Dr Harsh Sharma Mohali, Punjab

Piles or Hemorrhoids (called Bawasir in Hindi language) is a disease affecting the anal region. The veins in the rectal area swell due to stagnation of blood. The swollen veins cause pain, itching and discomfort while passing stool, sitting, standing or walking. The pain may last for a long time after passing stool. In some patients, there may be bleeding while passing stool. This is known as bleeding piles. The piles may be internal or external depending upon the location of the veins. When the problem is severe, the piles may protrude from the rectum and may have to be pushed back manually.

Mumps or parotitis is a contagious viral infectious disease that affects the salivary glands. It is caused by a paramyxovirus. The most commonly affected gland is the parotid gland. There are 3 pairs of salivary glands situated in the face. These 3 salivary glands are the parotid gland, the sublingual gland and the submandibular gland. All these glands have an opening or a duct opening into the mouth. The parotid gland is situated just below and slightly in front of our ears. That is why the most common symptom of mumps is swelling just below and around the ear. Parotitis used to be quite a common disease till the mumps vaccine became a part of the routine vaccination process. The MMR vaccine is now a routine vaccine that is given to every child. The incidence of parotitis has reduced all over the world after introduction of this vaccine. Incidentally, the principle of vaccination is similar to that of Homeopathy. In a vaccine, a live attenuated virus or an inactivated virus is introduced into the body. This causes the body to produce antibodies against that particular virus. This allows the body to develop an active immunity against that virus which lasts for a lifetime.