General Medicine at Lotus Diagnostic Centre 

Overview

Our General Medicine OPD provides consultation, diagnosis, and treatment for health-related issues in adults across a broad span of ailments.

At Lotus Diagnostic, we have a team of general physicians who dedicate the required time and attention to understand the condition of patients for general ailments. They advise on the best possible treatment plan to ensure they lead a comfortable life. Our doctors focus on building a wonderful rapport with patients where it becomes easier to secure their consent to work on medical advice given to achieve desired health results for them. Our approach is holistic where treatment is aligned with lifestyle medication include focus on diet, fitness and mental wellbeing that enables the patients to partner strongly for recovery.

Our Physicians have deep expertise in diagnosing and treating a wide variety of non-surgical diseases affecting the internal organs of the body. They manage simple and complex medical situations where multiple diseases may affect one person.

Why Choose Lotus? 

Lotus is a multi-speciality clinic with fast inter-departmental cross referral, in-house investigations, and deep rapport with doctors across hospitals.

The services at General Medicine OPD provide treatment for common conditions affecting the human body.

Our Services

1. Diagnosis and treatment of disorders related to neurology, cardiac health, respiratory system, gastroenterology, endocrine systems and haematology
2. Vaccination advice for adults or travellers
3. Certificate for fitness, illness
4. Master health check-ups
5. Advice regarding lifestyle diseases, diet, etc.

When Should You Visit a General Medicine Expert

Urinary Tract Infection

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of the urinary system which comprises of kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Most infections involve the lower urinary tract — the bladder and the urethra.

Women are at greater risk of developing a UTI compared to men as they have a shorter urethra. Bacteria don’t have to travel very far to reach and infect a woman’s bladder. Infection limited to the bladder can be quite uncomfortable and it can have serious consequences if the infection spreads to the kidneys.

Fever

We are said to be experiencing fever when our body temperature is higher than normal. The normal temperature of the body is usually around 98.6 F. Having fever is a sign that the body is trying to fight an illness or infection. It is a symptom and not a disease. It is a normal body defence mechanism.

Fevers are caused by chemicals called pyrogens flowing in the bloodstream. Pyrogens make their way to the hypothalamus in the brain, which is in charge of regulating body temperature. When pyrogens bind to certain receptors in the hypothalamus, body temperature rises in a bid to kill the virus or bacteria.  Fever also activates your body’s immune system.

Chest pain

Chest pains can occur in various forms. It could be in form of a sharp stabbing feeling in the chest area or it can linger as a dull ache. Often patients also complain of a crushing or burning sensation. It can lead to referred pain that travels up into the neck region, jaw and even move further into the arms. This can turn life-threatening when the reasons involve the heart or lungs function disorder.

It is strongly recommended not to ignore any such symptom and see a consultant doctor immediately to identify the cause of the pain.

Cough

When something irritates our throat or airway passage, we tend to cough to remove this obstruction. An occasional cough is normal and healthy. A cough that persists for several weeks or one that brings up any discoloured or bloody mucus may indicate a serious medical condition that needs immediate attention of a physician.

Prolonged, vigorous coughing can cause lung irritation triggering off more coughing episodes. Since coughing involves the diaphragm and external intercostal muscle to stress itcan be exhausting. It may prevent the patient from lying down leading tosleeplessness. The patient may experience dizziness or fainting, headaches, urinary incontinence, vomiting, and even broken ribs if coughing is too forceful

Thyroid Disorders

Our thyroid gland manufactures hormones that regulate the body’s metabolism. When our thyroid gland is not functioning well we may experience some of the following symptoms:

• Gaining unexplained weight
• Joint or muscular pain.
• Feeling of depression or sorrow.
• Tiredness, weakness or Fatigue
• Feeling excessive cold even in warm temperatures.
• Pale, dry skin.

Goitre, Thyroid nodules, and Thyroid cancer are some of the serious ailments related to thyroid.

At Lotus General Medicine speciality, in addition to thorough medical history and physical exam, specialized tests are used to diagnose thyroid disorders.

Blood tests are typically done to measure levels of thyroid hormones and TSH. Blood tests such as titers of anti-thyroglobulin, anti-thyroperoxidase, or TSH receptor stimulating antibodies may be requested to detect antibodies, if any against thyroid tissue.

Imaging tests are commonly used when thyroid looks enlarged or presence of nodules are felt on physical examination. Generally ultrasounds are used as they can help the radiologist understand the consistency of the tissue within the gland and can often expose cysts or calcifications of any sort.

Thyroid scans using radioactive iodine are often undertaken to assess the function of thyroid nodules. In the body, only the thyroid gland can absorb iodine. So  when radioactively labelled iodine is administered, the scan is able to show the uptake by the thyroid gland.

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) – A thin needle is inserted into the area of investigation and cells are removed. It is then spread on a slide, and evaluated for cellular deformities. It is often performed under ultrasound guidance.

Bronchial Asthma

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. It is associated with symptoms of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and coughing particularly at night or in the early morning. These episodes are triggered by multiple things including stress, pollens, chemicals pollution smoke etc. Patients experience much relief following medication and prevention protocol. When the attacks happen immediate first aid can bring in much relief in restoring normal breathing. However, when left  unattended it can quickly digress into a deteriorative state where external breathing support has to be arranged. Medication revolves around improving airflow through dilators.

Onset of asthma can occur at any age, but children and young adults are commonly affected. Although asthma cannot be cured, clinical episode can be prevented and controlled by proper management.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or acid reflux

This is a condition where the patient experiences a reflux of stomach contents into the oesophagus. It is commonly known as heartburn. Heartburn is a burning sensation in the chest, radiating upward into the mouth, as a result of acid reflux into the oesophagus

Acid reflux occurs when the sphincter muscle at the lower end of your oesophagus relaxes at the wrong time, allowing stomach acid to back up into your oesophagus. One of the leading reasons for this could be hiatal hernia. It is best to consult a doctor if the symptoms persist.

Arrhythmias

An arrhythmia is an abnormal change in the heart beat. This could be irregular patterns of heart beat like- skipped or rapid heartbeats (tachycardia) or slow heartbeats (Bradycardia. The diagnosis of the Arrhythmias follows the location of irregular heart beat patterns. It can be of many types:

• Atrial or supraventricular arrhythmias (Upper chamber of the heart)
• Ventricular arrhythmias (Lower chambers of the heart)

Ventricular arrhythmias are known to be associated with structural heart diseases and genetic disorders that can lead to the serious life-threatening and incapacitating conditions.

Angina Pectoris

This is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. It occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get as much blood as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart’s arteries is narrowed or blocked, also called ischemia.

Bloating & Gastritis

Acute gastritis generally  causes an acute upset stomach, with upper abdominal pain or discomfort . This is because the body tries to get rid of the irritant in the stomach. Other symptoms can include: nausea and vomiting, bloating and gas formation. Nature of symptoms may vary, where some people do not have gastritis symptoms, but when they do they include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, and belching, which is an unpleasant sensation.