Some Non-communicable Diseases

Low Blood Pressure

We have already learned that blood pressure less than 130 (systolic)/85 (diastolic) mmHg (according to American Heart Association) are normal blood pressure in adults. On average it may be 120/80 mmHg. But when the blood pressure decreases than the normal it is explained as a low blood pressure. Low blood pressure, medically known as a ‘Hypotension’ is generally considered as systolic blood pressure of 90mmHg or less in adults.

         

Blood pressure varies, depending on factors such as age, race, sex and environment. On rare occasions, individuals may have medical problems that cause low blood pressure.

Causes

       There are different factors that cause low blood pressure; some of them are:

.      Lack of balanced diet and nutritive diet.

.      Dehydration and abnormal decreases in body weight.

.      Fatigue for a longer duration.

.      Over exertion and physical work.

.      Excessive bleeding due to wound and other causes.

.      Heredity and racial factors.

.      Emotional stress and hormonal factors.

.      combination with Addison’s disease (pernicious anaemia) and alcoholism.

.      Medication for high blood pressure.

.      Environment or psychological dysfunction.

Signs and Symptoms

        Several studies suggested that low blood pressure may be associated with non-specific symptoms, such as:

.      Feeling or weakness and dizziness.

.      Decreases in diastolic and systolic pressure.

.      Headache referred to the back of head or neck.

.      Tiredness and fainting.

.      Swaying.

.      Focal cerebral ischemia (low blood flow).

.      Communicating difficulties.

.      Tunnel vision.

.      Uncontrolled body balance.

.      Emotional instability.

Prevention and Control

        Hypotension is a benign condition and is often attributed to psychological problems. So, the best ways of preventive measure should be:

.      Making healthy lifestyle.

.      Control of dehydration.

.      Changing the timing of meals.

.      Proper treatment of Addison’s disease.

.      Control on alcohol consumption.

.      Proper rest and sleep and physical work and exercise.

.      Proper balanced diet.

.      Maintenance of healthy recreation.

.      Control on stress and anxiety.

.      Regular health check-up.

Stone

      Stone or calculus is a disease in which an abnormal stone is formed in body tissues by accumulation of mineral salts. Stones or calculi, consisting chiefly of cholesterol, bile pigment and calcium salts, may form usually and are found within hollow organs or ducts and can cause obstruction and inflammation in persons of either at any age, but are more common in middle age. It may form at various internal organs such as bile duct, gallbladder, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, urethra and glands.

Causes: In the majority of cases, causes are unknown. However, excess salt consumption, increased amount of serum cholesterol in blood, which occurs in obesity, diabetes, inflammation of the biliary system, accumulation of bile pigment and calcium salts are some of the major causes known to be responsible for the formation of stones.

Symptoms: The signs and symptoms of stone formation may differ according to their nature and place. Still the formation of stone is accompanied by the following symptoms:

.      Tendency of nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite.

.      Severe pain at the affected area.

.      Radiating to the back and shoulder.

.      The dehydrated patient may have chills, fever and jaundice.

.      Inflammation of affected organs.

.      Obstruction in bile duct and urethra.

.      There is much pain in the back along with high temperature.

Prevention and Control

The following measures can be adopted for prevention:

.      Water and fat-free liquid should be taken as much as possible.

.      Regular exercise.

.      Regular periodical health examination.

.      If the stone cannot pass through a natural process, it should be surgically

       removed.

.      Doctors should be consulted about the treatment.

.      Intensive nursing care and support is required.

.      The patient should be given complete bed rest.

Healthy Tips

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The Glandular System

There are many kinds of glands in the human body. These glands are made up of special kinds of cells. All these glands and their functions comprise the glandular system.

The glands found in the body are of two types. They are as follows:

1. Exocrine glands, and

2. Endocrine glands.

Exocrine Glands

       Exocrine glands pour their secretions out through a duct, for example, salivary gland and liver. The secretions of exocrine glands are called enzymes. The enzymes secreted by exocrine glands produce chemical changes when they come in contact with other substances.

