Being Goan - APRIL ISSUE 2023

Volume 2

Issue 4

April 2023

simRan saWant

An advocate by profession and an influencer by passion

Urinary Infections

Dr Madhav Sanzgiri talks about the various changes that people suffering from urinary infections must incorporate in their lifestyle

Navya Singh

A Goa-based journalist who runs 'News with Navya'

Danuska Da Gama

The first Indian female to become an ITO of the International Boxing Association

Periodontitis

Panjim-based dentist Dr Valerie Pereira talks about the causes and treatments of periodontitis

Shara Naique

The 'foodie' on a roll

Editorial

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the April issue of our monthly emagazine ‘Being Goan’. This month, on the cover, we have featured Simran Sawant, a lawyer from Cumbharjua who found huge success as a content creator. Read the feature inside to know more about her life and her journey.

This month's issue also features an interview with Danuska Da Gama, a very well-known Goan journalist who also dabbles in the world of boxing. Danuska recently made India proud by becoming the first Indian woman to become an International Technical Official (ITO) of the International Boxing Association. Such an incredible achievement shall definitely serve as a strong source of inspiration to women all across India.

We have also done a story on Navya Singh, a wellknown journalist who moved to Goa in 2022 and set up her own independent media platform called ‘News with Navya’. Through this platform, Navya covers stories relating to the climate crisis, sustainability and the environment. Over the past one year, ever since it started, ‘News with Navya’ has received a very good response from the public and has a follower base of more than 14K followers on Instagram.

We have also covered the stories of two popular food influencers Vandita Kandolkar who runs the Instagram page Tasty Tales, and Shara Naique who runs an Instagram page called ‘Foodie on the Roll’.

An article on ‘Periodontitis' by Panjim-based dentist Dr Valerie Pereira and on the ‘Lifestyle Modifications for Persons Suffering from Urinary Infections and Kidney Stones’ by Dr. Madhav Sanzgiri, Consultant Urologist at Manipal Hospital, Goa, also features in this month issue of our e-magazine.

The month of April is here and it marks the beginning of the season of urrak. For the initiated, urrak is a cultish alcoholic Goan beverage which is prepared using the juice of cashew apples. The juice is fermented and then distilled to get urrak.

Unlike Feni which is a double-distilled derivative of fermented cashew apple juice, urrak is a single distillate. The drink is very popular among Goans during the summer months. Just like in the case of wine or any other alcoholic drink, the key to a good urrak lies in its Aroma. Urrak has to be cloudy about 30% alcohol and should have the aroma of fresh cashew apples.

The best urrak is often sourced from Goa’s hinterlands, especially areas like Valpoi and Pernem regions, which abound in organic cashew cultivation and where distillation methods and practices are still traditional.

Well, that's all I have for you dear readers from my desk this month. I hope you enjoy reading this month's issue of our e-magazine. Share it with your friends all across the globe.

Until next month, cheers!

Jessyl Fernandez Editor

Index

01 Simran Sawant

02 Danuska Da Gama

03 Vandita Kandolkar

04 Shara Naique

05 Navya Singh

06 Periodontitis

07 Dr. Madhav Sanzgiri, Consultant Urologist

Introduction

Goa, the tiniest state on the western coast of India, boasts golden pristine beaches, palmfringed avenues, flavourful food, delicious Portuguese-influenced sweets, and warm, hospitable people. Also known as the Ibiza of India for its partying. A tropical paradise of flora and fauna, from the very famous 'almi' (mushrooms) endemic to its forests, that grow only on the red mud anthills, to the solar prawns that are fished immediately after the monsoons, Goa is unique. Tourists are also attracted to Goa for its cultural heritage - from the famous old Portuguese churches like Se Cathedral in Old Goa, the 16th Century Safa Masjid in Ponda and Shree Mangesha Temple in Mardol, the legendary Arvalem or Pandava Caves where the Pandavas of the Mahabharat fame lived, to its two unique festivals - Carnival and Shigmo. Goa plays host to many festivals - the International Film Festival of India that promotes cinema, the Serendipity Art Festival, Sunburn Music Festival, to name a few. To showcase this varied heritage of culture, art, tradition, food, and people, in 2015 ItsGoa was born. The main aim was to make it the premier portal for all things Goa. We were able to showcase Goa like never before. Soon our blog-based website transcended the virtual space, with the ItsGoa magazine – a sought-after resource for visitors to Goa from countries like Norway, UK, USA, etc.

