Index Home All health systems are designed to take care of common ailments. Postage stamps also pick up only those health themes, that are common. To put in numbers, diabetes and hypertension are common. Today, these conditions affect as many as 1 or 2 of every 10 adults respectively. Some other health ailments are even more… Continue reading Rare stamps for rare diseases
Category: Medical Diseases
This category includes blogs about different diseases
Bug of the soil to treat Tuberculosis
Index Home Till the end of the second world war, Tuberculosis (TB) had no cure. Bed-rest, sunlight, and some fresh air were standard TB treatments. While some self-healed themselves, most would die after a long wait. Even Penicllin, famous and marvellous first antibiotic, did not make a dent. First useful medicine against TB, was following footsteps… Continue reading Bug of the soil to treat Tuberculosis
Rabies: Pulling out of jaws of a certain furious death
Index Home As a toddler, I was often warned. “Do not go near stray dogs – If they bite you, you will get fourteen injections in your tummy.” There were, and still are a plenty of stray animals around. Many kids including myself were taught, how to identify a friendly one from the furious one. “A… Continue reading Rabies: Pulling out of jaws of a certain furious death
Mind the date: beginning of our 220 cr campaign
Index Home It was 16th January of 2021, and a historic day as it was the launch of India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive. Just a year ago, in January 2020, we were sucked in a global pandemic. Over next ten months, after lockdowns, first wave of Covid, more than a crore documented cases and about a lakh… Continue reading Mind the date: beginning of our 220 cr campaign
Why we think & do, what we think & do ?
Index Home Our behaviour is shaped by our thoughts and actions. Each of us has a different behaviour, even when external situations are similar. Psychology is the science that analyses our behaviour, thoughts, and consequent actions. Like medicine, psychology is also an imperfect science. Explanations about our behaviour, thoughts and feelings is often based on certain… Continue reading Why we think & do, what we think & do ?
Our transition from food & hunger to health & nutrition
Index Home To the world of postage stamps, sixties was a time of global omnibuses. First such occasion was the year 1960 itself, when many countries of the world issued postage stamps on refugees(previous blog). In 1962 we created a malaria omnibus (previous malaria blog). Both these initiatives raised awareness as well as funds for their… Continue reading Our transition from food & hunger to health & nutrition
Allergies: A case of Itchy hives, sneezes and wheezes
Index Home Today the word “allergy” is in common usage. This word was born quite recently in the year 1906. Clemens von Pirquet (1874–1929) was a paediatrician in Vienna. He and his peers were witness to new diseases that did not have much of an explanation. Some would develop transient itchy red patches on the skin… Continue reading Allergies: A case of Itchy hives, sneezes and wheezes
World AIDS day 2024:Take the rights path
Index Home HIV stigma, perpetuates inequality Stigma befriends some diseases.In ancient times it was Leprosy, followed by Syphillis, and in the modern times HIV. In ancient times, individuals with a flat-nose, a tell-tale sign of leprosy, were disqualified from becoming priest. By 1450s, we feared and hid sexually transmitted syphillis. Advent of antibiotics and changing sexual… Continue reading World AIDS day 2024:Take the rights path
Changing symbolism and slogans in HIV-AIDS philately
Index Home Part 1 (1981-2007) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Scientific evidence shows that the virus sneaked into human beings around 1920s. We realised its existence, about six decades later, in early 1980s. Mankind had just emerged from successful small-pox eradication, when in 1981, Center of disease control (CDC) reported a cluster… Continue reading Changing symbolism and slogans in HIV-AIDS philately
Angiography: How did we start seeing our vessels
Index Home While we knew for a long time, that blood travels inside conduits or vessels, we did not have much of clarity, till the middle of 16th century. It was only in 1540s, when Andreas Vesalius, a surgeon, anatomist and a medical illustrator drew it all. He first dissected actual human cadavers, and produced illustrations… Continue reading Angiography: How did we start seeing our vessels