Health

Water is the elixir of life. But according to World Health Organisation, nearly 1.8 million people die every year due to water-borne diseases. What are these diseases that we need to be careful about? The diseases range from gastritis, diarrhoea, jaundice, polio, amoebiasis, tapeworm infest ation, hydatid disease of liver, intestine, and lungs, worms to cholera, typhoid, and so on. Pic: Wikimediacommons Vomiting, and loose motions, if persistent, lead to electrolyte imbalance and can even be fatal. Cholera is another waterborne disease which can lead to epidemics and large number of deaths. The causes of these diseases are unsafe water,…

She ran 3 miles to take initiative to good health. Prashanthi Nair, 34, a resident of JC Nagar said, "it is a good way to build up good health. One run each month will at least bring some positive change in our lifestyle." V S Papanna, 47, a resident of Rajajinagar, ran to mark the world health day. He said, "I am planning to take part in all the 32 runs. That is the least I can do to spare time for my health in this busy schedule."And here we run. Pic: Anisha NairDr. Thomas Chandy flagged the run. Pic:…

Ask a person who would have died of an adverse drug reaction if not for steroids, what does S/he thinks of steroids. The answer would be, it is a boon.Ask a man whose wife, suffering from arthritis and on long term steroid medication, dies due to a perforated bleeding peptic ulcer: what does he thinks of steroids. The answer would be - a curse. Steroids or anabolic steroids have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, especially with sports people and doping scandals. Most drugs used in sports are anabolic steroids or their derivatives.Steroids are used in various…

Doctors have a busy schedule, so if you proactively provide them with information about your health, rather than have them fish it out of you, so much the better. Here are some tips: Electronic medical record. Pic: Wikimedia commons Be specific about what brings you to doctor. Explain the symptoms, mention duration of symptoms, any precipitating factor that you think has brought it up, if chronic then for how long it has been persisting. A few examples...Pain in the abdomen: site of pain, whether acute or chronic, whether it shifts from where it started from, or radiates to another region,…

The word ‘antibiotic‘ means a process by which life could be used to destroy life. It comes from the word antibiosis, a term coined in 1889 by Louis Pasteur's pupil Paul Vuillemin. Antibiotics are essentially chemicals secreted by bacteria, fungus and other microorganisms to inhibit the growth of other organisms. Antibiotics are panacea for all diseases.They are effective only against certain infections. I can recover faster from cold and cough with antibiotics.Most cold and cough are viral and antibiotics do not kill viruses.Antibiotics are relatively safe.People have died due to wrongly administered antibiotics.Mild infection: I can buy any antibiotic over…

Bangaloreans started their day with a fitness run on Sunday, 4 March. Contours, a women's only fitness gym held its 3rd edition of fitness run of 10 kilometres. It is held every year close to the women's day. This run started at 6.30 am from Kanteerava stadium. Dancing their way with aerobics. Pic: Anisha Nair More than 1000 runners participated in this woman's day run including men and children. Age seemed no bound here. Participants were from the age group of 8 years to 70 years. The run was held with the support of charity partners - ASHA and PARIKRAMA…

In mid 1800, it was noted by Ignal Sommeweiss in Vienna that death rates after delivery came down from 17% to 3 %, merely by insisting that doctors wash their hands with chlorinated lime solution , before attending to next patient. (Source:WHO Guidelines). We have moved on from then, to hand sanitisers. These are basically alcohol based rub and have the advantage of easy access , portability, and excellent outcomes in terms of disease prevention.Off late there have been discussions on whether the excessive usage of hand sanitiser adversely affects children's immunity. There has been a report in Canadian Medical…

Every human being has the power to make a difference. 'Living Beyond Life' started with one such thought. It is a project to get the option of organ donation introduced on Driving License (DL) cards. When I first saw my brother’s US driving license, I found organ donation option mentioned in it. I too wanted to pledge my organs but did not know how. I took this up as a project, to get organ donation introduced as an option on DLs. There is huge demand for organs in India, for transplant. One of the best ways to reach out to…

A person talking about futility of life or inability to face stress should be taken seriously. Steps to prevent suicides have to be taken at different levels. At community level, it includes education, destigmatising psychiatric illness, screening and treatment. Education includes individual and public awareness, professional awareness and counseling. At the family level, love, understanding and support can help people cope.Earliest signs of depression or any other psychiatric disorder should be taken seriously and treated. Any mention of suicidal thought or talk should not be ignored. Teachers, counselors and parents have to join hands to detect earliest signs of childen…

During the last decade the incidence of suicides in India has increased from 108,593 in 2000 to 134,599 in 2010 (23.8% change). Pic: wikimedia/commons Suicides and attempted suicides are far more common amongst males, those with depression, failed relationships, excessive alcohol abuse, loss of rational thinking, financial loss and/or inability to manage finances, lack of social support, not coming up to expectations of those who matter and more.Suicides have a social, cultural, and economic background. Thus, while farmer suicides may be a phenomenon in some states, children dying by suicides especially following declaration of examination results is an expression of…