Editorial Team

Chief Editor

Jessyl Fernandez

Content Manager Steve Antao

Content Curators Prataya Sarkar

Dr. Valerie Pereira

Richelle Brito-Carvalho

Dr. Denise Rodrigues

Sales & Marketing Donald Fernandez

Graphics & Layout Aniket Naik

Social Media Manager Saviola Dias

For advertising queries: 9370502124 / 9209005127

ItsGoa Media Group

Nordic Intent HQ - Floor 3, PDA

Colony, Porvorim, Goa 403521

Email : mail@itsgoa.com

Website: itsgoa.com

Article by: Prataya Sarkar

Images by: Simran Sawant

Simran Sawant alias Noorie Sawant is an advocate based in Cumbarjua, Goa. With a BA (LLB) degree from V. M. Salgaocar College of Law, Miramar and an LLM under her belt, Simran has built a thriving practice in Panjim.

But that's not all - Simran is also a rising influencer, with a growing following on social media. Her journey as an influencer began as a hobby, when she started posting photos and stories of her cooking, baking, travel, outfits, and lifestyle. Her friends and followers were quick to take notice, and soon, she found herself being approached by restaurants and brands to try out their products and services.

Simran’s journey as an influencer started with occasional posts on Instagram, where she shared photos and stories of her cooking, baking, lifestyle, outfits, and travel. As her friends and followers showed interest in her recipes, outfits, and more, she realized the potential of sharing her daily life on social media. Initially, this journey started as a hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The curfew and lockdown had limited her activities, and she had nothing much to do but to experiment with baking and cooking. Her family members were surprised by the first chocolate cake she made, and their positive feedback motivated her to try more recipes.

As someone who had always been interested in the creative field, Simran used her passion for crafting, clicking pictures of nature, and traveling to showcase her food, outfits, and travel on Instagram. Her followers and engagement grew, and after a few months, restaurants began approaching her to try out their food and review it.

This positive feedback and recognition motivated her to create more reels of food preparation and to showcase her outfits and travel through reels. Brands in the cosmetics and clothing industry also noticed her work and approached her to create reels and promote their products. With this encouragement and positive feedback, her interest in becoming an influencer grew, and she embarked on her journey as a full-time influencer.

Simran doing a product shoot at India Beach Fashion Week 2023 in Divar

Despite her busy schedule as an advocate, Simran has found a way to balance her professional and personal pursuits. Her parents and brother have been supportive of her aspirations, and her brother in particular has been instrumental in helping her grow her social media presence.

Simran looks up to several inspiring figures in the influencer community, including Larissa D'sa, a travel influencer from Goa, and Kamiya Jani, a digital creator and YouTuber. She hopes to collaborate with other famous influencers in the future, and is committed to creating high-quality content that resonates with her audience.

Simran, who also goes by Noorie Sawant never envisioned becoming a  influencer. However, her passion for the craft led her down that path. Like any career, being an influencer has its highs and lows, but she believes that every circumstance presents an opportunity to learn valuable lessons.

During her pursuit of a Master's degree in LLM, Simran simultaneously practiced law under an advocate while managing her social media presence through food blogs and creating reels for various brands. It was undoubtedly a difficult situation, but she looks back on it with pride for having successfully navigated such a challenging time in her life.

For Simran, the best part of being an influencer is the opportunity to tap into her creative side. She has always had a passion for crafting, making videos, and presenting food in creative ways, and being an influencer has allowed her to explore these interests further.

To aspiring influencers, Simran has a simple message: “Believe in yourself and never give up”. With determination and a willingness to learn, anything is possible.

Picture of Simran during her childhood

Simran at Souza Lobo restaurant in Calangute

Simran giving away a prize to 'Miss Anantara' at an event called 'Anantara' organised by Damodar College, Margao

Danuska Da Gama

Article by: Steve Antao

Danuska Da Gama is a name that you must have certainly come across, at least while reading any of the newspapers in Goa. A native of the quaint village of Saligao in North Goa, Danuska is a journalist by profession. She is currently incharge of the Features Desk at The Navhind Times. She has also been serving as an  assistant professor in a number of colleges in Goa, teaching subjects like journalism and a few other minor subjects like critical thinking, emotional intelligence, film appreciation  etc. Apart from all of this, she also dabbles in sports. She is the State Treasurer of the Goa Amateur Boxing Association. She also serves as the joint secretary of the Boxing Federation of India. And just a few weeks ago, she cleared an exam and became an International Technical Official (ITO) of the International Boxing Association, becoming the first Indian woman to do so.