Endocrine Glands

       Endocrine glands are usually a group of cells and glands without ducts. They produce special substances called hormones, which are poured directly into the blood stream from the glandular cell. So, they are also known as ductless glands. The endocrine system consists of a number of distinct glands. The main endocrine glands are:

a) Pituitary glands,                                  b) Pineal glands,

c) Thyroid glands,                                   d) Parathyroid glands,

e) Thymus glands,                                   f) Adrenal glands,

g) Pancreas, and                                      h) Gonads.

a) Pituitary Glands: The pituitary gland is a small, oval-shaped body like a big pea. It is located in the base of the brain. It controls all the glands as the master. It has great influence on skeletal growth. It also affects the functions of ovaries and testes.

b) Pineal Gland: The pineal gland is a small body resembling a pine cone, which is situated under the brain.

c) Thyroid Gland: The thyroid gland is located in the neck where the larynx joins the trachea. This gland helps to regulate the rate of metabolism. The thyroid gland secretes thyroid hormones called ‘Thyroxin’ and ‘Tridothyroxin’. An overactive thyroid gland will cause a bulging of the eyes and other symptoms. The thyroid gland requires a certain amount of iodine. When there is too little iodine in the water supply or in the food, a swelling called goiter may appear in the neck.

d) Parathyroid Glands: The parathyroid glands are small oval bodies, and are about the size of a pea. There are four parathyroid glands. The secretion of the parathyroid glands is called parathormone, which influences calcium and phosphorus metabolism, and controls the excretion of phosphate.

        Over secretion of parathormone causes loss of calcium, which goes from the bones into the blood, and from there it is excreted in the urine. The bones become porous and brittle and the increased level of blood calcium may cause the formation of kidney stone.

        Under-secretion of this hormone leads to a sharp decrease of calcium in the blood plasma. This condition is characterized by intense spasm of many of the muscles.

e) Thymus: The thymus gland is located in the thoracic cavity behind the sternum. It is believed that it is related to the production of antibodies.

f) Adrenal Glands: The adrenal glands are paired organs each of which is located at the top of each kidney. The hormones secreted from the adrenal glands regulate the level of glucose in the blood, and influence fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Under-secretion of these hormones causes the disturbance in metabolism, loss of weight, muscular weakness, low-blood pressure, etc. whereas; over-secretion causes change in the genital system. In women, it may result in secondary male characters.

g) Gonads: The sex glands, the testes in male and ovaries in female are known under the common name of gonads. These glands internally secrete sex hormones which are delivered into the blood and influence the various functions.

         The ovaries secrete estrogen and progesterone, which influence the sexual maturation of the female organs, regulate the monthly period, prepare the uterus for ovulation, and influence the normal course of pregnancy.

h) Pancreas: The pancreas lies across the posterior abdominal wall behind the stomach. It is a mixed gland composed of lobules. Pancreas produces pancreatic juice, which is delivered to the duodenum. It also secretes a hormone known as insulin. In case of insulin deficiency, only a portion of carbohydrate is used by the body. The remaining carbohydrate is secreted in the form of sugar in urine. Thus, the deficiency of insulin results in diabetes.

Glands and Health

          Glands of our body secrete various enzymes and hormones, which are essential for the proper growth, development and regulation of our body. Over secretion or under secretion of these glands may create physiological disturbances in the body which is the sign of ill health. In fact, these glands only work efficiently in a healthy situation, and the healthy condition can be maintained only through the balanced diet, maintenance of personal hygiene, healthy habits and proper exercise.

General

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Heart Attack

Heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, generally occurs when the supply of blood and oxygen to an area of heart muscle is blocked, usually by a blood clot. This may cause the heart to stop beating and from pumping blood effectively and leads to death or permanent damage to the heart. A heart attack, or myocardial infarction is permanent damage to the heart muscle. The conditions leading to heart attack often develop over many years.

         

Like all organs, the heart and heart muscles require a constant supply of oxygen-rich blood to nourish it. It gets that blood from arteries that lead into the

heart. In some cases, those arteries become narrow and blood cannot flow as well as it should; fatty matter, calcium, proteins and inflammatory cells build up within the arteries and form ‘plaques’ of different sizes. Over time the plaques become larger and larger. Eventually, the plaque greatly reduces the amount of blood reaching the heart. It can also close off the artery entirely. When that happens, the blood supply to the heart is completely cut off and the heart muscles become ‘starved’ for oxygen. Within a short time, death of heart muscle cells occurs, causing permanent damage. This is called myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

Causes and Risk Factors

           It is difficult to estimate exactly how common heart attacks are because many people die each year before medical help in sought. Heart attacks are usually caused by severe coronary artery diseases. A number of risk factors increase the chance of developing coronary artery disease and heart attack. Some major risk factors can be changed and other cannot. Among those:

i)  That cannot be changed are:

.       Heredity.

