Adroit's monsoon collection

TO mark the onset of monsoon, Adroit reveals its collection of saris, fatuas, shirts, panjabis, shalwar kameezes, t-shirts, all specially designed in the season's themes. These are done in block, appliqué, embroidery, and also a combination of separate mediums. The main colours of the collection are blue, white, green, parrot green, orange, light black, etc.

The price range of saris is between Tk.550-15480, shalwar kameez from Tk..799-3850, fatuas from Tk.350-1200, panjabis from Tk.550-3500, t-shirts between Tk.150-350, and shirts from Tk.490-990.

Children's clothes are also available. Price range: saris at Tk.200-550, panjabis at Tk.290-770, fatuas at Tk.140-450, shirts at Tk.150-280, and shalwar kameezes at Tk.300-700. Available at all showrooms in and outside Dhaka.

Skins for gadgets

GMASK has recently released World Cup Football related skin wrapping designs for electronic gadgets and is available for iPod, iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Macbook Pro, cell phone, laptop, camera, and many others.

Gmask Skin Wrap features a vibrant print, which not only brings you a feel of the game, but also provides a full-body skin wrap for your gadget. With Gmask, you will be assured of full protection of your gadget with the newest football theme design.

The feature is available at Bashundhara City, Riffles Square, Awal Centre And Shahpuri Tower, Chittagong.

Menz Klub

MONSOON is a season that demands a different look in fashion. Be it colour, patterns or cuts, this is a season that cries chic, sensible statements.

Menz Klub offers formals, casual tees and polo shirts at their Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong outlets. Also available are shoes and accessories.

Contact: 01678080801-16

Great news for brides-to-be!

FARZANA Shakil's Makeover Salon is back with its popular Bridal Packages starting 1 July to 31 August in time for the upcoming Bridal Season. You can choose from a range of Bridal packages best suited to your individual needs and budget. Your bridal party can also enjoy the benefits of the packages designed especially for them. Farzana Shakil's Makeover Salon also provides consultations on beauty care leading up to your big day.

Farzana Shakil's Makeover Salon also provides consultations on beauty care leading up to your big day. Every girl dreams of her wedding day from childhood and imagines how she will look on her special day. To help materialise your dreams you need the best there is in bridal services.

Contact #8812215 (Gulshan) or 9116057 (Dhanmondi) to book an appointment now.

Address Dhanmondi: House 3/A, Road 28 (old)/ Road 15 (new), Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205. Gulshan: House 1/B, Road 5 (opposite Pizza Hut), Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1212.

Sketch opens third outlet

“SKETCH” a house of fashion jewellery -- recently opened its third outlet on the first floor of Bashundhara City Shopping Mall due to increasing demand for their stylish and trendy looks.

Popular with the fashionable women, “Sketch” is known for its rich collection, some of which come from India, China, Korea and Thailand. Prominent personalities from all over the fashion world were invited for the opening ceremony, the CEO of “Sketch” also making her presence.

To celebrate the occasion, “Sketch” is providing its customers with a special offer. Every customer with a valid membership card can enjoy a year-round discount of five percent on shopping of Tk 1000 and ten percent discount on a spree of Tk 5000.

You can visit Sketch at Level #1, Block #C, Shop #81-82 at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall.

Thirty years of Mayuri

MAYURI, in celebration of completing their thirtieth year in business, held an anniversary programme at their Sunrise Plaza showroom on June 14. Present at the ceremony were State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Shirin Sharmin Chaudhary, Shegufta Yasmin Emily MP, Farhaduzzaman and many others. To mark this special occasion there will be a 10 percent discount on all saris at Mayuri's Sunrise Plaza showroom. This offer is valid till June 30.

Contact: Sunrise Plaza (second floor), Mirpur Road, Lalmatia. #8157192

Kay Kraft

“SHOBUJE SHOJEEBOTA" an aptly termed Monsoon Collection of Kay Kraft to suit the season is now on the racks. Over the years, there has been a growing culture to celebrate the coming of "Borsha" with much festivity and fervour.

For many, this is the season to rejoice after a long spell of the harsh summer; it is the time to reflect the vitality of nature; to express freshness through the attires we chose. It is of no surprise that we witness a plethora of colour being used namely-- white, green, grey, black, lime and the ubiquitous monsoon colour, blue!

There is something for everyone: man, woman and child. Saris remain the choice of the season yet the emphasis on shwalwar kameez needs to be mentioned. Although Bengali women get in touch with femininity with the ethereal garb, she feels comfort in shalwar kameez.

