, pollen, and so on with the help of well-maintained filters. The purified air is then released back into the rooms/office space. This cycle of air purification keeps repeating at periodic intervals of time – till the time the air purifier is switched ON. Thus, they keep your surroundings free from harmful airborne particles and enable you to breathe relatively fresh and pure air while you are indoors.

Benefits Offered by Air Purifiers

Prevents Dust from Settling

No matter how much cleaning you get done at your home or office, dust will find a way to accumulate and start entering the bodies of people when they inhale air. This dust may come in from the nearby road or playground, or from the nearby construction site, and cause complications like sinus, watering of eyes, pulmonary issues, breathing problems, and so on.  The air purifier will trap the dust particles and get rid of most of them before releasing the improved air back to the indoor environment.

Gets Rid of Unpleasant Odour

Apart from removing harmful micro-sized particles from the air, their purifiers also help you to get rid of bad odour coming out of the kitchen (due to specific items being cooked), or from the socks, or from wet clothes. Thus, you need not worry about that bad odour causing cough, nausea or breathing issues.

Decreases Exposure to Harmful Smoke

Smoke – be it from cigarettes or from industries or from vehicle traffic is harmful to the human body as it may cause serious diseases related to the lungs or even aggravate the condition of people suffering from Asthma and any pulmonary complications.  Most of the harmful particles that emerge out from such smoke emissions can be removed with the help of air purifiers.

Keeps You Safe from Your Beloved Pets

You may think how can your healthy pet cause health issues to you. Well, many of those furry animals release airborne dander and similar allergens into the environment that can have a negative impact on your lungs over a long period of time. By using air purifiers, you can negate the impact of these airborne allergens coming out from your pet!

The above-listed are few of the benefits offered by an air purifying device. Most importantly, you can consider themselves as a must for a healthier lifestyle in home and office environments. BPL Medical Technologies has a wide range of compact and effective air purifiers, and you can browse through a variety of them here.

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How Can You Contribute to Make the Air Around Cleaner?

We all are alive as long as we breathe. Are you aware of the quality of air that you breathe? Is it good, average, bad, worse or worst? Considering the various ways in which human beings have started polluting the environment, most of us are breathing air that is not good!

And this impacts the health of your lungs and could be the source for many complications or diseases that can happen to you in the future. It is therefore essential that you start taking small steps towards reducing air pollution, which in turn will make the air around cleaner. Let us have a look at some of these steps in this post.

Important Measures to Keep the Air Clean

Reduce Usage of Your Car

Just because you own a car doesn’t mean you take it along with you wherever you go. Stop taking the car daily to your office and instead opt for car-pooling or use public transport occasionally. For extremely short distances, walk around or cycle your way to the destination.

Make Your Car More Efficient

Whenever you use your car, make sure it utilizes less fuel by switching off the engine at signals, as well as ensuring the tyres are properly inflated. Additionally, get your car serviced regularly so that it remains efficient and utilizes less fuel.

Reduce Consumption of Energy

Electricity and gas pollute the air significantly. So, it makes sense to use them sparingly only when required. For example, keep your air conditioner ON to cool your room for an hour or so before you go to bed instead of keeping it ON the whole night. Try to maintain the temperature of the air conditioner around 24 degrees and avoid lower temperatures.

Use that washing machine or dishwasher at home only when you have full load. Avoid burning of wood for any purpose, and make limited usage of heaters during winter by switching it ON only in the rooms where you sit (instead of turning ON the heaters in all rooms).

Plant More Trees

Develop the habit of having few plants at your home, in your building, and in your surrounding areas. Start taking initiatives of planting more trees in a group at periodic intervals. Educate your kids to do the same so that the message gets spread to many people. As plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen, they help to make the air clean.

These are some simple tips to make the air cleaner. There is another way to ensure that you breathe cleaner air at home, office, and wherever you go – by making use of air purifiers. BPL Medical Technologies offers a wide range of compact air purifiers and you can choose the one ideal for your requirements by having a look at them here.

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Ultrasounds: Not Just for Expecting Mothers!

There are different Imaging techniques like X-rays, CT Scans, etc. which help to identify sources of particular diseases or certain defects in a human body.

