To our readers and members from India!
United in Health!
Having hope for a cure for an incurable disease is essential as it gives a purpose to be alive but making it the centre of your world is where the problem lies, writes Vineet Saraiwala. My brother and I have retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye condition in which vision deteriorates as age progresses. There is currently no scientific cure for my condition but I am optimistic of a cure with the rapid advancements in research happening across the world. Some medical conditions are…
Natural Disasters can adversely affect elderly people and those with chronic conditions. Dr. Shital Patel details the issues faced and how you can be prepared if you are a caregiver to an elderly person or have a chronic condition like Diabetes, Renal and Respiratory Issues, Allergies, Cancer. Natural Disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, electrical black-outs, blizzards, cyclones, storms etc.) can have a devastating effect on all but recent studies have thrown light on how…
The patient-doctor relationship is crucial for better outcomes for patients. Find out what some of our patient contributors have to say about their relationship with their doctors. Usha Jerome, on the factors of her win over Colorectal Cancer Two things are important. Firstly, the doctors should not hide the truth and must explain the exact stage of cancer and the way forward. Secondly, we must believe in and trust our doctors. My team of doctors and nurses were…
A recent study1 by the Women’s Health Institute at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, USA reviewed the effects of paternal age on fertility, pregnancy and the health of children. While women are known to have a ticking clock for reproduction, men are not subject to a similar timeline. Dr Ameya Sirsat, a leading Fertility Specialist from Mumbai guides us through these recent study results and what it means for men in relation to their reproductive health. Is there a “biological clock”…
Gopinath Ramakrishnan, Co-Founder and Managing Trustee of Special Child Assistance Network (SCAN), a support group for families of special needs children, reflects on the involvement of Dads in parenting. When we started the parent support group Special Child Assistance Network (SCAN) in Chennai back in 2015, it was mostly a women and children group. Yes, there were a couple of us dads hanging around, but it was by and large comprised of, and driven by the moms. In fact, the WhatsApp…
Anita Iyer Narayan, Founder and Managing Trustee of Ekansh Trust, Pune, shares her views on Adaptive Clothing as well as on the AD-DRESS NOW Project, a contest to sensitise the clothes designer as well as the manufacturer about the difficulties that people with disabilities face while dressing independently. Adaptive clothing is clothing specially designed for people with physical disabilities, the elderly, and the infirm who may experience difficulty dressing. It can be because they do not…
In the second part of this series on Personal Safety and Sexuality Education for children and adolescents with disabilities, Dr. Sangeeta Saksena and Renu Singh of Enfold Trust focus on sexuality education for children and young individuals on the autism spectrum and those with Intellectual disabilities. They even discuss certain myths and concepts. Read the first part here We begin with a few common terms and concepts used in this article. Sexuality: Derived from Latin ‘secare’ meaning…
An insightful and illuminating conversation with Kirtida Oza, who has lived with Sjogren's Syndrome for 30 years and is founder of Sjogren's India on the challenging symptoms of Sjogren's Syndrome and her experience in managing these symptoms. Click below to listen to Kirtida cover a wide range of topics: What is Sjogren's Syndrome Her journey that led to a getting a diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome. The challenges and complexities that relate specifically to managing Sjogrens…
