Irrespective of the much maligned superbug, originated in India or not, the fact remains that it is people who have travelled to India who have ested positive for the superbug. The concern over this bug which is bred in hospitals is due to the fact that it is resistant to all known antibiotics. It is of course possible that the pharmaceutical lobby has hyped the superbug scare so that it can create and sell an even more expensive range of antibiotics.

The widespread abuse of the emergency contraceptive pills may seriously hamper the government and NGO efforts to promote safe sex and limit the spread of AIDS in the state.

Unlike cancer or diabetics, patients of kidney problems in the state are treated as second class citizens. Though ten per cent of the population has kidney problems there are only two nephrologists in Goa. Government facilities are too few and often come too late to save the lives of victims of renal failure.

The monsoons convert Goa not only into a favorite tourist destination of the entire range of mosquitoes but also transform the state into a gigantic mosquito breeding ground. The monsoons are synonymous with an epidemic of numerous vector borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya. As monsoons provide favorable conditions for breeding of the carrier mosquitoes, such diseases assume epidemic proportions during the season thanks to clogged gutters, greedy land sharks and unresponsive health officials.

AS THE most experienced patient, at least among my colleagues if not in the whole of Goa, I have been elected to write a tribute to doctors on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day. I am aware that in the past I have, with good reason, been rather harsh and critical of the medical fraternity. But I must acknowledge that, but for good ethical and conscientious doctors, I would not be alive to write this today. For the few black sheep in the profession who consider medicine a business and not a vocation, I know of many doctors who genuinely practice the spirit of the Hippocrates Oath that they swear when they qualify to be doctors.

AN ATTEMPT to commit suicide is a cry for help. Young people who attempt to commit suicide do so for a variety of reasons. They do so because they have done badly in their exams and fear if not the wrath at least the disapproval of their parents. Young people commit suicide because the peer […]

THE ANNUAL report of the International Diabetic Federation (IDF), released at their 20th annual World Diabetes Congress on October 2009, shows that, at present, India has the highest number of diabetics in the world at 50.8 million, followed by 43.2 million in China and 26.8 million in the USA. An alarming prediction of the report was that due to increasing life expectancy and as a result of rapid urbanisation, over 8.4% of the Indian adult population will suffer from the disease by 2030!

IF YOU’RE diabetic, sooner or later you will be introduced to a glucometer or blood glucose meter (also blood glucose monitoring system) so that you may check your blood sugar whenever you feel it’s high (hyper) or whenever you think it is low (hypo). Soon you will learn to recognise the symptoms as you feel them in your body…once you’re a confirmed diabetic you will probably have to adjust your diet according to the highs or lows of your blood sugar and your glucometer will tell you to eat more or eat less! The diabetes rigmarole is a complex and fine one and the sooner you learn to take charge of your own body the better of you will be…

May 31 is World Tobacco Day. Millions across the world are addicted to tobacco in its various forms. Urgent intervention is needed to get addicts — of all ages — off the deadly killer. Reaching out to reformed addicts is one way of beating it.

CHOLESTEROL IS a waxy, fat-like substance found in your body and many foods. Your body needs it to work properly and makes all that you need. Too much cholesterol can accumulate depending on the kind of foods you eat and the rate at which your body breaks it down.