Blood Related Problems

Our blood carries out some of the very important jobs that keep us in good condition. The jobs carried out are:

¨ carries oxygen from the lungs to the various tissues and in return carry the carbon dioxide from these tissues to the lungs wherefrom it is let out.

¨ carries the food from the digestive track and reaches them to the various cells which get needed nutrients for their own functioning and removes therefrom waste products to the kidney for removal from the body.

¨ Carries the heat generated in tissues and cells to the skin so that our body temperature is retained at normal 98.4 degrees F.

The volume of blood present in our body makes up about one twelfth of our body weight. This measure can be used to identify the volume of blood in one’s body, especially of a child.

Blood cells

The blood cells are made in bone marrow found in the cavity of our bones. Thus bone marrow is our blood cell manufacturing factory. Here both red and white blood cells are made. In the normal course, per cubic millimeter of blood, we must have

about 8000 white blood cells and
about five million red blood cells

The total blood is said to be composed of about 25 to 30 thousand million red cells and of 50 thousand million white cells. These cells form a liquid called plasma. Blood carries to each tissue the proper nourishment and also takes away the waste products set free by the tissues. The purification of the blood is completed in the kidneys which separate from the blood , the substances that are eliminated through urine.

The red cells live for 100 days and then die. This means 1 percent of red blood cells need to be replaced every day. In fact both the white and red cells wear out very fast and they need to be continually replaced by the bone marrow. The failure to produce red blood cells is called anaemia. If we can maintain effective replacement of red blood cells by our bone marrow, we will not have anaemia. For this we have maintain a good diet of

protein [to supply amino acids]
iron [to make necessary haemoglobin]
vitamin B 12 and
folic acid.

Women need more iron [additional 10 mg a day] to compensate for the loss of blood in menstrual cycle.

Blood groups

The red cells, based on the nature of their outer coat, are categorised into blood groups. On this categorisation, we have

Blood Group A 42% of people
Blood Group B 9%
Blood Group AB 3%
Blood Group O Remaining people

In addition to the above, another substance called D is present in the blood of 85% of people. Those who have this D in their blood cells are called Rhesus positive [Rh positive].

When giving blood transfusion, care is taken to ensure that patients are given blood belonging to their own blood group and when that is not available, Group O blood is given.

Heart Beat

The human cardiovascular system is one of the most non-top hard working systems that we have been gifted with. With 70 beats every minute, our heart beats about 6300 times an hour and 1,51,200 times in a day. And this goes on non-stop over your entire life spanning say 70 years and it does not skip one beat. If it skips even one beat, what happens?

Blood circulation

Now this beating is not for nothing. It beats means it pumps blood into our various parts. It is said that it pumps 6300 gallons of blood over 96000 miles of blood vessels. To keep this system is good order, we should be concerned with presence of positive blood in adequate volume in our circulation. We should ensure proper blood flow by doing exercises which press out more blood into our tissues. Then we should take fruits rich in vitamin C, like lime, orange, papaya, tomato, gooseberry, leafy vegetables, etc. We should drink adequate water say 8 to 10 glasses per day. These would ensure that we have all the needed blood ingredients such as oxygen, iodine, iron etc. So the implication is that if this system does not function well,

our tissues would not get the oxygen,
the cells would not their food,
their heat would continuously shoot up,
their impurities would not get removed,
the carbon dioxide would not get removed from our body, etc..

All of these together mean ill health.

Blood Transfusion

In most cases of blood transfusion, the patient really does not need the whole blood from another person. He would need one of the three components of the blood, viz. Red blood cells, white blood cells or the plasma. For example, an anemic patient would require only red blood cells and a patient continuing to bleed, he needs plasma for immediate clotting. Now in such a situation, if the patient is given whole blood, he is over burdened with those components which his system does not need and thus develops complications arising out of transfusion.

Today, thanks to medical advances, we have what is known as Components therapy in blood transfusion. Under this, major hospitals and blood banks have the facilities and offer blood components in addition to whole blood. In such a favourable situation, patients need be aware of this and suggest to their doctors to look into this option before the patient is given whole blood transfusion. In this way, not only they would save themselves from any risks and complications, but would also help to conserve the other components of blood for the benefit of other patients requiring those components.

