Tools in Health - Health and Medicine in Postal Stamps

Ensuring basic health needs: A concept with many names

Index Home Health is dear to all, and we all strive to be in pink of our health all the time. Principles of health maintenance are simple, though repetitive actions. While it is a readily acceptable concept that basic health needs should be available to all, globally we have struggled with its execution. There are quite… Continue reading Ensuring basic health needs: A concept with many names

Aspirin: Aspiration for a wonder-drug

Index Home The name “Aspirin” is a brand name for one of the most popular low-cost medicines. Despite a low cost, and almost 125 years of usage, it still has about 2.5 billion USD of market share, which is expected to grow. “A” in aspirin comes from its chemical compound – Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and “spir”… Continue reading Aspirin: Aspiration for a wonder-drug

Legacy of “Foresight prevents blindness” campaign

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

The art and science of sight; looking into ones eyes

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

To perform in a theater, sans its audience

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

A familiar orthoses from the past: Leather and metal polio-brace

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

Bandage: A cloth cover to wrap, hold or press

Bandage is synonymous with healing and care. The word comes from “bind” or to hold together. It is a symbol of empathy and care. Some recent postage stamps designed to convey care, are shaped like bandages. These are a more modern version of bandage- small and sticky. However, bandages are not always small. When wounds… Continue reading Bandage: A cloth cover to wrap, hold or press

Basic Life Support (BLS) makes dead alive again

Index Home Basic Life Support or BLS is a sequence of actions, that attempt to bring life back, after it has seemingly ceased. When heart stops, or lungs fail to breathe, we have moved closer to death. However, all is still not over. We still have a few more minutes to make heart to beat… Continue reading Basic Life Support (BLS) makes dead alive again

Stretcher and its bearers over the years

Index Home Stretcher is an unassuming medical transportation device. It is unassuming, as it lays hidden between the patient and the stretcher-bearer. Stretcher bearers also are often unsung. Yet stretchers and bearers come to rescue when we need to transport sick or injured. Stretchers have evolved, and so have its bearers. Postage stamps are a testimony… Continue reading Stretcher and its bearers over the years

Wavy ECG gestures that make our heart to beat

Index Home We all live, without skipping a heart-beat. These are more than 25 billion beats over a life-time. Each of these beats means that our heart muscles have had a powerful squeeze, pours blood to all our nooks and corners. But what makes our heart beat ? This enigma was settled in early 1900s, when… Continue reading Wavy ECG gestures that make our heart to beat