There was a small but significant respite from coronavirus, with steady decline in cases in the last few months of 2020. But the sudden spike of Cornovirus cases with rapid mutations of virus has again put us on our toes. Life has again come to a standstill with expeditious number of cases, challenged medical facilities, fresh lockdowns and vaccination hesitancy. Novel strain of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is again back with loud bang forcing us to again loom in fear and uncertainty.

What serious is the current condition?

With a very high number of daily new cases since end of March, April 5 registered around 96,982 cases. Few states are witnessing massive surge and contribute about 70-80% of these numbers. This has put huge load on healthcare with increased threat to non-availability of beds, ventilators, medical care and oxygen. This worsened outbreak has again put us in scary conditions of health scare, loss of lives and livelihood.

Who is at greater risk?

Similar to first wave this time also our elders above 60 are more exposed to life threatening conditions caused by coronavirus. All people with co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, heart or lung diseases and autoimmune conditions are at tremendous risk.

Has the virus changed, should I be bothered?

Yes, because the virus has mutated and according to the recent reports and studies, virus has become more dangerous and capable of spreading at greater speed. At the same time it is also causing severe illness and complications. The viral load is higher in patients as compared to the first wave. This could be attributed to various mutations virus underwent over the course of time like Brazilian variant, South African variant, Kent variant, double mutant Indian variant, Brazilian variant. These mutations can also reduce the efficacy of the vaccines; but as of now, there is no such confirmation.

Also, unlike previous wave of pandemic, this times virus is affecting young people too, causing severe complications in some cases. However, still most cases remain asymptomatic or mild. But it has potential to cause severe bilateral pneumonia, organ damage and unforeseen complications in long term.

Why are we experiencing second wave?

There may be many factors responsible for this spike.

Human carelessness: With sloppy attitude among people regarding mask, sanitation, hygiene and social distancing virus has again carved its way among us. Coronavirus was never gone completely but, it could not infect so many people as before; because we all were very careful in breaking human chain. But then due to pandemic fatigue and negligent hygienic measures people were less bothered about it, as cases declined. However, situation has reversed now with rapid upsurge of fresh cases.
Mutation in virus with increased ability to cause infection is also responsible for increased number of cases.
Reopening of various activities and relaxation of lockdown along with lax attitude of people in overcrowded areas is culpable.
Are the symptoms experienced same or different?

There are many new set of symptoms reported this time with this new wave of infection. These symptoms are:

Gastrointestinal symptoms like- nausea, vomiting, loose motion, abdominal pain
Cold
Pain in joints, headache, weakness, appetite loss
Fever and cough
Breathlessness
Should one be scared?

No, getting scared does not help but taking adequate precautions can.

What are we supposed to do when we are in between second surge of infection?

Mask, Hand hygiene, Sanitation and Social Distancing still remains our most important weapons in the battle against Coronavirus pandemic.
Vaccine is most important in developing antibodies against the virus. Covishield and Covaxin are currently administered in India above 45 years of age population. The effectiveness of these vaccines against all these variants is still not known; yet they are our most important tool against coronavirus. Get yourself vaccinated when your turn comes and protect yourself.
Even if, you are vaccinated take all precautions. Antibodies take at least 15 days post 2nd dose of vaccine to get fully developed. No vaccine is hundred percent, hence it is very crucial to take all covid precautions even after getting fully vaccinated.
Take both doses of vaccinations; otherwise you may be left vulnerable.
Go for vaccination even if, were infected with COVID earlier. Since, antibodies can wane with time, it is important to take vaccine.
Follow all guidelines as instructed by the government which are designed by the health experts for benefit of our lives. Each life matters and our joint efforts can save us and our families.
Get yourself checked for RT-PCR test if, you have any symptom or you came in contact with the positive patients.
Isolate yourself completely, if, found positive.
Follow doctor’s guideline and local authority’s instructions.
Avoid public places or overcrowded areas. If, not necessary, do not go out.
Eat healthy and fresh foods to boost immunity.
Keep your rooms ventilated and clean.
Keep your shopping/ meeting time short. Follow physical distancing.
If, you are suffering from any other disease, do take medical treatment. Timely treatment of grave diseases is important too.
Avoid falling prey to fake news. Do not get anxious and confirm from official sources.
Practice meditation and yoga. Staying physically fit and mentally healthy is paramount.
Let technology be your friend to stay connected with friends and family. COVID induced isolation can be damaging.
With around 818.80 lakhs people, received their vaccine till date in India; we need to increase our numbers further. Go for it, when you are provided opportunity to take it. This time pandemic has greater spreading potential and we need to act fast. According to government, next four weeks are going to be critical and we cannot keep our guard down. With lots of stress regarding health, life, economy; we have only option to follow all preventive measures against coronavirus to protect our lives.