‘Ultrasound’ is one of the widely used applications for Expecting mothers and Gynaecology applications. The use of Ultrasound machines is considered safer as they do not involve harmful ionized radiation. Plus, this technique shows a better picture of the baby in the uterus, thereby, allowing the doctor to check most details about the baby such as heartbeat, age, growth, movement, muscle tone, and overall development.

However, Ultrasound is not restricted to use only for pregnant women. So, what does it exactly do and what are its major areas of application?

Understanding Ultrasound

It is a diagnostic imaging technique/method that forms images of internal body organs and structures using high-frequency sound waves. The structures/organs whose images are created can be kidney, liver, as well as blood vessels, joints, tendons, muscles, and so on. The ultrasound technique helps physicians/doctors to examine your body for certain complications.

How do the Ultrasound Machines Work?

To make images of soft tissue structures/organs, this machine triggers sound waves (of high frequency) that get reflected from the relevant body structures. These sound waves  The computer then creates the corresponding image/picture after receiving the waves. This medical imaging technique has to be implemented by a trained physician / professional who has past experience of handling it.

As mentioned above, the Ultrasound machines can be used to diagnose conditions related to various internal body organs, and hence its usage is not limited to performing sonography (the technique of creating an image using sound waves) in expecting mothers. Few example areas of application for Ultrasound are as listed under:

  • To study blood vessels, heart, abdominal as well as pelvic organs
  • To understand the root causes of infection, swelling or pain in various internal organs of the body
  • To measure and analyze the blood flow in arteries and eventually identify blockages, if any
  • To detect cysts or related unusual growths in pancreas, liver, etc.
  • To identify cases of fatty liver or liver cancer

Advantages of Ultrasound Diagnosis Technique

As it does not use any form of radiation, it is quite safe in comparison to X-rays and CT scans. This technique is generally painless and does not cause any discomfort. It helps to create images of soft tissues that may not be clearly visible in X-rays. It is portable and less expensive as compared to other medical imaging techniques.

Hope the above points have brought clarity in your mind with regards to the various applications (in addition to baby diagnosis in pregnant women) and benefits offered by ultrasound machines. BPL Medical Technologies has a specialized set of ultrasound products that deliver high-quality image performance and unparalleled operating efficiency. You can have a glimpse at these ultrasound machines here.

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Protect Your Lungs- Breathe Safe!

Diwali is one of the most awaited festivals in India. While people look forward to the exchange of gifts and sweets, new clothes, following the traditional rituals, and so on, there are concerns for many related to the bursting of firecrackers and the corresponding air pollution it results into. There is already considerable air pollution in India, and during Diwali, the air gets further contaminated with excessive smoke. This creates problems for people suffering from lung disorders like Asthma and bronchiolitis, especially amongst kids.

A child suffering from Asthma, he/she needs to get used to taking regular Asthma medication. The related medicines need to be administered to the lungs, for which it is recommended to make use of inhalers/nebulizers. This will help kids to breathe easily and faceless troubles with excessive smoke during festivals like Diwali.

How does a Nebulizer Help?

A nebulizer is a piece of medical equipment that can be used for administering medicines straight to the lungs and respiratory system for lung disorder patients (especially kids suffering from Asthma). This medical device helps to convert the liquid medicines into a fine mist that can be inhaled by the patient through a mouthpiece or face mask.

How to Use Nebulizers?

Doctors or nurses generally explain the method to use nebulizers for relevant patients and their family members. There may be some differences between how two nebulizer machines operate – hence, it is critical to ensure that patients seek guidance as well as read the instruction manual thoroughly before starting to use any nebulizer machine.

Few basic steps involved in the use of a nebulizer are as under:

  • Clean the device and medicine cup/container properly
  • Wash hands
  • Check the correct measurement of the medicine to be consumed
  • Put the medicine in the cup/container
  • Connect the tube to the machine
  • Assemble the mask and mouthpiece
  • Power ON and check if the device is administering the medication in the form of a mist
  • place the mask appropriately over your nose and mouth to leave no gaps
  • Start taking slow and deep breaths through the mouthpiece until the medicine is consumed entirely, by keeping the medicine cup/container upright during this step (which may take a few minutes)

We have seen the effective usage of nebulizers to ensure kids and adults suffering from Asthma (or similar lung disorders) can reduce the impact of smoke polluted air during a festival like Diwali. BPL Medical Technologies offers a variety of nebulizer machines which can help Asthma patients enjoy Diwali like every other person. You can purchase our nebulizer available on Amazon here.

