KATHMANDU: The World Kidney Day has been marked by organizing kidney-related awareness programs across the country on Thursday. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli attended a program to mark the Day at the TU Teaching Hospital (TUTH) this morning.

Speaking at the program the Prime Minister urged people to maintain proper food habits, do regular physical exercises for the safety of kidneys. The PM also participated in a walkathon along with the hosts as part of the program.

The program was organized by the TUTH’s Department of Nephrology, Physician for Social Responsibility Nepal and Free Students’ Union. Talking to Khabarhub, Dr. Pukar Chandra Shrestha, executive director and kidney transplant specialist at Shahid Dharma Bhakta National Transplant Center, Bhaktapur, said a total of 3 million Nepali people are suffering from kidney ailments in Nepal. Of the total 3 million kidney patients, the 3,000 patients’ kidneys fail annually, Shrestha added.

The number of kidney patients receiving government treatment allowance has been increasing. The data maintained by the Nursing and Social Security Division (NSSD) shows that, in the Fiscal Year 2018/19, the number of patients taking government subsidy on kidney disease has doubled. A total of 4,661 kidney patients took government subsidy for the medicine, according to the division.

According to the statistics maintained by the Division, in the 2017-18 Fiscal Year, 2, 625 kidney patients received government allowance, of which 2,197 took the subsidy for hemodialysis, 88 took allowance for peritoneal dialysis service. Similarly, the 142 people took the service for transplantation service while 198 people took government subsidy for medicine.

In the Fiscal Year 2016/17, 4,300 people had received the government treatment subsidy, of which 1,939 patients took government allowance for haemodialysis, 85 took allowance for peritoneal dialysis while 157 received allowance for transplant services. Similarly, 222 people took subsidy for medicine, according to the data maintained by the NSSD.

Of them, 4,110 kidney patients took subsidy for haemodialysis, 188 took subsidy for peritoneal dialysis while 249 took subsidy for kidney transplantation while 114 took subsidy for medicine.

According to the record of the Division, a total of 8, 246 kidney patients have undergone haemodialysis while 361 peritoneal dialysis. Similarly, 548 patients underwent kidney transplantation service while 534 took government subsidy for medicine.

Given the data above, the number of kidney patients is growing every year. According to Dr. Shrestha, the kidneys fail due to unhealthy lifestyle and when the people do not undergo kidney-checking. High blood pressure and diabetes are the major causes of kidney failure, Shrestha told Khabarhub. Shrestha advise people to visit the hospital for kidney check-up once a year.

Govt. provides subsidy for kidney patients

The government has defined kidney disease as acute ailment and been providing subsidy to the patients for dialysis, transplantation and medicine. The government has been providing Rs. 400,000 to those kidney patients willing to undergo kidney transplantation in Nepal while those undergoing dialysis will get Rs. 100,000, among others.

Similarly, the government provides Rs. 50,000 each to kidney donors and receivers for their lab test, Rs. 2,500 for haemodialysis per session and 90 packets for peritoneal dialysis.

KATHMANDU: Doctors at the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu have been found to be working in connivance with medical suppliers in extorting high fees from orthopedics patients.

The center premise does not have pharmacies that sell orthopedic supplies. Private orthopedic suppliers have unchecked entry inside the center who brokers a deal with the needy patients into buying their supplies at a high rate. Doctors facilitate these suppliers by providing the details of the patients and who in turn are rewarded with sales commissions.

The center prepares the list of all patients receiving treatment at the center on a daily basis. Doctors pass the list to the representatives of orthopedic supplier companies, according to a staff at the center.

The government claims it provides treatment free of cost. However, the patients and their relatives are forced to negotiate with representatives of private medical suppliers as part of their treatment in buying orthopedic implants. Doctors as well as its staff at the center participate in the racket.

Gopal Ramtel from Dhading district, who got admitted at the center for leg injuries, complained that he had to negotiate with a representative of an orthopedic company for an iron rod to be implanted in his leg.

“The representative had demanded Rs. 30,000 for the rod. When I said that I did not have that much money he offered the rod at Rs. 25,000,” he said.

Neither the trauma victims nor their relatives have any idea of the exact price of the implants to be bought. They are forced to settle the deal decided by the representatives of orthodox suppliers.

On receiving the call, the representatives visit the center, meet the concerned patients and negotiate on the product, as informed by the doctor.

The center prepares the list of all patients receiving treatment at the center on a daily basis. Doctors pass the list to the representatives of orthopedic supplier companies, according to a staff at the center.

“At the order of senior doctors in every department, resident doctors at the center phone the representatives of orthopedics implant suppliers and avail them with the details of the patients,” said a doctor at the center.

On receiving the call, the representatives visit the center, meet the concerned patients and negotiate on the product, as informed by the doctor.

“As soon as a patient is admitted to the center, doctors present us with the list of materials required. We pay a certain amount to the doctors for the service,” said a representative Khabarhub met inside the center.

