Notebook Archives

Most of us know enough about doctors to know that “beside manners” is generally limited to fictional doctor-nurse romances. That is why, perhaps, we usually tend to get so intimidated by these men of science. So much so, often we don’t question them or their judgement at all! But the next time you visit your doctor, here’s what you need to ask yourself:

Does he listen to you and respond to your queries, or does he make you feel like you have no right to know what’s happening in your body or your child’s?

Is the prescription he has written for you legible?

Is he willing to discuss the medicines and dosage with you – without making you feel you ought to know it all?

Does he list alternative lines of treatment, or tell you there are none and get irritated that you asked?

Is he willing to take an emergency call from you?

At the end of his checklist, if you are still comfortable, he is the doctor for you. Otherwise, simple go to the next best.

Here is something that has grabbed the undivided attention of the health conscious. Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial yeast. In simpler words, there is good bacteria, and there is bad bacteria. Probiotics has got the good stuff.
Whether it is a tall glass of pomegranate juice or strawberries dipped champagne, both fruits are packed with antioxidants. And if you haven’t been living under a rock, you will know antioxidants are the key to good health. Finally, some things that taste good are actually good for you.

Concern occurs when cells multiply uncontrollably and form masses called tumours. Breast tumours grow slowly and may have been developing for some time before they are large enough to be felt. A yearly mammogram (an X-ray of the breast) can detect tiny tumours in their early stages before they can be felt. Detected early, cancer is often curable.

Many women fear losing their feminity if a breast is removed. Though not in itself life-threatening, a breast tumour, left untreated, implies a high risk of cancer spreading to other organs via the lymph nodes or bloodstream. This makes early detection of malignant tumours imperative. A mastectomy (removal of the entire breast) isn’t always necessary. If the disease hasn’t spread, a small tumour and the surrounding tissue may be removed by a lumpectomy, leaving the breast largely intact. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are other options.

All women are at risk for breast cancer, and approximately 80 percent sufferers have no family history of it. With early diagnosis and treatment, most can return to a normal life.

Myths on the cause of cancer:

• High doses of X-rays cause cancer, so mammograms cause cancer.
• Women with small (or large) breasts aren’t at risk for cancer.
• A blow to the breast causes cancer.
• Excess caffeine causes cancer.

For women who cannot afford an annual mammogram, many organisations sponsor free or low-cost mammograms. Ask for more information at local hospitals or from relevant NGOs in your city.

• A lump or swelling, usually painless, anywhere in the breast or underarm area (but most commonly in the upper and outer region of the breast).
• Changes in the appearance of the skin of the breasts, including flattening, indentation, dimpling, creasing, redness or scaliness.
• Changes in the nipple, including indentation, an itching or burning sensation, and dark or bloody discharge.
• Changes in the size or symmetry of the breasts.
• Discomfort or pain in the breast in advanced cases.

Given the importance of early detection, it is vital that women make a serious note of what they need to do on a regular basis.

When to call your doctor?

• If you find a lump anywhere in the breast or under arm. Most lumps are not cancerous, but a biopsy is necessary to diagnose – or rule out – breast cancer with any certainty.
• If you notice any change in the size, shape or appearance of the breast.
• If you experience any discharge from the nipple.

People are happiest and most prosperous in their work when it is aligned with what is meaningful to them and what they are passionate about. We happen to live in a rapidly changing work environment. What was joyful work one day can become dreaded work the next.

When things change, you want to make sure the changes are in alignment with what is more important to you – like your values and your talents. If they are not, see if there are ways to bring them back to alignment. If it becomes clear that there are no ways to do that, then it is time to move on.

If you are in tune with yourself, your gut instincts or intuition will tell you if the changes are in or out of alignment for you. Watch for clues: frustration, anger, fatigue, stress, boredom, taking things out on those close to you, being told you are no longer fun to be with.

The mistakes many people make – when things stay out of alignment with what is most important to them – is to hang on too long to a job that no longer works for them. They end up settling for less because it is easier and safer. They do not want to take the risk or make the time to look for work that would be more joyful. Hanging on too long will result in loss of self-respect, loss of self-confidence, and unhappiness. Don’t let this happen to you.

If statistics are anything to go by, homeopathy seems to have found worldwide support today. A survey published in the British Medical Journal recently points out that even allopathic physicians have started referring patients their counterparts in homeopathic practice for certain specific ailments. In Europe, it is often practiced alongside conventional medicine, particularly in England, France, Germany and Greece.

