Health Adda

The month of May, when the mercury soars to 45 O C in the northern plains, can play havoc with your health, energy levels, mood and performance.The hot blast that strikes our face when we venture out in the afternoon these days  can dry up our body (dehydration) or cause excess body heating (heat or sun stroke), both of which can be quite serious. Dehydration is the commoner one, and claims around 2 million lives globally every year, especially from developing regions. Children are more susceptible, and once grossly dehydrated, often find it impossible to regain health. Symptoms and signs of dehydration include fatigue, headache, low BP, dizziness, fainting, dry mouth and reduced amounts of concentrated urine. It is often precipitated by an attack of vomiting or loose motions, or sometimes, a fast. Drinking large amounts of water (around 6-15 glasses a day) and increasing the intake of salt (through pickles, papads, salted nimbu paani or lassi) are the cornerstones of preventi...

Sample these questions: “Which country held a  parliamentary  meeting under water to draw the world’s attention to environmental issues?” What are trans-fats and why are they a health concern? What killed Michael Jackson and Elvis Prisley?, By what proportion do diarrheal diseases come down if hands are washed well before meals?”. These were some asked in HOPE Quiz finals held in Lucknow on 7 th May in which teams from 45  schools  participated. Quizzing has always aroused the most excitement among students since HOPE  started  reaching out to students in 2004. HOPE quiz 2012 started with an intra-school quiz that 75 schools of Lucknow hosted in April. The highest scoring 2 students were then invited to represent their school in a semi-final round, and from them the top 6 schools were chosen for the finals. Most questions were aimed at assessing if the student had been reading the daily news-papers and probing inquisitively into health aspects. While al...

The suspicion that the moon might be affecting our moods and actions refuses to die down. A doctor colleague frantically approached me yesterday to seek help for an uncontrollable aggressiveness that he was experiencing towards his colleagues, patients, staff, and even his small child. When I opened the paper after having dispensed the usual advice to consult a psychiatrist, I realized that it was full-moon time, and that the moon had come as close to the earth as it possibly could. One could argue that this was mere coincidence, but a possible link between the lunar cycle and its effect on mood and behaviour prompted me to explore the internet with Google throwing up 10 million results in a fraction of a second. My suspicion was well founded as there were enough accounts. A police dispatcher recounted how full-moon nights were busy nights, when crime rates and murders soared, the police stations were full and people behaved aggressively. Back in the 1970s, a study published in th...