Blood pressure (BP) lowering medications should not be stopped without consulting your doctor. They help maintaining BP on a day to day basis. Hence if you stop them your BP may shoot up without any warning signs and you may land up into serious complications of high BP.

Along with the medications prescribed to treat your high BP, some lifestyle changes can help you in improving your BP control, and may certainly help reducing the dose of your medications (cannot stop medications).

Avoid extra salt in diet. Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet. Exclude spices, salty snacks, pickles, canned salted foods from your diet. Exercise regularly. One hour walk daily can do wonders to you. Quit smoking. Limit alcohol intake. Watch your weight. Get expert advice regarding your diet and exercise. Manage stress and sleep well.

Cancer does not spread from one person to another. A healthy person cannot get it from a cancer patient by close contact or by breathing the same air.

Pneumonia, inflammation of lung tissue, is usually caused by an infection, most commonly bacteria and viruses, which are both contagious. Covid-19 viral pneumonia is an example.

People have small amounts of germs in their nose and throat that can be passed on through coughs and sneezes. Tiny droplets of fluid containing germs can be inhaled by someone else. Hence masks are very useful tools in stopping a spread. Masks must be worn properly. Other hygienic habits to adopt are regular hand wash, avoiding shared utensils, hygiene and sanitization.

Kidneys stones are very common, extremely painful and uncomfortable. A stone size can vary from dust to grain and even a pebble. Larger stones require surgical management. They form when substances in the urine become concentrated. An important cause of kidney stones is dehydration. Due to lack of hydration, the body’s fluids become more and more concentrated over time with minerals e.g. calcium and crystal forming substances. Another important cause is anatomical irregularities or obstructions.