Periodontitis, the Silent Killer

Yes I am talking about a disease which is mostly neglected by patients and even some physicians. I am talking about Periodontal disease otherwise known as gum disease the number one cause of tooth loss in the world.

The high prevalence of diabetes, with poor control of blood sugar, blood pressure and lipids is believed to be the reason for the highest rate of heart disease , the largest killer disease in Kerala. You will be surprised to know that this is double that of USA and six times that of Japan and China.

It is now a well established fact that Incidences of macroalbuminuria and end-stage renal disease are increased twofold and threefold, respectively, in diabetic individuals who also have severe periodontitis compared to diabetic individuals without severe periodontitis.

Furthermore, the risk of cardiorenal mortality (ischaemic heart disease and diabetic nephropathy combined) is three times higher in diabetic people with severe periodontitis than in diabetic people without severe periodontitis.

Periodontitis is also linked in those over 60 years of age to impairments in delayed memory and calculation abilities

Now some other studies indicate a reverse mechanism where people with severe Periodontal disease causing an increase in long-term blood sugar level leading to higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes and in long run to heart disease.

The early warning sign of gum disease is the temporary bleeding from gums while brushing which if left untreated can progress into Periodontal disease. Since there won't be any pain while the disease progresses people won't notice it exists

So it is high time that we should make sure that this silent killer is not on you.

“ Ignorance is not a bliss but knowledge is”

The Gift of life

Almost all of us do not want to die. But It is the ultimate truth that the only certain thing in this world is death. We all die timely or untimely and our bodies are turned to ashes and dust and it is a reality.

But modern science is so advanced that most of our organs and body parts can extend it's life through a host body. And also thereby giving life to a fellow human being, it can be your spouse, child or a family member or someone unknown to you who otherwise would have less chance of living longer. Yes in other words you are giving the most precious gift that you can offer to a fellow human being who will also remember it with gratitude throughout their life.

Earlier when we used to talk about Organ donation it used to send a chill through the spine mainly because it's connected with the fear of death. But the continuous awareness campaigns by NGOs and Governments have made a lot of people come forward to help their fellow human beings.
The Kerala government has rightly named the project as Mrithasanjeevani, the mythical remedy to bring back the dead to life. The program was started in 2012 and in a short time it has become a big success. A number of people saved their life through the program.

It is commendable that the Rotary Clubs of District 3211 has joined with the Program and taken it as one of their focus projects.

The Rotary District is planning to create awareness about the program among the members and public and create a database of wishful donors.

One of the main features of the project is the transparency in maintaining the list. And all the members who join the program will be given a donor card which they can keep with them.

Even if one gives consent, according to Indian law if any family members objects, the organ cannot be donated.

The organs like liver, kidneys, lungs, heart etc are donated only from brain dead persons. But cornea, skin, bone etc could be donated from persons who had a natural death.

It is found through studies that a person's life expectancy increased to 80% from 20% after receiving organ transplant.

In India it is believed that we have almost 7 lakh blind people who could be given the ‘Gift of Vision’ by organ transplant. 10% if which are children.

Another interesting calculation is we have a daily death rate of 85000 people and if, only half of these people donate their eyes, the whole India will be free of those blind people in 3 weeks!

So how your decision can bring about a huge change in someone else's life.

Let me quote from ‘Manusmriti’
“Of all the things that it is possible to donate, to donate your own body is infinitely more worthwhile.”

The 4th Objective of Rotary

We all take the oath of ‘strive to establish peace and goodwill among all’ before every meeting but how many of us are really thought about it or worked on it. Are our district leaders thinking about it?

I believe the world is facing unrest in different forms of conflicts, large number of people have lost their lives and a large number are living in misery and fear and it is high time that Rotarians do justice to their oath.

Rotarians have long been active in efforts to encourage and promote peace. The fourth ‘Object of Rotary’ is to advance” international understanding, goodwill and peace”. In 1942, prior to the creation of the United Nations, Rotarians from 21 nations organized a conference to develop  ideas for advancing education, science, and culture across nations. This meeting was the foundation of what is now UNESCO.

Rotarians were involved in the creation of the United Nations at the founding meeting in 1945 and continue to serve in an advisory capacity to the UN.

Each year, Rotary selects up to 100 individuals from around the world to receive fully funded academic fellowships to pursue a Certificate Program or Masters Degree program related to peace and conflict resolution and prevention at one of the participating peace centers. Each individual Rotary Club or Rotary District can endorse a member for the Peace Fellowship Program.

It is believed that 65million people are displaced by armed conflict and 90%of them are civilians and half of them are children

So what a Rotary club can do is to address the underlying structural causes of conflict like poverty, inequality, lack of access to education,ethnic tension etc in their location

Also support and endorse an eligible member for the Rotary peace fellowship program so that they can work towards building peace and goodwill.

Being a rotarian representing the land which taught the world about nonviolence and peaceful resolution of conflicts also have a moral responsibility. Let me end by quoting from the champion of nonviolence, our own Bapuji

"It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."