Home Medicines

In case of blood related difficulties, you can think of following home medicines

Blood deficiency

1 Buy fresh Amala
Remove the seed
Grind the pulp into a fine paste
Tie it in a muslin cloth and squeeze out the juice
Take 2 tsp of this juice
Mix it with 2 tsp of honey and lime juice
Add one tea cup of water and drink in empty stomach each morning for 120 days

When fresh amla is not available,
Soak 1 tbsp of dried amla in water overnight in a cup of water
In the morning, add 1/8 tsp of black pepper powder and 2 tsp of lime juice
Add more water and dilute
Drink every morning for 120 days

2 Soak 2 or 3 dried figs / anjir in a cup of water overnight
Eat them along with milk next morning
Do it for a month

Blood impurities

1. Take garlic cloves regularly for few days

2. For blood purification, take a pinch of safron regularly for few days

3. Or take tomato juice daily

4. Or add 2 tbsp drumstick leaf juice to one cup warm milk, stir well and drink daily

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure should normally depend upon the force with which the heart pumps the pressure. But the pressure in the blood vessel, also get affected with their diameter. If the diameter is small, the pressure would be more. The vessels get narrow if it contains also unwanted fatty deposits on their walls. Over eating could be one reason for the deposits to accumulate. There are also other reasons like smoking, drinking etc. This narrowing reduces the blood supply to the organs. When the blood supply is reduced to important organs like the kidney, brain or even the heart, the man is severely affected. This way one can get giddiness or headache at one time and attack at another time depending upon which organ lacks blood supply.

The usual remedies for control on blood pressure as under:

Reduction in body weight
Regular physical exercises
Reduction in salt
Reduction in alcohol consumption
Opting for relaxation exercises
Mental and physical relaxation
Meditation
Music
Yoga

If giddiness due to blood pressure:
Soak in a glass of water 1 tsp each of
Coriander seeds
Chandan paste
Dried amla fruits
Strain it and drink the water next morning for a few days

If High BP
1. Mix
1 tsp finely ground jeera powder
tbsp coconut water
Milk
¼ tsp of freshly ground chandan paste
Sugar to taste
Drink this mixture every morning for few days

2. Or take 2 or 3 garlic cloves every day

3. Or mix 1 tsp lime juice in 1 cup of butter milk
Drink frequently

4. Or finely powder dried bel leaves and store it in a jar. When needed dissolve 1 tsp powder in one cup of water and boil. Cool, filter and drink thrice a day

5 Or mix ½ cup drumstick leaf juice and ½ cup carrot juice.
Drink daily

If low BP

Take the juice of 15 tulsi leaves mixed with 1 tsp honey for few days

To control your blood pressure

Change your habits and take following measures:
Lose weight if you are over weight
Eliminate alcohol from your life
Increase physical activity and do exercises
Stop smoking
Reduce your fat and cholesterol diet and opt for zero oil food
Have regular blood pressure check up
Do meditation

Take leaves of shoe flower and boil in water.
Take that water three times a day.

Or take one glass of juice of arugam pul every morning in empty stomach .

Take a few drumstick leaves three times a day raw

Blood sugar

Take garlic cloves regularly for a few days

Cholesterol High

Cholesterol is a fatty substance manufactured by the liver and is of a vital component of every cell. And we need no external cholesterol as the body itself manufactures it which is called good cholestrol, HDL. In case your blood contains more of cholesterol, it only means you are taking more of external cholesterol, i.e. bad cholesterol, LDL, coming out of fatty things you eat. Initially this LDL Cholestrol attaches itself to artery walls and over period, it solidifies causing narrowing of arteries. This reduces the amount of blood, oxygen and vital ingredients passing through, triggering heart attacks and strokes. People affected by the cholesterol should quit smoking, opt for vegetarian diet, lose weight, do exercises, etc. You should be glad to know that intake of grape fruit lowers LDL levels and helps to reverse the situation.

Take Coriander tea in substitution of tea leaves

Or have regular intake of garlic cloves for a few days

Or, finely dice an onion
Mix it with 1 cup of butter milk and add 1 tsp of pepper powder
Drink

Anemia

1. Soak 8 to 10 almonds and 1 tsp of rice overnight
Remove the outer skin and grind into paste
Mix in milk of some quantity
Add turmeric power
Boil
Add sugar candy for taste
Drink every day morning

2. Or, grind Cinnamon 1 tsp
Dissolve in two cups of juice of Anar
Add 2 tsp honey
Drink half cup

3. Or, make coriander tea, i.e. add 2 tsp of coriander power to a glass of water / boil. Add milk and sugar to taste and drink frequently

4. Or, cook 1 cup rice with 2 tsp of fenugreek seeds. Eat with little salt if necessary for a fortnight. Also eat cooked fenugreek leaf regularly

5. Or eat papaya frequently

6. Or, take 1 ½ cup of water. Add 6 tsp each of crushed saunf and red rose petals. Boil and strain. Take twice daily

7. Or, take 1 tsp each of raw turmeric juice and honey. Mix. Take every morning

8. Or, soak 2 almonds, 5 pista kernels and 1 tsp khuskhus in 1 cup of milk for 1 hour. Grind and warm with more milk. Add sugar candy [preferably palmyrah candy] and drink. Do it daily for 3 months

