Paras Hospitals organises Mini Marathon on World Heart Day

Gurgaon, Sept 28, 2015: India’s leading kabaddi player and captain of U Mumba Pro-Kabaddi league team, Anup Kumar today joined Gurgaon’s citizens for a mini marathon as part of Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon’s initiative to promote the absolute importance of running, walking and exercising to fight the cardiovascular disease epidemic facing India.

The mini marathon saw active participation of a wide spectrum of people from school children, working professionals to the city’s elderly residents who ran across a 5.5 km stretch from Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon to HUDA City Centre.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of deaths across the world, including India. While, the risk of acquiring CVD increases with age, unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of physical activity today are making relatively younger people prone to the disease.

Anup Kumar, the Arjuna awardee kabaddi player, who recently led U Mumba to a spectacular victory in the 2015 Pro Kabaddi League, joined the mini-marathon as Chief Guest. He advocated greater focus towards sports and physical activities in schools and colleges to improve public health.

“Physical sport is a great way of keeping oneself fit. Fitness is a habit that needs to be instilled in people right from their young age. I believe it is important that schools and colleges give more focus to sports for their students so that we not only reap more successful sportspersons but also a healthy generation of Indians,” said Anup Kumar.

Aimed at encouraging and motivating people to make heart health a focus, the “Our Health Our Heart” mini marathon is a special initiative by the hospital on World Heart Day. The effort aims to awaken people about the importance of healthy lifestyle in ensuring a long and productive life.

“While medical advancements have increased life expectancy of the world’s population, unfortunately our lifestyle shifts have curtailed this achievement by augmenting our risks for several diseases. Factors such as sedentary jobs, near total mechanization of work, heavy dependence on technology, unhealthy food habits, and highly stressful lives that include irregular sleeping patterns form the prime reasons for the surge in prevalence of heart disease today. 

The prevalence of this faulty lifestyle is higher in city like Gurgaon where the people live by deadlines. Long working hours, night jobs resulting in irregular sleep, excessive dependence on fast food, absence of any physical activity and high degree of stress are common factors today. We need to counter these negative factors by adopting positive modes of action such as regular physical exercise, running, jogging and walking every day. 30 minutes of exercise daily goes a long way in reducing our risk for several diseases including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease,” says Dr. Tapan Ghose, Director and HOD, Cardiology, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

Starting at 7 am, the marathon covered a stretch of nearly 5.5 kms, with wide participation from corporate personnel, school and college children and other residents of Gurgaon, the mini marathon recorded an encouraging footfall of nearly 400 Above people from all age groups.

“Cardiovascular diseases are not only the world’s largest killer but also the silent ones. With no specific symptoms, CVD tends to develop slowly until they cause a heart attack or stroke all of a sudden one day. Factors such as hypertension, diabetes, stress or depression often increase the risk of developing CVD. Through a marathon we not only want to draw youngsters to the idea of exercise but also exhort the administration for creating exercise friendly environment in the city including clean and safe spaces to walk, run or cycle,” said Dr. Bharat Kukreti, Senior Consultant, Cardiology, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

The benefits that running brings to heart health are known to everybody. Running improves heart healthy by increasing blood circulation that further forces the heart to pump more blood. Likewise, not only the blood circulation improves but also the muscles of heart become strong and active. Running helps keep body weight in control, thus checking another risk factor for heart disease. It also helps reduce risk of high blood pressure and diabetes.

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Doctors at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon report rise in diseases

With Monsoon Arrive a New Set of Health Woes: Doctors at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon Report Rise in Viral, Bacterial Infections

· Multispecialty, Paras Hospital, Gurgaon talks about some common disease prevalent during monsoon and measures to prevent them
· With high humidity coupled with heat, bacterial, viral and fungal infections become common

Gurgaon, July 2015: The monsoon season is a time for some much-needed relief from the scorching hot summer months, but it is also a time when diseases such as dengue, malaria, conjunctivitis, allergies, gastrointestinal infections and other bacterial and fungal infestations report a rise.

With patients in Gurgaon already reporting a spurt in infections, doctors at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon are advising people to adopt preventive measures.
“It is just a few days into monsoon and we are already receiving an increasing number of patients (40-50 patients a day) reporting gastrointestinal, respiratory, acute febrile illness as well as eye infections. Poor sanitation, contamination of food and water become more prominent during the season. While common cold and viral fevers are quite common, people are also exposed to several intestinal infections leading to Gastroenteritis, Typhoid and Hepatitis due to intake of unhygienic and infected food and water. Dengue and Malaria are another scourge that rears its head every year during this season. So, we always suggest our patients to keep a watch on health, food ; water hygiene & maintain high level of suspicion of the diseases discussed above and to report to doctor if the symptoms arise. In this season one should avoid eating on roadside joints” says Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Consultant, Internal Medicine.

