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Power to the patient How employees can make better health decisions

May 4th, 2022 by

Power to the patient How employees can make better health decisions

Power to the Patient How can employees make better health decisions?

After two years of the COVID pandemic, we do not need to reiterate how important it is to take care of one’s health. All of us have witnessed enough health scares around us to know that just age or weight are not the factors that can indicate the status of our health. Like we pay attention to our workplace deliverables and our finances, we need to monitor our health parameters and take preventive steps so that we stay fit and healthy.

In this article, we discuss how to take control of your health so that you remain on top of your health game and use the facilities provided, to the optimum. A little proactiveness and three words – Know, Access, and Act – can help you take charge of your health and thus your life. Read more to find out how:

KNOW

  1. Annual Health Check-up: One of the first steps to taking control of your health is to know your health parameters and the easiest way to do that is to undergo regular health check-ups. “Only if a person goes for a health check-up, will the doctor be able to guide the patient to prevent health issues in the future like to quit smoking, go for vaccination or make dietary modifications,” said Dr Amit Kumar Gupta, Senior Consultant and Head, Medical Services and Quality, HCL Healthcare. Most employers provide annual executive health check-ups that cover most of the basic tests that tell you the status of your heart, liver, kidneys, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, other blood profile parameters, etc. Remember, it is common to feel anxious and want to avoid health check-ups but keep in mind, that it is better to know about your health issues now than suffer later.
  • Health Insurance: A sudden hospitalization can strain your finances and cause unnecessary worry. Thankfully, most employers provide health insurance cover for their employees and to some extent their families. This means you can make the best decision for your health without worrying about how much it will affect your bank balance. But just knowing you are covered is not enough, go through your employer’s health insurance documents to know what is covered, if there is any waiting period, what are the limits? If you think that the cover is not sufficient, you should invest in a personal health insurance cover that provides the additional protection you need for the health of you and your loved ones. Remember to inform your family also about these arrangements in case of emergencies.

ACCESS

  1. In-house services: Once you know how your health parameters are, you should access the health services and expertise that are available to you. For example,

 HCL Healthcare provides virtual doctor consultations by specialists including internal medicine specialists, gynaecologists, paediatricians, dermatologists, dentists, physiotherapists, and dieticians. For seeking consultation and guidance, you can book appointments with these experts by using the registered number given on their website.

  • Health management plans: It is important to know that chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and thyroid issues require constant monitoring and customized planning. Therefore, you should opt for disease management plans which will give you doctor consultation, regular follow-up, detailed health examinations, and diet advice. Being proactive about managing conditions will help you prevent complications that follow these chronic conditions.
  • Emotional wellbeing: Do not forget your emotional well-being when you think about your health. Like any other condition, it is important to seek help from trained counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists if you have mental and emotional issues. These experts have a neutral perspective, have great listening skills, and can offer skills that will help you feel better.

ACT

After getting to know your health status and getting a consultation from the doctor, it is now important to act and implement those lifestyle changes and medicines if advised. We give you a list of things you need to pay attention to irrespective of your age and health status.

  1. Sleep: The importance of getting a full night’s (7-8 hours) sleep cannot be stressed enough. Those with sleep deficiency have a greater risk of many health complications including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and obesity according to the US’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. A good night’s sleep is also important for memory, cognitive functioning, and mood regulation. Experts recommend getting sun exposure during the daytime, reducing screen time exposure during evenings, having a fixed sleeping schedule, and taking melatonin supplements to sleeping better at night.
  • Diet: In order to improve your fitness level, you have to improve your diet. Few tips include avoiding packaged foods, including green leafy vegetables and fruits, and increasing protein intake. There is growing evidence that a low-carbohydrate diet can help manage diabetes, reduce weight, control blood pressure, decrease bad cholesterol and improve good cholesterol.

HCL healthcare has in-house dieticians who can guide employees wanting to make modifications to their diet.

