Health Archives

Formalin in your fish? Sorry, FSSAI can’t do anything!

August 11, 2018 Amita Bhaduri

FSSAI, constituted under the food safety law in India, is responsible for formulating and enforcing safety standards for our food. The Act, however, governs only manufacturers and processed food, even as we find increasing contamination in primary and raw produce. What could be the way out?

Where have all the girls gone?

July 10, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

It sounds counter-intuitive but do you know that the overall child sex ratio in the 0-6 years group in India is actually pulled down by the alarming ratio in cities? That this ratio is actually lower among mothers with more than 10 years of education? A look at the reasons behind the gender imbalance in urban India.

What the young, educated woman in the city needs to wake up to

June 27, 2018 Dr Janani Iyer

She is educated, successful in her professional career and a multi-tasker. And yet, the urban Indian woman remains woefully ignorant about her health risks and reproductive health. A gynaecologist shares her views.

Nipah virus: How to avoid infection and fever

May 23, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

Bats are being culled, every case of fever is scrutinised carefully. But the nation has one lab which certifies the cases of Nipah. What does a citizen need to know about Nipah?

In Kolkata, filthy fountains spread dengue fear

April 6, 2018 Gurvinder Singh

Water fountains installed in the city for beautification, in the run up to the recently held FIFA U-17 tournament and the Book Fair, now lie abandoned. Mosquitoes breeding in the filthy, stagnant water pose a definite health risk.

Is diabetes-related blindness becoming an urban epidemic?

November 11, 2017 Navya P K

A 2014 national survey shows that over 20% of diabetics in urban India suffer from diabetic retinopathy, a disorder that could cause permanent vision loss.

Let’s talk about mental health

October 12, 2017 Nivedita Sudheer

Mental illnesses have been treated as being “not real” or more often, as all “in your mind”. But they are real, and one merely doesn’t “shake out of it”. As we observe the month around World Mental Health Day, an useful explainer on its symptoms and what you can do about it.

Bone marrow donation: How you too could save a cancer patient’s life

August 31, 2017 K M Srinivasa Gowda

The Bangalore Medical College Development Trust (BMC DT) and Infosys Foundation have jointly set up a Bone Marrow Registry with the mission to set up a database of willing bone marrow donors, with details of their HLA type, in order to help patients in need of transplant. Here’s how you could register.