By: Dr. Neha Tank Modha M.D.Ph.D. (Ayu)
Swine influenza (also called H1N1 flu, swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
"Man is what he eats" is one view while an opposite view is that "it is not what one eats that kills him but, it is what eats him (negative thoughts) that kills him." Both have some wisdom in them. Let us confine ourselves to the first view only for this blog as the pandemic season is threatening us and we need to ponder as to what we should be eating

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
I was working in Ipswich in a cardiothoracic centre during the 1968-69 'Flu epidemic. During the Xmas week end of 1968, I had to be on call from Friday through Monday morning as most of my colleagues were on leave. I had to certify more than 50 deaths, mostly in the geriatric age group. Elderly patients with

 By: Dr. Venkatesh Sanjeeva, Mangalore
Diseases of the Breast bring in a significant stress in women, especially when the diagnosis of breast cancer is made. Why? The impact of this disease threatens the body image, disturbances in the form of self esteem, feminity and sexuality. Hence there is a

 By: Dr Srivatsa, Mangalore
We proudly display our culinary skills to our friends and the rest of the world and it is nice to see and taste the great Indian vegetarian food. We only focus on the Color, Variety and taste, forgetting the health aspect of our food and the ingredients that go into the making of this

 By: Dr Srivatsa, Mangalore
Constipation is due to bad living habits, bad eating habits, sedentary lifestyle, lack of sufficient water intake and eating too much refined products. Consumption of prescription drugs also contributes to the cause of constipation. Constipation prevents the expulsion of toxins produced

 By: Dr. Anasuya Devi
Winter is a season when the body craves for more food. People tend to eat repeatedly at irregular intervals due to increased digestive power. Moreover, physical activity is reduced to a minimum. A combination of excessive food intake and less physical activity is the root cause to a series of health alterations. During winter, people experience problems like, creaky joints, body pains, lethargy

 By: Dr. Anasuya Devi
Ayurveda is an ancient science which deals with the overall well-being of the body and prevention of diseases through naturally available resources. This is a compre - hensive and holistic approach, where all aspects related to health such as food, living habits, exercises, breathing

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
Is it? Yes, it is for those that do have very little to eat in this world. Mind you, they are in the majority-did you know that? Strange are the ways of this world! The writer and the readers might not realize the gravity of this human tragedy unless the facts are placed before them. While the

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
I saw a young man today. He was 37 years old and has been working in the Gulf with lots of anxiety. His family was back home in India-young wife and two small kids. The man became very anxious and failed to get sleep. He got into the habit of taking alcohol for sleep and became addicted to it. He started getting

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
The title is from the German book "The Disease Inventors" by Jörg Blech, original in German, translated by my friend, Herbert Nehrlich, a family physician in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, especially for my use. The contents of this chapter are drawn heavily from that translation. Like the "free" check up

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
We, in the medical field, try and give an impression to the public and the powers-that-be that all is well with modern medicine and the other alternate systems of medical care are all unscientific and should be shunned. How many of us have searched our hearts to see if what we are doing is "scientific" as we claim it to be?

 By: Dr.Veronica Saldanha
In general, depending on the health status, exercising during pregnancy helps in improving the physical and mental well-being of the mother, apart from playing a vital role in relieving stress and maintaining the muscle tone. It also helps in improving breathing and stamina during pregnancy, however the

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
Alcohol is a powerful addicting drug which has multitude of actions inside the human system; there is hardly any human organ that alcohol does not damage. The medical profession, following the pseudo-science of linear laws, has

 By: Dr. B. M. Hegde, India
All saturated fats were said to be the reason for the cholesterol induced epidemic of coronary disease. This powerful lobby could influence the thinking of the medical world through a plethora of studies, all of which when scrutinized scientifically fall by the way side. Coconut lobby was not there and even a few individuals who thought otherwise

 By: Dr.Veronica Saldanha, M.D.
Women are a vulnerable category both physically and mentally. Due to the physical, biological and hormonal changes they go through in their life time from Menarche to Menopause. We know prevention is better than cure. It is good to have a thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject, rather what is expected as the age advances so that

 By: Dr K.B. Mallya, Canada
Even though Government of India states in their official newspaper release that there has not been any confirmed case of human death from bird flu, it is important for us to observe certain precautions. Department of Health has taken adequate steps to control the spread of this disease by culling poultry..

 By: Dr. K. B. Mallya, Canada
The true life story began when 4 year old Akansha from Dubai was diagnosed to have Thalassemia, a blood disorder, when she was barely 1 year old. Her parents realized the only way their child can be saved was by giving her a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant from her own sibling. For this

 By: Dr K.B. Mallya, Canada
I saw RG sleeping on my examination table, so innocent, oblivious to the fact that he had a brain tumor that could potentially take his life. His breathing appeared labored and he was not moving his right side. Examination revealed that there was increased pressure within his head. MRI scan showed a tumor in the middle of his brain along with a cyst which was part of the tumor, compressing and blocking free flow of fluid that normally circulates around the brain and spinal cord. The cavities in the brain were getting larger..

 By: Dr. K.B. Mallya, Canada
This Video Pill...also known as 'Capsule Endoscope' has smooth surface and is resistant to digestive juices and is excreted normally in about 3 days. It has source of light and a transmitter. He has to wear a belt like device that carries a data recorder and sensors to capture the video images transmitted by the pill as it travels the entire intestinal tract. The patient after swallowing the pill, may return to his routine activities..