Q What are the different types of thyroid cancer?

The different types of thyroid cancer include: papillary and follicular as the most common type. Medullary thyroid cancer is the less common type. Anaplastic carcinoma and thyroid lymphoma are the rare type where as thyroid sarcoma is the rarest type of thyroid cancer.

Q Hello doctor, one my neighbour is down with dengue fever. How is it caused? How to prevent this disease?

Dengue is a viral disease which causes fever and is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito.nDengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family of viruses. Infection with one virus does not protect a person against infection with another.nThere is no vaccine to prevent dengue. Here are some preventive measures that can be effective:-n1. Use mosquito repellents on skin and clothing.n2. When outdoors wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks.n3. Avoid heavily populated residential areas.n4. When indoors, stay in air-conditioned or screened areas. Use bed nets if sleeping areas are not screened or air-conditioned.n5. Discard all unwanted items getting gathered around the living area to avoid the breeding of mosquitoes.n6. Keep the water stores clean and closed.n7. Take prompt medical advice once fever starts.

Q What is a heart attack?

A heart attack is essentially an ischemia (lack of oxygen supply to heart tissue) of the heart muscle, caused as a result of lack of blood supply (thus inadequate oxygen supply) to a portion of the heart. It is caused as a result of blockage to the coronary arteries, known as Coronary artery disease. The portion of the heart that does not receive blood begins to die, thus resulting in a heart attack. The common symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain and difficulty in breathing. The chest pain usually radiates to the neck, arm or back. A heart attack is a medical emergency.

Q Heaviness in chest

There are innumerable reasons behind feeling heaviness under chest; it may be due to stress, anxiety, indigestion, frequent gastric trouble, underweight, overexertion, may be respiratory and lung infection, heart problem etc. Here some general guidelines to get relief- Try to manage stress with the help of meditation and yoga which help you to relax and reduce stress and ultimately heaviness in the chest. Take a small walk after meal which avoids gas formation and improves digestion. Take healthy and nutritious food. Regularly do pranayam which will improve blood circulation and oxygen supply to the lung and heart. Besides this if you feel shortness of breath, excessive sweating, oedema over the body or legs, undefined long standing cough etc with the heaviness in the chest; please consult the doctor as it will need physical examination and investigations.

Q What does it mean to have a sensation of milk dropping with nipple and breast tenderness when you are not pregnant and have not had kids in more than 6 years?

Do you actually have milk secretion or only sensation? Breast tenderness can be a symptom of premenstrual syndrome. Contraceptive pills or hormonal replacement tablets can also bring on these symptoms. Rise in prolactin level due to any metabolic disorder or hormonal imbalance may trigger these symptoms, so please once check your prolactin level in blood.

Q My daughter is diagnosed with childhood depression. How it is treated? How should i help my daughter getting out of it?

Treatment options for depression include: Medicines, behavioral therapies and family therapies. Your childs psychologist will help you determine what will suit your daughter best. Familial support is chief thing that you can do for your daughter. Such children do need bit more attention, care and love from parents. You should try to talk to your daughter and try to understand what is bothering her. Be friendly with your child and do not yell or abuse her for anything wrong done out of her depression. It is hard, but not impossible to make your child back to normal and your support will play an important role in this process.

Q I am male , age 15. I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 three years back. I have a fear of pricking myself as as result of which my hbaic is way above normal change. Please help?

Uncontrolled diabetes can cause complications like heart disease, kidney failure, loss of eye sight, recurrent infection. Non healing of wound which if gets worse can even lead to amputation of the affected part. One of the complication common in men due to diabetes and affecting sex life is difficulty in getting erection. These are just few dreadful outcomes if the sugar levels are not controlled. The only way to do so is by regular medication. So if you are ready to face all these complications in future then carry on with your fear of pricking yourself. Learning to self prick is the only solution and there is no sbustitute to it.

Q I am 27 year old man and my height and weight is 5.6 and 50 kg respectively. As my weight is very less according to my height. So please suggest me how to gain weight in few months.

Just like losing weight is a process and requires time, same is true with weight gain. There is no fast way to gain weight. A healthy eating plan and regular exercise routine will make sure that you gain weight in a healthy way. Consult a dietitian to help you formulate a diet plan as per your needs. Following are some general guidelines: Have 5-7 small meals throughout the day instead of three large meals. Include protein rich foods such as eggs, chicken, fish, milk and milk products. Stay away form deep fried and highly processed foods. Follow an exercise routine that includes weight training as well as cardio exercise.

Q How to treat an oat allergy?

In an acute episode use of over the counter antihistamines are beneficial. As far as prevention is considered the best way is to avoid eating oats. Cereals, cereal bars, cookies and other similar foods are main sources of oats and hence should be avoided. Rice, potatoes, fruits contain many of the same health benefits as oats and can be substituted for oats.

Q What is the swimmers ear?

Swimmers ear is also called as acute otitis externa or otitis externa. It is an infection of the outer ear canal. The infection runs from the ear drum to the outside of head. Infection is caused by the water that remains in the ear favouring a moist environment for the bacteria to grow. Quick treatment can prevent the infection from getting worse and its complications.