Religion, Spirituality and Health

What were your thoughts when you last fell ill? 
Were they positive or negative? 
Do you consider yourself a spiritual or a religious person? 
Do being religious or spiritual help you in coping with illness (yours or family member's)? 
When did you last attend a religious place (temple/church/gurudwara/mosque/other)?
Do you expect to share your religious/spiritual views with your physician?
Have you ever come across a physician who has prayed with you?
(Here, illness refers to the response of a patient to a disease.)
The above questions are meant to give an insight about a physician as well as patient's behavior in times of illness. 
The physician who respects and acknowledges the patient as a whole person with dignity, beyond the person's disease, is able to establish relationship of trust for making joint decisions regarding treatment.
On the other hand, for many patients, religion and spirituality is a unique source of motivation and coping with life events, including the experience of personal illness.
The concept of spirituality is about core meaning and connectedness, and it is from this that we respond to all of life. 
Anger, hate, love, forgiveness and hope come from this core.

Knowing a patient as a whole person, including his/her religious and spiritual beliefs, may allow a physician to aid better in the judgement, coping and healing process in the face of disease.

Although many physicians do agree that religion and spiritualism do play a major role in recovery, they do not deal with such issues due to lack of time, lack of training in obtaining such history and many feel uncomfortable in such matters.
Spirituality for some may be expressed in a relationship with God or a higher being, while for others it may be expressed through family and friends, nature and environment.
If spirituality is considered like an umbrella, religion being one way to express spirituality comes under this umbrella.
Issues of spirituality appear more urgent when people face situational and developmental crisis in life, such as coming to terms with a terminal illness and the rising awareness of one's own mortality.
Religion has been found to play protective effects on mental health outcomes, like well being, suicidal behavior and drug abuse.
Studies on adolescent behavior have given inverse relationship between higher religious involvement and alcohol and drug use, smoking, sexual activity, depressive symptoms and suicide risk.
Studies have also found that spirituality and religion positively related to immune system function in HIV-positive patients.
Religious practices, meditation and yoga have been found associated with reduced blood pressure and improved immune function.
Unfortunately, religion has been sometimes used to justify hatred, aggression and prejudice.
Patient's reliance on faith healing instead of appropriate medical care has led to negative outcomes and deaths for many humans.
Next time be free to share your inner spirit too with your clinician, hoping he'll understand its importance in the long run.
Bye for now.

Medical Ethics?

One of the main hurdles in managing a large and diverse nation like India is strong feeling of regionalism and casteism and stereotypes based on these beliefs. 
According to Shantanu Dutta in Merinews, the caste system in the medical profession is as strongly entrenched as any other caste system in India and far more difficult to eradicate than any formal caste distinctions, and it seems doctors these days have forgotten the medical ethics. 
He further adds, the more the docs in India lose their sheen and their once revered status with increasing drops in ethics and rampant commercialization and the more the doctors want to assert in their own clumsy way that they are on top of the health care hierarchy. 

Thanks to regulations taken by the Government of certain states who do not allow Private Practice to those working in Government Jobs. 
Medical Institutions should follow restricted entry of Medical Representatives in the hospitals and wards to avoid luring of doctors by the pharmaceutical companies. 
Instead of trade names, prescriptions should consist of generic names. 
Exceptions are always there, but if such happenings come under notice, there have been incidences of suspension of jobs. 

Isn't it enough reason for us to hope that things are definitely changing for better, though at a slower pace?   

Favor Me, My Teacher

There is nothing better than sitting in a warm, cozy blanket or a quilt during winters. The chill and fog is yet to come, still there is reluctance in getting out of bed in the morning. 