The best way to prevent from being infected is to have a good knowledge about the cause and spread of the diseases that are common during the monsoon. As only then, you can chalk out the measures to prevent yourself from these diseases. Let’s take a look at the prevalent diseases:

Dengue, malaria, chikungunya
Dengue and chikungunya are acute viral infections transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. The common symptoms of the diseases are fever; sever body aches, joint pain and rash. Both are viral infection. Aedes mosquito breeds in clean water (artificial water-filled container habitats). Malaria is caused by female Anopheles mosquito that breeds in the fresh- or salt-water marshes, mangrove swamps, rice fields, grassy ditches, the edges of streams and rivers, and small, temporary rain pools. Malaria is characterized by symptoms such as high fever at regular intervals with shivering, muscle pain, headache and weakness. All the three diseases discussed above can be prevented by preventing mosquito breeding, keeping the surroundings clean and dry; wearing full length clothes; using coils and repellants even during the daytime to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Diarrhea and cholera
Spread by contaminated consumption of foods and water and both spread due to poor hygienic conditions. Increased frequency of watery stools leading to dehydration is the hall mark of diarrhea & Cholera. Adequate intake of fluids with ORS is the key to prevent dehydration & renal failure which may follow loose stools. After every loose stool one should take at least 300 ml of ORS solution. If one is not able to take fluids then one should report to hospital. Both the diseases can be prevented by staying alert on the hygiene quotient.

Typhoid and Jaundice and Gastroenteritis
Spread due to consumption of contaminated water or food, Typhoid incidence increases during monsoon. Poor sanitation and lack of hygiene favors the growth of typhoid bacteria other viruses which cause infection of liver (Hepatitis). High grade fever, sever headache, weakness, pain are common symptoms of typhoid, while symptoms like sever weakness, decreased appetite ,yellow urine and eyes, vomiting and liver dysfunction indicates Jaundice. Avoiding consumption of street-side food or water and drinking lots of healthy fluid can help avoid Typhoid & Jaundice both. If symptoms arise prompt medical consultation can prevent many complications.

After all Monsoon is not that gloomy, one can & should enjoy rains albeit with precautions as mentioned above. Have a pleasant & disease free Monsoon.

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Therapeutic Benefits of Yoga

Even as yoga has become India’s most famous cultural export to the world, a large number of Indians are oblivious to its efficacy in boosting body’s defenses and improving its mental functionality. To drive home the benefits of yoga in stress-prone Gurgaon city, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon organized a special session on Yoga’s therapeutic benefits for back pain and its ability to boost body’s immunity against cancer.

The session on International Yoga Day was held at Tao Devilal Park, Sector-52, Gurgaon, where the yoga instructors taught the participating people about the yoga positions especially relevant for back pain and educated them about its benefits for building cancer immunity.

The session was held early in the morning was led by Sanjeev Vatta, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Paras Hospital, Gurgaon, and Dr. Meenakshi Sharma , Senior Consultant , Laparoscopic Surgery , Paras Hospitals , Gurgaon who participated in the initiative.

“Therapeutic yoga works like a magic wand for people suffering from back pain. Although, practicing yoga in back pain may sound like an irony but the fact is that therapeutic yoga can reduce pain and improve function in people with chronic low back pain. Additionally, yoga practice also helps people better fight cancer. It detoxifies body, helps neutralize free radicals, increases its immunity, and improves resilience and strength, thereby helping people better fight cancer,” said Dr. Meenakshi Sharma , Senior Consultant , Laparoscopic Surgery , Paras Hospitals , Gurgaon.

Originating nearly 6000 years ago, the practice has the power to rejuvenate soul, body and mind. Yoga further has numerous divisions, which are effective in treating several health issues. For instance, therapeutic yoga is particularly effective in treating back pain and helping cancer patients in speedier recovery.

“People with cancer tend to get weaker and less energetic due to the sickening therapies and treatment. Although, it may sound contradictory, but gentle poses of yoga for cancer patients can help them on many levels. Yoga used as therapy can also help in clearing the toxics in the body accrued during the cancer treatment. Yoga positions also have the ability to stimulate muscles, increases blood flow, enhancing the lymphatic flow in body and enhancing body’s internal purification processes. Yoga for cancer survivors and patients also provides an internal anchor of calm,”added Mr Pradeep, Yoga Intructor, Yoga – On – Call .