What was your childhood ambition?

As a child, I had varying ambitions, right from becoming a lawyer to a teacher to a chef. So, I had many ambitions, but one major ambition that I had, and still have till today, is to travel to different countries around the world.

How did your interest in journalism develop, and what inspired you to pursue it as a career?

My fascination with journalism began during the time when I was schooling. Every morning, when I used to wake up to go to school, there would be NDTV on in the drawing room and that's when I took a liking for Barkha Dutt’s strong command over English and her style of presenting the news. However, I somehow got deviated into pursuing a degree in Business Administration when I began college.

Luckily, I landed a part-time job at Prudent Media, which was a new news channel at that time and is one of the leading news channels in Goa. And since then, I realized that probably my calling lies in journalism. I like telling stories, I like writing stories and I like staying updated with what's happening daily. So that's how journalism happened.

Give us a brief picture of your professional career after you completed your higher studies. I graduated in Business Administration from S.S Caculo College of Commerce and Management Studies.

Post that, since I was working as a part-time news anchor and as a producer of feature stories at Prudent Media, I went to Delhi to pursue my diploma in Broadcast Journalism with NDTV. I did a short stint there on the sports desk. After that, I completed my Master's degree in International Journalism from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom.

But then, I always wanted to come back and work in my own country. So I came back to Goa in 2011 and started teaching journalism in various colleges. I got into full-time teaching but then felt that I should get into the media industry once again. So I got into TV with HCN and then I moved to The Navhind Times, which is currently the newspaper that I've been working with for the past nine years.

Danuska with wrestler Sakshi

Dansuka with Smt. Sulakshna Sawant

What kind of stories do you enjoy covering the most, and why?

There are different kinds of stories that I enjoy doing. I like to work under pressure, especially while covering events like the IFFI film festival and assembly elections, but my heart lies in covering stories that involve women's issues, mental health, social issues, and gender-related stories. I also enjoy writing about food, and of late, I'm also writing a lot of folklore connected with history and culture. So there are a lot of things that I like to write about and I can't really pick one and say that I like to do only these kinds of stories.

Besides that, I also enjoyed reporting on transgenders and how they battled the COVID crisis. Every day is a battle for the LGBTQ+ community, but the COVID period, just like it was tough on every one of us, was really very tough on them. That was another story that I enjoyed working on.

What do you think are the biggest challenges that journalism faces today?

Journalism faces a lot of crises today. One major issue plaguing journalism today is that we have too many media outlets, and because of that, we see mediocrity affecting news flow to a large extent. Also, I think that due to COVID, a lot of people have stopped buying newspapers, due to which the sales of newspapers have dropped.

Can you share a particularly memorable or impactful story that you worked on during your career as a journalist?

There have been many stories that I have worked on, but I think that one story which is particularly memorable for me was the story that I was doing way back in 2014 on drug consumption and how Goa is a haven for drugs. After I started digging into the story, the story's angle changed completely and it became less about the drug mafia in Goa and more about how Goans are into the drug trade. And when I'm talking about the drug trade, it's not just peddling drugs, but also drug consumption among Goans and how everybody is part of the whole drug scenario here in Goa. While working on that story, many people came forward to talk about how they've been consuming drugs, right from students to parents who would allow their children to sell drugs to get money to spend on their daily expenses. So, that was one revealing story that I really liked doing.

Danuska with her father Lenny D'Gama

Receiving the Sushma Swaraj Award from Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant

This has affected news coverage because it cut down on jobs. There has been a lot of retrenchment in media houses. A lot of journalists have lost their jobs.

Another major issue, I think, in the field of journalism is that most journalists are underpaid. We are undervalued, and to some extent, I think that the salary packages of journalists, whether it is at the local level or national level, needs to be increased. Journalists need to be valued more for the work that they do. And you just can't call somebody a reporter or a video editor. There's a lot of skill and a lot of creativity which is required.