Dr. Binod Sherchan, acting director at the center admits that the representatives of orthopedic supplying companies have free access to the center. “Pharmacies in the center premise do not sell orthopedic implant materials. So, the representatives of private companies are allowed inside the center,” he clarified.

KATHMANDU: Smuggling of invaluable medicinal herbs continues unabated in Nepal.

Authorities have claimed that high demand for the rare medicinal herbs in the markets of India, China, and other countries has tempted smugglers towards this lucrative business.

Around 7 hundred species of medicinal herbs are available in Nepal, according to a study conducted by the Department of Forests.

These rare species of herbs are going to be extinct if not protected by the government. The unbridled smuggling has posed a serious threat to the herbs.

Ayurvedic pharmaceutical industries, including the government-owned Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana, have complained that they are facing a shortage of medicinal herbs in recent times.

Herbs worth Rs millions smuggled

The absence of effective monitoring has encouraged smugglers to smuggle these herbs.

On February 8, police arrested a person Sher Singh Dhami, 48, with 715 kilograms of Setak Chini, locally known as Khiraula, concealed in a house at Chainpur of Bajhang district. Dhami, who originally hails from Apihimal Rural Municipality, Dharchula, landed in police net while he was preparing to smuggle the herbs to India.

On October 30, a squad of Armed Police Force (APF), Kalabanjar seized 75 kilograms of spikenard (Jatamasi) from Duduwa Rural Municipality of Banke.

Similarly, on September 22, police rounded up Mane Rokaya with 1,012 kilograms of Setak Chini in Budhinanda Municipality of Bajura.

Rokaya had collected Setak Chini from a nearby jungle which is priced at Rs 1,600,000 per kilogram in the local market. He was held while he was preparing to smuggle it to India in cahoots.

Influential mafias, according to police, have a hand in smuggling. They, residing in India, smuggle Nepal’s herbs to various countries via India.

These incidents are only the tip of the iceberg. The statistics maintained by the Nepal Police has shown that herbs worth millions of rupees are seized annually.

Police seized herbs worth Rs 16.6 million from Karnali Province in the Fiscal Year 2017/18 alone. Likewise, various types of herbs were seized from Kalikot, Mugu, Rolpa, and Rukum while they were being smuggled to India.

SSP Uttam Raj Subedi, the spokesperson of Nepal Police, admits the smuggling of herbs to India through porous borders.

“Priceless herbs available in Nepal are mostly smuggled to India. Only small portions of the herbs are illegally sold in the third country,” said SSP Subedi.

Influential mafias, according to police, have a hand in smuggling. They, residing in India, smuggle Nepal’s herbs to various countries via India.

Herbs are seized when setting fails

Herbs are collected from Nepal’s hilly districts, including Kalikot, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Dolpa, Jajarkot, Darchula, and Bhajhang. Locals collect herbs in cahoots with the forest officials, local representatives and police despite government’s ban on the collection of such herbs.

“Herbs are smuggled in cahoots with locals, local representatives and police,” an official at the Ministry of Forests and Environment told Khabarhub on the condition of anonymity.

The herbs are seized when a disgruntled police official informs the higher authority about it after he is deprived of his pie.

According to herbs trader, the herbs are seized when setting among the local representatives, forest officials and police fails.

Nepali pharmaceutical deprived of herbs

With the Nepal government’s ban on the collection of some certain herbs, Nepal pharmaceutical companies are facing the shortage of herbs, entrepreneurs said.

Government-owned Sindha Durbar Vaidyakhana Development Committee had called for a quotation seeking 91 items of herbs in the fiscal year 2016/17. However, only 40 items of herbs were made available.

A quotation seeking 300 kilograms of Hadchur had been announced in the fiscal year 2017/18.

Vaidyakhana has not been able to meet the demands of Ayurvedic medicines due to the shortage of herbs, said Hari Prasad Yadav, acting chief of Vaidyakhana Development Committee.

No conservation despite the ban

The government has not taken any initiation to protect invaluable herbs despite a ban imposed on their collection.

These rare species of herbs are going to be extinct if not protected by the government. The unbridled smuggling has posed a serious threat to the herbs.

Besides, fire, deforestation are the other causes leading to the disappearance of such priceless herbs.

“The government has to either bring concrete plans to protect these herbs or lift the ban on their collection,” said a trader.

Research suggests that, in addition to some common causes of migraines, the result of fluctuating estrogen levels can trigger migraines in women more often. People often like to say, “‘Such-and-such’ illness doesn’t discriminate.” But in the case of migraines, the condition appears to do exactly that, according to experts from several research institutes.

Numbers from the Mayo Clinic in the United States indicate that 17% of women surveyed develop migraines, compared to 6% of men. Additionally, both the US National Medical Library and the Migraine Research Foundation in the US concluded in studies, that women are three times more likely to be afflicted by the condition.

Based on this, there looks to be a consensus across the board that migraines are a bigger issue for women than they are for men. Contrary to popular belief, migraines are not milder versions of headaches. Rather, it is a chronic neurological ailment that affects more than one billion people all over the world, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is listed among the top 20 “most debilitating illnesses in the world”.

