Health Adda

Thanks to our government and the media, with this topic featuring on every single page of our daily newspapers and on prime time of all TV channels, awareness about COVID-19 seems to have penetrated rather well down to almost all sections and regions of the country in the last few weeks. Information, news, concerns and actions are of course one thing, but reactions of people could be quite another matter altogether. This is what HOPE Initi ative ( www.hope.org.in ) discovered during an interactive awareness session this week with class 7 students of Green Valley School in Kothagiri (Tamil Nadu). Question 1: have you heard about the recent Corona Virus epidemic? Answer (universal): Yes. It is called COVID-19 Question 2: What do you know about COVID-19? How dangerous is it? Answer by students: It is a DEADLY and FATAL Disease. Most who are infected will die. Our perspective: It is not FATAL in most cases, only 2 of 100 infected people may succumb, while 98 will reco...

Snoring, the harsh sound that some us make inadvertently while sleeping, is indeed so common that we have all had the annoying experience of sharing a bed, room cabin or coupe with some one who has kept us awake and distressed, while he obliviously slept! The horse sound of snoring occurs when relaxed tissues of the throat and tongue vibrate while air passes past them during breathing. Most snorers live otherwise normal lives and do  not need medical attention. A distant uncle of mine who was the loudest and most notorious snorer amongst relatives, died at the ripe age of 98. And not due to any ailment related to his long track record of snoring! The life-style changes that help reduce snoring, and that spouses should insist for snoring partners are to lose weight (snoring is more common in obese), avoid alcohol in the evenings and to sleep on the side. Snoring is often however associated with a more sinister disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea, commonly known...