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Dr Sohail Iqbal Sheikh MBBS, MS Orthopedics, (Dip) in Orthopedics (Austria) Dr Sohail Iqbal Sheikh is an orthopaedic surgeon and serving as Professor of Orthopedics in Islamic International Medical College Rawalpindi Pakistan. He is Head of Orthopedics Department of IIMCT Pakistan Railway Hospital Rawalpindi, a 400 bedded hospital. Dr Soahil Iqbal Sheikh completed his MBBS (Basic Medical Education) degree in early 1982 From King Edward Medical College Lahore, The most Prestigious college of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Afterwards, he had done his one-year residency from Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi. After becoming a registered medical practitioner he served as Medical Officer in various hospitals. In 1988, he went to Austria and got a diploma in Orthopedic Surgery. In 1996 he had done MS in orthopaedics from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad (PIMS). Later in 2008 Islamic International Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan requested for his services as Professor of O...

Drink green tea every day. Green tea has many benefits. It is good for weight loss, it contains a lot of useful antioxidants, it protects us against cancer, it lowers cholesterol, it protects us against many other diseases such as heart attack, stroke, vascular diseases and many others. Green tea is different from black tea. Black tea is completely fermented. It contains a lot of caffeine and tannin and both of these substances are responsible for having acid reflux. Chronic acid reflux is one of the major causes of Barrett’s oesophagus and oesophagal cancer. On the other hand, green tea has a much lesser amount of caffeine and tannin as compared to black tea. Moreover, it contains abundant antioxidants and other useful substances that boost immunity and protect us against many diseases. Tannin makes the tea bitter so if your tea is bitter in taste it means this is not good for your stomach so avoid it. The McKinley Health Center recommends green tea for the patients of acid reflux ...

Role of BlackBerries in the Treatment of Barrett’s Esophagus, Heart Burn and Digestive Upset Barrett’s oesophagus possesses a major risk of progressing to deadly oesophagal cancer. In case of a patient of Barrett’s oesophagus, there is a 30% risk of getting oesophagal cancer after 10 years. The major cause of Barrett’s oesophagus is the reflux of stomach acid back to the oesophagus which converts the innermost lining of the lower oesophagal portion to an abnormal type. This abnormal type can convert to cancerous tissue more easily as compared to the normal type. Eating bad quality and unhealthy food is one of the major causes of GERD (Gastro-esophageal reflux disease). Eating right is a key to get rid of bad gastric acid reflux. But if you have already got Barrett's oesophagus then every effort should be made to halt its progress to oesophagal cancer. Fruits and vegetables protect against many cancers. It has also been proved through scientific research studies. New researches c...

Our intestine is a natural habitat of many species of bacteria. But these naturally occurring bacteria do not have any harmful effect on the human body. In fact, they are beneficial in many ways. · They provide us with some good vitamins such as vitamin K · They protect us from obesity and diabetes mellitus · They protect us from gastrointestinal infections · They protect us from indigestion and heartburn · They help in the breakdown of toxic waste products into a less toxic form. Obesity, diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal infections, indigestion and heartburn, all are the risk factors of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (reflux of stomach acids into the oesophagus) and chronic reflux may cause metaplastic changes in lower oesophagal portion and thus, convert normal oesophagus to Barrett's oesophagus. The normal bacteria present in the gut prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria through competing for food and space. Thus they protect us from getting infection and dis...

Ginger is a very useful herb. It has been used as a flavouring agent in Asian food. It has a great medicinal value. It was used by people of ancient times to treat wounds and gastrointestinal diseases. Nowadays, scientific research proved the medicinal value of ginger. Ginger has the following important health benefits. It relieves gastrointestinal upset It provides safe and effective relief against pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting. It has an anti-inflammatory effect and It promotes healing. It protects against colorectal cancer It causes the death of cancerous cells. It boosts immunity and protects against bacterial and viral infections. Ginger promotes digestion and absorption of food in the gut. Ginger is very useful in case of flatulence. Ginger has aphrodisiac properties. Ginger reduces pain. These are the few benefits of ginger. Ginger can be consumed in many forms. Ginger root can be added to the meal, you can add ginger roots in your juice and you may make Ginge...

Probiotics and Barrett Esophagus Probiotics are supplements that contain useful or good bacteria. The gastrointestinal tract of the human body is full of natural bacteria, especially the large intestine and the last part of the small intestine. These bacteria are not harmful to the human body, instead, they are useful. They perform some good function including, production of vitamin K and suppressing the growth of harmful bacteria that can produce disease. There are 400 types of good bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract. The most important of these 400 types is lactobacillus acidophilus or lactic acid bacillus (LAB). These good bacteria suppress the growth of harmful bacteria. They do so by competing for space and food. The good bacteria occupy space and consume food, and don’t allow harmful bacteria to take their place. The harmful bacteria don’t get enough space and food for their growth and hence their growth is suppressed. Probiotics are used in a number of disorders. The...

