Conditions

Certain common day symptoms which last long may be signs of something serious. It is best to not ignore these. Dr. Shital Raval lists 13 such symptoms that women should not ignore. Women often tend to sideline their health over everything else going in their lives. After a long day it is common to have achy joints, tiredness, general feelings of malaise etc. all of which usually subside after a good night’s rest. However, if there are symptoms that are lasting, unexplained and do not subside…

Dr. Jayanti Mani, Consultant – Neurology at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, addresses the concern that women with epilepsy cannot have children and breastfeed their baby. With the correct advice on medications, pre-planned pregnancy and proper monitoring most women with epilepsy can safely have normal children, she says. Is it safe for women with epilepsy to get pregnant? With advances in epilepsy therapies and comprehensive care by neurologists and obstetricians, it is now safer than ever…

There is a significant increase in young people with eating disorders from developing countries who take concerns about food and body weight to dangerous extremes. Dr. Mangala of SCARF, Chennai shares how you can spot an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia and binging and seek timely assistance to save precious lives. Eating disorders are behavioural disorders characterized by abnormal eating habits, causing psychological and physiological disturbances. These persistent abnormal eating…

It is extremely important for caregivers to maintain their own emotional and physical health and wellbeing to be able to effectively help others, writes Usha Ravi. Also, take the simple self-test below to find out if you are a satisfied or fatigued caregiver. The art of being kind, caring, loving and understanding - all of which will be ineffective if one loses oneself in this process of caring. Hence, to preserve oneself, self-care is crucial. Self-care is considered as simply giving the same…

Taking care of a person with Parkinson’s is tough and it progressively gets tougher as the condition progresses. Samiksha Sivan, Clinical Psychologist, PDMDS talks about caregiver burnout and how a caregiver can take of herself/himself.  “It is extremely tough to see my husband, who was such a lively person become so dull and expressionless. I help him with most of his everyday tasks now and he seems to realise somewhere that he is dependent on me and he hates it! I worry a…

The integration of psycho-oncology into cancer care has significantly helped alleviate emotional and psychological distress for both patients and caregivers. Savita Goswami, psycho-oncologist at Tata Memorial Hospital, discusses some of the psychotherapeutic intervention techniques used in paediatric cancer care. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on psychosocial interventions in paediatric oncology care. What does it really entail? In the last two decades, great work has…

Dr. Snehil Mishra, Consultant Cardiologist, Hinduja Healthcare, gives us an overview of aortic stenosis predominantly a disease of the elderly and how TAVI has revolutionised treatment of heart valve disease. Stenosis of the aortic valve is a common type of valvular heart disease in the elderly. What is aortic valve stenosis? Aortic stenosis is a disease of one of the 4 major valves in the heart- the aortic valve. If the valve does not open fully, it will obstruct or restrict the flow of blood…

Mumbai-based psychotherapist H'vovi Bhagwagar explains panic attacks, signs and symptoms, triggers for panic attacks and tips on coping with panic attacks. “Courage is knowing what not to fear”-Plato. Imagine the 2 scenes. A fire fighter enters a building on a rescue mission, where a family is stuck on the 15th floor. The smoke is thick and penetrates his protective gear almost choking him. He thinks “I am going to die, what will happen to my family”. He moves into action, breathing in a manner…

Dr Kanika Chaudhuri, practicing consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Singapore talks of the Risks of Gestational Diabetes and how to control diabetes before, during and after pregnancy As the age of childbirth goes up due to changing demographics, we are seeing more patients with pre-existing diabetes and the incidence of Gestational diabetes mellitus (diabetes developing in pregnant women) is also on the rise. Both these conditions need multi-disciplinary management to…