.       Gender: Men under the age of sixty are more likely to have heart attacks than

        women of the same age.

.       Age: Men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are at higher risk

        than younger people. People over age of 65 are more likely to die of heart

        attack.

ii)  Some risk factors that can be changed are:

.        Smoking.

.        High levels of cholesterol in the blood.

.        High blood presuure.

.        Unhealthy lifestyle and lack of physical exercise.

iii)  Other conditions: Other conditions may affect the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack. Scientists are not certain how these factors are involved in these conditions. The factors are:

.        Diabetes

.        Obesity

.        Stress and anger

.        Elevated homycysteine fibrinogen level

.         Sudden excitement/depression.

Signs and Symptoms: Most of the heart patients experience symptoms before the attack actually begins. Some people have no symptoms. This is called a ‘silent’ attack. Typical symptoms include:

a) Pain in the centre of the chest. It can feel like:

.      Uncomfortable pressure

.      Fullness/a tight band on the chest

.      squeezing

.      Indigestion or heart burn.

b) Pain radiates from chest to arms or shoulder; neck, teeth or jaw; abdomen or back.

c) Chest discomforts accompanied by:

.       Light – headedness/ dizziness

.       Fainting

.       Sweating, which may be profuse

.       Nausea or vomiting

.       Shortness of breath

.       Cough

.       Feeling of “impending doom”

d) Anxiety/Extreme weakness

e) Rapid or irregular heart beats

f) Crackles in the lungs, a heart murmur or other abnormal sound in the chest while listening with stethoscope.

Prevention and Control

         Some risk factors for heart attack cannot be controlled. There may be hereditary factors that make a person more or less likely to have coronary artery disease and a heart attack. However, many risk factors can be managed by leading a healthy lifestyle. Some ways a person can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack are:

       .       Eat healthy diet that includes a variety of food, low in fat, low in cholesterol,  

               And high in fibre. The diet should be include plenty of fruits and vegetables,

               and limited sodium.

      .        Heavy meals should be avoided.

      .        Get regular moderate exercise. Bed rest up to 8-10 hours a day is considered

               desirable.

      .        Maintain a proper body weight by watching one’s diet and exercise.

      .        Strenuous physical exercise after 40 years of age should be avoided.

      .        Don’t start smoking. If you smoke, quit smoking.

      .        Control to consume alcohol.

      .        Adopt a more moderate lifestyle and healthy recreation that reduces stress

               and anxiety.

     .         Maintenance of healthy relationship among with the family members.

     .         Control blood pressure and diabetes.

     .         Regular health check-ups.

     .         Heart-attack patients must follow the doctor’s advice to prevent a second

               heart attack

.

.          Make sure to have an emergency action to plan in case of having the sign of a second heart attack.

.         In case of having or have had heart attack call the local emergency medical service immediately and get to the hospital emergency room as soon as possible.

   

   

Healthy Tips

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First Aid and Safety for Various Injuries

Electric Shock

It usually involves accidental contact with exposed parts of electric circuits in home appliance and domestic power supplies. It may also result from lightning or contact with voltage wires. Severe electric shock commonly causes unconsciousness, respiratory paralysis, cardiac disorder.

Safety Measures

.       Turn off the main electricity supply before starting any work.

.       Do not handle any switches, plugs or appliances with wet hands.

.       Do not overload sockets with adaptors.

.       Make sure that your electrical appliances and home wiring are in good working

        order.

.       Naked wire should be covered properly.

.       Replace loose connections and fit correct fuse.

.       Remember to turn off sockets when not in use.

First Aid

1)     Turn the electricity supply off at the main point. Do not touch the victim until

         You have done this.

2)      If you cannot turn the current off, use a dry implement made of non-conductive

         materials- to separate the casualty from the ‘live’ apparatus.

3)     Make sure that you and the patient are in a safe zone.

4)     When the victim is free, check his breath. He may need artificial respiration.

5)     Care should be provided for spinal injuries, fracture and burns.

6)     Cool the burnt areas and apply dry sterilised dressing to the burn sites.

7)     Do not allow crowd to gather around him.

8)     Keep the victim warm and comfortable.

9)     If the victim’s heart stops beating then give him heart massage.

10)   If the victim is in sense, provide him hot tea, milk and other liquid foods.

11)   Transport the casualty as soon as possible to a hospital for medical help.