  • Exercise: It is important to spend at least 30 minutes each day in some form of exercise. Physical activity has been proven to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression, osteoporosis, and premature death. To be consistent, choose a form of exercise that you will enjoy, be it sports, swimming, dance, or gymming. To start small, start by walking 10 minutes each day and increase it to reach 30 or 60 minutes in about a month. It would be a good idea to seek consultation from a physical trainer or physiotherapist before you begin any new workout.
  • De-stress: It is important to counter stress from day-to-day life by spending time doing activities you enjoy, be it art, spending time in nature, cooking, playing, or indulging in another hobby.  Meditation is also an excellent way to counter stress. If you are short of time, try finding at least 10 minutes each day in mindfulness practice.  Mindfulness has been shown to increase cognitive ability, improve working memory, counter stress, and improve focus.

With these steps, you can proactively take measures towards making a healthier ‘You’ and live your life to the fullest.

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Is Sitting the New Smoking

May 4th, 2022 by

Is Sitting the New Smoking

The short answer to the question whether sitting is the new smoking is– No. 

Studies conclusively show that while both sitting for long durations and smoking are harmful, smoking is a great deal, much worse.

 

Researchers from Canada, the US and Australia said that while excessive sitting (more than 8 hours a day) increases the risk of premature death and some chronic diseases by 10-20%, it is nowhere close to smoking. Smoking increases the risk of premature death from any cause by 180%. The findings published in American Journal of Public Health in 2018, finally put to rest the myth that got popular in media and health circles in recent years.

Hence, it is not fair to compare a sedentary lifestyle with smoking, but it is important to know that sitting has many harmful effects on the body.

Sitting increases risk for diabetes, impacts heart

Sitting for long, harms your heart and increases risk for diabetes. A study found that men who watched more than 23 hours of TV a week, had a 64% higher chance of suffering a heart disease compared to those who watched only 11 hours of TV a week.

 

There is more, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies found sitting increased the risk for Type 2 Diabetes by 112%, increased the risk for heart attack and stroke by 147%, and risk of death due to heart problems by 90%.

 

Increases risk for Cancers

Increased sitting increases the risk for cancer. A 2020 study published in JAMA oncology of over 8000 individuals showed that sitting increased the risk of death by cancer by 13%. It further showed that those who are extremely sedentary had as much as 80% more risk of dying by cancer than those who sit the least.

 

Weakens your muscles

When we sit for the whole day, the muscles in the lower body get weak increasing the chance of injury and pain. For example, sitting causes the hip flexor muscles to shorten, causing lower back pain and difficulty in mobility. Similarly, when we sit at work, we slouch forward to look at the screen that causes weakening of the chest muscles.

 

Weight gain

Sedentary behaviour affects the body’s ability to process fat. It reduces the production of lipoprotein lipase, the enzyme that helps break down fat. This causes the body to store fat instead of burning it.

 

What can you do?

Even a little exercise helps counter it: The JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study that showed sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk for cancer also showed that for individuals that exercised for 30 minutes instead of sitting, the risk of dying from cancer fell by 31%. Even if they substituted exercising with gentle strolling, housework, gardening or light-intensity activity, the risk of dying from cancer fell by 8%. 

 

Another research showed that 60-75 minutes of moderate–vigorous intensity activity everyday was necessary to counter all the harms of sitting. Given how difficult it is to do half an hour of activity every day, it is important to keep yourself active throughout the day rather than relying on exercising alone.

 

Take breaks: There is evidence that taking frequent breaks (once every 30-40 minutes) helps. A 2017 study shows walking between prolonged sitting or light exercise helps reduce inflammation that can lead to heart problems and increase good cholesterol. Breaking your posture also improves blood circulation and prevents weakening of muscles.

 

Find reasons to move: One way to prevent prolonged sitting is by moving more while working and during leisure. This means walking up to your colleague for a chat instead of sending an email, taking a short walk break during lunch break or teatime, having standing meetings and stretching in your seat whenever time permits. When you are at home, it is important to not spend all the time watching TV, lounging, or scrolling your phone–play with your kids, play a sport, stroll a garden, take walks, and help around the house to get in more activity.

