koshys hospital

ACIDITY Is It Really Acidity? Or Is it IBS? I see many patients who come with self-diagnosis of acidity and self-medication. Most of them feel surprised when I tell them they actually not suffering from acidity . The fact is self medication is not only harmful but also counter productive. What is Acidity? Burning sensation just below the chest bone in the center either before or after food. If acid is coming upto chest then burning sensation in chest (heart burn) (Hiatus hernia/LAX LES will be discussed in separate blog) . Some times it is so severe that you can confuse this with heart attack. Other symptoms like pins and needle sensation/burning sensation in chest/abdomen alone is probably not.  Pain moving around different parts of abdomen alone is probably not. Back pain alone is probably not. These symptoms alone are not symptoms of acidity . These might be somatization of acidity if associated with symptoms discussed in the first paragraph. These symptoms...

PILES Does Everyone Have Piles? While most patients come with self diagnosis of suffering from piles/hemorrhoids, I reassure them it's normal part of every human being and we are all born with them. Another myth is pain from piles. Piles are painless and cause bleeding, itching and some time jelly like secretions but they very rarely cause pain. Do we need piles? Yes. Contrary to belief Haemorrhoids (piles) are necessary for everyone. They have a role in continence (once ability to control/postpone defecation).  Does Piles cause cancer? They will never cause cancer or turn into one.  How much blood is lost because of bleeding from piles? Most people are concerned about the huge amount of blood they have lost but in most cases it's very little (mls). It looks more as it is mixed with water and water has turned red. It is very rare for one to loose excess amount of blood because of bleeding from piles. This is very rare to cause anaemia (Low blood co...

HERNIA WHAT IS HERNIA? It is a weakened spot through which contents of abdomen come out to lay just below the skin.   Usually there are layers of muscle and sheath covering the intestine before skin and when weakness happens for one or the other reason discussed later in the blog then people develop hernia.  TYPES OF HERNIA Incisional hernia This happens at the site of previous surgery. This type of hernia is because of incomplete healing at the time of previous surgery or as a result of complication of previous surgery like infection. It has to be noted that 5-10% of all patients who had undergone surgery develop this. This is very rare after Laparoscopic or keyhole surgery . Umbilical and paraumbilical hernias Both of these hernia happen around already existing weak spot in abdomen that being umbilicus. Umbilical hernia can be present at the time of birth and there is no need to repair them unless they are big. Usually most of the umbilical herni...

Do I Need to Worry About Blood in the Stool? ( Rectal Bleeding ) When anyone notices blood in the toilet, it brings panic and fear in most people's mind. It is rightly so. But what we have to know is that most of them do not suffer from dreaded Colo-rectal cancer. What are causes of rectal bleeding?? What are likely symptoms? 1. Piles (Hemorrhoids) -- Painless, Recurrent, May be associated with constipation, recurrent, Usually self limiting lasting few days, Like a splash on pan. (separate blog) 2. Fissure -- Painful, few drops, few days. 3. Divericular -- Painless, large quantity, self limiting, 4. Colo-rectal cancer -- few mls, persistent, Associated with other symptoms (Separate blog), mixed with stool. 5. Inflammatory bowel disease -- Long standing, loose motion, slime/jelly 6. Infective colitis -- few days of loose motion and vomiting, settles when infection subsides. When should one worry about rectal bleeding? If it is happening for the ...

Home Remedies for Itching What is pruritisani? It’s a condition which is characterized by excessive itching around anal canal. Even though it is not serious it is socially embarrassing at the least. Problem is compounded by the fact patients feel embarrassed to seek help from doctors at the early stage. This makes treatment even more difficult as patients seek at late stage. By this stage there might be skin damage. What causes pruritisAni? There are many causes which might lead to pruritisAni . Most common cause is incomplete cleaning or minor leakage of feces from anal canal. This can also be caused by 3rd and 4th degree hemorrhoids (piles) . This can also be caused by certain skin conditions which might have already affected different parts of the body. What is the treatment of PruritisAni? PruritisAni gets better with identifying and treatment of cause. If no cause found then simple measures will outlined below will help. What are the home remedies? Tho...

APPENDICITIS Do I Have Appendicitis? Do I Need Surgery? First thing we need to understand is that appendicitis is an surgical emergency. When treated appropriately complications are very few. What are the symptoms of appendicitis? It has dull aching pain around the umbilicus and slowly localizes to right lower side. It is associated with vomiting and anorexia (patient does not feel hungry). If ignored then might lead to temperature, high heart rate (tachycardia). How is appendicitis diagnosed? It's based on history and clinical examination. Blood tests will reveal infection (Increased WBC, CRP). Ultrasound of abdomen might help to confirm the diagnosis but negative ultrasound scan does not rule out possibility of appendicitis. Ultrasound is more important in females as problems in ovaries, fallopian tube and uterus might present in the similar way and ultrasound helps to rule out those possibilities. What is the treatment of appendicitis? In short treatment o...

GALLSTONES   What are the causes of gallstones?  It is difficult to tell what causes gallstones as there are so many associated risks. Its more in females (3:1 compared to men). Incidence increases with age.Morein overweight/obese patients. Can be familial. Its also more in people who starve for long time or have drastic weight loss. Commonly associated with people who eat lot of oily food. As you can understand there is no specific reason. What is the incidence of gallstones in India?   Incidence of gallstones varies in different parts of the world. In India there is huge variations in different parts of the country. North East and Bengal (10%) has highest incidence and south india has lowest (2-3%). In North east and Bengal gallstones can be detected at very early age compared to south India. Is there any medicines for gallstones? Main question which worries the patients is what to do when diagnosed with them. It is more confusing as they get diffe...

ACIDITY 1. I am yet to come across any patient who might have come what ever reason not to complain that they suffer from acidity. This mean almost every body has self diagnosis of acidity which obviously can not be true. 2. Everyone who has the self diagnosis has different home made remedy. If there are so many cures for  one condition surely one solution does not work for all. 3. Most people self medicate with acidity tablets. If a study is conducted actual number of acidity medications sold in India might be more than lolly pops!!! This might be a fact. 4. Foods that cause acidity . Different people list different foods. You do to have to listen to too many. If you listen the foods that need to be avoided from 100 people maximum then you will not be left with anything to eat. So it is plain obvious foods do not cause acidity. It also means you do not have to avoid any food on advise of others.  5. One thing is sure to cause acidity is food habits. As long ...