Snake Bite

       Snake bites are very common in the Tarai region of our country where many types of poisonous snakes are found. Their bites are generally fatal if proper care and treatment is not provided immediately. Snake- bites require special care. The symptoms and signs of poisoning may take several hours to develop. Very few people die of snake bites. Most victims who die later , normally survive at least one or two days.

Safety Measures

The following measures can be adopted as safety measures for snake-bite:

.       The surroundings of the house should be kept clean.

.       Shoes should be used while walking (anywhere).

.       Grass, bushes should be cleared at the surroundings of residential area.

.       Light or torch-light should be used while walking at night.

First Aid

1)     Keep the patient calm.

2)     Treat for shock and conserve body heat.

3)      Locate the fang marks and clean this site with soap and water.

4)      Remove any rings, bracelets or other constricting items on the bitten extremity.

5)      Keep any bitten extremities immobilized.

6)      Apply a light constricting band above and below the wound. Each band should

         be about two inches from the wound.

7)      Sometimes a cut is required to be made at the spot of the bite so as to let the

         blood flow. But do not cum into the bite unless you are directed to do so by a

         physician.

8)      Never suck the venom from the wound using your mouth. Instead, use a suction

         cup.

9)      If breathing fails, artificial respiration should be given.

10)    Transport the patient to the hospital for medical help, carefully monitoring the

         vital signs.

  

Healthy Tips

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Introduction to Primary Health Care

Health is wealth. It is the fundamental human right. So, it is the major duty of government to make basic health services available throughout the country. Primary health means the basic health services that are needed for every individual to be healthy. For the healthy life of citizens of any country, the individual, community, family, nation, government, all should be conscious and responsible from their respective field.

More than half of the world population is deprived of even from the basic health care. Mostly, the people of rural and remote areas are losing their life untimely by common diseases which can be controlled and treated easily. They do not have access to the basic health care. In developing countries, emphasis is given on curative aspect rather than preventive aspect. This is because of economic problem, lack of awareness, and scarcity of health services provided by the nation to its citizens.

As the time changes, concept of people also goes on changing. They become more conscious about their health. New approaches to health have come into existence. In 1978, there was an international conference held on 6 to 18 September in the capital city of Alma-Ata of present Kazakhstan in the then USSR. The conference was organized by the WHO and the UNICEF. There was participation of 134 countries altogether including Nepal. Participation of our country initiated the trend of health strategies and plans according to the concept of Primary Health Care. The conference has defined primary health in the following way.

Primary Health Care is an essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and acceptable to them, through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford.

From the above definition, we can include the following points under primary health care:

.      Primary health care should have accessibility in all individuals and families in the

      community.

.      Primary health care should be easily available and must be affordable to all

       classes of people.

.      There must be participation of people in dissemination of primary health care.

.      Services of primary health care should be bearable to the nation.

Characteristics of Primary Health Care

Availability of Health Services

Basic and minimum health services should be available to all the people of community. There must be physical presence of health service provider, i.e. health centers and health personal should be available easily in the community

Accessibility of Health Services

Health services provided by the government or other related agencies should be within the access of common people. It should be provided at affordable cost. Basic medicines needed for common health problems should be made available.

Full participation of Community in Primary Health Care Programs

Any kind of health program needs participation of local people to be successful and effective. Without participation of people, the program cannot be successful and it cannot bring changes in the health status of the concerned community.

Affordable for community and Nation

The components of Primary Health Care must have affordable price. In such a program, local resources and technologies should be used. Foreign technologies and medicines may be expensive but the government or health service providing organizations should manage it for the common people if these are included under primary health care.

Introduction

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Ears

The human body consists of two ears. The ears enable us to hear sounds coming from different sources. We can recognize people by hearing their sound only. We understand what they are saying. We enjoy the pleasant music, songs, singing of birds etc with the help of our ears. If people don’t have eyes, they do many works with the help of ears. Hence, the ears are very important to us.

Structure of ear

         Each ear is divided into three parts- external ear, middle ear and internal ear. The part of ear that we can see is called external ear. It consists of pinna, auditory canal and tympanic membrane or ear drum. Its function is to collect and send the sound to the middle ear. The middle ear consists of three tiny bones which transfer the sound from tympanic membrane to the inner ear.

        The inner ear is a fluid filled chamber that consists of complex system of canals and cavities. Cochlea is the main organ in inner ear that sends sound from inner ear to the brain for hearing. We hear the sound when it reaches to our brain. The movement of sound in the ear is very fast, so we hear the sound of a source fast.

