Healthy Lifestyle

The smell of coffee ? frequently celebrated as one of life’s most pleasurable experiences, even by people who don’t like the taste ? nauseates American Kathy Kurland.

“Coffee is the worst smell. I can’t even describe it,” she said.

Other smells, such as freshly made popcorn, used to make her physically ill. Now, thanks to medication, she can tolerate it.

Kurland has a range of olfactory disorders that block some smells, turn innocuous or pleasant smells offensive and produce phantom smells that can last for days.

Kurland said a chemical caused the condition. It started about three years ago and progressively worsened. “I thought I was going to have to live in Alaska by myself, where there were no smells,” she said.

Her condition is not imagined or psychological. It is real. It has a name and a growing cadre of doctors and researchers are devoted to it.

There are support groups to help people like Kurland ? those who have lost their ability to smell, a condition known as anosmia, those whose sense of smell is distorted, called parosmia, and those who smell things that are not there, phantosmia.

Kurland’s research led her to one doctor who prescribed a medicine that made the condition manageable, but it has not eliminated it.

When organisms first swam in the primordial sea, the ability to smell chemicals is what kept them alive. Smell is the first bond between baby and mother. A scent can transport us to a place or time, draw us in or warn us of danger. Yet of the five senses, smell is the least studied and least understood.

Many things lead to smell loss or dysfunction ? chronic sinus disease, chemotherapy, chemicals, medications and head injuries. But researchers are not sure precisely what causes the condition because of the unique function and location of the olfactory nerve cells that transmit information to the brain.

Losing the ability to smell could have far-reaching implications that are just beginning to be explored. The most obvious consequence is the effect on the ability to taste.

Although it is a separate sense, taste is irrevocably linked to smell. About 90 per cent of taste comes from smell.

Smelling disorder recovery rates are not high, but recovery can occur, sometimes years later. The improvement can be gradual or sudden.

Ringworm infection is one of the most common skin infections that affects humans. It is caused by a plant-like organism known as a fungus that feeds on the outermost layers of the skin. Ringworm has nothing to do with worms per se.

You can get it by sharing towels, clothing, or sports equipment or by having direct contact with an infected person’s rash.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system of treatment that uses minute amounts of natural substances to stimulate the defensive systems of the body in a very subtle way.

What distinguishes the practice of homeopathy from other approaches is that instead of focusing on the specific causes of disease (such as viruses, bacteria or fungi), homeopathy focuses on the specifics of the presentation of the symptoms of disease, as they are experienced by the individual patient, said Dr Pallavi Dialani, a homeopathic consultant with Whatever Healing Space.

This protocol recognises that each person is unique and will have an individual disease pattern.

Homeopathic philosophy strongly believes that skin diseases are never just skin deep. These are considered as mere external expressions of an internally weak or imbalanced immune system.

Since the defence system is weak, it gets attacked by various organisms.

Hence, homeopathy treats skin diseases at a deeper level, not by external applications but by orally administration of chronic constitutional remedies. Homeopathic remedies stimulate the body’s defence mechanism thus enhancing the body’s ability to heal itself gently from within.

Some of the homeopathic remedies recommended for ringworm include sepia for brown, dry scaly patches, tellurium for prominent, well-defined, reddish lesions, graphites for thick scales or sticky discharges and sulphur for intense itching.

Ayurveda

Ayurvedic literatures describes the disease as contagious, which means that it can spread by contact such as skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or through the surfaces that an infected person has touched, such as clothing, towels, bed linens, combs or brushes.

This condition involves the disturbance in pitta and kapha doshas, which are responsible for symptoms such as redness and inflammation around the edge of the rash, and itching and elevation of the rash respectively, said Dr Rangesh, senior advisor, research and development at Himalaya Herbal Healthcare.

Although unpleasant, ringworm is usually not a serious condition, except in the case of people with weak immune systems.

Hence, Ayurveda advises the application of therapeutic emesis and purgation under the physician’s supervision. After this detox therapy, the treatment usually consists of antifungal medications that are applied on the skin.

There are several external applications advised in Ayurveda. For example, an application made of the Bermuda grass, sickle senna, myrobalan, salt, and basil helps in relieving the itching and inflammation.

Similarly, an application of a compound made out of sal tree resin, sickle senna seeds, myrobalan and rice husk effectively controls the infection.

This treatment can be followed with internal medications such as manjishta and neem.

Modern medicine

Ringworm can affect any part of the body and is commonly found on the feet (”athlete’s foot”, “Singapore feet”), groin (”jock itch”), body and scalp.

It can look like a red “ring” that expands outwards, leaving a clear centre. It is a scaly or flaky rash that is very itchy. On the scalp, it can present as scaly bald patches with “broken” hairs.

Occasionally and very rarely, it can present as fluid-filled blisters on the feet that can be painful and itchy.

It can spread through direct contact with an infected person, or through bathroom or changing room floors, where the fungus thrives on the wet surface, said Dr Mark Tang, an associate consultant with the National Skin Centre.

It can be made worse with hot and humid weather, which leaves the skin moist and damp.

People with impaired immunity such as those with diabetes mellitus, are at greater risk of ringworm infection.

The diagnosis can be confirmed with a simple “scrapping” of the rash, which can identify fungal elements under a microscope. This may be important since many other rashes can look like ringworm.

Applying anti-fungal creams for a few weeks can treat most ringworm infections. It is important to avoid steroid creams that can make it worse. Some patients require a course of anti-fungal tablets if the infection is very extensive or persistent.

If a rash is not getting better with treatment, seek medical attention to confirm the diagnosis.

Ringworm infection can recur. To prevent repeat contagions, practise good skin hygiene to keep the skin clean and dry.

Try to avoid walking barefoot in the locker room and dry the feet carefully, especially between the toes after bathing.