As I was replying my usual e-mails before sleep, my hubby handed me the mobile with someone holding on the other side. A female voice introduced herself as Vishu's (name changed) mother. I soon recollected her as my brightest student whom I taught the subject more than three years back. Her mother reminded me about her daughter's Pediatrics Practical on forthcoming Monday as my hubby was one of the examiners. I was surprised to see her worry as Vishu was among the most bright pupils of her batch. When I asked her the reason, she hesitatingly told that her daughter was almost failed in a subject in previous class as the parents had not approached the teachers asking for favor. This time they didn't want to take any chance. I felt sorry for Vishu and her parents. The amount of effort, time, devotion, attention, hard work and whatever facility is required by a student to succeed in an examination is put both by him/ her and the parents, apart from above something more is required which becomes most important for passing in examinations, and that is known by different names, approach, favor, relations, terms??

It is disheartening for those who work hard but are unable to get good marks just because they don't have so called approaches. Sometimes the student is unaware that despite his best performance he or she is going to fail because of silly ego problem of the examiner. The road to passing Medical Examinations becomes very tough...tougher even at Post Graduate level. Those who have been in such situations may understand better.

What is at the end???

Those who pass, don't respect their teachers, because they know the price they paid for passing the examinations. And those who fail hate their teachers forever...they may  apparently say nothing, but the bitter experience has created another bitter person in the long run. Irony is that certain best worthy doctors whom World knows were also tortured by their teachers in Medical School. 

So what lesson does all this teach you? Just read the following article written by me: 

'Being a teacher,on Teacher's day'

Alas, if only we as teachers' knew too well;

"Don't try to fix the students, fix ourselves first.  The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior.  When our students fail, we, as teachers, too, have failed. " ~Marva Collins

 Hoping to enlighten you with more some day...

Bye for now.

Attraction of Pearls

It was in the wee hours of the morning at three o' clock when the door bell and the mobile rang simultaneously. I was right...my friends were there to fetch me for our conference tour to Hyderabad. 

My visit to Hyderabad unexpectedly turned out to be more than attending an Academic Conference.

The Char Minar

Busy Charminar

After our Indigo landed the once rich princely state at nine a.m., we were soon heading for Taj Krishna, the venue in the cab. 

Despite lack of sleep, our enthusiasm knew no bounds.

Spacious and sophisticated, known for luxurious style and comfort, Taj Krishna, a five star hotel was accommodating New Zealand and Indian cricket teams those days. 

We all were especially interested in meeting the living legend, Sachin Tendulkar. Two of our friends were on the same floor where the teams were staying. And lo, Sachin's room was just diagonally opposite to their room while Sehwag's was in front of them.

Curiosity took us to visit their corridors many times a day, knowing that our giggles were not allowed and closed circuit cameras were watching us...At last our friends succeeded in getting autographs of these Indian celebrities for their kids. Yeah...it was a life time experience for most of us!

Within few hours in this exotic city, I came to know many things about pearls. 

There are two types of pearls-cultured and natural. The difference between the natural pearl and the cultured pearl lies essentially in the formation of the bead nucleus. Natural pearl is formed in an oyster when an irritant causes it to secrete a liquid which hardens over a period where as cultured pearl is formed when an irritant is artificially injected into the oysters to induce the secretion over a bead. The pearl formation depends on the shape of the bead. Natural oyster pearls are rare these days. Most of the natural pearls brought to Hyderabad are fresh water pearls. Cultured fresh water pearls are produced from mussels. While one single oyster pearl is cultivated in one oyster, one mussel can have as many as 50 pearls and they can be harvested quickly. Hence they are cheaper than oyster pearls.

We visited few famous pearl shops and couldn't resist the temptation of buying pearl sets for ourselves and our dear ones back home.

This pearl string costs four lac Indian rupees at the Krishna Pearls.

It was my first ever experience outside without kids and hubby and I really missed them...still it was no doubt an enjoyable four days' journey. 

A mall at Hyderabad

City Mall, a view

City Mall

'Rebecca's statue', Salarjung Museum

Children's section showing an army at 'Salarjung Museum'

Golconda Fort, a sunny day

Conference Hall 'Taj Krishna'

Hoping to share more of Hyderabad  trip with you,

Good Night...

