Having health insurance in your home country is a priority, especially where medical costs can be crippling if there is no public healthcare infrastructure in place. Having comprehensive international health insurance is also just as important when traveling across the globe. The necessity of obtaining international health insurance for international citizens becomes more essential, in fact. However, it is best to know a few details before you part with your money.
- You can buy an expat health insurance plan from either a specialist International Health Insurance provider or from a large domestic health insurer that may have an international division.
- Most international health insurance providers offer access to healthcare anywhere in the world but may not be able to offer cover for elective treatment within the USA unless an additional option, costing extra, is chosen. This is because the cost of medical treatment in the USA can be the most expensive in the world.
- Some expat medical insurance providers cannot offer to those people who are resident in the USA and Canada due to the local state-based licensing system or to those who want to live in countries where international sanctions are in place such as North Korea, Myanmar and Iraq. It is important to check with your list of prospective insurers that they are able to cover you.
Ask Doctors and Experts Now
Categories: Health Insurance Tags: Health Insurance
Medications for Treatment of Glaucoma
The aim of treatment of glaucoma (if intra-ocular pressure or IOP, is more than 21 mm of Hg it is called glaucoma) is to reduce intra-ocular pressure to normal and to reduce complications (such as damage to optic nerve, loss of visual field and visual acuity, blindness etc.) due to increased intra-ocular pressure.
There are several groups of medications used as eye drops, which can be used to achieve the aim of glaucoma management. They include topical beta-blockers, prostaglandin analogs, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, miotics, alpha agonists (more selective brimonidine, apraclonidine and less selective epinephrine), physostigmine etc.
Prostaglandin analogs in glaucoma:
Prostaglandin analogs (latanoprost, bimatoprost, travoprost etc.) are currently the first choice medication for treatment of glaucoma. They increase the outflow of aqueous humor through uveoscleral pathway without inducing inflammation (prostaglandins cause inflammation) and reduce intra-ocular pressure in glaucoma patients.
Beta-blockers in glaucoma:
Beta-adrenergic blockers (timolol, betaxolol and levobunolol) are among the first line medications (prostaglandin analogs are more preferred these days) for management of open angle glaucoma. They are used as topical eye drops. Beta-blockers reduce production of aqueous humor production by ciliary body and thereby reduce intra-ocular pressure. They do not have any effect on the eye such as size of the pupils, tone of ciliary muscle or outflow of aqueous humor.
Categories: Eye Health Tags:
Surgical Treatment of Glaucoma
The aim of glaucoma management/treatment is to avoid damage to optic nerve and other complications due to glaucoma or raised intra ocular pressure and to preserve vision to maintain quality of life of the patient to close to normal as possible with minimal side effects. To achieve the aim of treatment of glaucoma, it is important to select an appropriate treatment option for individual patients and proper follow-up.
Surgical treatment of glaucoma is the primary treatment option (primary treatment option) for congenital glaucoma and also important for closed angle glaucoma. Surgery however may not (and usually do not cure) cure glaucoma and it is a temporary solution. Both laser surgery, as well as conventional surgeries are performed for treatment of glaucoma.
Some surgical procedures performed for treatment of glaucoma are canaloplasty, trabeculectomy, drainage implant, Laser-assisted non-penetrating deep sclerectomy, LASER surgery etc.
Canaloplasty:
It is a non-penetrating surgical procedure, where micro-catheter technology is used. This procedure is meant to improve drainage of aqueous humor through Canal of Schlemm by enlarging the canal using micro-catheter. By enlarging the Canal of Schlemm, it is possible to reduce intra ocular pressure in selected glaucoma patients (such as closed angle glaucoma).
Categories: Eye Health Tags:
Modifiable Risk Factors of Osteoporosis
There are several risk factors of developing osteoporosis. Some of the risk factors of osteoporosis are non-modifiable (such as age, female sex, heredity etc.) and some risk factors are modifiable or potentially modifiable.
The modifiable or potentially modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis include, excess alcohol intake, smoking, malnutrition, deficiency of vitamin D, physical inactivity, high protein diet, excessive strenuous exercise/training, exposure to heavy metals and other factors.
- Excess alcohol intake:
Although moderate intake of alcohol is good for bone health as well as health in general, excess alcohol intake (greater than three drinks a day) increase risk of fracture and risk of osteoporosis.
- Smoking:
Smoking is associated with worsening of bone health, although the exact mechanism is not well understood. Smoking reduce activity of osteoblasts, which protects bones from demineralization and are vital for optimal bone health. Smoking is also responsible for early menopause in women, low body weight and contribute in osteoporosis.
- Malnutrition:
Good nutrition is important parameter for good bone health and malnutrition hamper good bone health. Malnutrition leads to lack of dietary calcium, vitamin D (and other vitamins), magnesium, zinc, boron, iron, fluoride, copper etc. Low protein intake in malnutrition is also a contributing factor for osteoporosis.
Categories: Health Information Tags:
Non-Modifiable Risk Factors of Osteoporosis
There are several risk factors of developing osteoporosis, some of the risk factors of osteoporosis are non-modifiable, and some risk factors are potentially modifiable. Osteoporosis is also known complication of various medical disorders. Various medications used for different medical conditions can lead to osteoporosis and use of medications can be considered potentially modifiable risk factor of osteoporosis. However, in many cases medications are unavoidable and osteoporosis has to be accepted side effect of those medications.
Non-modifiable risk factors of osteoporosis are:
- Older age is the most common and one of the important non-modifiable risk factor of osteoporosis. We can not modify old age. At older age women are at higher risk in compare to men (although men are also at high risk of osteoporosis at old age), due to menopause and estrogen deficiency after menopause. In older men reduced level of testosterone is a risk, but less profound than estrogen deficiency in women.
- Heredity and genetic factors are also important. Osteoporosis tend to be more common among family members with osteoporosis. Fracture is to certain extent heritable and individuals with family history of fracture are at higher risk of developing osteoporosis.
- Physical built: individuals with small stature are at greater risk of developing osteoporosis, than well-built individuals.
Categories: General Health Tags: Osteoporosis
Health Insurance for Visitors
Nowadays tourism is the largest industry in the world. Tourists visit a place for different purpose; some visit just for a vacation and some visit for education and eagerness to know the unknown and see the unknown. Tourists visiting a different country need to be covered by insurance for the touring time for different health needs. Especially for the tourists and visitors from a western country who are visiting a developing country need Visitors Health Insurance for the duration of stay in the foreign country. Those from developing countries also need Visitors Health Insurance due to the high cost of health services in the western countries compared to developing countries.
The visitors health insurance field is most developed in the USA in compare to European countries and other countries of the world. This is mostly available for the tourists visiting USA and designed and planed for the duration of stay in USA. These visitors health insurance plans give protection to the visitors from other foreign countries. Unforeseen medical expenses that may arise due to sickness or accidents during the stay in USA are covered in these visitors health insurance plans.
Post a Comment