Also, there are a lot of risks involved in this particular field. So there are a lot of challenges besides the coming in of technology that has also created a major issue for journalism because digital media and social media have taken the front seat and newspapers the backseat.

Tell us about your life in the field of boxing.  Boxing came to me naturally as well as not very naturally because I was put into the sport to lose weight. Boxing came naturally to me because of my father Mr. Lenny Da Gama, who was a boxing champion. There was boxing in the house when I was small and we were surrounded by boxers and boxing gloves all the time. But I think somewhere, the interest just set in.  Although I was not a great boxer inside the ring, I went on to become a referee judge.

I pursued my studies. At that time, sport was not such a  big thing, and women in sports were very rare and in boxing, a complete no-no. But after becoming a referee judge, I dabbled with my professional work and after coming back from the UK, I got into it fulltime again. And that's how I've been associated with boxing. And it just kept going one step further for me each time.

I have attended several boxing tournaments including the National Championships, National Games, and Khelo India tournaments. I am a National Technical Official (NTO) in India and now, since there was this International Technical Official exam, I answered the exam and successfully cleared it, becoming the only female in India to have done so. But besides that, I think I am more focused on the grassroots development of boxing in Goa. And that's where my heart lies - in creating national champions, setting up a boxing foundation, and a residential boxing academy, which has been my father's dream.

How does it feel like to become the first Indian female International Technical Official (ITO) of the International Boxing Association?

Clearing the exam was a huge responsibility and a huge sigh of relief for me. But to be the first Indian female to achieve this feat makes me feel immensely proud.  I feel happy, honoured, and privileged, and I just hope that I can do my duty well and make my country proud.

Danuska along with her parents Lenny and Mavis and brother Darwin

I hope I've made everybody proud - Goans, my family and everybody in the boxing fraternity who know me and who have supported me in whatever I've done all these years.

Lastly, what piece of advice would you like to share with all Goan women out there?  So, I don't think you need to be a boxer to be a strong woman. You just need to have a strong mind. I have realized the importance of being mentally fit. If you're mentally fit, you can be physically fit. And the best thing about women is that we can multitask, we can do so many things at one time that men can't do. So, I think we have so much power within us, we have the advantage and we have so much happening in the world that is being done by women.

However, I don't think we need any special preferences. I think that we just need to get equal opportunities and women should never think that they are less deserving than men. I would also like to say that, no matter what you are, what you do or how much you've achieved, always dream high because you should not be happy with where you are. Never settle for less. Just try to raise the bar and challenge yourself and set a benchmark for yourself and try to achieve that benchmark and then set another benchmark. Just be greedy to achieve happiness and success.

Danuska with Hrithik Roshan

Danuska at the recently concluded IBA

Women's World Boxing Championships

food influencer

Vandita Kandolkar

Article by: Steve Antao

www.itsgoa.com

Meet Vandita Kandolkar - a Goan microbiologist with a passion for food, social media marketing and content creation.

Vandita Kandolkar's journey as a content creator and social media enthusiast has been nothing short of amazing. Born and raised in Corlim, a small village in old Goa, Vandita initially dreamed of becoming a doctor. However, as life often does, it took her on a different path that led her to discover her love for food and content creation.

Vandita completed her Masters a few months ago and is currently working in an agrochemical company while freelancing as a social media executive. Although her professional work is focused on microbiology, her passion for social media and content creation has taken her in a new direction.

Vandita's social media journey began just two and a half years ago when her best friend encouraged her to start posting all the food she cooked during the pandemic on a separate page. At that time, social media was foreign to her, and she hardly had any social profiles. However, as she started posting her creations and discovering her love for capturing food and creating content, she quickly found her footing.

Vandita's content is centered around discovering and presenting different food joints and restaurants to her audience through informative videos. From simple Goan snacks to hearty meals, she shares her favorites like cutlet pao, Goan khatkhate, ambott tikk, cafreal, recoise, ross omlette and more.

Vandita's friends have been incredibly supportive of her journey, shooting usernames for her page, and even collaborating with her on mutual projects. She has also worked with many brands in Goa, including Blive, Cremeux, Hilton and Marriotts.

However, juggling her 9-5 job, where gadgets are prohibited, with her passion for content creation has been challenging for Vandita. Editing and working on her blog at odd hours has often made it difficult to be consistent. Nevertheless, her determination to keep improving and adding value to her audience has kept her going.

