A bit Bibliography of Dr. Apurba Ganguly(Chairman of OPTM HealthCare)

Varicose Veins

What are varicose veins?
Veins are blood vessels that normally carry blood from the foot and leg upwards, back to the heart. Varicose (VAR-i-kos) veins are enlarged veins that can appear in blue, red, or flesh-colored. They often look like cords and appear twisted and bulging. They can be swollen and raised above the surface of the skin. Varicose veins are often found on the thighs, backs of the calves, or the inside of the leg. During pregnancy, varicose veins can form around the vagina and buttocks.
Varicose veins can vary in size from quite small (2-3mm across) to very large (2-3cms across). Very small veins are called "thread veins" or "spider veins".  Spider veins are like varicose veins but smaller. They also are closer to the surface of the skin than varicose veins. Often, they are red or blue. They can look like tree branches or spider-webs with their short, jagged lines. They can be found on the legs and face and can cover either a very small or very large area of skin.

What causes varicose veins and spider veins?
Varicose veins can be caused by weak or damaged valves in the veins. The heart pumps blood filled with oxygen and nutrients to the whole body through the arteries. Veins then carry the blood from the body back to the heart. As your leg muscles squeeze, they push blood back to the heart from your lower body against the flow of gravity. Veins have valves that act as one-way flaps to prevent blood from flowing backwards as it moves up your legs. If the valves become weak, blood can leak back into the veins and collect there. (This problem is called venous insufficiency.) When backed-up blood makes the veins bigger, they can become varicose.

Spider veins can be caused by the backup of blood. They can also be caused by hormone changes, exposure to the sun, and injuries.
Veins that reflux ( i.e. an abnormal backward flow of body fluids ) are said to be incompetent or to have incompetent valves.  Over time this leads to a higher pressure in the veins and they gradually become swollen and varicose, although this can take many years.  Unfortunately, the faults in the valves cannot be cured by medical science except through a ground breaking medication called PHYTO-MEDECINE, which works with the help of bio-energy or stem cells of plants and only needs to be applied tropically has been invented, patented and registered under two complimentary companies, under one roof called Ag Herbs Singapore Pte.Ltd & OPTM Health Care (P) Ltd.

What are the signs of varicose veins?
Varicose veins can often be seen on the skin. Some other common symptoms of varicose veins in the legs include:
• Aching pain that may get worse after sitting or standing for a long time
• Throbbing or cramping
• Heaviness
• Swelling
• Rash that’s itchy or irritated
• Darkening of the skin (in severe cases)
• Restless legs
• Changes in skin color-the skin over the affected area.

Are varicose veins and spider veins dangerous?
Spider veins rarely are a serious health problem, but they can cause uncomfortable feelings in the legs. If there are symptoms from spider veins, most often they will be itching or burning. Less often, spider veins can be a sign of blood backup deeper inside that you can’t see on the skin.
In some cases, varicose veins can lead to more serious health problems. These include:
• Sores or skin ulcers due to chronic (long-term) backing up of blood. These sores or ulcers are painful and hard to heal. Sometimes they cannot heal until the backward blood flow in the vein is repaired.
• Bleeding. The skin over the veins becomes thin and easily injured. When an injury occurs, there can be significant blood loss.
• Superficial thrombophlebitis (throm-bo-fli-BYT-uhs), which is a blood clot that forms in a vein just below the skin. Symptoms include skin redness; a firm, tender, warm vein; and sometimes pain and swelling.
• Deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot in a deeper vein. It can cause a “pulling” feeling in the calf, pain, warmth, redness, and swelling. However, sometimes it causes no significant symptoms. If the blood clot travels to the lungs, it can be fatal.
• Chronic venous insufficiency - the development of brown dis-colouration of the skin at the ankle (pigmentation), varicose eczema and thickening in the tissues around varicose veins (liposclerosis) are signs that more extensive tissue damage is occurring.

Can I live without my varicose veins?
No. The veins, tissues and the arteries which are present in our body are there for a purpose. Its proper functioning is responsible for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all cells, as well as the removal of carbon dioxide and waste products, maintenance of optimum pH, and the mobility of the elements, proteins and cells of the immune system. If this is removed then the surrounding areas will not be able to operate normally and slowly will lose its strength and dry up your muscles and other parts round the affected area.
In some situations when varicose veins are present and the deep veins in the leg are blocked.  This may make it unsafe to have superficial varicose veins removed.  Your surgeon will have checked for this preoperatively.

