Health

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10, with the objective of raising awareness about mental health issues. According to World Health Organisation's (WHO) World Health Report of 2001, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, etc) at some point in their lives. It is estimated that currently, at least 10 percent of the world’s population is affected. (Photo: Fernando on Unsplash.com) Citizen Matters caught up with Malathi to find out what prompted her to make a film about mental health, her experience as a first-time film…

Just a few weeks back, Pune’s health authorities were battling a severe shortage of hospital beds for COVID patients. Now, they are faced with an acute shortage of medical oxygen and oxygen-equipped beds. “We require three times more oxygen supply during the pandemic than in the past,” says Prof Dr Dhanaji Jadhav of MIMER Medical College and Dr Bhausaheb Sardesai Talegaon Rural Hospital. “Besides COVID patients, other patients – pregnant women, cancer patients, those who suffered from heart attack, critical infants and those who have to undergo emergency operations – also need oxygen. What we are seeing now is a shortage…

If you look at the last six months, Chennai has adopted a strategy that in some ways is similar to other large cities in the country: go into intense lockdown, lift some restrictions and back into selective lockdown again. Chennai has spent more days under intense lockdown than any other large metropolitan city in the country. While it’s technically still under lockdown, there have been significant relaxations that could see further easing over the next few weeks, but the incidence of cases in the city hasn’t caused any big spikes in the recent weeks. Source: https://www.covid19india.org/state/TN An overview of figures…

The current coronavirus pandemic in India has brought the issue of mental health to the fore. According to a 2020 paper, Covid-19 has fuelled ‘infodemia’ and has created ‘coronaphobia’, which results in anxiety, fear, depression, increased substance-dependence, and PTSD. Yet another research paper points out that there are a rising number of patients with COVID-19 who have been reported with mild (anosmia and ageusia) to severe (encephalopathy) neurological manifestations too. Some of the most vulnerable categories include older people, health care providers, caregivers, and psychiatric patients who need special attention. According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences…

Any athlete who is used to training in a stadium environment would panic at the prospect of being stopped from running. So you can well imagine what has happened to the hundreds of amateur and professional athletes, budding children and veterans included, who used to train at the different stadiums across Mumbai, over the last 6 months. It’s been 6 months since stadiums were shut due to the corona virus outbreak, and with the daily rise in cases, there doesn’t seem to be any hope in sight for them. At age 64, I’m not the conventional athlete. Before lockdown, my…

When I dial Dr Rahul Ghule's number for an interview, I expect the phone line to be busy. In fact, I am prepared for it. For the past four months, Dr Ghule has repeatedly tweeted his phone number urging anyone with COVID-19 or related ailments to get in touch. But Dr Ghule answers immediately. “Most people WhatsApp me,” he says.  Dr Ghule is the Founder and CEO of 1Rupee Clinic which has been running Emergency Medical Rooms across railway stations in Mumbai since 2017. The doctors at these rooms or clinics offer checkup and out-patient department services and charge one…

It is the morning jamming sessions that excites Srihari S Nair the most these days. Every morning, the 12-year-old gets ready, sits by the window and gently taps his fingers on the piano. Soon music fills the rooms, as his parents and piano master listen intently and Srihari's eyes sparkle with joy. His master even corrects some of the notes. In reality, though it is his sister, sitting next to him, who is creating the music under the guidance of their teacher, but the collaborative exercise brings great joy to the boy. More importantly though, these jamming sessions act as…

In early July, I came across the news of a COVID-positive woman who was in urgent need of hospitalisation. She was turned down by 16 hospitals because no beds were available. However the government, on its website, claimed they had sufficient beds. Santosh Doddaiah, 25, is the founder of Covidbeds.org. He and his team regularly update the website with accurate data on available hospital beds for COVID patients. Pic Credit: Santosh Doddaiah To understand the reality, I did some research, and then started calling hospitals listed on the website - around 140 of them. Shekar hospital, Bull Temple road, had…

The recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the city is a matter of great concern for Chennaites. Swati Amar unearths special problems of certain sections of people that are facing the pandemic differently. Baby on the Way Dr Priya Selvaraj, a fertility specialist, clinician and embryologist, and the assistant director of GG Hospital has been witness to how pregnant women are facing the COVID-19 situation: “We never stopped seeing pregnant patients during COVID (the pandemic). In fact, obstetrics care was one of the specialities where we instituted specific recommendations as per the norms of both international and national committees."” Dr Selvaraj…

Plasma therapy, also known as ‘convalescent plasma therapy’, is an experimental mode of treatment. It uses the blood plasma donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19, as their bodies would have developed protective antibodies against the virus, to treat those with the virus. Usually used on patients who are not responding to conventional treatment, plasma therapy is currently helping many COVID-19 patients recover. How antibodies work When one contracts an infection, especially a viral infection, their recovery depends on the production of antibodies to fight the antigen (the virus, which in the current case, is COVID-19). These antibodies are…