Debate

I was a known introvert person, so when my name was called among those who had to participate in debate, it was surprising for everyone and myself.
Still I had to prepare and when the final day arrived ...I forgot everything :(
No need to say, I felt bad indeed.
A year later when transferred to another city and new school, I went to the organizer and volunteered to participate in Debate.
I still remember the topic given was: "For proper development of student 'mind' is more important or 'heart'?".
I prepared it with my heart and soul and spoke against 'heart' winning first prize.
Surprised na?
Actually I practiced a lot...I mean day-night,...on the terrace,..in the garden,...in school bus,...wherever I went,...whatever I did, I spoke to imaginary spectators and improved each time.
I learnt, persistence is the key to anything...failures are no failures till you accept them.
My present colleagues know I am a good debater.
Don't you think despite favoring brain in the debate, it was my heart who led me to success in this area.
Keep trying!
I want to share something with you, hoping you'll like it as well...http://www.thepraveen.com/heart-vs-mind/

Dusting

Nobody likes dust on the table...still it appears like an unwanted guest whether one likes it or not.
Every morning I take a duster in my hands and start my day by removing dust from each and every piece of furniture.
By noon, I see it there again teasing my previous efforts.
This time, I am  with a soft brush ready to get rid off it.
As if this is not enough...
In the evening, when I lay down on the couch after spending a tiring day, I witness cobweb in a corner of the room.
I rest not till it is swept away from its place. 
Vacuum cleaner is too heavy to be used every time.
And I've few friends who say they are not fond of dusting.
I wonder if I'm  sane or in way of 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder'?
I can be seen searching for ways of avoiding dust on the internet.
I found a  tip one day: wear old socks on your hands and move them on places where you want to remove dust.
Isn't it interesting?
Surprisingly, it works.

Sing-sing-sing

Summer vacations with power cut off led to terrible nights. We cousins used to gather on terrace for 'Antakshari' as pass-time till lights returned.

Whenever someone asked me to sing, I wished I could do this job better.

I was not trained in music but I thought my voice was acceptable for humming alone in the bathroom.

Though I knew a few old melodies and bhajans from old hindi movies which came handy at that time, this was not always the case...

Once in my school days I prepared a song from film 'Madhumati' for a singing competition.

I wrote the lyrics on a paper and learned it.

When I reached on stage I was dumb struck and couldn't remember a word.

I fumbled for that piece of paper, but had dropped it somewhere.

Stage fright caught hold of me.

I simply gave up and at last came down without performing.

Poor show or No show...the first and the last one till now!

PET Scan for osteosarcoma

Aditi complained having pain in her right arm consistently since last two weeks. 

On further interrogation she told that she had fight with  her classmate and was pushed hard by her. Investigations like X-ray, ultrasound and MRI revealed osteosarcoma in a lively twelve year old girl. 

Yesterday she had PET Scan done.

Osteosarcoma is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the bone. 

It is the most common type of bone cancer. 

Osteosarcoma most often occurs in adolescents and young adults.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is an advanced diagnostic imaging technique that is used for diagnosis, staging and restaging after treatment or recurrence of various cancers. 

This technique exploits the increased metabolism of glucose in malignant viable cells. 

2-[fluorine18-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) which is an analogue of glucose detects the difference in glucose metabolism. 

Like glucose, FDG is transported into tumor cells, by means of glucose transporter protein and subsequently it is phosphorylated by an enzyme hexokinase to FDG-6-phosphate. 

As FDG-6-phosphate is not a substrate for glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (the next step in glycolysis), it is biochemically trapped within the cell. 

This process of metabolic trapping in cell constitutes the basis for imaging of distribution of tracer with PET. Since there is many fold increase in glucose metabolism in malignant tumors as compared to normal, it is easy to detect this difference in metabolism using PET. 

Therefore PET has high sensitivity and high negative predictive value as compared to conventional morphological modalities like computed tomography (CT), Ultrasonography (USG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which use size as the only or major criterion to distinguish between benign and malignant disease in lymph nodes.

In osteosarcoma, degree of FDG uptake in tumour has good correlation with histological grading or tumour aggressiveness.

osteosarcoma of humerus

PET Scan

Her reports show that tumor is in initial stage, no metastasis. It's good news, osteosarcoma is curable with 75% survival rate with limb preservation modality.