A pediatrician or private practice doctor’s brief examination of the child’s eyes and vision screening is not a substitution for an eye test done by an eye doctor. Only optometrists and ophthalmologists have the specialized experience and scientific tools to examine your child’s eyes and vision thoroughly.

Children’s eye checks are extremely critical to ensure that your child’s eyes are stable and that he or she may not have any vision issues that may interfere with their schoolwork or jeopardize their protection. Early eye checks are also necessary because children need the following vision skills for optimal learning:

Visual acuity is excellent at all distances.
Eye teaming skills that are both reliable and relaxed
Face coordination skills that are precise
Enhance the child’s learning abilities
At the age of six months, children should undergo their first thorough eye test. Then, at the age of three and right before joining the first grade — at the age of five or six — they should have their eyes checked.

Choose a day when your child is normally conscious and relaxed when arranging an eye test for him or her.

The specifics of how eye checks are performed vary depending on your child’s age, but they also include a case history, vision tests, determining whether eyeglasses are required, eye alignment testing, an eye health assessment, and, if necessary, prescription eyewear. It’s recommended to visit the best opticians in Sri Lanka in order to meet the requirements as mentioned above.

Following your appointment, you will receive a case history questionnaire in the mail. Few optometry offices do have forms that you can download and print at home before your appointment. Alternatively, you will not be given a form until you arrive at the doctor’s office.

The case history form will inquire about your child’s birth history, including birth weight and full-term status.

Your eye doctor may also inquire as to whether there were any complications during the pregnancy or childbirth. Other questions will focus on the child’s medical records, such as prescribed prescriptions and previous or current allergies.

Eye testing for children

As eye diseases in Sri Lanka are rising by the age of six months, babies should be able to see as well as adults in terms of concentrating capacity, colour vision, and depth perception.

The following measurements are often used by doctors to determine if your baby’s eyes are developing normally:

Pupil responses tests determine when the pupil of the eye opens and shuts correctly in the presence and absence of light.
The ability of your baby’s eyes to fixate on and track a moving target, such as a flash, is determined by “fixate and follow” research. (By the time they are 3 months old, babies should be able to fixate on an item and follow it.)
Preferential looking entails using cards with stripes on one hand and blank on the other to draw an infant’s attention to the stripes. Without the use of a traditional eye map, visual skills may be measured in this manner.
Eye testing for preschool children

Some parents are shocked to find that many eye examinations do not require preschool-aged children to recognize their letters, even though they are too young or shy to talk.

The following are some examples of traditional eye tests for young children:

LEA symbols for young children are similar to standard eye tests that use maps of letters, with the exception that special symbols such as an apple, home, rectangle, and circle are used in these tests.
Retinoscopy is a procedure that includes shining a laser into the back of the eye and observing the image (retina). This examination determines whether your child has a cloudy lens (congenital cataract) or a major refractive defect.
Random dot stereopsis assessment measures how well the child’s eyes fit together as a team using unique patterns of dots and 3-D glasses.
Remember that proper vision testing at a young age is critical to ensuring that your child has the visual skills needed to succeed in education. When a child is unable to read or see a blackboard, he or she will get quickly irritated, which can lead to low academic success.

