HEALTH

Celebrate festivals with natural products, say docs
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 5
Beware women while applying hair dyes, hair colours and sparkling henna on your hands, especially during festival days. These things could cause damage to your skin due to the antigen Paraphenylene Diamine (PPD) present in these products. Skin specialists in the city feel that the number of patients suffering from various skin problems increases, especially after “Karva Chauth.”

Dr Alka Dogra, Head of the Dermatology Department, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), talking to Ludhiana Tribune, said that there was need to make people, especially young girls and women, aware that cheap hair dyes, colours and henna with added chemicals could be harmful to their skin.

Dr Dogra said, “A number of hair dyes are available in the market nowadays, which contain various acids and chemicals. These acids and chemicals can cause itching and redness in the scalp and beard area, leading to fluid oozing out and scaling. There can also be pigmentation over face and other sun exposed sites, swelling of eyelids, and increased sensitivity to sunlight causes photodermatitis. Patients complain of hairfall in addition. All these symptoms are due to the antigen PPD, which causes allergic or irritant reaction. In some cases, the irritant reaction can cause hair or nail breakage”.

Skin specialists feel that if such products have to be used, one should prefer good and natural alternatives.

“These are the festival days. From the roadside “mehndiwalas” to leading beauty parlours, women demand unique and attractive patterns, unaware of the fact that attractive “mehndi” includes acids, chemicals and additives, which could cause rash and allergy to the skin”, she added.

Another skin specialist stressed that people could use ordinary henna, which was non-allergic. Herbal products like coffee or tea leaves or amla Shikakai could be put in it to make it more dark from golden orange colour.

On hands, women should apply natural henna, which is safe and good. Black “mehndi” was as allergic as hair dye, so it should not be used on sensitive skin, said the doctor.

The doctor said that a number of Indians as well as imported hair colours are available in the market, which could cause roughness and dryness of hair. The conditioning of hair with good-quality hair conditioner was a must alongwith their use. “The content of the PPD in good quality hair colours is very low but they are a bit expensive. Other hair procedures like straightening of hair, perming etc can also lead to coarseness of hair and hair fall”.

Thalassaemia threat a matter of concern
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 5
In India every year, about 10,000 to 15,000 children are born with thalasseamia. The genetic trait responsible i.e. beta thalassemia is most common in Punjabis, Sindhis, Bengalis etc. Children born with thalassemia require blood transfusion from the age of six months onwards. The growing magnitude of thalassemia trait is a matter of concern.

The Jai Vigyan Mission Project on the community control of thalassaemia syndromes — awareness, screening, genetic counselling and prevention — was started by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi in six different states in 2000. Dr Vasantha Muthuswamy, Deputy Director General, ICMR, New Delhi, is the Project Director and Dr Dipika Mohanty, Director IIH, KEM Hospital Mumbai-the principal investigator. The six states involved in this project are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka and Punjab.

The Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) here is working on the project to curb the disease. The target population for research includes pregnant women, young individuals of marriageable age and family members of affected individuals.

Beta thalassaemia gene is carried by males and females who might not have significant anaemia. If two such individuals marry, their children could have the disease. Children afflicted with Beta thalassemia major rarely reach adulthood. The organs of such patients like heart, spleen, liver and brain constantly get starved for want of oxygen because red blood cells are incessantly destroyed. It had been estimated by the ICMR that with our population of over 900 million and a birth rate of 33.8 per thousand, there would be about 25 million carriers of thalassaemia syndrome and about 10,000 to 15,000 affected children would be born every year. Children suffering from thalassaemia require regular blood transfusion from the age of six months to make up for the deficiency of blood. Bone marrow transplantation, the only cure available at present, is virtually non-affordable by a majority of the population, as it costs about Rs 4 lakh to Rs 7 lakh.

In a study by the ICMR, spread over nearly four years in Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta, over 12,000 school children were examined. The prevalence of Beta Thalassemia carrier /Trait (BTT) is very high among certain communities like Punjabis, Sindhis, Gujaratis, Bengalis, Parsis, Lohanas and in certain tribes, especially Punjabis migrating from West Pakistan.

Gill Sports Club secures berth in final
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, October 5
Gill Sports Club of Ghawadi defeated Guru Hargobind Sahib Academy of Ahmedgarh 3-0 to register their fourth consecutive victory and secured a berth in the final of the Bibi Surjit Kaur Memorial Six-a-Side Hockey League Tournament being organised by Mata Sahib Kaur Academy at Jarkhar village near here today.

Gill Sports Club, thanks to a fine brace by its captain Mandeep Singh (7th minute and 18th minute) and Ravinder Singh Kala’s goal off Gurpreet Singh’s pass in the 40th minute, recorded an impressive win (3-0). With this victory, Gill Sports Club accumulated 12 points and topped the league phase.

In the second fixture today, Mata Sahib Kaur Academy of Jarkhar demolished Taj Resorts XI of Sarihn 5-0 to keep their hopes alive for the final. Gursatinder Singh scored a hat-trick (27th, 41st and 47th minute) while other scorers were Mandeep Singh (6th minute) and Mintu (14th minute) .

In the third match, Jattana Sports Club, after losing three matches in a row, tasted their first win. They thrashed Bahadurgarh XI 5-1.

Bahadurgarh XI went into an early lead when in the second minute of the game, Gurtej Singh stunned Jattana Club’s custodian with an electrifying shot. Stung by this reverse, Jattana Club players went all out and pumped into five goals. The scorers were Harjinder Singh (5th minute), Amandeep Singh (11th and 12th minute), Surjit Singh (41st minute) and Johny (43rd minute).

Hukam Chand Hukki, former national-level hockey player, was the chief guest today. The prominent citizens of the area including Deepinder Singh Dimpy, Tejinder Singh, Manminder Singh Happy, Balwinder Singh Bitta, Kulvinder Singh Tony, Jasbir Singh Grewal of Phallewal were also present on this occasion.

Yesterday, in the third phase of the tournament, Guru Hargobind Sahib Academy, with school level students in their ranks, drubbed Jattana Sports Club 5-1. The academy lads exhibited fine display and proved their supremacy. Jattana club shot into the lead in the 10th minute of the match through Sukhjit Singh Sukhi who received a parallel pass from Rajinder Singh and sounded the board. Guru Hargobind Sahib Academy restored parity immediately through Charandeep Singh who with a long scoop hit the target 1-1.

After changing ends, academy boys changed their tactics, made repeated attacks over their rivals’ territory. These pressure tactics proved fruitful as they pumped in four goals in quick succession (Harpreet Singh- 29th minute, Bittu- 30th minute and Charandeep Singh- 21st minute).

In the second match, Gill Sports Club of Ghawadi pipped Mata Sahib Kaur Academy of Jarkhar 2-0 to register their third win in a row. Mandeep Singh of Ghawadi scored a brace. He put his side ahead in the 11th minute and added another goal in the 31st minute to help his team emerge victorious 2-0.

In the last match of the day, Bahadurgarh XI defeated Taj Resorts XI of Sarihn 2-0. Bahadurgarh XI went into the lead in the 7th minute through Devinder Singh and four minutes later Daljit Singh scored a superb field goal to seal Taj Resorts XIs’ fate.

Mr Sumandeep Singh, a Youth Congress leader, was the chief guest and was introduced with the teams. Mr Depinder Singh, Mr Manminder Singh Happy, Mr Tejinder Singh, Mr Mandeep Singh Jarkhar were also present on this occasion.