9. Or, take beat root juice and add spinach to your food

10. Or, soak 7 almonds in water overnight; peel off the skin in the morning and consume

11. Or, take honey

12. Or, fry ½ tsp black pepper powder in 1 tbsp ghee. Add 2 cups fresh drum stick leaves and stir-fry for three minutes. Eat with chapatti or steamed rice for forty five days

Note: Those with hyper tension should avoid chewing betal leaves

Body Weakness

1 Cook one cup of shredded banana flower and add it to the meal

2 Take ripe bananas regularly

3 Mix 1 tbsp of ripe pulp of bel with
1 tsp of palmyrah candy or sugar candy
and eat frequently

4 Take cut ripe mango slices
Add / sprinkle 1 tsp honey, a pinch of safron, cardamom and rose water
Take twice daily

5 Take a glass of hot milk, add to it four dates, a pinch of saffron, cardamom powder, 1 tsp honey and drink at bed time daily

Giddiness

1. Take the seeds of ajwain. Make poultice and give dry fomentation for hands and feet

2. Or, take ½ tsp of cardamom seeds and 1 tsp of palmyrah sugar. Put them in 2 cup water and boil to 1 cup. Take twice a day at ½ cup each time

3. Or, soak cumin seeds in lime juice seeds overnight. Dry it in the sun and bottle. Chew ½ tsp after food and take a glass of warm water. Do it for few days

4. Or, take fresh juice out of fenugreek leaves. Take 2 tsp and add with honey daily

If giddiness due to BP
Soak in a glass of water 1 tsp each of coriander seeds, chandan & dried amla
Next morning stain it and drink – for few days

If unconscious due to giddiness, use raw onion juice as nasal drops

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins results from sluggish blood circulation due to various factors such as constipation, dietetic errors, obesity, lack of exercise, standing for long time, sitting in the same position for a long time especially keeping legs crossed, wearing tight clothes, pregnancy related inactivity, etc. What happens in these situations is that due to inactivity, the blood stagnates in the particular vein and movement of the blood towards the heart does not take place. Then the veins there swell and become bluish and is seen even to the naked eye. Very often leg cramps, itching, feeling of heaviness, etc also get associated with varicose veins.

Keep active
Take to yoga
Do breathing exercises which help blood to move / blood circulation
Take to exercises
Go for walking
Take plenty of raw vegetables and their juices such as carrot juice, spinach juice etc. Both can be taken in combination as well at 3:2 ratio

Pregnant women should elevate their legs above the heart level while resting

Heamophilia [Blood does not stop]

Normally when one is injured, blood comes out of the injury for sometime, but soon it clots. Heamophilia is a disorder in which the blood does not clot due to absence of clotting factor in their blood. When internal injuries take place, blood flows within their body. Non-stop blood flow, whether external or internal could sometimes be fatal. Such people should lead a very careful life and avoid travels and crowds.

As an emergency measure, sprinkle some sugar crystals on the wound for the blood to stop. But get in touch with Doctor

Stroke [cerebral haemorrhage]

A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off. You know the stroke occurs in that place of the brain which controls our hearing, sight, speech and bodily movements, etc. Therefore stroke often accompanies the impairment of the connected organ that is affected by the stroke. This may lead to paralysis of the limbs, loss of vision, slurring of speech or imbalance while walking.

Stroke occurs either due to clotting of blood enroute or by rupturing of the brain artery, called hemorrhage. If the hemorrhage is severe, the patient could instantly die.

One point that we need to note is that a stroke does not come without warning. Months prior to the actual stroke, you get following warnings:


· Sudden trouble in speaking, i.e Temporary speech difficulty or you lose track of what you had just said. You become vague
· Sudden confusion, sudden difficulty in understanding
· Sudden numbness or weakness on legs, arms, face or one side of the body
· Suddenly you lose track of what you are doing or where you are
· Sudden loss of balance, co-ordination, dizziness or trouble in walking
· Sudden trouble in seeing or temporary blindness
· Sudden severe headache in the back of the head and neck

Such episodes last only for seconds. These are called transient ischemic attacks, which the doctors call as TIAs. These TIAs are warnings of danger ahead. If you ignore them, you are likely to face a full blown cerebral accident. So, when these things pass through you, make quick trip to the doctor for examination and attendance. Patients should note that these symptoms forewarn us for appropriate remedial action including in diet and in life style. And if one does it, he would make early recovery and attain normalcy.

When the above symptoms occur, seek immediate medical attention. Know what are the contributing factors to a stroke. They are:

High blood pressure
High blood sugar and diabetes
Irregular heart beats
Tobacco, smoking, alcohol and drugs
Elevated cholesterol
Obesity
Physical inactivity

Take honey plus dates regularly so that your iron content in the blood is well maintained. The red blood cells would also increase. You will also recover loss of blood.