Men can opt for panjabis, or comfy fatuas, casual shirts and tees. The collection witnesses a crafty use of cotton, mixed cotton, and endi fabrics, which the wearer will find a relative ease as a summer a garment. The designs present a breathtaking display of hand block prints, tie-n-die and embroidery to highlight floral and geometric motifs on fabrics.

The children's range of "Shobuje Shojeebota" or Green Vitality features a colourful selection featuring tops, fatuas, frock, T-shirt and pants.

Kay Kraft's monsoon offering is available at all outlets.

Dear Doctor,
Would you please write about the burning issue of bad breath? You wrote about it three years ago but I do believe you will be able to provide current information on how to get rid of bad breath. Thanking you.
Sade

Dear Sade,
It has been a while since I wrote on bad breath. Its importance cannot be overemphasised, so here is my take on the common problem of bad breath.

Bad breath (halitosis)
You lean over to whisper something to your friend and you can tell by the look on your friend's face that something is up. Could it be your breath?

Bad breath (halitosis) can cause embarrassment, create social and psychological barriers, and even affect marriages. Sometimes, a person's bad breath can drive you away - and he or she may not realise there's a problem.

There are tactful ways of letting a person know that he or she has bad breath. You could offer mints or sugarless gum without having to say anything. The good news is that bad breath happens to everyone once in a while. Let's find out how to detect it, prevent it, and even treat it. In 70-80 percent of the cases, “bad breath” originates from the oral region, whereas the rest comes from other systemic problems.

What is Halitosis?
In most cases it originates from the gums and tongue. The odour is caused by bacteria from the decay of food particles, other debris in your mouth, and poor oral hygiene. The decay and debris produce a sulphur compound that causes the unpleasant odour.

Cause
If a person has healthy teeth and gums (i.e. no cavities or decay, periodontitis or gum disease, or abscesses or pus), the next most common source of oral malodour is the tongue.

Bacteria that produce volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) are found on the tongue surface, especially the posterior one third, the throat, teeth, and periodontal pockets in the gums.

Tongue and throat collect bacteria
Saliva from nearby glands drips down on the posterior region of the tongue, which is full of irregularities where bacteria love to hide. The anaerobic bacteria (bacteria which survive without oxygen) break down specific components (amino acids) of the saliva, creating certain gases or VSCs.

These VSCs have been implicated as a major contributing factor to halitosis. If your tongue has a white coating, this is evidence of excessive anaerobic bacteria build-up.

Dry mouth/mouth breathing
Mouth breathing during sleep dries the mouth, causes typical 'morning breath'. Other causes of dry mouth include medications (one of the most common side effects of thousands of medications), exercise, dieting, alcohol or alcohol based mouth rinses and smoking.

Bacteria tend to thrive in dry environment. Other contributing oral factors of halitosis include inflammatory conditions, oral cancer, oral candidiasis or fungal infection etc.

Systemic conditions
While the oral cavity is by far the most common source of bad breath, systemic conditions can also be responsible for the problem. Other reasons for bad breath (other than the oral cavity) are:

Infections, especially in the sinuses or lungs

Diabetes mellitus (acetone smell to the breath)

Kidney failure (can produce a fishy odour)

Malfunction of the liver

Disorders of metabolism (foul, fishy odour that comes and goes and may be difficult to diagnose)

Indigestion

Fasting (when the body is not provided with fuel in the form of food, fat and protein will begin to be broken down; the result is bad odour from the waste products of this metabolism)

Nasal and sinus problems, including foreign bodies inserted in the nose and neglected for a period of time, can be a cause.

Repetitive tonsillar infections, infections of the oropharynx, pulmonary diseases (such as bronchitis and pneumonia), and gastrointestinal problems are all possible contributing factors.

Diet
Very spicy foods, such as onions and garlic, and coffee may be detected on a person's breath for up to 72 hours after digestion. Onions, for example, are absorbed by the stomach and the odour is then excreted through the lungs.

Acids in foods such as coffee decrease oxygenation and can cause the bacteria to thrive.

How to detect?
While most of the population has transient halitosis, chronic malodour is less common. Regardless of the type of halitosis, proper diagnosis is important.

The difficulty in determining whether an individual has halitosis and its possible cause(s) arises because there are no convenient methods to measure this condition.

Self-monitoring tests generally involve obtaining feedback from a spouse or friend. Individuals may have difficulty detecting halitosis themselves because the brain has the ability to suppress odours stemming from ourselves

Treatment options
Brush and floss your teeth properly

At least 2 minutes of brushing is necessary to properly clean all tooth surfaces. In addition 30 percent of the surfaces of our teeth is not cleanable with a brush. This makes flossing/interdental brush absolutely critical!