What factors increase my risk of varicose veins and spider veins?
Many factors increase a person's chances of developing varicose or spider veins. These include:
• Increasing age. As you get older, the valves in your veins may weaken and not work as well.
• Medical history. Being born with weak vein valves increases your risk. Having family members with vein problems also increases your risk. About half of all people who have varicose veins have a family member who has them too.
• Hormonal changes. These occur during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Taking birth control pills and other medicines containing estrogen and progesterone also may contribute to the forming of varicose or spider veins.
• Pregnancy. During pregnancy, there is a huge increase in the amount of blood in the body. This can cause veins to enlarge. The growing uterus also puts pressure on the veins. Varicose veins usually improve within 3 months after delivery. More varicose veins and spider veins usually appear with each additional pregnancy.
• Obesity. Being overweight or obese can put extra pressure on your veins. This can lead to varicose veins.
• Lack of movement. Sitting or standing for a long time may force your veins to work harder to pump blood to your heart. This may be a bigger problem if you sit with your legs bent or crossed.
• Sun exposure. This can cause spider veins on the cheeks or nose of a fair-skinned person.
• Gender- Women are at greater risk than men, probably because the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone cause blood vessels to relax, thus separating the valves so that they don't meet to block the back flow of blood.
• Birth-control pills, estrogen treatments, and pregnancy raise a woman's level of sex hormones, putting her at greater risk of developing varicose veins.

How can I prevent varicose veins and spider veins?
Not all varicose and spider veins can be prevented. But, there are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of getting new varicose and spider veins. These same things can help ease discomfort from the ones you already have:
• Wear sunscreen to protect your skin from the sun and to limit spider veins on the face.
• Exercise regularly to improve your leg strength, circulation, and vein strength. Focus on exercises that work your legs, such as walking or running.
• Control your weight to avoid placing too much pressure on your legs.
• Don’t cross your legs for long times when sitting. It’s possible to injure your legs that way, and even a minor injury can increase the risk of varicose veins.
• Elevate your legs when resting as much as possible.
• Don’t stand or sit for long periods of time. If you must stand for a long time, shift your weight from one leg to the other every few minutes. If you must sit for long periods of time, stand up and move around or take a short walk every 30 minutes.
• Avoid wearing high heels for long periods of time. Lower-heeled shoes can help tone your calf muscles to help blood move through your veins.
• Eat a low-salt diet rich in high-fiber foods. Eating fiber reduces the chances of constipation, which can contribute to varicose veins. High-fiber foods include fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, like bran. Eating less salt can help with the swelling that comes with varicose veins.


DIAGNOSIS :- The simplest test uses only a blood pressure cuff, Doppler ultrasound, duplex, scanning, magnetic resonance venography.

MEDICAL TREATMENT:-

1. Clerothuapy
2. Lasers
EVLT (Endovenous Laser Therapy) - this is a newer method of treating the source of the varicose veins in the groin or behind the knee (sapheno-femoral and saphenopopliteal junctions).  It is also a replacement for the stripping part of the operation, but frequently does not deal with all of the visible varicose veins.  Its use is increasing. Not a complete cure and has its after effects along with serious health hazards.
3. Surgery
Surgery - this is still the most common form of treatment for varicose veins and is a very effective way of completely removing veins. But with permanent or prolonged side-effects, giving rise to other more serious symptoms. The success rate is quite low.   
• Avulsion
• Stripping
• Endorscular laser therapy
• Radio frequency ablation
RFA (RadioFrequency Ablation) - this is also a newer method of treating the source of the varicose veins.  It is also a replacement for the stripping part of the operation and similarly does not always deal with all of the varicose veins. Not a prolonged effect and is more harmful than the above two. May give rise to skin and tissue problems.
• Litigation
• Ambulatory phlebectomy
• Cryosurgery- A cryoprobe is passed down the long saphenous vein following saphenofemoral ligation. Then the probe is cooled with NO2or CO2 to a temperature of -850. The vein freezes to the probe and can be retrogradely stripped after 5 sec of freezing.It is a variant of Stripping. The only point of this technique is to avoid a distal incision to remove the stripper.[16]
• Injection sclerotherapy - this is used in all types of varicose veins and a microinjection technique may be used for thread veins. It does not seem as effective as other techniques for larger varicose veins and has the lowest success rate.
• Compression stockings – this compresses the veins more and stops normal blood-flow to the other areas of the effected veins. It is essential that the correct grade of stocking is used after proper fitting.  Many patients find it effective for symptoms although they may be inconvenient particularly in warm weather and is harmful for the body.
However laser & surgery don’t offer satisfying result as the vein again becomes varicose or we can say problem relapses over a period of 12-14 months.