When it comes to inspiration, Vandita looks up to bloggers like Kamiya Jani and Larissa D’sa for their authentic style and quality content. She has even started doing voice-over reels recently and hopes to pull off videos like Kamiya someday.

Apart from these two inspiring bloggers, Vandita has also found motivation from fellow creators in Goa,

Diwali shoot in collaboration with Hilton Goa Resort Saipem Goa

including Kevin Pinto, Flexcia, Shivani Divkar, and others. She believes there is always something new to learn from everyone, and she's always looking forward to building a larger community of like-minded people.

In conclusion, Vandita Kandolkar's journey as a content creator and social media enthusiast is an inspiring one. From a small village in Goa to making a name for herself in the social media world, Vandita's passion, determination, and trust in the process are what drives her forward. Whether you're a foodie or a social media enthusiast, Vandita's content is sure to capture your attention and leave you wanting more.

Trying

Lollo Rosso Anjuna

Meet Shara Naique, a young and enthusiastic Goan who is pursuing her passion for food blogging while also managing a full-time job.

Shara grew up in the village of Agacaim, Goa. Her immense love for food led her to create an Instagram food page during her first year of college. Noticing her craze for food, one of her friends planted the idea to start her own food page on Instagram. After churning this suggestion for a while, she finally decided to give it a try and that is how 'foodie_on.a_roll' was born.

Despite being entirely new in this field, Shara took the first step and created her account, ‘foodie_on.a_roll’. She uploaded her first food picture in August 2018. From there on, there was no turning back. While pursuing her Integrated Master of Commerce (IMCOM) degree from S.S.Dempo College of Commerce and Economics, Shara continued to explore new eateries and posted about them on her Instagram page.

Starting a food blog while managing academics wasn't easy for her. However, she didn’t let her passion for food blogging get in the way of her studies. Her family and friends were supportive while she embarked on this journey and later as her work gained recognition and popularity, they were thrilled with joy.

Shara's hardwork and dedication paid off when she got her first collaboration invite from a well known Asian restaurant, ‘Yaki Zushi’.

This collaboration paved the way for many other invites & collaborations with restaurants like Hilton, Goa Marriott, Novotel, Cafés like Cremeux, Pastry Cottage, Caravela, Marc Brown & brands like Nestle, Mog Asu, True Elements, Rasoda and many more. During the lockdown, she switched from review based content to cooking based content while also collaborating and promoting small businesses by home bakers & home chefs.

Currently, managing a full-time job whilst handling her food blog has been challenging for her. Time management has been a crucial aspect of her journey. From planning, scheduling, shooting, to editing content, she manages everything efficiently all by herself. However, she doesn't let the challenges stop her and hopes to pursue her passion for food blogging full-time in the near future.

To the youngsters out there, here is her personal mantra that she’d like to share from her experience, "Never doubt yourself. Be confident enough to take the first plunge, and then when you walk your way through, one fine day, you'll look back and realise how far you have come." Shara's journey shows that with dedication and passion, one can achieve their dreams, no matter how challenging the journey may be.

Shara during her childhood along with her parents

journalist

navya singh

The founder of 'News with Navya' (FactForth LLP), an independent media platform that reports extensively on climate change and the environment

Article by: Prataya Sarkar

Image by: Navya Singh

www.itsgoa.com itsgoa_ Itsgoa

The Inspiring Story of Navya Singh

Navya Singh, an independent journalist based in Goa, has been earning laurels with her media platform, ‘News with Navya’. Passionate about the environment, Singh has been covering efforts around climate action and sustainability for more than a year now.

Singh hails from a defence background and has lived across the country. Settling down in Goa and becoming a journalist were never part of her plan, but as she says, "this place has just been very lucky." She initially dreamt of joining the armed forces, like her father, and later, at some point, also wanted to become a lawyer. But she ended up pursuing a media course at Christ University, Bengaluru, which eventually led her to journalism.

Singh completed her triple majors in Media, Economics, and Political Science from Christ University and interned with India Today during her college days. She later worked with ‘The Logical Indian’ and ‘The Quint’ before starting News with Navya in 2022.  During her tenure at The Logical Indian, Singh actively reported on the devastating coronavirus pandemic, women’s safety, defence, national security and much more. She covered impactful stories from Karnataka for The Quint as well. The decision to leave a comfortable job at The Quint and start her own platform was driven by her desire to be a journalist and not an employee. She wanted her stories and reports to make an impact and not just ‘perform on social media’.

