Pregnancy is a special physiological condition where drug treatment presents a special concern because the physiology of pregnancy affects the pharmacokinetics of medications used and certain medications can reach the fetus and cause harm. Total avoidance of pharmacological treatment in pregnancy is not possible and may be dangerous because some women enter pregnancy with medical conditions that require ongoing and episodic treatment (e.g. asthma, epilepsy, hypertension). Also during pregnancy new medical problems can develop and old ones can be exacerbated (e.g. migraine, headache) requiring pharmacological therapy. The fact that certain drugs given during pregnancy may prove harmful to the unborn child is one of the classical problems in medical treatment. In 1960's pregnant ladies who ingested thalidomide gave birth to children with phocomalia. Various other examples of teratogenic effects of drugs are known. It has been documented that congenital abnormalities caused by human teratogenic drugs account for less than 1% of total congenital abnormalities. Hence in 1979, Food and Drug Administration developed a system that determines the teratogenic risk of drugs by considering the quality of data from animal and human studies. FDA classifies various drugs used in pregnancy into five categories, categories A, B, C, D and X. Category A is considered the safest category and category X is absolutely contraindicated in pregnancy. This provides therapeutic guidance for the clinician. This article focuses on various aspects relating to drug use during pregnancy.

Background: Nicotine is the primary contributor to cancer among users and harms nearly every organ in the body. Nicotine de-addiction is one of the best things that can protect the vulnerable body from disease. Nicotine de-addiction includes diverse methods from simple medical advice to pharmacotherapy. However, some people show serious withdrawal symptoms after quitting. It is therefore necessary to analyze the frequency of the use of various de-addiction methods and prevalence of withdrawal symptoms observed on quitting.Methods: The relevant information was collected from the community (friends, relatives, neighbours, students) using a specially designed Google form or data collection form, prepared in both English and Gujarati. Data collected was subjected to descriptive statistical analysis to determine the frequency distribution of various parameters using Microsoft excel.Results: 83.52% people were aware about the carcinogenic effects of nicotine containing tobacco products. 49.43% people attempted to quit using methods like nicotine replacement therapies, counselling and drug therapy. Out of which, 36.78% people were successful. It was observed that 75.86% people observed one or other withdrawal effects during the quitting attempt.Conclusions: Encouraging users for de-addiction can have positive cascading effects. De-addiction treatments in compliance with people are counselling, Nicotine patches and Nicotine gum. However, many people did not choose any of these methods may be due to cost and access barriers. Integration of nicotine replacement therapies and behavioural treatment must be recommended by the physicians to help their patients overcome this habit.

No abstract

An exaggerated immune reaction to a food that takes place in a vulnerable host is referred to as a food allergy. The two main types of food-induced allergy diseases are those caused by Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies and those caused by non-IgE-mediated mechanisms. These reactions are frequently brought on by food allergens such as egg, seafood, fruits, milk, soy, peanut, etc. In India, roughly 26.5% of the population has been impacted by food-induced allergy diseases. Age, sex, heredity, and geographic location of the patient, as well as vitamin D deficiency and other allergic reactions, are risk factors that might result in life-threatening food allergies. Skin prick test, oral food challenge, component resolved diagnostic testing are the most widely used diagnostic tests for food allergy. Pharmacotherapy of food induced allergic reactions include epinephrine therapy and use of antihistamine drugs. However, the main stay of treatment is avoidance of responsible food and food desensitization. Some home remedies can also be used in order to control allergic reactions caused by food allergens. All these remedies directly or indirectly improve the health of immune system to prevent food induced allergic reactions. The objective of this study was to throw a light on the pathogenesis, diagnostic methods and possible treatment options for food allergy.