Besides curing illness and pain, yoga in general has de-stressing quality because of which it is widely practice across the world. Deep breathing, which is often emphasized in yoga, helps in increasing the current of oxygen-rich blood to the cells, delivering vital nutrients to tired cells and further clearing out toxins. With celebration such as a day like this, more people will be able to get to know the benefits and will be able to connect with the person already in practice to get a guided training.

“The session experienced a good response from the people in the vicinity. With a footfall of over 100 people, the park was full of enthusiasts. People were very keen to learn and know about yoga practices. The excitement of the people was very overwhelming. It encouraged us to conduct more such session in future,” said Sanjeev Vatta , General Manager , Sales and Marketing, Paras Hospital, Gurgaon.

It was effort made by PM Narendra Modi during address to UN General Assembly that influenced United Nations to announce June 21 as the International Yoga Day. The move is supported by more 177 countries including USA, China, Canada and Egypt. Celebrated for the first time in history, the day will encourage and motivate mass of people to opt Yoga in their lives for a better living.

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World Environment Day marked at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon

Gurgaon, June, 8: Supporting the cause of environment conservation, the doctors and staff members at the multi specialty Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, joined by Mr. Ashok Bakshi, the city’s ACP, Traffic Police, came together to participate in a plantation drive around the hospital and talk about the importance of greenery on World Environment Day.

Celebrating the day, 100 saplings were planted across the 2 km stretch of road outside the hospital. The intention is to increase green cover and surround the hospital with greenery in order to ensure a healthy environment to the patients and other people in the vicinity. Through this drive, the hospital intended to encourage more people to do their bit to grow a greener environment and contribute to the nature.

The plantation drive was led by Mr. Ashok Bakshi, ACP Traffic Police, Gurgaon, along with Dr. Kousar Ali Shah,Zonal Director, Paras Hospitals; Dr. Neeraj Bishnoi, Medical Superintendent, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon. Besides, many other members of the senior management extended their hand of support to the effort.

“With pollution levels soaring in the Delhi NCR region, this initiative by Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon is very appreciable. I am honored to be the part of the drive as it is not only expanding the green belt of the city but also helping to give the people a cleaner environment to breathe in. Planting trees is important not only to save the future but also to make the present risk free. WED serves the opportunity for everyone to realize their responsibility towards Mother Earth and to become agents of change,” said, Mr. Ashok Bakshi, ACP Traffic Police, Gurgaon.

Paras Hospitals is an organization with a social conscious. The hospital also conducted a similar drive last year to grow a greener environment in the areas near the institution by doctors, administrators and other staff members of the hospital. The doctors simultaneously talked about the importance to maintain the ‘health’ of the planet, by taking care of the surroundings.

“We are dedicated to provide a clean and healthy environment to our patients. Nothing can be cleaner than a green environment. However, through this plantation drive we not only intend to create a better ambience for our patient, also wish to encourage the society to take care of the environment. With increase in population, natural resources are depleting amongst which trees are the only resource we can add to the nature. This drive is the support to the thought that living well within planetary boundaries is the most promising strategy for ensuring a healthy future,” said Dr. Kousar Ali Shah, Zonal Director, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

World Environment Day (WED) is observed each year on June 5 under the aegis of the United Nations to encourage worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Not just institutions and governments, people and individuals also observe the day by doing something for their environment and spreading a word about it.

“World Environment Day is celebrated every year at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon. Although, we ensure a healthy and clean environment round the year in our premises, on World Environment day, we come together to inspire people as. By coming out on roads and planting trees, we want to persuade people to practice the activity in their societies as well, thereby, expanding the green belt region of the city. It is high time people realized the importance of trees and green environment. Many problems like asthma and skin allergy are primarily due to the pollutants in the air,” said Dr. Neeraj Bishnoi, Medical Superintendent, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

UN decided “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care" as the theme for this year’s World Environment Day. The theme talks about the dependency of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy on planet’s resources. However, there is only little left with nature to serve the people.

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Tumor Removed from 37-Year-Old Woman’s Food Pipe

Gurgaon, 3 June 2015: A 37-year-old Iraqi woman, a mother of three, has undergone a major life-saving surgery at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, to remove a cancer of the throat that affected her food pipe as well as her voice box, making it impossible for her to consume food and posing a major threat to her life.