Let's hope and pray for the best!

Come to My Small World...

Come to  My Small World...

My mummy keeps on mentioning me as 'Kukkoo' in her posts. By now, you are quite familiar with me and my activities. 

Today, let me introduce myself to you. 

My actual name is Karthik.

I was born on 19th December 2009.

It was a  bright sunny winter day.

Arvind Bhaiya had gone to school that day.

Papa brought him straight to hospital after school to me.

He was very happy to see me.

I knew we will have good time together.

I was so small then...

I felt very cozy when I was swaddled, and slept most of the day.

I have very SWEET dreams ...

I enjoy being naughty with Papa.

 

 

 

I am Mamma's small buddy. 

Let's play 'peekaboo'.

Bye-Bye, will be back soon...

Children's Library

Some people never change their ways, no matter how many hardships they have to go through. 'Uttaran' serial's 'Tapasya' (Colors TV) is such character. Certain relationships  are predefined, and deep rooted hatred can never be thrown off till root cause exists. 

  As I mused on happenings in life of this particular person while ironing last piece of laundry, hubby called me  to have a look downstairs what our kids were up to. 

Before I reached there, I could hear Arvind's voice. Both of us peeped inside and saw him reading a story to Kukkoo from Enid Blyton's Noddy series. The younger one also seemed to understand what his dada (elder brother) narrated to him affirming by babbling sounds. They were enjoying each others company. 

When Arvind was an infant I used to read stories to him, now he has taken over my role. Children are capable of performing much more than what we think, its up to us to give them favorable environment to bloom up their hidden talent.

Happy Parenting!

De-stressing after Diwali

A Face-book friend from America informed that on Wednesday, President Obama observed the auspicious holiday of Diwali, or festival of lights, in the East Room of the White House. The occasion marked the first time that an American President has observed the holiday. It is nice, pleasing and appropriate gesture towards Indians when President is on his visit to India.

Today, our Sunday morning was brightened up by watching enthusiastic participation of the First Lady Michelle and the President in 'Koli Dance' with students of Holy Name School during Diwali celebrations in Mumbai.

 Diwali celebrations are over and Monday will be resumption of official duties and children back to school.

I searched for some De-stressing tips and found a few worth mentioning here...

• Watching TV may temporarily entertain but in the long run activities like joining gymn/yoga class and a picnic with friends is more satisfying.
• Scent of an orange makes one feel instantly relaxed.  A study has confirmed that the citrus fruit contains 'linalool', a compound whose odor has been shown to lower stress levels in animals. Linalool gradually breaks down when in contact with oxygen, forming an oxidized by-product that may cause allergic reactions such as eczema in susceptible individuals. Then why not enjoy fresh seasonal oranges?
• Nutrients are absorbed into system faster via a beverage that's cold versus one at room temperature. So next time blend your fruit juice with crushed ice.
•  Being super enthusiastic about others achievement spreads positive energy to yourself. Encourage your friends to speak up their minds.
• Grab a protein and carbohydrate (complex one) rich snack...dark chocolate works wonder when your mood dips.
• Surround yourself with colorful flowers. Buy them if you don't get them for yourself. Love yourself before expecting from others.
• Nuts like almonds, pistachos, walnuts contain arginine which stimulates blood flow increasing supply of nutrients to various organs and serotonin which improves mood. Keep handful of them with you wherever you go.
• Let your ipod play motivational tunes for you to keep your spirits high during a tedious task.
• Take a round of near by park and feel the freshness of air.
• Spices like cinnamon maintains blood sugar, cumin raises iron level, coriander elevates magnesium during stress. 
• A charity goes long way...try it.
• Opt for green tea during afternoons which contains threonine to increase concentration while caffiene is rejuvenating for brain.
• Breathing deeply keeps you calm. Giggling for no reason will make you feel happy.
• Enjoy outdoors on a bright sunny day for a vitamin D dose, just ensure you are sun screened.
• Massaging ear lobe increases energy levels. Try it.