Empowering People with Information

At News with Navya, Singh and her team are bringing out issues that matter to people and empowering them with the information they need. The platform strongly believes that power always lies with the people, and they are just helping them make informed decisions. The reason Singh chose the climate crisis as her focus is because it is a sector that remains neglected in the media. There are not many organizations that talk about the climate emergency or explain the basics of climate change and what the country is doing to tackle the crisis.

Breaking Down Complex Issues

A lot of News with Navya's stories revolve around sustainable and eco-conscious efforts, showcasing what people are doing to save the planet.

The idea is not to spread panic, but to bring solutions to the table. Singh says the biggest challenges she has faced since starting News with Navya have been financial constraints, as they are dependent on supporters for funding, and to achieve credibility in a cluttered industry. Therefore, bringing out content in an interesting way has been a challenge. The platform wants to make the subject engaging so that they can get more and more people to know about the impacts of climate change and what they can do about it.

Navya with her parents

Navya posing with the Go-getter award which she received while working at The Logical Indian

Inspired by her Mother

Singh's role model has always been her mother, who started pursuing her passion as a baker when she moved to Goa last year. Singh admires her mother's motivation, enthusiasm, and love for what she does. She says her mother is a perfect example of "do what you love and love what you do."

Future Plans

Singh's future plans with News with Navya are to establish it as a news platform that becomes the go-to channel for people who need any information around climate crisis or sustainability. She wants News with Navya to become a repository of efforts to save the planet, highlighting what people are doing to create a better future.

Conclusion

Navya Singh's story is an inspiring one, and she is making a real difference through News with Navya. Navya is an entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling and she will continue to bring out stories that matter.

DENTAL

Periodontitis: The sneaky disease of the gums

Article by: Dr. Valerie Pereira Image Credit: Freepik

www.itsgoa.com itsgoa_ Itsgoa

It starts simply. You are at a wedding, excited about all the food on offer - the succulent chicken, the fragrant rice, the spicy mutton falling apart from the bone... yum!

But later, as you dance, you notice some fibres stuck between your teeth. Or is it a ‘jeera’ (cumin seed)? You keep your mouth firmly shut and try to dislodge it with your tongue, hoping your dance partner doesn't notice. You wish you had a toothpick. After a long struggle - success! It finally comes out.

Days go by, and it happens more frequently, postlunch and post-dinner. You learn to carry floss or discreetly use the toothpick in the bathroom. In a couple of months, it feels like there is a hole that sucks in food, especially between the areas of your premolars and molars. Your gums feel tender. Your breath smells bad if you don't floss. And sometimes, you notice your toothbrush stained in pink.

It doesn't hurt, so you don't worry!

After a few years, you notice spaces between the teeth in your mouth. Also, your gums pull away from your teeth, making them appear longer. All of this continues until one day, you feel your teeth shaking. That's when you start panicking!

Diagnosis

All of the above are symptoms of a disease called Periodontitis, which in simple language means inflammation of the periodontium. The periodontium consists of the tissues that surround the toothnamely the periodontal ligament, bone, gums and cementum. Deposition of plaque and tartar (calculus) leads to infection which in turn results in Periodontitis.

The most common sequelae are bone loss, followed by mobile teeth and finally, loss of teeth. Other symptoms may include bleeding and painful gums, pus from the gums, difficulty chewing, foul breath, abscesses, and receding gums. Teeth should normally be held snuggly by the gums and the underlying bone, but in case of periodontitis, it becomes loose. The dentist will usually probe under the tooth and look for 'periodontal pockets', which are gums that have become thick and have receded, creating a space under the gum line.

Causes

Periodontitis is mainly caused due to the accumulation of plaque and calculus on teeth.  Plaque is a sticky, slimy film composed of microorganisms and food debris. Plaque can be removed by daily brushing and flossing. But in case regular brushing is neglected, plaque builds up, leading to infection. Plaque that is hardened is called Calculus.

Other risk factors for periodontitis are smoking and tobacco, stress, ageing, diet (sticky, sweet foods), diabetes, Vitamin C deficiency, hormonal fluctuations (pregnancy), cardiovascular and respiratory problems, leukaemia, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV to name a few.

