Health

Are you someone who knocks on the doors of private clinics or large private hospitals even for a fever or minor ailments? Do you know there are government-run Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHC) in Chennai with facilities to treat minor ailments and for the diagnosis of major illnesses? The city's public healthcare infrastructure came under the spotlight during the pandemic as it was at the forefront of fighting the virus. The major government hospitals took in patients while the UPHCs served as points for screening and vaccination. It was only then that a majority of residents came into contact with…

On December 1st, Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital became the first civic facility in the city to get approval for a 24x7 cardiac catheterisation lab. The approval comes a month after the announcement was first made in November. A cardiac cath lab functions as a centre for doctors to perform minimally invasive tests and procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease. It is the alarming rise in deaths due to heart attacks in 2021 that prompted Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) health officials to start a pilot 24x7 cath lab at KEM. Last year, Mumbai recorded a total of 17,880…

"A couple of weeks ago, my son told me that he felt an itch in his eye. When I checked, I found his eyes to be red. So, we went to the doctor and found that he had Madras Eye. Eventually, our entire family got the virus," says Priya Chandru, a resident of Adambakkam. "My son and I are better now. But my husband's eyes are still red." Priya's family was among the many that were affected by Madras Eye this past month in Chennai. Doctors say there is a daily load of around 4500 cases per day in government hospitals.  "In…

Rani has had debilitatingly painful periods ever since she started relying on injectable contraceptives. When she reached out to her doctor for help, she was told to be patient and that “this happens, it is quite normal.” But it does make it very difficult for her to manage her periods. Not only does she have to take care of household responsibilities, but she also has to go do her job as a door-to-door garbage collector in the hilly terrains of Shimla. But however painful or uncomfortable it gets, she knows she cannot afford to take menstrual leave. For door-to-door garbage collectors…

When one asks about the recent incident where three children in Mumbai’s Rafi Nagar lost their lives to a measles outbreak, the common response from residents in the area is: What is measles? The disease is either known by its local name gobri or is commonly confused with chicken pox. What is measles, really? A measles rash is flat and is accompanied with high grade fever along with runny nose, sore throat, cough, and even conjunctivitis. The symptoms can last for several weeks. On the other hand, chicken pox comes with raised bumps, low grade fever and symptoms generally last…

Visualise this: Many stalls are put up in an area. A number of people visit each of these stalls. Many more people move from one stall to another, peeping in, observing the displays, interacting with those manning the stalls, and may be even transacting. People meeting strangers, striking up conversations, exchanging information and thoughts, and exploring the things that are available there. A familiar face here, a known person there – the hand waves, the ‘Hi’s!, and the catching up. If a market place came to mind, you are not wrong. For indeed, the above was my experience at the…

Bengaluru's first Namma Clinic, a freshly painted building being established in Mahalaxmipuram, that will provide free basic health care to the urban poor, is waiting to be inaugurated. The opening could happen anytime this month, no particular date has been set as yet. The plan is to set up 438 Namma Clinics across all the city's 243 wards by the end of December 2022, according to state health minister Dr Sudhakar K. As per the 2022-23 state budget, "In these clinics, the services of detection of non-communicable diseases and of referral for treatment to specialists will be provided". The clinics…

On the morning of October 29th, 55-year-old Faiyaz Ahmed visited Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (also known as Sion Hospital) along with his daughter for her medical check-up. However, he had no intention of getting himself checked. However, an announcement on the loudspeaker inside the hospital's OPD building changed his mind. The announcement said that anyone above the age of 30 who wanted to get screened for diabetes and hypertension could visit the free-of-cost, walk-in Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Centre. "Abhi umar bhi ho gayi hai, socha sugar check karwa leta hoon. Kuch alag se taklif ho nahi rahi hai," Ahmed says.…

Mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I didn’t even know the word, had never heard it and didn’t even know how to pronounce it. But Schizophrenia discreetly entered our lives way back in 2007-2008. I was a kid then: 7-8 years old. So it was tough to even know what was happening. She would randomly make stories. Once I returned from school after an examination and she said, “I have told your friends' mothers that their sons teased you.” I was simply aghast. Both my friends were a year older than me and lived nearby. No such incident had ever happened.…

While adjusting to the changing rhythms of the workspace has been challenging, the difficulties of keeping the home running have been made somewhat easier by the mushrooming of online home services. Especially home delivery of food that suits all palates. In fact, the food industry as a whole has undergone major shifts. The growing number of Cloud Kitchens, for instance. Cloud Kitchens are restaurants that operate only as a kitchen and home deliver your food order. Revenue from online food delivery is projected to cross US $12 bn by the end of 2022, with an annual growth rate of almost…