Defects of ear

          The conditions due to which we are unable to hear sound partially or completely are called defects of ears. Some of them are:

.           Ear infections (pus discharge)

.           Wax collection

.           Ruptured tympanic membrane

.           Nerve degeneration    

           Ear infections are the most common problems in all age groups. When our ears are infected with different organisms, we have pain, fever and pus discharge from ear and decreased hearing. In such cases, we should immediately visit doctor, otherwise we may have permanent hearing loss. We should not swim in dirty water.

           The auditory canal secrets  some waste material called wax. If it is collected in excess amount, it block the auditory canal. There is decreased hearing capacity. We should not try to remove it with sharp objects.

          The continuous noise of machines and vehicles may result in decreased hearing capacity. Large sound of bomb blast or thunder may rupture our tympanic membrane. If ant foreign body enters our ears, we should remove them gently or visit doctor quickly.

Care of ears

          The ears are also the very delicate organs. The eardrum (tympanic membrane) breaks very easily. So, we must be careful about the safety of our ears.

1.                We should not use sharp instruments like hair pins, toothpick, compass, needle, matchstick, pencil, etc to remove wax from the ears. These instruments can break the ear-drum and make us deaf.

2.                If the insects or other foreign bodies enter into the ears, they should be removed by the doctor.

3.                If the part of head near the ears is hit hard, the ear drum can break. Therefore , the head should also be protected.

4.                Loud and continuous noise of factory machines, vehicles, jets, loudspeakers, etc can also make us deaf.

5.                We should not shout near the ears of other people because this can make people deaf.

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Introduction

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Eyes

Eyes are very important organ of our body. Although every part is equally important, eyes are very precious organs. It would be quite difficult to enjoy and understand the world without the eyes.

         Think, what would be the world like without your eyes!

         The eyes help us to know beauty, size and shape, brightness and darkness, height and depth, distances, colours and various other things.

Structure of eye

          When we look from outside, we can see following parts in our eyes:

          Each eye consists of an eyeball. It moves with the help of muscles called ocular muscles. The eyes are externally protected with the help of eyelids. The eyelids keep the eyes moist and clear. They also protect the eyes from harmful foreign things. The eyelashes are the hairs that grow from the margin of eyelids. The eyelashes help to trap dust particles and tiny insects and prevent them from entering into the eye. The borders of short hairs above the eyelids are called eyebrows. They form the distinct border between forehead and eyes.

           When we observe from outside, the eyeball appears white ball with a dark round in the middle. The internal eye is made of three layers- sclera, iris and retina. The outermost white and strong part of eyeball is called sclera. The front portion of sclera is transparent and is known as cornea. The black or brown structure just under the cornea is called iris. The iris gives the colour to the eyes. The eyes people can be black, grey, brown or blue due to the colour of iris. There is a small gap between the two strands of iris in the front part of eyes. This gap is called pupil. The light enters our eyes through the pupil.

           The innermost layer of eyes is called retina. It acts like the screen of camera. The retina forms the inverted (upside down) image of an object what we see around us. The retina has a number of light sensitive cells and optic nerve. The optic nerves carry the inverted picture formed in retina to the brain. The brain percepts the picture and makes it erect. Then we see the object. It is a very rapid process.

Defects of eye

            The eyes are very delicate sense organs. They can be harmed or damaged easily. Very bright or dim light, knitting works, watching TV from near distance, improper diet, improper angle of looking while reading books, etc can harm our eyes. Our eyes can also be infected by the germs. Sometimes, the eyes gradually become unable to see the objects clearly due to some internal reasons. The inability of the eyes to see the objects clearly is called defect of eyes. Short-sightedness, long-sightedness, cataract, glaucoma, night  blindness and colour blindness are some defect of eyes.

            A person who is suffering from short-sightedness, can see the near objects only but cannot see the distant objects. Similarly, a person who is suffering from long-sightedness, can see the far objects only and cannot see at night. Cataract is common in old people. In cataract, there is opacity in eye lens and gradual loss of vision occurs.

Care of eyes

1.                  Avoid reading by lying on the bed.

2.                  Do not read in dim or very bright light. Do not place the book near or too far from eyes while reading. The reading distance should always be maintained between 25 to 35cm.

3.                  Do not rub the eyes when dust particle enter into them. Let the dust be washed away by tears or dip the open eyes into the tub of clean water. The water washes away the dust or dirt.

