Auto Immune conditions

Vidya, a long-standing patient of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) narrates her experience with specialized medications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, yoga, Ayurveda, oil massage, warm baths among other things to alleviate severe, chronic pain, stiffness and flare ups. Read for useful tips and better pain management. First things first. Pain and Rheumatoid Arthritis go hand in hand. Sometimes, when I reflect on my journey with RA, one thread that immediately comes to mind is how I coped with…

Dr. Sapan C. Pandya, MD DM Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology answers this and many other questions in this exhaustive talk with Kirtida Oza, Co-founder of Sjögren’s India. This online Webinar on “Rheumatic Diseases: Challenges and Hope” is aimed at enhancing awareness about lesser understood diseases.   #Rheumatic Diseases Awareness Month Dr. Sapan C. Pandya starts with a quick recap of lesser known Rheumatic Diseases including Scleroderma, Lupus, Inflammatory Myositis and…

Does Yoga help people manage chronic conditions and the various symptoms? On International Yoga Day, we speak to a cross section of people who believe strongly that yoga has contributed greatly in their journey of recovery1.  Mr Purushotaman - Parkinsons Mr. Purushotaman is 77-years-old and has had Parkinson's for 4 years. An unassuming gentleman, Mr. Purushotaman is extremely regular for all meetings and yoga sessions conducted by Parivarthan for Parkinson’s. Parivarthan is a…

Vonita Singh, who conducts therapeutic dance classes Movement Mantra in Dubai, is herself a patient of Rheumatoid Arthritis from a very early age. She shares how she fought to overcome the physical challenges Tell us a little about when RA started? What were the symptoms? It all started with the big toe of my right foot - I was all of 18 years old! Subtle pain and tenderness were the main symptoms initially, but that did not create enough anxiety for me to talk about it with anyone, including…

Swati Agrawal, a fibromyalgia patient keenly wishes for more awareness and treatment for this incurable, misdiagnosed and misunderstood, invisible illness. Find out how she maintains her health. Listen to her in the video below. New Delhi, 12 May 2016: Well, you know what they say about best laid schemes of mice. In my case, that pretty much sums up Fibromyalgia. In fact, I think Robert Burns would have been impressed with how earnestly fibromyalgia made the schemes of my life go awry. Chronic…

The thyroid gland is fundamental to the functioning of several organs such as kidneys, liver, brain, heart and even skin.  Dr Shital Patel explains the common types and causes of thyroid disorders. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the lower-front part of the neck, just below the Adam’s apple. It is an endocrine gland made up of two lobes connected by a isthmus. It is responsible for the secretion of thyroid hormones which regulates body processes such as respiration, body…

Cooking can be a strenuous task for someone with arthritis and other muscle/joint disorders. But you don't have to give up cooking. Here are a few useful day to day tips to minimize the load on the joints and maximize what one can achieve in the kitchen, advises Dr S M Akerkar, Consulting Rheumatologist. This is the first of a 2-part series. The second part addresses the issue with visuals and examples. Your home and kitchen are supposed to be your most comfortable and familiar place in the…

Dry skin affects a lot of people but it is needs more attention as a major feature of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), scleroderma. Sjögren’s India shares some tips on how to handle dry skin.  It can occur in the form of itching, redness, scaling and cracking of skin.  Dry skin occurs as a result of immune dysfunction and destruction of moisture producing structures such as hair, oil and sweat glands. Once destroyed these oil and sweat glands cannot be restored. Although dry skin occurs…

Smitha Sadasivan, who is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, recounts her challenges with accessibility, toilets and medicines at airports and railway stations while travelling. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999. I can’t sit continuously for long or sit in a chair/wheelchair which is loose or too soft/silky. I need a sturdy chair with an arm rest to support my back and hands, or else I get a back ache, neck ache and stiffness/pain in hip joints. I also require…

Deepthi Nair, who was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis (MG), a rare, neuromuscular autoimmune condition that leads to varying degrees of muscle weakness, finds the ‘invisible symptoms’ of the disease causes misunderstanding among people and pain and frustration to the patient. December 3 is celebrated as International Day for Persons with Disabilities. Last year, somewhere during this time, I had been to the Disabilities Commission to attend to a legal matter. I remember having witnessed a…