Reaching out for unreachable

 Wishing everyone work less, play more, feel great for happy days ahead!

Diwali Moments captured...

Friend Lord Ganesha, the first worshiped

Lord Krishna

Array of Diyas

Welcoming 'Lakshmi', the Goddess of Wealth

Diwali Poojan (1)

Diwali Poojan (2)

Diwali Poojan (3)

Diwali 2010

'Happy Diwali, Safe Diwali'

She was on her rounds in the ophthalmic ward, and wondering why people play with crackers, or why do they exist? It may sound absurd but she was right in her own way.

Diwali was still to come and she had already done her sixth enucleation operation this week and most of them were on children 6 to 10 years old.

One of them was a teenager who was simply watching others play with crackers when a part of small bomb entered his right eye and there was no other option but eye removal.

Let us take pledge to make this Diwali safe for everyone.

No crackers please, and avoid electricity power overload by enjoying with decorations and diyas.

Making this Diwali full of sweet memories...

Happy Diwali!

Diwali preparations...

It has been more than a week now since I last posted on 'My World'. 

Every time I planned to post, some other important work overpowered the brain. 

It became really very hectic with a never ending list of tasks to be performed with in limited time along with departmental duties and routine household chores. 

After all 'Diwali' is once a year festival for us when maximum shopping is to be done. 

Yesterday was 'Dhan-Teras' when markets had no free space to move. 

Shopkeepers were busy making profits, while customers seemed unaffected by soaring prices. 

They were actively  buying sweets, dry fruits, steel utensils, silver-gold coins and ornaments, gifts for their near and dear ones .
To summarize, Diwali is best time to show off your buying power.

For me this festival brings reason to get rid off unnecessary clutter and be more organized. 

Though hubby avoids busy crowded places, after slight persuasion he agreed to accompany me to buy metal shelf for kitchen. 

Real work began after it took its place. 

Emptying, washing, drying, re-filling of containers followed in succession and at last the result was wonderful.

It would have been very tiring had I not taken frequent breaks to complete the job on my own. 

Of course, hubby indirectly helped me by taking care of kids in the mean time.

Hoping to share many more Diwali events...

Happy Diwali!

 

Aches and pains

Apart from searching articles related to medical research, there are daily blog posts, entrecard drops, link referral, social networks,... innumerable sites, and innumerable tasks to perform....it's overwhelming and difficult to handle all in a day.

At the end of the day its not surprising to have back ache, shoulder pain, wrist pain, blurred vision,  and  in days to come suffer from problems related to circulation, respiration, digestion, bone (osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome) etc. etc., the list goes on...

Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) due to prolonged periods in poor position alters posture gradually until one begins to suffer all the time. 

Ergonomic furniture and accessories do play a role in maintaining correct posture, relieving stress on muscles and joints, thereby avoiding more energy expenditure. American Chiropractic Association promoted May as 'Correct Posture Month'.

Certain precautions are needed while working on computer:

• For proper circulation in lower limbs, there should be two inches gap between seat edge and back of knees.
• Knees should be at 90 degrees angle with angled foot rest.
• Avoid bending of neck either forwards or backwards, by keeping top of screen at eye level.
• Keep mouse near to avoid shoulder and neck strain. Wrist rest helps in keeping it in neutral position.
• Frequent, short breaks to stretch your arms, hands, shoulders and neck .
• Headset or speakerphone to talk on phone and type on computer simultaneously, avoid cradling telephone between ear and shoulder.
• Elbows should be bent at 75 to 90 degrees while typing on the keyboard.

Fruits like pear, strawberries, green vegetables like spinach, carrots provide enough anti-oxidants and fish has poly unsaturated fatty acids to strengthen nerves of eyes. 

There is a free simple reminder tool for prompting regular breaks and helps symptoms of  RSI.

Physical activity goes a long way in avoiding obesity due to sitting jobs. Keep a check on your biochemical (blood lipid, blood sugar) profile. 

Best of Health with Computers!