Use bad breath relief products
By using halitosis toothpaste, non-alcoholic sulphur reducing mouth rinses, sugar free chewing gum and breath mints.

Clean your tongue
Anaerobic bacteria thrive in the fissures and mucous layer of the tongue, sometimes creating a visible whitish layer. They live safe from oxygen under a protective layer of mucous, food particles and proteins.

Tongue cleaners can remove this layer and much of the bacteria, which resides on your tongue. One of the easiest and most efficient treatments for halitosis is mechanical cleaning. This means thorough, regular flossing and brushing of your teeth and your tongue.

A tongue scraper can be very helpful as well. When using a tongue scraper, it is best to clean as far back on the tongue as possible, starting from the back and moving toward the front. This scraping motion should be done several times in row.

Drink plenty of water
Keeping hydrated allows proper salivary flow to help rinse and flush out unwanted bacteria.

Use mouthwashes
Effective oral rinses must eliminate the problematic bacteria while maintaining the balance of normal bacteria in the oral environment. A majority of mouth rinses contain alcohol, which actually dries out the mouth and can end up contributing to halitosis.

Chew sugarless gum
Chewing stimulates our glands to produce extra volume of saliva and aids in cleaning out noxious bacteria.

Check for signs of gingivitis and other dental problems
Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection of the gums and ligaments, which support the teeth. This leads to bone loss and deep pockets between the teeth and gums, which are not easily cleanable.

Extremely high amounts of bacteria can live in these pockets and need aggressive cleaning therapies to reduce bad breath. Signs of periodontitis include red or swollen gums, loose teeth, bleeding gums, pus, pain on chewing etc.

Systemic disease management
Other management tools include antibiotics, nasal mucous control methods, avoidance of certain foods and medications, salivary substitutes, and management of systemic diseases.

Get regular dental check-ups
Twice yearly dental check-ups are a good idea for all adults. This is because people often do not become aware of dental problems until considerable damage has occurred. A dentist can recognise potentially damaging problems early.

In addition, the dentist can diagnose other problems which cause bad breath including abscesses, periodontal disease, cavities, and impacted teeth.

The causes and treatment of bad breath or halitosis is a popular area in dentistry today. The major challenge is first determining if a patient does have chronic bad breath. Then the source(s) can be investigated.

How to let you know?
If you need to tell a friend he or she has bad breath, you could say that you understand foods can cause bad breath because you've had it before yourself. By letting someone know that bad breath isn't something unusual, you'll make the person feel more comfortable and less embarrassed about accepting your piece of chewing gum.

If you suspect your own breath is foul, ask someone who will give you an honest answer without making fun of you. (Just don't ask your brother or sister - they just might tell you your breath stinks even when it doesn't!) .

Bad breath sufferers should feel encouraged to seek treatment because of the high success rate in managing.

Dear Doctor,
I am 24 years old. I have a very bad habit of itching my ears with clips, cotton buds or whatever is available. I can't stop when the itching starts and end up having an earache most of the times. What can I do to stop this bad habit? Is there anything wrong with my ears?

Well, you were right about it being a bad habit. You need to stop doing it by consciously reminding yourself not to do it. Sometimes if you have excessive dry skin then there can be itching of ears.

Accumulation of wax can also cause itching if you are allergic. Sometimes a change of weather can cause itching. These can be excluded if you get your ears checked by an ENT doctor.

You should be very careful of what you use to itch your ears as it can cause injury to your eardrum as well as infection to the skin inside your ear. Please consult with a doctor and stop this from happening.

Dear Minu,
I'm 29 years old and have a large Roman nose. I know it's considered beautiful and exotic but I hate it. I want to get a nose job. But I have a pierced nose. I was wondering what would happen to my nose piercing if I got a nose job. Will it be misplaced or be removed permanently? I have considered healing the piercing but I'm afraid it would leave a scar. I wouldn't mind getting rid of my piercing for a nose job. Can that be done?
Alisha

Hello Alisha,
Thank you for the question, it sounds like you need a reduction rhinoplasty. Your nose piercing will not be affected by the procedure but if you want to get it closed that can also be done in the same sitting. The surgery is usually done under local anaesthesia and no overnight hospital stay is required. You will have a bandage on your nose for 3-4 days. There will be no visible scarring. A professional will need to examine your nose and then decide how much reduction can be done. Please feel free to ask more questions if needed.