Take B-complex for Barrett’s Esophagus Barrett’s esophagus is a precancerous condition in which the epithelium of lower esophagus deviates from its normal histology. It becomes more like intestinal type. Stomach acid is responsible for this change. The lower oesophagal valve (also called lower oesophagal sphincter LES) prevent the reflex of stomach acids into the oesophagus. But too much distension of stomach, large meals or lying down immediately after taking meals can trigger acid reflux. Some foods cause more secretion of acids so they increase the risk of acidic damage. There are drugs that are used to treat gastro-esophageal reflux and heart burn. These drugs include proton pump inhibitors (such as omeprazole, (Losec), Pantoprazole, Esomeprazole etc) and H2 receptor blockers (Cimetidine, Ranitidine (Zantac) etc). Both of these classes of drugs significantly decrease the amount of acid productions. Proton pump inhibitors decrease the amount of acid production by 90 % . Because o...

Digestive Enzymes and Barrett Esophagus. Barrett’s oesophagus is a condition in which the lower end of oesophagus become abnormal. The cells of the innermost lining of the lower end of oesophagus change to abnormal form. The raw food that we eat is converted into simplest particles that can be absorbed into blood with the help of digestive enzymes. Different areas of gastrointestinal tract secrete different types of enzymes. The process of digestion starts from the mouth and ends at ileum, the last part of small intestine. In mouth saliva is secreted by salivary gland. Saliva lubricates the bolus of food and also it contains digestive enzymes that start digesting the food. From the mouth food reaches the stomach after passing through the esophagus. The stomach secretes Hydrochloric acid (HCL) and pepsinogen. Pepsinogen is inactive form and needs acidic environment for its activation to pepsin. HCL is a strong acid and break the bonds between food molecules and pepsin helps to digest...

Aloe Vera to treat Barrett's oesophagus Aloe vera plant has thick leaves which contain thick gel. This gel has a great medicinal value and used to treat superficial burns and wounds. Health Benefits of Aloe vera The extract of Aloe Vera is found in many shampoos, lotions and sunblocks. The leaves of aloe vera and gel are used to make juice which can be taken orally and is very helpful in the treatment of acid reflux, heartburn, Barrett's oesophagus and constipation. Aloe vera contains many useful substances that have a great nutritive and medicinal value and it is approved by FDA as a flavouring agent and it is extremely safe to use. Acid, in general, is injurious to tissue. Stomach acid can also cause damage to the walls of the stomach. But our stomach produces thick mucus that covers the inner wall of the stomach and protects it from the burning effect of acids. Our small intestine produces a large quantity of sodium bicarbonate which neutralizes the stomach acid when it...

DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice) to Treat Barrett’s Esophagus Licorice is a legume and member of pea family (Fabaceae). It is used to treat variety of diseases and it also has a historical medicinal value. Now scientific studies also proved that it is very useful in inflammatory bowel disease, stomach ulcer and Barrett's oesophagus. Glycyrrhizin is a component of licorice. This is a dangerous substance and can increase blood pressure to very dangerous level. It causes retention of salts and water also. If it is consumed, human body converts it to Glycyrrhetinic acid. It also causes retention of sodium and elevation of blood pressure. Because of these harmful effects, Glycyrrhizin is removed from licorice and it is used in the form deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL). It doesn’t cause any harm to body, doesn’t cause elevation of blood pressure and retention of salt and water. Liquorice is very useful in case of a stomach ulcer (or peptic ulcer) and Gastroesophageal reflux disease....

Omega 3 Fatty Acids to Treat Barrett’s Esophagus. Omega 3 Fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids and they are included in the category of essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids can’t be synthesized by human body and should be taken through an external source. Omega 3 fatty acids contain three groups of fats. 1. ALA: Found in plant oils 2. EPA: Found in Marine Oils 3. DHA: Found In Marine Oils The common sources of DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids include; fish oil, egg oil, squid oil and krill oil. While ALA is present in some plants oils, for example, seabuckthorn seed oil and berry oil. Omega 3 fatty acids work as anti-inflammatory agents in the human body. In a research study, a group of Barrett's oesophagus patients were given an oral supplement of EPA (an omega 3 fatty acid). They had been taking 3 grams of EPA per day for the duration of six months. After six months oesophagal samples of all the patients were collected through endoscopy and were analyzed for t...

A patient of 16-year-old presented to the emergency department of your hospital in a severely dehydrated state. He had been suffering from fever since last two weeks. The pattern of temperature was variable during the first week but became continuous during the second week and temperature usually raised in the afternoon. Temperature sometimes reached to 104-105 F. His tongue was coated at the periphery. His abdomen was distended and tender in the right lower quadrant. He had constipation during the first week but in the second week he started complaining of diarrhea. He lost significant weight and he looked dull. On auscultation of chest, basal crepitations were heard. His abdominal ultrasound revealed hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Complete Blood count Showed the following picture. RBCs: 5.8 x 10 6 WBCs: 5994 (reference range = 5000 – 11000) Platelets: 100 x 10 3 (reference range = 150x10 3 – 350 x 10 3 ) Hb: 15 g% Blood Sugar: 90mg/dl Blood pressure: 100/60 mm of Hg Pulse: 8...