 

Don’t forget the evils of smoking

 

Let us again remind you that sitting may be harmful, but smoking is much worse. While smoking is becoming unpopular in rich countries, 80% of smokers today are from low and middle income countries where it is expected to kill half of the smokers prematurely. Those who smoke have a doubled risk of dying from any cancer and heart disease and they have 23 times more chance of getting lung cancer than non-smokers. Smoking not only impacts those who smoke but also has a harmful impact on those around them through second hand smoke.

 

So, quitting smoking and getting more activity throughout the day could be the kindest thing you can do to your body.

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New Variant of Covid-19

May 4th, 2022 by

HCL HEALTHCARE | 11TH APRIL’ 2022

On 6 April 2022, India reported the first case of XE COVID-19 variant when a 50-year-old South African lady was found to be positive in Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which reported the case, said the patient does not have any severe symptoms and has tested negative on RT PCR. The Union Health Ministry has said further tests are required to confirm whether the variant indeed is XE.

The news caught media attention because the World Health Organisation (WHO) last week said that the XE variant is more transmissible than previous variants of Omicron.

Even though it is not clear yet if it is indeed XE, it still is a matter of concern given that the number of COVID-19 cases has been at its lowest in the last couple of weeks and COVID-19 restrictions and mask mandates have been relaxed in many parts of the country including Delhi and Mumbai.

If you are wondering about the variants and their precautions, here is a primer on all that you need to know about the new COVID-19 variant so that you are not caught off-guard.

What’s new about this variant?

Almost 90 percent of all the infections reported in 2022 were of the Omicron variant. It has two main sub-variants–BA.1 and BA.2. In India, BA.2 was the most common during the third wave, reported Indian Express.

BA.2 was found to be more transmissible than BA.1, even though it was not found to be more dangerous. According to WHO at the moment, 94% of all samples sequenced across the world were of BA.2. 

XE is a recombinant –which means it contains the mutations present in both BA.1 and BA.2. XE was first found in the United Kingdom in January 2022 and has been reported in 623 cases in the country. Recently, Thailand and New Zealand have also found XE variant in their samples.

What is recombinant?

Recombinant variants occur when an organism is infected with two variants of the virus and their genetic material mixes together or through DNA technology in the laboratory.

Other than XE, there is also XD which is a recombinant variant of BA.1 and Delta and which is found in Belgium, Denmark and France and XF which is a recombinant variant of BA.1 and Delta and found mostly in the UK.

Is XE more dangerous?

It does not seem so, yet.

The WHO on 29 March reported that XE has a “10% transmission advantage” as compared to BA.2 which means it spreads 10% faster than BA.2 variant. This finding requires further confirmation, it further said.

Now, XE is being tracked as part of the Omicron variant till significant differences in its transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported, the global health agency said.

“There was no evidence, yet that XE was any more serious in disease severity, with all Omicron variants so far shown to be less severe”, the WHO said.

What are the symptoms caused by the XE variant?

Symptoms caused by XE are the same as those by Omicron including fatigue, dizziness, headaches, sore throat, fever, heart ailment, and palpitation. Some also experience loss of taste and smell.

What can you do?

Completing your COVID-19 vaccination doses, and getting a booster dose if you are eligible, will help in protecting yourself against severe disease.

At the moment, it would be wise to follow all the existing COVID-19 appropriate behaviour including wearing a face mask when outside, maintaining physical distance, avoiding crowded places, seeking medical help, and testing yourself if you experience any of the symptoms.

Remember, this is not a time to lower your guard, “People think it is summer which hinders infection but that’s not true, these viruses are now perennial.

Especially those with respiratory allergies and long-term diseases are more prone to infection-related complications, so they must take extra care,” said Dr. Amit Kumar Gupta, Senior Consultant and Head, Medical Services and Quality, HCL Healthcare.

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