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MOUSE-THE MENACE

Let me first assure the readers that the topic is not about the vehicle used by LORD GANESH, but one of the essential accessories of MODERN COMPUTER-THE MOUSE! When Mr. PANCHANATHAM got the exposition to this modern MAGIC BOX of PC at a comparatively late age of 65 he was fascinated by its capacity to execute innumerable jobs at an amazing speed and he was finding unique pleasure in holding and caressing the 'tortoise like' back of the MOUSE, that was smooth and sturdy. He had no mind to leave his grip over this handy object even when clicking is not in the offing. Perhaps he was under the illusion that frequent handling may disturb his concentration to study things of interest under various sites in the net. In this posture of a statue he used to be engrossed in front of the screen with occasional operation over key board for hours and hours. Some times his faithful wife would quietly spread snacks or tea in the little space available, promptly reminding him at frequent intervals from a distance to help himself. On those occasions he used to give a mechanized signal either by sound or body language. It is a different thing that on many occasions tea or snacks were left unattended or taken very lately when they become absolutely cold. He used to get the wrath of his better half for his strange attachment to a lifeless object even ignoring personal comfort. What Mr. Panchanatham was trying to get from the net? As a retired person what were those things that were permanently engaging his attention every day of a week and 52 weeks of a year? The curiosity of the readers are justified as after an hour only sitting in front of PC and endlessly operating the mouse and key board makes you tiresome and fatigue over takes you. It is completely a different thing that many young and middle aged are indulging in this exercise every day for hours together more out of compulsion than by desire. It is a known secret that every day scores of youngsters are affected by computer related diseases that are of recent origin and also baffling the medical experts to get at the correct remedial action by taking them case by case. This has become a much discussed global issue while nobody can afford to leave this demon of PC as it is bread and butter for majority. The mystery of solving the damages created by modern computers is more deepened as there were no similar and strange ailments even as recently as 20 years back in the absence of these unique and fast reacting computers.

Let us go back to Mr. Panchanatham's addiction to computer and also the causes of the same. Even as a young boy our friend was having varied interests in science, sports, philosophy, and astronomy and so on. It is also a fact that there were only limited resources for this ever hungry man to get the updated advancement in all fields of study and knowledge. But he made the best use of available channels of teachers, libraries, friends and relatives. In the absence of TV, RADIO, and specialized journals on different topics during those days it was a Herculean task to keep pace with hot and latest developments. But all on a sudden even during his life time THE COMPUTER was born and in no time it developed leaps and bounds and still developing with astonishing speed. A few days back the updated version of the soft ware MOZILLA FIRE FOX has been down loaded by millions of people around the globe with amazing improvements and our friend is not an exception. After his retirement from government service and also a few years in a private company PANCHA acquired a PC with all its accessories, learnt the nuances of its full exploitation and also plunged in to the ocean of internet, head long with the greed of drinking every drop of water out of it. He was in a similar position of a 5 year old boy entering in THE DISNEYLAND with the dilemma of making the choice of his PLAY. He was found it was fathomless on any subject whether sports, science, politics, news, live cricket, live Wimbledon and so on. Actually he was in heaven when he was witnessing our great VISWANATHAN ANAND winning the WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP at dead of the night when he could witness move by move and also the reaction of the players LIVE in the internet. His occasional shouts and excitements over good moves by his hero in that dead of a night was a nuisance to his family members. Being an ardent chess player himself he became a member of INTERNET CHESS and got the thrill of playing against unknown players around the globe. He was reading all international magazines like TIMES, PUNCH and all leading Indian papers. He had also not left any area in the field of "creative articles" by contributing to WEBSITE JOURNALS. He found that 24 hours of a day was hardly sufficient to cater his adventurism with the computer. He had also to get print out of so many interesting matters from the net. Slowly all his friends, relatives and even casual visitors have become aware of his thoughtless attachment to this machine, that was unbecoming of his age and responsibility. A few well wishers were also warning him about the dangerous consequences of damaging his health neglecting other important assignments. But PANCHA was heedlessly proceeding with his habits until that fateful day.

The day started as usual as any other day for the senior citizen Mr.Panchanatham. He merrily glided and surfed through innumerable websites of his liking and ended the day still not quenched with his persistent thirst for knowledge. He retired to his bed late in the night after a cup of milk only to get up with a shooting pain from his elbow up to the end of his fingers of his right hand. Some times it stopped momentarily-but again it was troubling him severely. He tried shaking his hand violently with the hope to put off the pain. He tried different postures of sleep with the right hand also at varying positions with the valiant hope of at least minimizing his agony. After sometime it became clear to him that the case was serious and there was no more hope of sleeping for that night. He must go to a doctor immediately after the day is dawn to come out of this hell like situation. Meanwhile he started thinking deeply as what could have caused his present plight. He suspected that he could have twisted some of his nerve at the time of handling the bar bell during exercise. Yes! Pancha is also an exercise maniac even at that age and he was equally devoted to his exercise routines to the same degree as with computer. But there was no visible swelling on the entire stretch of hand to doubt about bone or muscular disorder. He even tried applying ointments like IODEX for some relief. Just to forget his agonizing pain he was exploring all the TV channels which he had never bothered to see hither to. Minutes and hours were ticking for PANCHA at an agonizingly slow pace given to his ordeals. His wife was also disturbed by the sound and light of the TV and was startled to see her partner engaged unusually for him to be in front of the idiot box at that odd hour. After hearing his trouble she scolded him for not calling and immediately, prepared hot water and filled the hot water bag hoping to give him relief by massaging. But there was not much of a relief coming forth. Though Mrs. PANCHANATHAM was not having the knowledge to operate the computer she was sufficiently intelligent to gather information from her neighbor whose sister-in-law was seriously affected by over exposition to the computer with the result that she was having similar pains for which she was taking treatment for months. As a matter of fact she was warning him frequently in this regard. But Mr. Pancha used to treat such fears with contempt claiming that he was fittest for his age and well beyond the scope of such diseases. When his wife reminded abut the neighbor's predicament, and was sure about the cause of his suffering, he was hardly impressed and still believed that there must be some other reason. At last the day dawned for our unfortunate friend whose first assignment was to fix an emergency appointment with the best neuro surgeon/specialist. Actually it was the initiative of his daughter in the city, who had no doubt about the cause of his father's predicament. After a thorough examination that expert had no problem in diagnosing the disease that was computer related as CORPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME. Now I earnestly request my readers to forget about that overconfident-rather foolish old man by name Mr. PANCHANATHAM for the time being and be serious in hearing about this computer related disease, its manifestation, remedy, treatment and prevention in their own interest.