The Only Treatment Available :

  In OPTM Health Care, we use live enzymes of plant cells to recover
• They protrude or bulge from under the skin  that feels  ropey.
• The aches, heaviness & itchiness .
• The swelling  of the muscles and any stiffness.
• Darkening of the skin (in severe cases)
• Restless legs
• Changes in skin color-the skin over the affected area.

All these are done without any oral medication, surgery, injections, steroids or any harmful chemicals. The Science behind it are, live-enzymes of plant cells, which when in-contact with human cells have the strength to re-grow or heal human body parts. This is simply done using patented tropical applications, ( i.e. ointments, oils, creams, etc.) manufactured under the well-established and  internationally accredited company called Ag Herbs Singapore Pte.Ltd.
Varco, which is the world’s first and only medication  which can heal you from varicose vein is made and patented by Ag Herbs Singapore Pte.Ltd and can show you results over your medical reports.

Will treatment remove all of my varicose veins?
Yes.  This is the only treatment available which can erase every visible varicose vein, but most patients are satisfied with the improvement that can be gained by undergoing treatment.

MIGRAINE HEADACHE

What is a migraine headache?

A Migraine Headache is a form of vascular headache. Migraine Headache is caused by vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) that causes the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the large arteries of the brain. Enlargement of these blood vessels stretches the nerves that coil around them and causes the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. The increasing enlargement of the arteries magnifies the pain.
Migraine attacks commonly activate the sympathetic nervous system in the body. The sympathetic nervous system is often thought of as the part of the nervous system that controls primitive responses to stress and pain, the so-called "fight or flight" response, and this activation causes many of the symptoms associated with migraine attacks; for example, the increased sympathetic nervous activity in the intestine causes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

• Sympathetic activity also delays emptying of the stomach into the small intestine and thereby prevents oral medications from entering the intestine and being absorbed.
• The impaired absorption of oral medications is a common reason for the ineffectiveness of medications taken to treat migraine headaches.
• The increased sympathetic activity also decreases the circulation of blood, and this leads to pallor of the skin as well as cold hands and feet.
• The increased sympathetic activity also contributes to the sensitivity to light and sound sensitivity as well as blurred vision.

Nevertheless, migraine still remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Less than half of individuals with migraine are diagnosed by their doctors. Don’t ignore yours. No oral Medication is given at OPTM Health Care.

SCHIZOPHRENIA

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. About 1 percent of Americans have this illness.
People with the disorder may hear voices other people don't hear. They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated.
People with Schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. Sometimes people with Schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking.
Families and society are affected by schizophrenia too. Many people with Schizophrenia have difficulty holding a job or caring for themselves, so they rely on others for help.
Treatment helps relieve many symptoms of Schizophrenia, but most people who have the disorder cope with symptoms throughout their lives. However, many people with Schizophrenia can lead rewarding and meaningful lives in their communities. Researchers are developing more effective medications and using new research tools to understand the causes of Schizophrenia. In the years to come, this work may help prevent and better treat the illness.

What are symptoms of Schizophrenia?

The symptoms of Schizophrenia fall into three broad categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms:-


Positive symptoms-
Positive symptoms are psychotic behaviors not seen in healthy people. People with positive symptoms often "lose touch" with reality. These symptoms can come and go. Sometimes they are severe and at other times hardly noticeable, depending on whether the individual is receiving treatment. They include the following:


Hallucinations are things a person sees, hears, smells, or feels that no one else can see, hear, smell, or feel. "Voices" are the most common type of hallucination in Schizophrenia. Many people with the disorder hear voices. The voices may talk to the person about his or her behavior, order the person to do things, or warn the person of danger. Sometimes the voices talk to each other. People with Schizophrenia may hear voices for a long time before family and friends notice the problem.
Other types of hallucinations include seeing people or objects that are not there, smelling odors that no one else detects, and feeling things like invisible fingers touching their bodies when no one is near.