Several months back, Saana from Iraq underwent a surgery for a thyroid-related complication. However, the surgery failed and resulted in major complication in her condition. Such was her condition that everything that Saana consumed would come out through the wound in her neck. The situation became very grotesque and painful. Another round of medical examination including a biopsy this time found it to be a case of cancer growing out of her food pipe or Oesophagus.

The diagnosis shook Saana and her family. With three young children – two daughters and a son -- to take care of, she could not afford a life-threatening condition and desperately wanted to live. Wasting no more time, the woman travelled to India to seek further medical treatment. Saana, first consulted a renowned private hospital in the country, where she was recommended radiation and chemotherapy to treat the cancer. However, even after six months of treatment, her condition remained vulnerable because she was not getting proper advice and further treatment. This time, Saana decided to seek consultation at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon as a last resort.

Gauging the seriousness of the condition, the hospital immediately took her in for proper diagnosis to understand the entire scenario. Based on clinical examination, an MRI screening, blood tests and a true cut biopsy, Dr. Rakesh Dhurkhare, Consultant, GI Surgery,established it to be a case of a large tumor arising from her Oesophagus and going into her Larynx. Working in tandem with Dr Sudip Raina, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, the doctor decided that since the cancer was spreading, there was little time to lose in surgically removing it. They also arrived at the conclusion that they will have to remove the entire food pipe as well as voice box, if there has to be hope to save the patient’s life.

“With the task of mothering three children, Saana came in with lots of responsibilities on her shoulder. She was carrying this cancer since the last eight months. Given its location, she found it difficult to eat or drink anything. The fact that the cancer stretched from food pipe to voice box, we decided to go ahead with the surgical intervention to make sure the patient’s life was saved. We found the best mechanism to save her life would be to remove her food pipe and voice box. The surgery was a success and Saana reported normal to her post surgery tests and monitoring, “said Dr Rakesh Dhurkhare.

The surgery that lasted …8 hours 15 min involved removing the cancer-affected oesophagus and larynx. During the procedure, the food pipe was then reconstructed by pulling up the stomach and connecting it to the remaining healthy portion of the pipe. At the same time, the surgery to remove larynx also involved a voice restoration procedure to enable the patient speak and communicate after recovery taking help from speech therapy. The cancer originating from her food pipe had eroded into her voice box damaging left half of her larynx.

To live more she had to sacrifice her voice for some time after surgery.

Challenges during surgery were two.

1. Cancer higher up in neck so we had to bring new food pipe up to base of tongue to join it there.

2. Half of the stomach could not be used for making new food pipe as it was already destroyed by surgeons of Iraq during surgery.

“Saana was under immense pain. Further, her inability to take food made her weaker. The failed thyroid surgery, which she had undergone earlier, had further worsened her case. There was also a probability of tumor affecting other organs if it was not treated correctly. She had already wasted a considerable amount of time in seeking wrong treatment. We are happy that we could help get rid of the tumor, which could have affected her entire family by taking away her life,” added Dr Sudip Raina.

The doctors at Paras Hospital are quite satisfied with Saana's overall recovery and are hopeful that he will recover completely from such a grave injury in the next few days. Five days after the surgery, she is now accepting water orally after 8 long months.

The episode also highlights the untold story of lack of right diagnosis, the resultant wrong treatment and negligence that often takes place in India and other nations despite availability of modern technology and resources.

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Paras Hospitals joins Cleanliness Drive in Gurgaon

Gurgaon, May 18, 2015: Doctors and staff members of Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon in association with the local authorities and Deputy Mayor Mr. Parminder Kataria launched a cleanliness drive in the city.

Wearing gloves, masks and carrying garbage bags, the doctors of the multi specialty hospital spread out in a residential area and park to send out a strong message of social consciousness and stress the responsibility of citizens in keeping their environment clean.

Joined by the Deputy Mayor and members of his office and administration, the doctors removed dirt, plastic bags and garbage from the park and residential area of Sector 5 in a two-hour campaign in the morning. They also spoke to people present on the roads, in the park and exhorted them to play a part in keeping the city clean and hygienic.

The doctors who participated in the initiative included Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Consultant, Internal Medicine; Dr Arvind Mehra, Consultant, Orthopedics; Dr. Bharat Kukreti, Consultant,Cardiology; Dr. Rakesh Tiwari , Consultant, Pediatrics.

Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon also conducted free blood pressure & sugar check up camp after the cleanliness drive. The health camp was conducted to educate people about prevention and management of hypertension. Raised blood pressure is a serious warning sign that significant lifestyle changes are urgently needed. People need to know why raised blood pressure is dangerous, and how to take steps to control it.