Entrecard Contest

Five days ago I received an e-mail from Entrecard for writing a review mentioning pros and cons about it. 

Well, its almost a month now when I'm actively dropping (though not 300 per day everytime!), and I feel a remarkable difference in the traffic (graph proves).

Moreover, I have acquainted with very friendly people during this short time span. 

I read Jamie's post (http://www.crimsonsparkle.net/notebook/) who drops 600 cards in an hour. It is really inspiring for me at least who feels tired and often loses the aim. 

Its really fun hopping different sites, sometimes your attention is diverted towards something very catchy. I hope I'll try to get some very quick methods to drop other than those available on certain sites. More  practice will evolve more routes  (I think so!).

At last, we should all support Janie in her struggle with the stalker/harasser (Bravo Janie!). Sick people should be treated accordingly. 

Cheers!

My Hut

It was a sight worth watching. Kukkoo was admiring his elder brother's colorful drawing, trying to grab it saying "da-da-da-da". 
Suddenly my thoughts were roaming around  those days when life seemed so simple; days were bright and beautiful, nights were meant for grandma's stories followed by dreamless ten hour' sleep. 
During my childhood days when someone asked me about my favorite subject, 'drawing' was an instant, unthoughtful reply from my side. 
The passion was sometimes in its most exaggerated form which made me forget everything else around me...I used to turn deaf to innumerable calls for the meals...The more engrossed I was in sketching a beautiful scene, the more reason I gave my parents to worry about my casual attitude towards the rest of  subjects. 

As I grew older, my interest got limited to participating in painting contests without much practice, moreover each higher class imposed more responsibility to finish the syllabus.

I still have a clear memory of the first scenery I drew in the kindergarten. There was a hut with smoke coming out of a chimney, trees, flowers, green grass, flying birds , ducks swimming in a small pond, a girl with two braided tails tied with  red ribbons  holding basket full of different colorful flowers...and I simply adored the finished product..

Saturdays were colorful as we were allowed to wear our casual dresses and no compulsion to wear school uniform. It symbolized our share of small freedom. We had 'crafts' period that day. My first school was Carmel Convent High School, Mahanagar, Lucknow. We were given a yellow colored square cloth to fold the edges with the 'running stitch'. It was my first introduction to the 'sewing world'.

During summer vacations, when siblings and mother used to visit "Nani's" (maternal grand mother's) house, she taught me many more stitches. Those were the best days of my life. There comes a nostalgic element with them. There is still a hidden passion for creativity but now times are different...I start a project with full zeal but it takes years to complete.
I'll share some of my unfinished projects with you all in the days to come, may be I'll get enough motivation to complete them some day!
Good Night and Sweet Dreams from this part of the Globe!

'Hindi', our mother tongue

Today was Parent Teachers' Meeting of my son at 2 p.m., who studies in the third standard. When myself and hubby reached the school building, there were already many vehicles at the parking, leaving less options for  those who were left. 

After signing the arrival report we went to the basement where all his subject teachers were supposed to be. 

It was a huge hall where teachers were seated at certain distances along with few seats for parents to sit. Many of the parents had to stand waiting for their turn. 

The first term's reports were being given to the parents after showing their ward's performance in different tests. There was a change though, as this time the students were awarded grades instead of marks. 

Most of the parents were mothers, some of them very much bothered about their children's marks. 

This time, as expected Arvind had achieved A+ in all subjects except Hindi, in which he had B+. 

Our own mother tongue is becoming very difficult for our children to learn. 

They can learn English, EVS (Environmental Sciences), GK (General Knowledge), can have fun with IT (Information Technology i.e.Computers) and Maths, but when it comes to Hindi, it becomes a nightmare. To put proper 'matras' (मात्राएँ), use proper alphabet (स्वर एवं व्यंजन) and moreover, writing properly the language (व्याकरण) requires a lot of practice. I just could not stand what he wrote in paper...for example he wrote संगया  for the word संज्ञा .

Where comes the role of the teacher, when I was cursing myself for not paying more attention to Hindi.

Next time hoping for the better...

Happy Parenting!