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BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea is defined as the passage of loose, liquid or watery stools more than three times a day. Though simple and effective treatment measures are available which can markedly reduce diarrhea associated morbidity and mortality, yet in developing countries due to poor diarrhea and Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) related knowledge, diarrhoea still continues to be a major public health problem. The study aimed to estimate the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers in the management of diarrhoea among under-five children in a rural area of India. METHODS: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers having children below five years of age in rural area of India. Proportionate sampling technique was used to recruit mothers. A pretested, pre designed structured questionnaire was used to obtained the data. RESULTS: A total of 382 mothers were participated in the study. The mean age of study participants was 25.72 ± 3.98 years. Overall knowledge score showed that (74.6%) three-fourth of the study participants had average knowledge regarding diarrhoeal management. Majority of the mothers (62.6%) showed positive attitude in diarrhoea management. The practice scores showed that nearly half of the study participants (50.3%) had good practice regarding diarrhoea management. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of mothers regarding management of diarrhoea among under-five children was average and most mothers had positive attitude. However, only half of the mothers had good practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media (SM) use saw a sharp raise, especially for obtaining information regarding COVID-19 during the lockdown. SM platforms also led to misinformation about the disease which caused negative psychological effects on individuals. Bank employees (BE) are special workgroups who experience various levels of mental stress at their workplace due to workload. During lockdown and till date many of the BE work from home which enabled them to use SM accordingly. Objective: The study was conducted to assess the stress levels and anxiety levels due to usage of SM in young BE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online Google form questionnaire was distributed to the participants using convenient and snowball sampling method. The final sample consisted of 126 Goan young BE. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive analysis. Results: The results of the study revealed that SM use had significant impact on the BE, with a potential negative effect on developing stress and anxiety. 10.3% (13) of the participants experienced low stress and 89.7% (113) experienced moderate stress. 51.6% (65) of the participants had mild anxiety, 10.3% (13) had moderate anxiety, and 38.1% (48) had severe anxiety. Conclusion: The present study concludes that increased SM use among the BE was associated with negative psychological outcomes. Anxiety and stress were associated with the time spent on using SM sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2003, the COTPA act was enacted to control and prohibit tobacco use all over India. It has focused on advertisement, prohibition of sale of tobacco products to below 18 years individual, etc., Objective: The objective was to determine the awareness of cigarette and tobacco legislation among college students of Belagavi city. Materials and Methods: A pre-post study was conducted, comprising 101 urban participants and 96 rural participants of average age 17.35 ± 0.657 years in colleges in and around Belagavi taluka. The students were selected randomly. The awareness on COTPA was assessed using a pretested structured questionnaire before and after an educational intervention. Paired t-test was calculated to identify the difference in the pre- and post-test awareness scores. Results: The mean age of the participants was 17.35 ± 0.657 years. The pretest and posttest awareness scores among the urban participants was 8.22 ± 2.982 and 11.80 ± 1.995, respectively. Similarly, the pretest and posttest awareness scores among the rural participants was 10.28 ± 1.845 and 12.67 ± 0.496, respectively. The result showed a significant difference in pre- and post-test scores, indicating increase in awareness of both urban and rural participants after an effective interventional program. Conclusion: The study concludes that the health education had a good impact on awareness on COTPA among all participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The pharmacists were trained mainly to dispense medicines only over prescriptions. Despite guidelines, practice of dispensing medicines without prescription has been widely practiced worldwide. The problem and burden of drug resistance are increasing worldwide due to this practice. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge and practice of pharmacists on drug dispensing practices without prescription in Belagavi City. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January and April 2021 among 80 pharmacists in different areas of Belagavi city. Pharmacists were selected by the simple random technique. Data were collected using the structured questionnaire. The obtained data were tabulated, and the Chi-square test was used to determine the association between the nominal variables. Results: Pharmacists had a good knowledge about laws regarding practice of dispensing without prescription. The practice of dispensing nonover-the-counter drugs without prescription was found to be 32.5% in an average. Pharmacists' fear of losing customers was the primary reason for dispensing without prescription. A significant association was found between knowledge score of pharmacists and job status of pharmacist (P = 0.043*) and location of pharmacy (P = 0.05*). The frequency of dispensing medicines without prescription was found to be significantly associated with age of staffs dispensing (P = 0.04*) and with their education status (P = 0.04*). Conclusion: Pharmacists had an average level of knowledge regarding the practice of dispensing drugs without prescription in India. However, pharmacists tend to dispense medicines without prescription on request of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myiasis is a rare condition seen in oral cavity caused by maggots. Most commonly associated with poor oral hygiene, mouth breathing, alcoholism, severe halitosis, trauma (accidents) and others conditions. The treatment in Myiasis is by mechanical removal of maggots. Different solutions are used for removing the larvae. Commonly used are oil of turpentine, phenol, creosote, chlorides, etc. The present case report is of Myiasis in a 15-year-old mentally retarded girl who came with complaint of bleeding from the mouth. The clinical examination of oral cavity revealed the presence of larvae in anterior labial gingival and sulcus of maxilla. Treatment was manual removal of larvae using oil of turpentine and antibiotics. Health education and awareness is required for proper maintenance of oral hygiene especially in mentally challenged individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]