Homeopathic treatment is also gaining farther afield, in the New World – in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and South Africa. In Britain, homeopathy is even patronized by the Brazil royal family and is on the National Health Scheme. In the United States of America, the number of patients opting for homeopathy is growing at the rate of 20 percent per year.

Approximately 40 percent of the French public has used homeopathic medicine at some point; about 20 percent German physicians utilize homeopathic medication; and 39 percent of French physicians have prescribed homeopathy to their patients.

Stop straining your brain over the difference between soluble and insoluble fibre. Turns out both types have a role in preventing rectal cancer, reports a new University of Utah study. Insoluble fibre found in whole grains speeds toxic elements through your intestines and out, the researchers say, whereas soluble fibre in fruits and vegetables removes tumor-promoting chemicals and creates compounds that can stop cancer cell growth.

Effective amounts: 5 to 6 daily vegetables servings, 3 to 4 fruit servings, 3 whole grain servings.

If your pooch is not eating, is vomiting, is lethargic, seems depressed or is ‘just not himself’, do not hesitate to see the vet. Don’t wait for him to get worse.

And take care to choose the right vet: Go with recommendations from other dog lovers or check out a reliable pet magazine. Consider these points: Does the vet ask you questions about your pet? Does your dog like him or is he scared of him? (It is natural for a dog to be a bit nervous of a vet, but he should not seem too frightened.) Do you feel comfortable with the way he treats your dog? And, finally, the most important query – does your vet have a proper license?

A sneeze. A scratch. A tear. Typically, these reflexes barely register on your consciousness or, if they do, its as an annoyance. In reality, however, each is an unconscious action that, in its own way provides essential protection against disease causing microbes or toxins before they can do harm.

Scratching is a natural reaction to itching, which is triggered by tiny receptors in the skin’s nerve endings.

Coughing helps to clear mouth, throat and lung tissues of foreign invaders, such as moulds, pollen, dust mites and pet dander, as well as mucus laden with microbes. The irony of this is that many respiratory infections may be spread by droplets of pathogens put into the air by the cough.

Sneezing is like coughing but directed through the nose. We also sneeze to get ride of microbes that multiply in the nasal passageways, as the result of having cold.

Vomiting occurs when harmful substances in the stomach are identified by the receptors in the walls of the digestive tract.

Tearing keeps the surface of the eyes moist and sterile. Tears also protect the eye when dust or debris irritate it. Crying, a natural response to stress, flushes away certain harmful chemicals produced by anxiety.

Despite this impressive range of barriers, reflexes and chemicals, dangerous invaders do occasionally manage to penetrate the body.

You know the saying, you can take a horse to the water, you can’t make him drink. I am taking you to water via different routes. Enjoy it.

• Don’t eat food in portions larger than your fist.
• Do-it-yourself. Do you own laundry. Dust your won shelves, buy your own groceries. Don’t leave it to your domestic help.
• Takes the weight off you.
• Avoid buffets. Be the diva and get the chef to make you something special. Ask nicely.
• Therapeutic massages help control stress and put your body in a state of relaxation, allowing it to internally start a healing process. And no, it has nothing to do with sex.
• While oil and carbs are the big guns of bad health, the word is out that no carbs and no oil is even worse. Low carbs is the mantra.
• The bad news. You can stay on the treadmill for hours and not lose weight. The good news. You can stay on the treadmill and watch your calories. It works wonders.
• If you are a chronic sufferer of migraine, blood pressure, and other ailments that refuse to go away, ask your doctor to enrol you for a biofeedback reading. It enables you to monitor your body, to recognise stress build-up and to make you more aware of when the monster is going to strike again. Our grandmothers were right: Prevention is really better than cure.
• Change your routine. While there is great comfort in habits, health and fitness experts claim that changing routines frequently keeps you alert because you are entering new territory which could throw up surprises, good and bad. It helps the body cope with new obstacles, lower immunity to situations and generally helps you cope better with life situations.
• Stay balanced. If you have a sedentary lifestyle, join a dance class, a trekker’s club, in short, stay active. If you are a travel guide, join a book club, watch movies that make you laugh, in short, stay passive.
• When you are tempted to take a second helping, give yourself 20 minutes before you do. Research shows it takes that long for the stomach to signal to the brain that it has had enough.
• Rise with the sun, sleep with the moon. Ancient wisdom. Still applicable.