Category: Uncategorized

Index Home 1976 is a landmark year for Global Blindness Prevention. After years of apathy, blindness prevention and control was on World Health Organisation (WHO) agenda. Only a year ago in 1975, World Health Assembly had adopted a resolution on problem of blindness. The assembly zeroed in on six leading causes of blindness at that time,… Continue reading Legacy of “Foresight prevents blindness” campaign

Index Home Eyes have always intrigued us. Eyes reflect our intent, emotions, wisdom, and even romance. While science attributes eyes with sight, for art and literature these are windows of our thought and vision. Indeed, these are two windows of our soul, be it thoughts of wisdom benevolence, mischief or cruelty. Since time immemorial, looking into… Continue reading The art and science of sight & looking into ones eyes

Index Home We donot attribute middle ages or the medieval period, with any major scientific advancement. Europe, in these times was a battleground for religions. Since christianity was on a rise, ancient pagan believers and jews were cajoled, coerced and even threaten to embrace this new religion. By 10th century AD, Christianity was firmly placed as… Continue reading Maimonides a philosopher-physician of medieval times

Index Home Sepsis lies on the pathway from infection to death. While we have discovered drugs against bugs that cure infections, yet sometimes infections are overwhelming. As a response, our body’s immune system fights back. We call this as a host response. In extreme situations, conflict between the invading bugs and host response starts damaging our… Continue reading Sepsis: Serious infection that leads to a war within

Index Home Yesterday, I was struggling to find a theme for a fresh blog. My daughter exclaimed “Why don’t you write about flowers ?” Initially that was a weird thought, health care does not really gel with flowers. Hospitals are a rather dull place, replete with people in distress, health workers in action, with many instruments… Continue reading Flowers in health care and its philately

Index Home A theater it is, with performances that are all a matter of life and death. It is not an act, but all that happens is real. Human lives are wheeled in, and their senses go blunt. Some others dare to correct, remove or fix aberrations. Mostly, lives are repaired, and sometimes new ones are… Continue reading To perform in a theater, sans its audience

Index Home When hands and arms fail, but determination reins supreme, we come across some special abilities. Mouth and foot painting is one such special ability, that is leaves us awestruck. It is an art, where artists manoeuvre painting brushes and other tools with their mouth or feet. Thus works of art so created are special.… Continue reading Mouth and foot painting: A special ability in postage stamps

Index Home A desire, that we could replace a failed organ, is age-old. Hindu God Ganesha, had his head replaced by one of an elephant. So are numerous chimeric Greek gods, that have fused body parts from more than one animal. Cosmas and Damian patron saints in medieval Rome, transplanted a diseased leg with a healthy… Continue reading Donate a healthy organ to mend another’s failed one

Index Home Orthoses are external supports attached to a limb or a body part. Today such devices are made of lighter materials, and are used to support knee, ankle, elbow or hand. We use more elaborate ones to straighten or support our spines. Till a few decades ago, heavier Leather and steel lower limb orthoses were… Continue reading A familiar orthoses from the past: Leather and metal polio-brace

Index Home A few structures in our body, set us apart from our closest primates. Most animals need all fours, but we can balance, walk and run on our twos. This makes our hands free, and allow us to manage many fine movements. Our rigid bones make these actions sturdy, and our joints keep our bones… Continue reading Bone and Joints: Keeping ’em close, yet a little apart