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Why You Should Check Your Blood Pressure

To first appreciate the importance of monitoring your blood pressure, one must first understand what blood pressure is all about. Many patients suffering from high blood pressure or Hypertension undermine the importance of monitoring it, which could result in fatal consequences. Hence, let’s first start to understand the critical nature of an increased Blood Pressure

Defining Blood Pressure

The constant beating of the heart is facilitated through continuous pumping of blood. The blood circulating within the body provides energy and oxygen it needs to keep the anatomy functioning. Now, as blood moves, it flows against the walls of the blood vessels, the requisite strength of pushing blood through these vessels is defined as blood pressure.

If the blood pressure is high, it puts extra strain on your arteries (and your heart) which may lead to heart ailments and strokes. Blood pressure is measured in ratio. The ratio numbers are known as systolic BP (the top number) and diastolic BP (the bottom number). Normal blood pressure is considered to be around 120/80 mmHg.

Why are timely checks on blood pressure necessary?

Prevention is better than Cure

How is your sedentary lifestyle affecting you? Also, whether the medications you take are causing more harm than good, monitoring your overall health including your Blood Pressure from time to time is the best way to keep certain factors in check and preventing uncalled health ailments. Also, timely checks on your health can help your doctors derive a better prognosis in case of any illness and prescribe medication accordingly.

Raises Alarm on Unhealthy Lifestyle

Professionals working in a corporate environment dwell more than often on unhealthy habits, eating junk food, meals at irregular time intervals, inconsistent sleep cycles, working for long hours which could all lead to various cardiovascular illnessess. One of the early indicators for heart ailments can be high/low blood pressure. This makes it crucial to consistently monitor your blood pressure levels and maintain a healthy lifestyle

Makes you aware of an early diagnosis

Monitoring your blood pressure on a regular and timely interval can make you aware and keep you prepared for an unforeseen health condition. In this digital age, stress and hypertension are common occurrences in lives of people, increasing the likelihood of them suffering from heart ailments A major problem is people being ignorant or unaware about a shooting Blood Pressure.  It’s, therefore, necessary that you keep a regular check on your blood pressure levels through periodic use of a BP monitor.

Timely blood pressure checks can help doctors monitor bodily functions in an efficient manner which could be of great help in avoiding added pressure to the kidneys and curtail diabetes at an initial stage.

Having better self-control

The best way to keep your health in a good condition is through having a  strong sense of responsibility towards your health. Monitoring your blood pressure at timely intervals gives you a fair idea regarding whether you need to change your diet, increase your physical activity or even consult a physician.

This is necessary for all age groups – including teenagers. Students could possibly be suffering from blood pressure problems as they come under an increasing amount of stress due to academic pressure, performance anxiety, etc. Hence, it is very critical for parents to keep a check on the overall health  of their kids for a healthy future

Avoiding Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

One of the major causes of global deaths is cardiovascular ailments. The driving factor contributing to these diseases is high blood pressure. Several studies point towards a conclusion that almost 50% of adults suffer from high blood pressure.

In metropolitan and high rate commercial cities hypertension has already become rampantly prevalent with lifestyle changes, obesity, stress, etc. This could be avoided or for that matter controlled through various timely interventions monitoring your blood pressure being the primary and the most easy way to ensure you stay healthy and away from diseases. One needs to comprehend the variances between the types of blood pressure measurement techniques and take steps in the right direction

With medical technology getting more accessible, patients are more informed more aware of the health hazards that they face every day. Prevention, Wellness are concepts being touted to bring in the next change in the healthcare industry.

BPL Medical Technologies is at the forefront of manufacturing portable and user-friendly home health devices, enabling people to start a healthy life from home. BP Monitors, Nebulizers, Thermometers, Pulse Oximeters are few of the devices BPL manufactures in India India, which has been found to have the highest number of hypertensive patients, hence monitoring blood pressure through BP monitors is of supreme significance.

Some of the BP monitors which BPL Manufactures are defined on accuracy, durability and customer experience while keeping their wellbeing at the forefront.

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