Med First ENT Centre

There are three paired major Salivary Glands in the human body and countless minor salivary glands. The Major Salivary Glands are - Parotid (in front of the ear, on the cheeks), Submandibular (high in the neck, just below the jaw bone on each side) and the Sublingual (on the floor of the mouth). Stones are sometimes formed in these glands which cause extreme discomfort, pain and swelling. Why do they occur? Salivary Gland stones can occur due to the following conditions: Poor Oro Dental hygiene Oral Injury Dehydration Post Radiotherapy treatment Being Male and Elderly - Males and the elderly are more prone What are the Symptoms? A Salivary Gland consists of a gland (which secretes the saliva) and a duct which is the channel through which saliva passes from the gland into the oral cavity. A Stone can form in the gland or in the duct and cause obstruction. Obstruction to the flow of saliva causes the saliva to build up in the gland - this causes a pain...

Being an ENT Specialist with a considerable Paediatric practice, I am frequently asked by parents whether their child needs the annual Flu Vaccine.   They often tell me "according to the Internet she/he should get it".  Following this line of reasoning, I decided to abandon my textbooks for a change and ‘Google’ it.  This is what I learnt: The top results that came up after typing in " Should my child get a Flu Vaccine ?" are as follows:  Caring For Children : All children over 6 months old should get the flu shot each year. That would mean a child from 6 months to 18 years of age.  Mayo Clinic :  In most cases, yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the yearly flu (influenza) vaccine for all children 6months and older - ideally given as soon as the vaccine is available each year.  KidsHealth:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age...

The sense of SMELL is one of our five basic senses - apart from touch, vision, hearing and taste. It is a higher and an aesthetic sense which, apart from helping us get the flavour out of food (Flavour is a combination of the sense of Taste and Smell) also helps us appreciate the finer things around us. It has a very strong connection with the Limbic system - because as we all know a particular smell can take us down memory lane to very specific experiences in our life. Anosmia is described as the loss of the sense of smell. Anosmia may be temporary or permanent depending on the cause of the problem and the extent of the lesion/ damage. TYPES Abnormalities in the sense of smell can be of various types -  HYPOSMIA - Reduction in the sense of smell - due to lower transmission of nerve impulses. ANOSMIA - Complete loss of sense of smell - due to a complete break in the transmission of nerve impulses. PAROSMIA - an abnormal sense of smell - due to abnormal cross-...

Vertigo, Dizziness, Giddiness, Imbalance are complex related symptoms that can trouble the patient as well as confound and confuse the clinician trying to make sense of it. Vertigo is typically the sensation that the world around you is spinning or sometimes that the world around you is steady but you are spinning around. The imbalance is usually a different symptom in which there is a sense of swaying to one side, loss of confidence in walking, especially on unsteady surfaces or at night. There are many causes of true vertigo - from BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), Meniere's Disease, Vestibular Neuritis, Labyrinthitis, Migraine associated Vertigo, Drug-induced Vertigo etc.  One of the most critical aspects in diagnosing a patient with Vertigo is to take a thorough history of the Vertigo itself- When does it occur, what precipitates it, how long does it last, what makes it better, is there accompanying nausea/ vomiting, is it accompanied with headache/s e...

What is an Antibiotic? A simple course of an Antibiotic to a child gets rid of good bacteria from the gut - these may take up to 6 months to be replenished. We are increasingly concerned about that. Most upper respiratory tract infections are viral in origin - an antibiotic is not required  Once started an Antibiotic must be taken in the correct dosage and for the proper duration - do not stop because you are feeling better on the second day. There are very few newer antibiotic molecules in the pipeline - we have to depend on what we have. Undigested antibiotics are passed on in the stools - we do not know the effect these have on the environment. Antibiotic usage can sometimes cause life-threatening side effects, including anaphylactic reaction. Why you should not start one on your own ANTIBIOTIC ANTI - Against BIOS - Life ANTIBIOTIC = Against Life In its most common use,   and Antibiotic is a medicine that destroys or slows down the multi...