An emergency condition is one that can permanently impair or endanger your life or life-threatening.
common conditions which require emergency medical care:

• Convulsions, seizures, or loss of consciousness
• Heavy, uncontrollable bleeding
• Severe abdominal pain
• Severe chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Heart attack symptoms, such as chest pain that lasts longer than two minutes
• Stroke
• Anaphylactic reaction
• Exacerbation of chronic diseases like COPD, asthma
• Someone collapses

Stoke is a brain attack. It occurs when the blood flow to an area of brain is cut off.when this happens,brain cells are deprived of oxygen and begin to die.
Common symptoms, such as loss of consciousness or confusion, sudden numbness, weakness of a part of body, slurred speech, blurred or loss of vision,dizziness, severe headache.

Symptoms of heart attack are severe chest pain radiate to left shoulder and arm, neck, back and upper abdomen. One can experience dizziness, sweating, clammy skin, heart burn, anxiety, palpitations, shortness of breath,dyspepsia.

Anaphylaxis is a severe,potentially life threatening allergic reaction. It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you are allergic to,such as peanuts or bee stings. Common triggers include certain foods, some medications, insect venom.
Signs and symptoms include:

• Skin reactions associated with itching
• Low blood pressure
• Constriction of your airways and a swollen tongue or throat which can cause wheezing and trouble breathing
• A weak and rapid pulse
• Dizziness or fainting

An acute exacerbation of COPD or asthama refers to a flare-up or episode where a person’s breathing becomes worse than normal.
Common triggers are infection within the lungs or the body, severe allergy or from inhlating irritation substances from the environment, heavy air pollution,weather changes,being under stress or feeling Signs and symptoms of exacerbation are:

• More wheezing than normal
• Perstistent cough
• Extreme shortness of breath or shallow or rapid breathing
• Large increase in mucus production
• Change in the color of mucus,which may be yellow,green or bloody
• Fever
• Confusion
• swelling in the feet or ankles

People of all age groups, regions and countries are affected by NCDs. Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors contributing to NCDs. People of unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activity may show up as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids and obesity. These are called metabolic risk factors that can lead to cardiovascular disease, the leading NCD in terms of premature deaths.

Risk factors could be modifiable or metabolic.

1. Modifiable behavioural factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol, all increase the risk of NCDs
2. Metabolic risk factors contribute to four key metabolic changes that increase the risk of NCDs:
   • raised blood pressure
   • overweight/obesity
   • hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels) and
   • hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood).

Obesity is a state of excess adipose tissue mass. The most widely used method to gauge obesity is the body mass index (BMI),which is equal to weight/height2 (in kg/m2). Other approaches to quantifying obesity include anthropometry (skinfold thickness), densitometry (underwaterweighing), computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electrical impedance.
Normal BMI range from 19 to 26kg/m2. Women have more body fat than men. A BMI of 30 is most commonly used as a threshold for obesity in both men and women. The term overweight used to describe individuals with BMI between 25 and 30. Obesity is associated with an increase in mortality, with a 50–100% increased risk of death from all causes compared to normal-weight individuals, mostly due to cardiovascular causes. Obesity and overweight together are the second leading cause of preventable death. Life expectancy of a moderately obese individual could be shortened by 2–5 years.

Intraabdominal and abdominal subcutaneous fat have more significance than subcutaneous fat in the buttocks and lower extremities. This distinction made clinically by determining waist-hip ratio of >0.9 in women and >1.0 for men being abnormal. Obesity has major adverse effects on health.
Obesity affects particular organ systems :

• Insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
• Cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, coronary disease,congestive heart failure
• Pulmonary disease- obstructive sleep apnea and obesity hypoventilation syndrome
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver,gall stones,
• Obesity in males associated with higher mortality from cancer of esophagus,colon,pancreas,liver; obesity in females is associated with higher mortality from cancers of thr gall bladder,breasts,cervix and ovaries
• Increased risk of osteo-arthritis
• Skin problems-acanthosis nigricans (reflects the severity of underlying insulin resistance),manifested by darkening and thickening of the skin folds on the neck,elbows,and dorsal interphalangeal spaces

The hormone by name insulin is not secreted by the organ called pancreas, located behind the stomach; or the target cells(muscle,liver,fat etc) are resistant to the action of available insulin.
Normally our blood sugar level before eating is 70-100mg/dl and after eating is less than 140mg/dl. DIABETES is said be there if fasting Blood sugar is ≥ 126mg/dl and the post meal sugar is ≥ 200mg/dl.