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME-(CTS)

CARPUS is a word derived from the Greek word "KARPOS' which means wrist. The wrist is surrounded by a bond of fibrous tissues that normally functions as a support for the joint. That tight space between this fibrous bond and the wrist bone is called the CARPAL TUNNEL. The MEDIAN nerve passes through the CARPAL TUNNEL to receive sensations from the fingers of the hand. Any condition that causes swelling or a change in position of the tissue within the CARPAL TUNNEL can squeeze and irritate the median nerve in this manner causes tingling and numbness of the fingers, a condition known as "CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME". Initially feels numbness and tingling of the hand in the distribution of median nerve. These sensations are often pronounced at night. As the disease progresses patients can develop a burning sensation, cramping and weakness of the hand. Some examples-inability to punch the gas lighter, inability to knot the shoe lace, inability to open the door with the key, inability to use the nail cutter, inability to cut fruits & vegetables, inability to hold the tea cup by its ear and so on. The main reason being that the muscles under the thumb are sufficiently weakened that thumb loses most of its strength. If left unattended those muscles may be destroyed in due course making the king of fingers powerless. Can you imagine the plight with a thumb that cannot function to the optimum level? Also occasionally sharp shooting pains can be felt in the forearm. CURE-Immediate rest for some time. For initial attack VITAMINE B-6 may give relief to a limited extent. CORTICO STEROIDS-by mouth such as PREDNISONE or injected directly in to the involved wrist joint a CORTICO STEROID by name CORTISONE may bring rapid relief of the persistent symptoms of CTS.

In the initial stages by proper stretching, changes in diet, reducing or stopping the strain on the muscles in the carpal area. After exhausting all the above options if the dreaded CTS persist for more than a duration of 6 months, the less recommended option is SURGERY. Surgical treatment involves severing the bond of tissues around the wrist to reduce /release pressure on the MEDIAN nerve. The surgical procedure is called CARPAL TUNNEL RELEASE. However there is lot of after effects associated with the surgery as it involves regular exercise of the wrist and fingers after the operation to bring back the affected fingers to a functional level. Also the workers may have to take leave from their occupation after the surgery that may involve financial loss. But there is a wonderful protector or guard for those who are affected and also for others as a preventive step. This band protects the wrist from receiving pressure on the MEDIAN NERVE. It is also known as CARPAL TUNNEL SPLINT that is available from leading surgical stores costing only a few hundred rupees. It can also be prevented by avoiding the wrist portion touching the key board in a parallel position for a long time. There are also a few other diseases associated with back, neck, eyes and so on when any body is to operate the computer for long stretches. Particularly the height of the revolving chair may be positioned to firmly touch the floor with your feet.

Another basic MANTRA is 20-20-20. The meaning is for every 20 minutes leave the chair for 20 seconds and even while you are walking and stretching your body and fingers try to look beyond 20 feet. To go back to Mr. PANCHA he is at present cured almost but for the numbness in his little finger for which he is taking the following capsules and tablets as prescribed by a famous neuro surgeon--- PREGABA-75, REMYLIN and GGG 24. Perhaps he may have to take these very strong medicines for months as the improvement is very slow. But it is unfortunate that even in these conditions he was busy in his world of INTERNET by using his left hand. Who knows, he may even try his feet after meeting the same fate of his right hand to his left. By seeing his incorrigible attitude his affectionate daughter has presented him with the above CARPAL TUNNEL SPLINT which he has already started using to prevent further deterioration. Please don't be surprised if the senior citizen Mr. PANCHANATHAM has contributed any article in the website by name LITTLE FAIRIES built upon his personal predicament by his over exposure to computer.

N.B.-READERS ARE STRICLY WARNED NOT TO USE THE ABOVE CURES WITH OUT CONSULTING A PERSONAL PHYSICIAN, THOUGH THEY ARE ADVOCATED BY REPUTED DOCTORS.

BY J.PANCHAPAGESAN FLAT-11,130 GILL NAGAR EXTN STREET CHOOLAIMEDU CHENNAI PH-044 23744963 EMAIL id- jpanchapagesan@yahoo.co.in