4.                  Protect your eyes from foreign bodies like dust particles, coal pieces, insect and small stones. These things cause a lot of damage to our eyes if they enter into them.

5.                  Never look at the glare of the sun. it can damage your eyes permanently.

6.                  Maintain at least 6 feet distance between the TV screen and your eyes while watching the TV.

7.                  Eat fruit and vegetables that provide you vitamin A. Meat, fish, liver, milk etc also provide you vitamin A. The vitamin A saves you from night blindness.

8.                  If you have defects of eyes, headache etc, visit the ophthalmologist (eye doctor) for treatment. You may need glasses to wear.

Introduction

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The Heart

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The heart is a hollow, thick-walled muscular, cone-shaped organ about the size of our first. It is like a pump in the body which brings about the circulation of the blood. The heart lies in the thorax. It is about 10 cm long and weighs about 250 grams in women and it it is heavier in men. The human heart has four chambers. The heart is divided  (from base to apex) into right and left halves by a muscular portion called the septum. Each half of the heart again is subdivided into the upper and lower chamber. The upper chamber is called an atrium and the lower is called the ventricle. The atrium and ventricle of each side communicate with one another through the atrio-ventricualr orifice, which is guarded by valves. The right atrium collects the impure (deoxygenated) blood from the whole body, whereas the left atrium collects the pure (oxygenated) blood from the lungs. In the same way, the right ventricle pumps the blood toward the lungs, whereas left ventricle distributes the blood to various parts of our body.

      

The two auricles contract at the same time. Then the two ventricles contract, after which the heart takes a little rest. The beat of the heart is between sixty to hundred times a minute. But as each cycle last about 0.8 of a second and consists of arterial systole (0.1 sec), ventricular systole (0.3 sec) and cardiac diastole (0.4 sec), the average normal cardiac cycle is assumed to beat 73-75 times per minute in normal conditions.

       The major functions of the heart are as follows:

. It collects the impure (deoxygenated) blood from the whole body.

. It pumps the impure blood toward the lungs for purification.

. It distributes the pure (oxygenated) blood to various parts of our body.

. It helps to supply the oxygen and nutritive elements to various parts of our body.

. It helps to control the blood pressure.

The Blood Vessels

      The blood flows through blood vessels, which are elastic tubes. There are mainly three types of blood vessels in our body. Those are:

(i)                 Arteries,

(ii)               The Capillaries, and

(iii)             The veins.

(i)                 Arteries: Arteries are the blood vessels the transport blood from the heart. Generally, they carry only the pure (oxygenated) blood, but pulmonary artery carries away impure (deoxygenated) blood from the heart to the lungs for the purpose of purification. The largest artery is the Aorta, through which pure blood leaves from the heart and gets distributed to the whole body through the various branches of arteries. The arteries, at last, merge into capillaries.

(ii)               The Capillaries: As the arteries get farther away from the heart, they get smaller. Each one divides into a series of smaller ones like branches of a tree. Finally, when they reach tissues, they are sub-divided into tiny tubes called capillaries. The blood passes through the thin walls of the capillaries into the tiny cells of the entire body. At last, the capillaries combine to form venules.

(iii)             The Veins: after the blood has given its nourishment to the body cells through the capillaries, the impure materials are received from the cells through the capillaries. These materials pass into another set of the blood vessels called veins, which carry the impure (deoxygenated) blood back to the heart. The veins, at last merge in superior and inferior vena cava. In fact, the veins are the blood vessels that transport impure blood to the heart. The only exception to this is pulmonary vein whose function is to carry pure (oxygenated) blood at the left atrium of the heart from the lungs.    

Quality of Life

Someone rightly said that the quality life is a relative term depending upon the socio-cultural and religious background, personal preference and philosophy life. For a group of people, religious values and practice may be the priority and some other may prefer creative development. Similarly, some may like to have modern innovation bonded with traditional values and culture as an attainment of quality life.

The degree of satisfaction and happiness that one can fulfil through his/her basic and other needs is known as quality of life.

        Quality of life is accepted as being happy and resourceful life. Similarly, it may be a sense of being pleased with what one has or what one gets. If one gets satisfied  with his various physical various physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs, it may be a state of attaining quality life. Although satisfaction or happiness has been considered as the core element in acquiring quality life, however, it should not be taken as a short state of happiness; rather it should be along term state of happiness. This completeness in life is the best expression of quality of life.