Causes in women

Let’s take a look at some of the leading causes of migraines.

• Stress

It’s only possible to diagnose the causes of stress by analyzing a patient’s daily routine, which includes work, sleep, recreation, food, relationships and other lifestyle patterns.

Other times, psychological trauma might be involved and will require long-term counselling as part of the treatment.

• Weather

Women tend to suffer more easily from changes in weather, as it can create an imbalance in serotonin levels – a hormone whose many functions includes regulating mood. In cold climates, you might find women suffering from migraines more easily during the winter. The reverse is also true: when temperatures in hot climates rise to extreme numbers, that could also serve as a trigger for migraines.

• Alcohol

Excessive consumption of alcohol causes dehydration, which encourages migraines. Many types of alcohol also contain high amounts of tyramine – a naturally-occurring compound. It is a by-product of the tyrosine amino acid, which is found in many foods, including alcohol. Tyramine is akin to a panic-inducing element, elevating heart rate, spiking blood pressure and triggering migraines.

Hormonal changes

Several studies indicate that changes in levels of the female hormone, oestrogen, is a key cause of migraines. The cells that surround nerves inside the head, as well as nearby blood vessels, are quick to detect migraine triggers, and a drop in levels of oestrogen is viewed as a “flip of a switch”.

Dr Soma Sahai-Srivastava, associate professor of neurology at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine in the US, describes it like this: “Once this (switch) is flipped on, it spills toxic, inflammatory chemicals on the roadmap of the brain. “Then the blood vessels start acting out, which produces throbbing; it’s like an orchestra on the surface of the brain.”

There is still much more work to be done in understanding the role of oestrogen in migraines. What we do know presently, are four important scenarios where drastic changes in oestrogen levels have an impact on migraines:

• Pre-mentrual symptoms

Headaches are a common complaint women have before they are about to get their period.

This is when oestrogen levels are low, allowing painful migraines to attack.

• During pregnancy

For all the other inconveniences one experiences during pregnancy, you can rejoice to know that pregnancy helps to reduce migraine attacks.This is because an expecting mother’s oestrogen levels are high, and remain that way throughout pregnancy.

• Post-delivery

Unfortunately, good things come to an end. With the end of a pregnancy, your hormone levels fluctuate downwards, including oestrogen levels.

Now, with a baby at home to adjust to and care for, it’s best to have the husband and your family to support you, in order to not let stress or hormones trigger the migraines again.

• Pre-menopause

This is a challenging period for women who suffer from migraines, as your hormone levels become the most unbalanced. Some seek hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but the results differ for every individual. But for many, the headaches tend to go away post-menopause.

A study showed that those who applied lavender essential oil, made from lavender flowers like those shown in this filepic, had their migraine symptoms reduce much faster than those who applied a placebo.

Ways to reduce migraines

Paracetamol, ibuprofen and other similar drugs are the typical over-the-counter medications that are prescribed most often for migraines, but you can try natural remedies to alleviate migraines too:

• Acupressure

This is a good alternative to try for your migraines, as well as for other ailments. The method involves applying pressure to various points on the body, to reduce symptoms of a condition. It has been studied and found to be an effective alternative treatment.

• Lavender oil

Aromatherapy works differently on everyone, but a joint study by German and Iranian researchers found that study participants who applied lavender oil reported that their symptoms were reduced much faster than those who applied a placebo. It is always a good idea to invest in high-quality, 100% natural essential oils, and preferably organic ones.

• Magnesium

Deficiency in magnesium has been linked to increased migraines. You can add more magnesium to your diet by consuming foods like milk, peanut butter, eggs, oatmeal, almonds, cashew nuts and sunflower seeds.

• B Vitamins

Vitamins B6 and B12, as well as folic acid, may reduce the frequency, severity and disability of migraines, according to new research. Fruits, whole grains, veggies, beans, fortified and whole grain products, poultry, meat, fish and dairy are excellent sources.

• Yoga

Working on your posture, stretching and breathing exercises may reduce the intensity of migraines, studies show. It can ease stress by promoting vascular health and relieving the tension in your muscles. In any case, it is a great complementary therapy to encourage overall health.

• Ginger

This anti-inflammatory root is well-known for reducing nausea, and because migraines are a linked symptom, ginger may be able to help with that as well.Take a small amount of ginger powder – one-eighth of a teaspoon in hot water – or crush some sliced ginger root and steep in hot water to make tea.

In looking at solutions for migraines, it would be tremendously helpful to examine one’s overall lifestyle and any impact it may have on health. You’ll be surprised to find that sometimes, changes in your routine, such as cutting out poor lifestyle habits like late nights and excessive alcohol, can make a difference. Discuss your symptoms with your doctor, and for whatever the underlying causes, whether it is stress, nutritional deficiencies or hormonal imbalances, find the solutions that work best for you.
Source: star2

(Agencies)