Health Adda

Pimples or acne, a common skin disease of adolescence, can sometimes play havoc and change lives. My cousin, roughly my age, and I had care-free fun-packed school lives till acne made their appearance on his face in his teens. They erupted relentlessly, often in large crops, caused redness and swelling, refused to die down, and caught everyone’s eye. He sulked and avoided people, spent much time trying new ointments and lotions every evening, and became depressed. Thirty years later, while I see the same innocence and affection in his eyes from childhood days, others initially notice only his scarred rough face. Acne vulgaris is characterized by pinheads, blackheads & whiteheads often on scaly red oily (seborrheic) skin. It occurs due to blockage of skin follicles by shedding keratin and sebum (oily secretion from the glands of the hair follicles), causing them to swell, and at times, getting red and inflamed. Infection with bacteria, present on the skin, often compounds the pictu...

Music, which started from 7 basic musical notes derived from sounds of nature or songs of various animals, has evolved considerably over time from mere entertainment to a form of therapy. It is being increasingly recognized that music can make a difference not just to our moods and relationships but to our health and recovery. Our exposure to “music” probably starts from the 20 th week in the womb when the baby’s hearing faculties develop, and he “listens” to his mother’s heartbeat. The fluctuations of her heart rate brought on by anxiety, frustration, relaxation or rest are stored in the fetal brain as memories, often reflecting in later years, the moods and attitudes of the two-some. Adolescents attach great importance to music often huddling as friends or partners based on a common taste or liking to a type of music – slow classical, to rhythmic melodies, to vocal,deep-throated emotional renderings, to pop, jazz or hard rock. This common “taste” often brings together people of sim...

As a first step towards conquering ageing, scientists seem to have discovered that a portion of our 23 pairs of chromosomes, called telomeres shorten with time, and might underlie the process. And what goes with it is a gradual decline in the activity of an enzyme present in our cells, called telomerase. With over 60% of people in developed countries facing the winter of their lives, research institutions such as the National Institute of Health in USA have included ageing as one of their major thrust areas.. Answers are being sought with urgency from laboratories on why the disturbing changes of wrinkling of the face, graying of hair and weakening of bones occur, and if these can be prevented. Ageing is the accumulation of physical, psychological and social changes that occur with time. What is intriguing is why 2 person, who went to school together and lived similar lives show these changes so differently. Why did the former chief of IMF, Dominique Stauss-Kahn have to hit news-headl...