Treatment

A dentist measures periodontal pockets with a-z. Pockets which measure above 4 mm in depth indicate the onset of periodontitis. They require a professional cleaning done using ultrasonic scalers and curettes. Pockets ranging from 6-15 mm are deep and involve the bone. These cannot be cleaned without exposing the bone. The dentist will then take an X-ray to check the level of bone loss.

A gum specialist called a periodontist will perform the next step which is a flap surgery to arrest the spread of the infection,

Periodontal pockets Periodontitis

stop more bone from being lost and reconstruct lost bone and tissue as much as possible. The periodontist may use bone graft and collagen, for the regeneration of bone and tissue depending on the bone loss.

The thing to note about Periodontitis is that it silently creeps up on you, as it is usually painless. Hence, it is important to check one's gums at the dentist, every 6 months for signs of inflammation. A simple dental visit can prevent a lifetime of problems. As the adage goes "Prevention is better than Cure."

Starfish can easily regenerate lost body parts, but it takes a lot of time, effort and money to regenerate lost bone and tissue in humans. So, go ahead and get that stitch in time, so you can save nine!

About the Author:

Dr. Valerie Anithra Pereira is a consultant dentist who specialises in Periodontics (gums). She has completed her BDS from AJ Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore. She then practiced at Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore before going on to do her Masters in Periodontics and Implantology (MDS) at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Coorg.

She has worked as an Assistant Professor in Periodontology at Bhopal University and Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik She is available for consultation in Panjim, Goa.

She can be contacted on : +91 8208007184.

Ur nary Tract nfect on (UTI) and k dney stones are a very common d sorder seen n the urology cl n c. Both these cond t ons cause very acute d stress ng symptoms.

The sy pto s include:

UTI: Severe burn ng ur nat on. pa n, fever, blood n the ur ne.

Kidney Stones: Pa n n the flank rad at ng to the gro n, pa nful ur nat on, blood n ur ne, nausea and vom t ng. Very often these cond t ons need hosp tal zat on and treatment. However, after the treatment s completed t s very mportant to focus on prevent on as well. Both ur nary nfect on and stones can be recurrent and can cause ser ous compl cat ons f necessary prevent ve measures are not taken

Suggested Lifestyle Changes for Vulnerable Patient

U INA Y INFECTIONS

I une Co pro ised Patients (Patients on steroids and i unosuppressive drugs for transplant or other disorders

Str ct hyg ene at home as well as workplace

Regular hand wash ng

Use of clean washrooms

Regular check w th spec al st for opt m z ng the drug dosages

Uncontrolled Diabetes Mellitu

Control of D abetes w th a qual fied spec al st

D etary mod ficat ons

Fe ales who have beco e newly sexually active develop urinary infections due to recurrent injuries

Gentle sexual act v ty and adequate lubr cat on.

Sexually trans itted disease can anifest as urinary infections

Proper d agnos s and treatment of pat ent and partner

Use of condoms and safe sex

Catheter associated urinary infections in a hospital setting (Post-operative/ neurological

Hand wash ng before handl ng catheter

Regular bath, wash ng, dry ng of gen tal area

Use of leg bags for better mob l ty

Regular prophylact c ant b ot cs/ ant sept cs as needed.

KIDNEY STONES

After opti al treat ent, a prevention protocol needs to be strictly adhered to. The protocol can include:

Deta led metabol c evaluat on ( nclud ng blood tests, stone analys s, 24 hr. ur ne evaluat on) needs to be done to rule out treatable causes l ke hyperur cem a, hyperur cosur a, oxalur a, hypercalc ur a, hyperparathyro d sm

Adequate flu d ntake approx mately 2.5 l t/day to be ncreased to 3 l t/ day dur ng summer or f nvolved n h gh ntens ty spots, exerc ses wh ch could cause dehydrat on Avo dance/ l m tat on of alcohol c beverages D etary mod ficat ons: To exclude shellfish, prawns, red meats, processed foods, fast foods. To reduce quant ty of m lk products, nuts, vegetables l ke br njal and lady fingers.

In conclus on, these s mple measures w ll go a long way n prevent ng recurrence of these llnesses and reduce the r sk of l fe threaten ng compl cat ons.

Kidney Stones

For reservations: 0832-2456231

+91 7447499070 | +91 7447499069

Odxel Beach, Dona Paula, Goa- 403004