Patients with diabetes may present with extreme thirst, frequent urination, extreme tiredness, significant weight loss, impaired healing of wounds, numbness, tingling sensation of the extremities, blurring of vision, etc.

High sugars damage the Blood vessels and nerves hence all the parts of our body may be affected.
Major problems are:

• Higher risk for heart attack and stroke
• Diabetic patients are more prone to kidney failure
• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness.
• Recurrent urinary tract infections
• Increased risk of infections like tuberculosis, pneumonia (lung infection), fungal infections.

Four simple steps are:

1. Therapeutic Eating
2. Therapeutic Exercise: Exercise at least 30-60minutes a day, for at least 10 –20 minutes each time. Other exercises: Some of the other activities like swimming, dancing, cycling, playing volley ball, basket ball etc are also beneficial in diabetic patients.
3. Regular medications : Oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin.
4. Regular monitoring : Monitoring of Blood sugar monitoring is the key for good care.

• Target HbA1C is to attain below 6.6-7%
• Blood pressure– High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. (Target BP below 140/90 mmHg)
• Cholesterol level–High cholesterol level increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious problems. ( Target is to keep LDL cholesterol level below 100 )

Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs

Signs and symptoms vary depending on the organism causing the infection, but often include fever and fatigue. Mild infections may respond to rest and home remedies, while some life-threatening infections may require hospitalization.
General signs and symptoms common to a number of infectious diseases include:
Fever ,diarrhea, fatigue, muscle aches, coughing Seek medical attention if you:

• Have been bitten by an animal
• Are having trouble breathing
• Have been coughing for more than a week
• Have severe headache with fever
• Experience a rash or swelling
• Have unexplained or prolonged fever
• Have sudden vision problems

An easy way to catch most infectious diseases is by coming in contact with a person or animal who has the infection.

1. Direct contact :
   • Person to person through coughing,sneezing, body fluids, sexual contact
   • Animal to person-Being bitten or scratched by an infected animal, while handling animal waste
   • Mother to unborn child. A pregnant woman may pass germs that cause infectious diseases to her unborn baby. Some germs can pass through the placenta. Germs in the vagina can be transmitted to the baby during birth
2. Indirect contact –through an inanimate object
3. Insect bite- such as mosquitoes, fleas, lice . examples –malaria,dengue.
4. Food and water contamination. Example: Typhoid fever

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.
TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air.

Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in developing countries.
People infected with TB bacteria have a 5–15% lifetime risk of falling ill with TB. However, persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a much higher risk of falling ill. Tobacco use greatly increases the risk of TB disease and death. 7.9% of TB cases worldwide are attributable to smoking.

TB commonly presents as a disease of thr lungs. However,the infection can spread via blood from the lungs to all organs in the body. You can develop TB in the pleura(the covering of the lungs),in the bones,the urinary tract and sexual organs,the intestines and even in the skin.
Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pain, weakness, lack of appetite, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Symptoms varies according to the system which has affected.

You should contact doctor If
you have a perstistent cough with sputum for more than 3 weeks or
you see blood in your sputum or
unexplained weight loss or
unexplained night sweats

TB is a treatable and curable disease. Active, drug-susceptible TB disease is treated with a standard 6-9 months course of 4 antimicrobial drugs that are provided with information, supervision and support to the patient. The vast majority of TB cases can be cured when medicines are provided and taken properly.
It is possible to become resistant to the standard anti-TB when anti-TB medicines are used inappropriately, poor quality drugs, and patients stopping treatment prematurely, then the treatment regimen changes and prolongs the duration of the treatment.

TB is reduced with better housing and less over-crowding. The most important step is to find, isolate and treat all disease carriers until they are no longer an infective risk to others. It is always advisable not to get too close to people who are coughing; equally, people with a cough should be aware of those around them and try not to cough or spit near them.

• Wash your hands -before and after preparing food, before eating, and after using the toilet
• Get vaccinated
• Stay home when ill and don't send your child to school if he or she has these signs and symptoms, either
• Prepare food safely
• Practice safe sex. Always use condoms if you or your partner has a history of sexually transmitted infections or high-risk behavior
• Don't share personal items
• Travel wisely. If you're traveling out of the country, talk to your doctor about any special vaccinations — such as yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A or B, or typhoid fever