Dementia: problem, risks, effects, and management

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I had met my classmate around 4 months back and informed her also about my mom's death. But in a recent email, she wrote to me that I had met her a couple of years back. She also enquired about my mom. Seeing her email, the first thought that came to my mind was: is she suffering from early dementia. I hope not. Maybe, she just forgot about the time that I had met her a few months back. Maybe because it was a hurried and surprise visit.  Nonetheless, dementia is on the rise. It affects people after 60 years of age. The increased life expectancy means that one will see more of such cases in the near future.  India has around 10 million dementia cases out of the world total of 57 million. This is a huge percentage. It affects not only an individual but the whole family. There is this individual who is physically okay but mentally absent. The person needs custodial care and it could turn out to be expensive. It is also emotionally disturbing to see your loved one in that state of...

Henna hair dye: safety, usefulness, and limitations.

 Henna is a natural temporary coloring agent obtained from leaves and tender stems of the plant,  Lawsonia imtermis. Used on skin and hair, it gives a typical brownish orange hue to the part. 

Henna and hair color

Henna gives a typical color to the hair. It hides whites but does not blacken it unfortunately. Hence it is not a versatile hair dye. It also takes many hours to produce effect. The color though natural is not permanent. But how safe is it?


Henna for hair and its safety

Since henna is natural, it is a natural tendency to think that it is a safe option to the chemical dyes for hair. But is it so really?

Henna does not penetrate into hair shaft and only remains on the hair surface. Hence it sits there preventing any hair conditioner to reach the hair cuticle. Hence hair could become lifeless and brittle with repeated use. Henna per se does not condition the hair. 

Though predominantly non-allergic, henna does have a low allergic tendency. But some cases of allergy could be due to the other components mixed in the henna-based hair dye mixture including contaminants such as nickel and cobalt. 

Henna does have some action against Malassezia furfur, the fungus causing dandruff. 

Remember 'black henna' has PPD in it in high concentrations. Hence for people allergic to it or looking for PPD free hair dyes, it is best avoided. 

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