         So the quality life refers to the life style with full of happiness and satisfaction that fulfils sociocultural, psychological and emotional needs including survival needs.

         Therefore, quality life is a complex phenomenon including basic physical, social, cultural and other needs.

          The basic physical needs include food, shelter, clothing, drinking water, fresh air, etc. similarly social, cultural and other needs include education, health services, security, transportation and communication, entertainment, freedom, etc. these needs, when fulfilled properly and adequately, result in a state of fulfilment for human beings. The fulfilment will bring happiness, satisfaction, peace and harmony in the society. This is said to be the attainment of quality life.

Importance of quality of life: The quality of life represents to the overall status of satisfaction or standard of family and family members in totality. In one hand, it represents the overall standard of the nation and on the other the standard of different classes like high, low, medium and old, children, adolescence etc. without standard and meaningful life, existence of the human life is not regarded as successful and qualitative. More attention was not paid to the quality life due to the lack of development of the structure of human of human society in the ancient time. There was almost no discussion in the importance and necessity of quality life in those days. It was the age of physical development and competition and the major focus was on how could the human life can be made happy and prosperous. But today each and everyone are motivated and interested to have more information about need and importance of quality life. The importance of quality life is described in the following ways:

i)                    Fulfilment of Basic Needs: Quality life plays vital role in a family welfare. Living is very easy in a family where there is quality life. Basic needs like food, housing, clothing, etc. can be easily managed in such family. Easy fulfilment of these needs come under the positive aspect of family.

ii)                  Attainment of quality education: Quality life helps to attain the quality education joining the good educational institution as well as affording the educational materials easily. It helps to achieve better education which ultimately contributes to the economic development of a family.

Introduction

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Introduction to Environment and Environment Education

Concept of Environment

Environment refers to the surrounding including physical, biological and socio-cultural elements. It is the sum of all external conditions under which we survive. We are always affected by environment in matter of our growth, livelihood and overall development. It provides every element that fulfils our everyday needs. We perform our activities using the elements obtained from environment. environment  includes physical, biological and socio-cultural aspects. Physical aspects refers to all non-living elements like soil, rock, river, buildings, etc. biological aspect, on the other hand, refers to all living creatures. Socio-cultural aspect includes social norms and values. All these aspects constitute environment.

R.C. sharma defines environment as the interaction between living and non-living things. According to him environment encompasses everything, living and non-living objects, the interaction between these and the products of the interactions. There is a harmonious relationship among the components of environment. The status of soil, water and other elements determines the biodiversity because different animals and plants have special adaptability. Similarly, the producers, consumers and decomposers are also in a kind of cyclic relationship. Environmental condition determines our health too.

Concept of Environmental Education

Environment is the source of all our needs. It provides everything required for our livelihood  however, the activities of human beings are not environment-friendly. Many people think and even do not know about the possible consequences of these harmful activities. Environment education is the educational process that teaches everything about the environment. It teaches us ways to keep our surrounding clean and preserve the components of environment in order. The traditional consumption pattern, lack of knowledge about the significance of environment and many other activities are the main reasons for spoiling environmental situation. People take environmental calamities like food, draught and landslide as the curse of god and do not care about afforestation. Environment  education aims at reducing these wrong concepts and promoting nature-friendly activities like afforestation programmes. According to the definition given by the UNESCO in 1978 AD, environment education can be defined in the following way.

Environmental education is a learning process that increases people’s knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action.

This definition has clarified the concept of environment education. It develops knowledge, skill and attitude in individual to move with the objective of sustainable development. Conservation of environment is the main directive of environment education. Environmental education enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective-decision making skills, and teaches individuals to weigh various sides of an environmental issue to make informed and responsible decisions.

Importance of Environment Education

Environment helps to fulfill all our demands. However, the activities performed by human beings are not being environment-friendly. Human activities have resulted natural calamities, environmental degradation, environmental pollution and many other problems. Environment education plays a significant role to control these problems and maintain balance among environment. The importance of environment education is described….

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Introduction to Population and Population Education

Concept of Population
Many people live in your locality. They belong to various social, gender, caste and age status from a small child to the people of dying age, poor people to millionaires, males and females and so on. These people are living in a certain territory. All these people constitute population. Population refers to to a collective group of organism of the same species occupying a particular space. In a broader sense, population may be defined as a set of members taken at a time in an area.

