Novel Recommendations to Enhance the Quality of Life in Patients with Neuropathy in Hansen's Disease

Patients with leprosy (Hansen's disease) may have peripheral neuropathy leading to loss of thermal and tactile sensitivity which may further lead to disabilities and deformities. Those patients with nerve function impairment in their hands while tending to everyday activities such as holding utensils, consuming hot beverages, and handling sharp objects during household chores are prone to develop trauma on their hands leading to ulceration. For prevention of heat induced and other mechanical trauma, we propose innovative solutions such as using thermochromic painted utensils, corrugated paper cups, and cut-resistant gloves to overcome these hindrances. These will avoid the chances of developing non-healing ulcerations and thereby improve the quality of life of the patient

Antifungal activity of three mouth rinses--in vitro study.

Mouthrinses are nowadays routinely included in the home care oral hygiene maintenance besides dentifrice/tooth paste. Mouthrinses prevent bacterial attachment and prevent or slow down bacterial proliferation. Fungal organisms have now gained more importance due to increased incidence of AIDS/HIV. This has necessitated for mouthrinses to possess antifungal activity also. The mouthrinses used were Povidone iodine ( Wokadine), Thymol with Eucalyptol and Benzoic acid (Listerine) and fluoride with Triclosan (Colgate Plax), which were tested against oral isolates of different species of Candida. The agar diffusion test was used to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the mouthrinses and all of them exhibited antifungal activity especially against Candida albicans.