Cleanliness has been one of the major thrusts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social messages ever since he assumed the office. The hospital staff was happy to play a small role in the Prime Minister’s Swatch Bharat Abhiyan.

As an organization committed to improve the health of the city, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon considers such activities as a social responsibility. On World Environment Day last year, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon launched a plantation drive when its doctors and staff members planted a large number of saplings in and around the hospital, with an aim to increase the green cover of the area. On Republic Day this year, the hospital had conducted a major cleanliness drive in the city.

“We put a lot of stress on healthy practices and lifestyle improvements. However, if our cities are not clean, how can the residents stay healthy? Keeping our cities clean and hygienic can help us fight communicable diseases and keep our children healthy. Unlike what many of us like to believe, it is not just the responsibility of the administration to ensure hygiene and cleanliness, it is the responsibility of each one of us,” said Dr. Kousar Ali Shah, Zonal director, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

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Paras Hospitals holds special OPD for people with back pain

Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, holds special OPD for people with back pain

In winters when muscles stiffen and physical exercise is limited, instances of stiff backs, neck or joint pain too report a rise

At Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, a special OPD by spine specialists offered consultation to people experiencing back pain, spine problems and other orthopedic issues

Gurgaon, Dec, 2014:As temperatures drop and winds turn chilly, a number of factors lead to increasing pain and discomfort in the body specially the back, knee and other joints.Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon today organized a special day-long OPD dedicated to people experiencing pain or discomfort in the back and spine. The spine specialists offered free consultation to patients and advised them on protecting their back and ways to keep their muscles and nerves active and flexible in the winters. They are also continuing their initiative and have declared every Wednesday of the week as a Free Consultation day.

The change in weather acts on the body in multiple ways. In lower temperatures the nerve endings in our body become extra sensitive even to minor pain stimuli. Now, the nerve endings are responsible for all sensations, including pain. This is why in winters, even a small scratch or a minor hit gives so much more pain. Another reason is that the cold stiffens the muscles and increases the chances of pain or strain. At a time when our muscles need more physical exercise to warm them up, we tend to become indoor animals, confined in blankets and beds. This further gives us pain in the back and joints in winters. Less exercise leaves your body vulnerable to low back pain.

At the OPD, doctors examined people, sifted the ones with more serious problems from those with minor sprains and aches, and advised them for the course ahead.

“Back pain is becoming very common and affects people of all ages and genders. Some back aches may be due to a single injury or minor injuries occurring over a long period of time, others may be due to muscular tension or sprain. The former should never be ignored as spine injuries can lead to more severe consequences if left unhealed. However, in winters a lot of people experience pain in the back due to muscular stiffness or sprain which needs mild medication and a physical routine as a recourse,” says Dr Arun Bhanot, Chief of Spine Services, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon

All people who have played sports in some point in their lives know the importance of warm up before launching into aggressive activity. After long hours of inactivity, muscles tend to stiffen and immediately launching rigorous activity may cause a tear or sprain.

“In winters, when the temperatures are low, the need for warming up increases even further. However, people become all the more sedentary and even forego their daily walking and jogging routines. Sometimes, they then suddenly launch into a rigorous action like pulling a piece of furniture, shifting mattresses or indulging in a game after several days of inactivity. Picking up a child from ground while bending is another such activity. These all are responsible for sprains and tears in muscles,” added Dr Arun Bhanot, Chief of Spine Services, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

Measures to Prevent Back Pain due to Changing Weather:

Warm Up Your Muscles: Muscles may get injured when they are suddenly launched into a rigorous activity without a prior notice. Mild exercise and stretching serves as a warm up to the muscles. When the weather is cold, the stiffness and tightness in the muscles increases even further. This is why we should keep moving and exercising in winter rather than seek cover under blankets all the time. Keep your daily workout routine intact. Warm up by stretching and light lifting every day before you begin the day. In fact, a small two-minute stretching program can be undertaken right in the bed before one puts his feet on the ground.

Cover Yourself up Well: Exposure to chilly winds can also exacerbate pain sometimes. Always cover yourself in layers of clothing to keep the body heat from escaping.

Workout Indoors: To prevent exposure to cold, shift your workout routines indoors. If the ground where you walk or run everyday has gotten too cold, shift to a gym or find an indoor space to walk every day. If your office has a long gallery, you can use it as a walking space for 30 minutes every day.

Adopt back strengthening exercises: Lower back muscles are quite vulnerable in winters. It would help if you adopt exercises that strengthen the lower back. Make sure you learn them under expert supervision.

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