Delusions are false beliefs that are not part of the person's culture and do not change. The person believes delusions even after other people prove that the beliefs are not true or logical. People with Schizophrenia can have delusions that seem bizarre, such as believing that neighbors can control their behavior with magnetic waves. They may also believe that people on television are directing special messages to them, or that radio stations are broadcasting their thoughts aloud to others. Sometimes they believe they are someone else, such as a famous historical figure. They may have paranoid delusions and believe that others are trying to harm them, such as by cheating, harassing, poisoning, spying on, or plotting against them or the people they care about. These beliefs are called "delusions of persecution."


Thought disorder are unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking. One form of thought disorder is called "disorganized thinking." This is when a person has trouble organizing his or her thoughts or connecting them logically. They may talk in a garbled way that is hard to understand. Another form is called "thought blocking." This is when a person stops speaking abruptly in the middle of a thought. When asked why he or she stopped talking, the person may say that it felt as if the thought had been taken out of his or her head. Finally, a person with a thought disorder might make up meaningless words, or "neologisms."


Movement disorders may appear as agitated body movements. A person with a movement disorder may repeat certain motions over and over. In the other extreme, a person may become catatonic. Catatonia is a state in which a person does not move and does not respond to others. Catatonia is rare today, but it was more common when treatment for schizophrenia was not available.


Negative symptoms
Negative symptoms are associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. These symptoms are harder to recognize as part of the disorder and can be mistaken for depression or other conditions. These symptoms include the following:

• "Flat affect" (a person's face does not move or he or she talks in a dull or monotonous voice) 

• Lack of pleasure in everyday life

• Lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities

• Speaking little, even when forced to interact.

People with negative symptoms need help with everyday tasks. They often neglect basic personal hygiene. This may make them seem lazy or unwilling to help themselves, but the problems are symptoms caused by the Schizophrenia.

DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

What is a Depressive Disorder?
Depressive disorders have been with mankind since the beginning of recorded history. In the Bible, King David, as well as Job, suffered from this affliction. Hippocrates referred to depression as melancholia, which literally means black bile. Black bile, along with blood, phlegm, and yellow bile were the four humors (fluids) that described the basic medical physiology theory of that time. Depression, also referred to as clinical depression, has been portrayed in literature and the arts for hundreds of years, but what do we mean today when we refer to a depressive disorder? In the 19th century, depression was seen as an inherited weakness of temperament. In the first half of the 20th century, Freud linked the development of depression to guilt and conflict. John Cheever, the author and a modern sufferer of depressive disorder, wrote of conflict and experiences with his parents as influencing his development of depression.
In the 1950s and '60s, depression was divided into two types, endogenous and neurotic. Endogenous means that the depression comes from within the body, perhaps of genetic origin, or comes out of nowhere. Neurotic or reactive depression has a clear environmental precipitating factor, such as the death of a spouse, or other significant loss, such as the loss of a job. In the 1970s and '80s, the focus of attention shifted from the cause of depression to its effects on the afflicted people. That is to say, whatever the cause in a particular case, what are the symptoms and impaired functions that experts can agree make up a depressive disorder? Although there is some argument even today (as in all branches of medicines), most experts agree on the following:

1. A depressive disorder is a syndrome (group of symptoms) that reflects a sad and/or irritable mood exceeding normal sadness or grief. More specifically, the sadness of depression is characterized by a greater intensity and duration and by more severe symptoms and functional disabilities than is normal. 

2. Depressive signs and symptoms are characterized not only by negative thoughts, moods, and behaviors but also by specific changes in bodily functions (for example, crying spells, body aches, low energy or libido, as well as problems with eating, weight, or sleeping). The functional changes of clinical depression are often called neurovegetative signs. This means that the nervous system changes in the brain cause many physical symptoms that result in diminished participation and a decreased or increased activity level. 

3. Certain people with depressive disorder, especially bipolar depression (manic depression), seem to have an inherited vulnerability to this condition.

4. Depressive disorders are a huge public-health problem, due to its affecting millions of people. About 10% of adults, up to 8% of teens and 2% of preteen children experience some kind of depressive disorder.

• The statistics on the costs due to depression in the United States include huge amounts of direct costs, which are for treatment, and indirect costs, such as lost productivity and absenteeism from work or school. 

• Adolescents who suffer from depression are at risk for developing and maintaining obesity.

• In a major medical study, depression caused significant problems in the functioning of those affected more often than did arthritis, hypertension, chronic lung disease, and diabetes, and in some ways as often as coronary artery disease.

