Health Adda

Cheers!  Alcohol, once tabooed in Indian society, has gained wide social acceptance today. Parties are no longer always as ‘dry’ as to keep the conversation hovering for hours around the weather, the boss, children’s school or politics. A couple of drin ks make guests mingle better, voice their honest opinions about Katrina’s lips or Shakira’s hips, crack jokes and even sing a soulful gazal! Ladies have also started prefering spirits to Sprite as they join their men in the ‘wet’ soiree with equal gusto. Exposure to alcohol is not really recent; humans and their forefathers (apes) have tasted alcohol through the ages while munching or sucking over-ripe fruits, most of which have fermeted cores.  The difference is in the concentration; it is a meagre 1-3% in naturally fermented foods as the yeasts die when the alcohol levels rise. And these low levels can’t make one tipsy!  It is through the process of “distillation”, discovered by man a few centuries ago, ...

When a crop of blisters had appeared on my wife’s skin two years ago, the thought of chicken pox had not even crossed my mind. Like many who take their responsibilities seriously, I had ensured that my wife and children had received all their vaccination shots, and that was ten long years earlier. “And that precisely is the problem” said my dermatologist friend Dr Ajit, who took just a few seconds to diagnose it as varicella (chicken pox). Protection from vaccination is not strong and lasts for only 5 to 10 years, requiring booster shots. And when I asked how long I had to give these booster shots, he merely shrugged his shoulders and said, “probably for life”. In fact I was probably better protected than she was, as like most kids of my time. I had had a natural attack of varicella in my childhood. While there are over 20 vaccines available in the market, there is no denying that 7 of them given to babies have saved many lives and prevented much suffering. Poliomyelitis...

Headaches are so common that not to have ever suffered from it raises doubts whether the head is indeed there. While most are innocuous and transient and pass away with time or with a painkiller, some could be indicators of worrisome underlying prob lems. The head often aches when other parts of the body are under strain. It accompanies seasonal fevers, fasts, and often appears after a gruelling day under the hot sun. It is not uncommon after a sleepless night of exam preparation, international travel or watching the last of the day’s FIFA world cup matches. The heads of young women often ache before or during periods. It can be brought about by mental stress such as a rebuke by the boss,  a spat at work or a feud at home. Migraine is a common but specific form of headache that occurs due to spasm of arteries in the head. In its typical pattern, these attacks start with mild ache starting in one half of the head, often associated with visual auras such as light flashe...

After the Satyam scam, the accused owner B Ramalinga Raju  has managed to stay on in 5 star comfort rather than in the usual jail, thanks to his loyal pack of doctors and lawyers. They could convince the court and extract an exemption citing his multiple medical problems, including high blood pressure.  He, like 30% of the Indian population of his age, had  high blood pressure for several years, even in the good Satyam times. Surveys of urban Indians show that around 70%  have one or more of the follwing health problems: high blood pressure, diabetes, weight related problems such as obesity or painful knees, heartburn (acidity), fatty liver disease, occasional breatlessness or chest discomfort, sleeplessness or thyroid dysfunction. Most would be on periodic checkups or on some medications for them. What then is the big deal? They remain party goers and globe trotters with these “medical problems” till the police comes calling. Suddenly then doctors and l...

On rare occasions even medical consultations can turn interesting. One such was when a senior banker who came to see me as a patient and crossed beyond symptoms, sighs and sorrow to literature. He had been a student of English literature himself before taking to banking, and what pulled the trigger was his expression of surprise at a medical spe cialist like me writing a weekly column for HT City. His surprise rose to incredulous levels when I told him that five of the most celebrated writers had been medicos. My count began with Sir (Dr) Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes of “The Hounds of Baskerville” fame. What makes the detective stories so fascinating is Doyle’s deep knowledge and use of forensic medicine that both the offender uses to inflict harm and the detective, Sherlock Holmes, uses to crack the mystery with. Most agree that Doyle remains one of the favourite mystery writers of all times. Another gifted writer was Dr W Somerset Maugham, my favour...