Reader’s Digest India – August 2019

Reader’s Digest

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TRAINING FOR SURGERY

Surgery is tough on the body. Even minor procedures

carry the risk of complications such as shock or in-

fection. Besides choosing an experienced surgeon,

recent research suggests that training for surgery may

be the best way to avoid these issues and recover

faster. “You wouldn’t run a race without preparing,”

says Michael Englesbe, MD, a transplant surgeon

who started a preoperative programme at the Univer-

sity of Michigan, USA. “An operation is as physiologi-

cally hard” as running 5 kms, he explains. The

programme, which includes about an hour a day of

walking, helped reduce the length of hospital

stays by 31 per cent. Similar programmes

add other therapies. Together, they offer

tips for starting your own regimen two

to six weeks before surgery:

1

Read up on your procedure to

help mentally prepare for what

recovery will be like.

2

Learn relaxation techniques

such as prayer or meditation

to cope with any pain, stress or de-

pression you might have.

3

Breathe in through your nose

deeply, hold for five to ten sec-

onds, then let your breath out slowly

through your mouth. Do this several

times a day to prevent respiratory

issues such as a partial lung collapse.

If you smoke, quit before surgery,

even if it’s only for a few weeks.

4

If you’re not exercising daily, walk

at least a few minutes every day.

5

Being dehydrated or malnou-

rished increases the chance of

delirium. Drink plenty of water and

eat nutritiously.

TB Vaccine Trial

Tuberculosis, a

highly communicable

disease, kills more

than 3,00,000 people

every year, according

to the government’s

Central Tuberculosis

Division. The depart-

ment also states that

a single patient can

infect as many as

10 people.

Recognizing this,

the Indian Council

of Medical Research

(ICMR) has launched

two variants of a vac-

cine, on a trial basis,

to check the effective-

ness of them on those

who come in close

contact with the pa-

tients. The study, to

be spread over seve-

ral months, will be

conducted on around

12,000 healthy indivi-

duals who are at high

risk of contracting the

disease. If the trials

are successful, we

could see the vaccine

being approved for

use on a larger scale

for prevention.

—WITH INPUTS FROM

V. KUMARA SWAMY