• Depression can increase the risks for developing coronary artery disease, HIV, asthma, and many other medical illnesses. Furthermore, it can increase the morbidity (illness/negative health effects) and mortality (death) from these and many other medical conditions.

• Depression can coexist with virtually every other mental health illness, aggravating the status of those who suffer the combination of both depression and the other mental illness.

• Depression in the elderly tends to be chronic, has a low rate of recovery, and is often undertreated. This is of particular concern given that elderly men, particularly elderly white men have the highest suicide rate.

5. Depression is usually first identified in a primary-care setting, not in a mental health practitioner's office. Moreover, it often assumes various disguises, which causes depression to be frequently underdiagnosed.

6. In spite of clear research evidence and clinical guidelines regarding therapy, depression is often undertreated. Hopefully, this situation can change for the better.

7. For full recovery from a mood disorder, regardless of whether there is a precipitating factor or it seems to come out of the blue, treatment with medication and/or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (see discussion below) and psychotherapy are necessary.

PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS

Depression can strike anyone. Often a case of the “blues” can lead to depression. There are various types of depression, elderly depression, post partum depression, situation depression, and depression caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. 

The symptoms of depression include new sleeping habits, new eating habits, a sense of hopelessness, disillusionment, pessimism, worthlessness, changes in behavior, changes in mood patterns, or a sullen and withdrawn attitude. The patient needs to express 5 or more of these symptoms for at least two weeks to be considered to have major depressive disorder, but having any two symptoms for a week or more may be a sign of mild to moderate depression. Severe depression can lead to irrational thoughts and behavior, including thoughts of hurting oneself or suicide. 

Depression can be brought on by a multitude of causes. A chemical imbalance in the brain is responsible for less than 25% of depression. Situational depression, depression caused by the death of a loved one, an unhealthy living environment, a loss, a change, or other variable factors. Depression can be brought on by some medications. The long term use of pain relieving narcotics such as morphine can lead to severe depression as can the long term use of other medications. Hormonal changes, particularly those after giving birth, can bring on post partum depression. Heredity may play a factor in depression, but it is not necessarily a determining factor.

There are few risk factors for depression, as anyone can experience depression if the circumstances are right. Women are more likely to be depressed than men, and depression can sometimes run in families. People who come from disruptive or abusive homes or have experienced abuse in their past are more likely to become depressed. People who have experienced a severe depression once are more likely to experience it again. 

Untreated depression can lead to serious consequences, such as the loss of a job, illness, the loss of family, and in some cases self inflicted death. Even treated depression can lead to self inflicted wounds and in the worst case scenario, death. Depression is serious and needs to be remedied as early as possible. Post partum depression can lead to the mother harming herself or her baby. 

SCIATICA

If the sciatic nerve gets trapped or inflamed anywhere along this route, you may feel pain. This is called sciatica. There are several ways that a low back injury may press on the sciatic nerve and cause sciatica. Two common reasons are a herniated disk and spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal).
Sciatica can also result from a sudden injury. For example, if a buttocks muscle is injured from running too hard or lifting too many weights, it may swell or tighten and put pressure on the sciatic nerve causing pain.
Sciatica causes pain anywhere along the route that the sciatic nerve travels (your buttocks, the back of your thigh, the back of your calf, and even your foot). The sensation may be only a slight tingling or dull ache or it may be severe enough to decrease your ability to move. Sciatica almost always affects one leg or the other. Sometimes, however, you may have symptoms in both legs.

 Sciatica occurs when there is pressure or damage to the sciatic nerve. This nerve starts in the spine and runs down the back of each leg. This nerve controls the muscles of the back of the knee and lower leg and provides sensation to the back of the thigh, part of the lower leg, and the sole of the foot.

Common causes of sciatica include:

• Piriformis syndrome (a pain disorder involving the narrow piriformis muscle in the buttocks)
• Slipped disk
• Degenerative disk disease
• Spinal stenosis
• Pelvic injury or fracture
• Tumors

Sciatica pain can vary widely. It may feel like a mild tingling, dull ache, or a burning sensation. In some cases, the pain is severe enough to make a person unable to move.
The pain most often occurs on one side. Some people have sharp pain in one part of the leg or hip and numbness in other parts. The sensations may also be felt on the back of the calf or on the sole of the foot. The affected leg may feel weak.

The pain often starts slowly. Sciatica pain may get worse:

• After standing or sitting
• At night
• When sneezing, coughing, or laughing
• When bending backwards or walking more than a few yards, especially if caused by spinal stenosis