Cancer is one of the diseases which is a nightmare for any individual when it strikes as it is a painful disease and can leave the individual with vulnerability and dread. The loss is in terms of just not health but also wealth as cancer treatments are pretty costly and not everyone with a low economic capability can afford it but there is one thing which comes to the rescue-Cancer Insurance Plan

A cancer insurance plan is an extraordinary insurance plan created specifically to designate the purpose of quick money to the individual on the immediate diagnosis of the disease. The insurance money can come to subside your utility in a lot of ways like the chemotherapies, hospitalization cost, medical procedures, and sometimes even travel. Cancer insurance are quite literally a plunge of a miracle for the individual and everyone should definitely have themselves covered with the best cancer insurance plan but the question arises how to choose the best, so here we are sharing four tips with you on how to choose the best cancer insurance plan

1.Look out for the plan which provides for the coverage of majorly all the stages of Cancer: The best cancer insurance plan is the one which covers you for all the stages of cancer including the minor, major, and early-stage as cancer can be detected at any stage so it is vital that the cancer insurance plan covers all the stages

2.Provides for stage-based payout: It is vital for the best cancer insurance plan to provide you for the stage-based payout for you to pay for the costs at each stage of the treatment. A good plan is one that offers you at least 25% of payout at the preliminary stage and a hundred percent at the final stage so you must look out for the plan which offers you the stage based payout system

3.Allows you for waiver of the premium: The purpose of an individual opting for a cancer insurance plan is to safeguard oneself from the costs as having cancer means deterioration of health due to the intense treatment and the disease itself. When undergoing therapy or treatment, the diagnosed person is unable to work, which means he is at a loss or work so it is essential to choose a cancer insurance plan which offers much-needed financial assistance by providing solutions for these circumstances. Waiver of premium is one such feature of best cancer insurance plans, as it keeps the cancer plan active by waiving off the premium for the next few years, mostly three.

The above mentioned are the tips you must consider before buying the best cancer insurance plan for yourself and the family as these tips can help you choose the plan which can come to your rescue in times of need.

Do you have digestion problem and a weak immunity? If yes, then you must include sprouts in your food. Sprouts carry natural component comprising phytic acid which is an important mineral. It slows down digestive enzymes which lead to indigestion and abdominal gas. It has an enzyme called glucoraphanin which helps our body from cancer causing factors. Let us see the health benefits of eating sprouts, especially for the elders.

Also read: Gotu Kola – The Fountain of Life?

Improves circulation of blood

Sprouts include iron and copper which assists in increasing your blood circulationby promoting the construction of red blood cells.Eating sprouts regularlymakes your circulatory system operate better because blood circulation boosts the absorption of oxygen in your body.

Improves eye-sight

Sprouts are rich in vitamin A which is eventually connected with good vision among adults above 50 years.If you have any eye sight issue before, then you should include sprouted foods as it helps in bringing back your eye health.

Assists in digestion and acidity

Sprouts help to strengthen your metabolic process and enhance chemical reactions in your body which in turn helps in digesting your food faster.

Assists in losing weight

Sprouts have minimal calories which mean you can eat this anytime with any quantity without worrying to gain weight. In fact, when you consume this, you will not feel hungry for a long time as it includes high quantity of fiber.

Boosts immunity power

Old age adults mostly have the issue of weak immunity. You must add sprouts in your daily diet as it contains huge amount of vitamin C and Vitamin A. Vitamin C helps to fight with infections and diseases by adding tonic to the white blood cells. Vitamin A has antioxidants that helps in boosting immune system.

Helps in hair growth

Sprouts help to give tonic to the scalp in order to grow thicker and longer hair. If you have a regular hair loss, it may be because of deficiency of Vitamin A. As we all are aware that sprouts contain high amount of Vitamin A that helps to make the roots of the hair nourished and in good condition at an old age.

Improves heart health

Sprouts contain omega-3 fatty acids which assist in improving good cholesterol levels among the elderly. It lowers down the risk of various heart diseases and harmful cholesterol in your blood vessels. It also assists in lowering down the levels of your blood pressure and also save you from cardiovascular problems.

Good for skin

Who does not want to look youthful? Sprouts include antioxidants which help to battle with cell damaging radicals.These further helps to save your skin from being damaged at an old age.

Conclusion

Now, we are aware that sprouts are a healthy food that include almost all the vitamins and minerals. It boosts our immune system and lower down the risk of infections and diseases especially among the elderly.