Population size never remains constant. It is detrimental to social, geographical and economic factors of a particular place.

Concept of Population Education
Population growth has become jeopardy in the present context. When a child is born, she/he comes with an ‘extra mouth’ but we cannot expand the land to feet him/her. The same land should be shared for the provision of his/her requirements. It brings chaos in social, economic and environmental sectors. Major threat to modern age is uncontrolled population and massive destruction of environment, resulted by it. People still feel proud to make family size larger due to lack of education that teaches about the advantages of having family size small, controlling of birth and so on. Therefore, education concerned with these subject matters is a must. Population education serves all these functions. The term ‘population education’ was coined by Slon Wayland of Columbia University of the USA for the first time in 1969. He associated the word with awareness related to population problems.

The definition of population education is as diverse as its educators. An attempt to find a single genuine definition is, therefore, in vein. However, all definitions agree on the common ground, i.e. population education is related to awareness about the burning issues of population situation, reasons for population growth and mitigating measures to minimize these all. The first regional workshop on population and family life held in then UNESCO regional office, Bangkok defines population education as an educational programmes which provides for a study of population situation in the family, community, nation and the world with the purpose of developing rational and responsible attitudes and behaviours towards that situation.

The definition clarifies that study of population is the basis of population education and the goal of this subject is to create awareness towards that situation. It is directed modifying and altering behaviours and attitudes related to population, marriage and family life.

Population education is a multi-dimensional subject matter because it includes the elements and topics that belong to other subjects like family planning, health education, economics, and population statistics and so on. For an example, demographic study, and environment are related to science whereas the study of occupation and economic development and others are related to economics. Similarly, social norms and values are the common topics of culture and ethics. Human sexuality and reproduction is the part of sex education, demographic study of population measurement falls under population statistics and the study about contraceptive devices and birth spacing are the parts of family planning. Population education includes all these elements in its study. Population education is, therefore, not merely family planning education, sex education or population statistics but it incorporates the subject matter from all these areas.    

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The Human Body System

 Every part of the human body is made up of minute parts, which are called cells, and intercellular substance which is produced by the cell. Thus, the smallest functional unit of a living being is called a cell. Each cell is so small that it can be seen only through a microscope. Each cell has three main parts. They are: the cell wall which surrounds and protects the cell; the protoplasm, a grayish jelly-like material, which is really the body of the cell; and the nucleus which is the life centre inside the body of the cell.

     

 The Human Body System Each cell lives its own life. It grows and multiplies by dividing itself into two halves. The cells after the division from the group of cells and the group of cells having similar characteristics and functions is called a tissue. The body is made up of five types of tissues. Each serves a different purpose. Each reacts to different stimuli, e.g. the group of nerves cells from the nerves tissue which works as the nerves system. The tissues in their turn construct internal and external organs related with special functions. For convenience, the organs may be grouped to form the system.

Thus, a group of organs having a specific function is called a system. Each system contributes to one or more of the vital functions of the body. For example, the digestive system consists of food pipe (oesophagus), stomach, intestine, etc. Thus, the system of organs related to chewing, swallowing, digesting and absorbing the food and finally discarding the unwanted food is called the digestive system. In the same way, the nose, trachea (wind pipe) and lungs form a group called the respiratory system which provides the route by which the supply of oxygen present in the atmospheric air gains entry into the body and provides the route of excretion of carbon dioxide. Besides this, there are some other systems for different functions of the body.

      In fact, the body works with the help of individual cells, tissues, organs and various systems. Altogether, there are nine systems in the human body. They are:

i)       The skeletal system                                        ii)       The muscular system

iii)     The digestive system                                      iv)      The respiratory system

v)      The circulatory system                                   vi)       The urinary system

vii)    The glandular system                                     viii)     The nervous system, and

ix)     The reproductive system.

The circulatory system: Our body is made up of millions of tiny cells. Each of these cells must have food and oxygen to live. The required nutrients and oxygen are supplied through the blood circulation. Blood supplies all the organs of the body with nutrients and oxygen, removes waste products and performs other vital functions. The continues movement of blood through an organism to supply the nutrients and oxygen and to remove waste products is called blood circulation. Energy is produced by the chemical process of uniting nutrients and oxygen; this process is called oxidation. Our blood is driven through the pumping action of our heart. The blood circulates through the body by way of arteries, veins and capillaries. It takes about twenty-three seconds for the blood to flow from the heart

through our body and back to our heart again.

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