14 August, 2013

2 year old boy has a heart attack after eating peanuts!

A two-year-old Mumbai boy suffered cardiac arrest after eating peanuts.

The incident happened on July 30 when Krishna Yadav had to be rushed to the Seven Hills Hospital, Andheri east, after suffering breathlessness upon eating peanuts with some friends at his home.

A team of doctors immediately carried out tests and gave their shocking medical conclusion – the child had suffered cardiac arrest and required tertiary care.

‘He was put on ventilator by the Neo-Critical Care Specialists to avoid any further complications or cardiac arrests and further tests were carried out,’ said the hospital’s consultant ENT specialist Ashwini Kumar Mehta. Scans performed by the hospital revealed that some peanuts had got lodged in the airway of the child, creating breathing complications.

‘The pieces were blocking airflow to both the lungs and resulted in ‘hypoxia’ which is low level of oxygen supply to the brain. This led to the heart attack,’ explained Mehta.

‘After the problem was identified, the next step was to rectify it by performing a Bronchoscopy,’ said Uday Nadkarni, consultant paediatrician.

‘This procedure includes insertion of a bronchoscope into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth. Through this, pieces of peanuts were removed, allowing the child to breathe freely once again,’ Nadkarni explained. However, Mehta assured that the child’s heart is normal and strong and there would not be any similar complications in the future.

Nadkarni said that this incident should make people more aware of the dangers of giving food to small children which are difficult to chew at certain ages, especially when their teeth are yet developing.

Nearly a fornight after the incident, Krishna’s parents – father Satyapal Yadav, working for Continuum Management Pvt. Ltd., and mother Guddidevi, a housewife – are a relieved lot.

‘Yes, he has been discharged and is now normal. This has been quite an experience for all of us,’ Yadav said.

Source: http://health.india.com

14.08.2013

3,069 Kurukshetra varsity students form ‘blood drop’

Dressed in red, 3,069 students of Kurukshetra University and its affiliated colleges Monday set a new record when they formed the shape of a blood drop to create awareness for blood donation on International Youth Day in Kurukshetra town in Haryana.

The students broke the previous world record for the largest human blood drop shape formed by 3,006 people by Baekseok University, Pyeongchang, South Korea on Feb 23, 2012.

‘This historic event will motivate the youth of the country and other citizens to donate blood for saving precious human lives,’ Kurukshetra University vice chancellor, Lt Gen D.D.S. Sandhu said.

‘The aim of the record attempt was to promote large scale awareness about voluntary blood donation and to popularize it among youth. The attempt was a joint collaboration between ISBTI, Kurukshetra University, Indian Red Cross Society and BloodConnect,’ a university spokesperson said.

‘Despite being the youngest nation in the world, the country faces a massive shortage of 3.6 million units of blood. Even if a mere two percent of the country’s youth donate just once in their lifetime, the situation can be improved drastically,’ Yudhvir Singh, president of International Society for Blood Transfusion India (ISBTI), said.

BloodConnect is India’s largest student-run group for voluntary blood donation. It connects people in need of blood to those who can donate it.

Kurukshetra is 100 km from Chandigarh.

Source: http://health.india.com

14.08.2013

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength

Corrie Ten Boom