Health

Thirteen-year-old Rohan (name changed on request) was admitted to a private hospital around two weeks back after being down with fever for more than five days. A Cox town-based doctor prescribed antibiotics, but when the fever did not subside, his parents took him to a pediatrician in Kammanahalli, who recommended that they get some blood tests done. The tests revealed a drop in his platelet count, a symptom of dengue, after which he was admitted to Mallya hospital on Vittal Mallya Road for platelet transfusion. Rohan received one unit B+ platelets after which his condition improved, much to the relief…

A kitchen counter at a small, but popular South Indian restaurant in the city. It's so popular, the place draws more than a thousand people every day. The food is tasty, the rates are comfortable and it's open from six thirty in the morning, till a convenient hour in the evening. But what's that rag doing in the picture? That rag must have been bright yellow when it was bought. Now it's dirty brown in colour, because of one good reason - it's dirty. And you'd be pleased to know that it is used to wipe the plates dry after…

Even after spending crores on mosquito extermination, there were around 10 Chikungunya and five dengue cases reported in Bangalore earlier last month. Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that is responsible for Chikungunya (pic courtesy: Wikimedia Commons) Dr Usha Vasankar, Director, Heath and family Welfare Department, Bangalore says, "As per the BBMP report submitted to us there are 131 Chikungunya cases and 10 dengue cases in Bangalore as of 31st May 2009.""It is a routine to swat and shoo mosquitoes every evening," says T R Shastry, a resident of JP Nagar shooing a few mosquitoes buzzing above his head. Shastry’s experience is…

Runners for Life, a community of people who run to get fit organised its second edition of their unique event, ‘Feet on the Street', a five kilo metre run. The event held in the city on 5th April saw 301 enthusiastic runners out on the streets on a Sunday morning.The format of ‘Feet on the Street' is unique. These are monthly runs. It is not a track and field event, but is held at a central location. While the first edition was held at Cubbon Park, the second edition was conducted around Ulsoor Lake. In addition to running and popularising…

Water | Health Summer’s here, and so is crisis season. Every year, officials say power cuts and water issues will not plague Bengaluru but each summer the situation remains the same. And if all this were not enough, the heat and humidity of summer bring with it its own problems. Citizen Matters spoke to government officials to find out what people can expect on the power-water front and also to some doctors on how to combat seasonal ailments. Uninterrupted power…what’s that? "I have to depend on the generator as there are untimely power cuts. My business is getting affected. This…

A few months ago, two incidents made me uneasy. One involved white smudges on my fingertips from the newly painted railing of my apartment building stairs; the other was finding paint patches on my children's hands from the attractively painted blue-green-yellow-red playground equipment. These occurrences were troubling since I was aware of, yet not completely sure, about the facts regarding lead (paint) poisoning. Childrens play equipment may be coated with lead based paints (pic: Meera K) Internet research revealed surprising and worrisome information. Surprising because, while lead poisoning is an issue across India, indeed the world, Bangalore seems to be…

This New Year began with reaffirming my resolution to regularly attend the Iyengar Yoga classes conducted at Nirguna Mandir located at 4th Block Koramangala, adjacent to ST Bed Layout. Apart from the significant improvement in strength, stamina and concentration that my weekly classes have provided, my primary motivation has been the steadfast guiding presence that my yoga teacher provides. K. Mahadevaiah (Courtesy: Ajay Bhaskar, student of Iyengar Yoga Classes) Simple, unassuming, modest; these are the words that come to most of our mind when we think of K Mahadevaiah, our yoga teacher. But to me he epitomises all that is…

It's usually people who quit regular jobs to follow their passion make news; but here is somebody who moved from a government organisation to the business sector to pursue, quite literally, matters of the heart! Prof. A V Ramani (pic: Deepa Mohan) Professor AV Ramani is unusual by any standards. Educated to be a chemical engineer with a wide knowledge of material sciences, he taught metallurgy at IIT, Madras. Also experienced with electrochemical technology, he put in 11 years, from 1968 to 1979, at National Aeronautical Laboratories (NAL), Bangalore, where he became conversant with non-conventional processes like spark erosion. What…

If nature cures, why do we need Naturopathy? We live on planet earth, under the sun. We still breathe the common, available air, we still use water for drinking, bathing, washing. What could be unnatural about that? Dr S Mahadeshwara Swami (pic: Manjushree Abhinav)The fact is, in the last four decades, our lifestyles have changed dramatically. In the following interview, Naturopath Dr Mahadeshwara Swami tells us how this change directly affects our health. Dr S Mahadeshwara Swami has founded a Naturopathy center in Yelahlanka New Town, called Prakruti Arogyadhama. He graduated from SBM College of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences. You…

I had always wondered what life was like on the inside, at Karunashraya. If I had gone there as a copywriter on a project, I would go around with the team, look inside the wards, talk to some of the patients and ask for a 'brief' as we normally do, before we start a project.But then, all roads led to Karunashraya when my mother drifted into a terminal stage of cancer - far too gone even for a miracle cure. I would now get an insider's perspective on Karunashraya - as a caregiver to a patient.View from the walk-ways, around…