The Twitter-Storm in a Kashaya (Herbal Tea) Cup
People often forget that food is also made up of chemicals- each of which have their own toxicity levels. Enough of the regular garden variety chocolate can kill a mid sized dog by poisoning. Many of these supposedly “immunity boosting” ingredients- Turmeric, Fenugreek (Methi) seeds, chawanprash, basil(Tulsi), Aloe Vera when consumed in large quantities can cause liver and kidney issues in people
Why branded drugs cost way more than their generic counterparts?
Whether a particular drug is branded or generic, it’s efficacy and safety profile should be the same. Often with the intention to reduce costs of medicines, less ethical means are taken to that end. If drug regulation is poor, unethical businessmen will stop at nothing to increase their profit margins. Our focus should not only be in reducing costs of drugs but more on ensuring that quality and reliable safe drugs reach the end consumers-the patients.
When will Artificial Intelligence replace Human Doctors?
AI robots will be complementary to human doctors and won’t be a zero-sum game for a long time to come. AIs will help us reduce our mistakes, decrease our workload, make us work more sane hours and in turn manage our work-life balance- but at least in the foreseeable future they aren’t going to replace us. Maybe it will lead to lot of us doing less mundane, repetitive jobs and with doctors doing much higher intellectual level work.
Contrarian View: Why a Covid-19 vaccine might not be the answer to end the pandemic!
Vaccines are tough business. From all the decades of collective knowledge in vaccine development we have, it is very rare that we will get a successful vaccine for any disease. Vaccine development takes years and for good reason.
HCQ Saga : Bad Science, Petty Politics, Shaky Integrity and Lack of Critical Thinking!
The scientific community should be embarrassed that they lost their nerve in the middle of a pandemic. In the race to publish new papers due diligence like peer review and data congruence was ignored by the editorial boards of both the journals involved in the scandal. ICMR leadership too is doing a disservice to scientific thinking in public health policy. Their obscurantism of the HCQ question by publishing vague non-scientific studies actually keeps the world from knowing if HCQ works or not for sure
Guidelines for the Oculoplastic and Ophthalmic Trauma Surgeon during the COVID-19 era – An APOTS & APSOPRS Document
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic is changing the infection, transmission and safety practices of medical establishments globally. From evidence that is available presently, the risk of transmission of this virus is high amongst medical personnel involved in procedures and surgeries around the head and neck region- Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, Craniomaxillofacial surgery, Head and Neck Oncology, Neurosurgery including Anesthesiology. The field of Oculoplastic Surgery has risk factors common to both ophthalmology and all of the above craniofacial subspecialties. While clear directives and strategies to handle elective, urgent and emergency surgeries in SARS-Cov2 positive patients is constantly evolving, we herewith attempt to consolidate various guidelines from various relevant professional global medical societies which will be beneficial to the orbit, oculoplastic and ophthalmic trauma surgeon and also their hospital administrators.
Why I love what I do?
I wasn’t a natural at being a doctor and struggled a little bit in medical school. Medical school was sometimes confusing and intimidating. I picked up empathy along the way and learnt to be compassionate to other people. I found out that I loved the difference that I bought to others and got better at doing my job. A lot of what I love about my job today, I discovered while being a doctor. If I hadn’t taken up medicine I would have never found out how much I would enjoy it.
The Anatomical Dissection Of Indian Doctors Fees
In this article, I intend to dispel some of the myths that lay people hold regarding doctors and healthcare in India.
Medical advances since the 18th century!
I was recently reading up on the watershed moments in the history of modern medicine and I have to admit I was overwhelmed with information. The list below is the timeline since the end of the 18th century. I may decide to update the post at a later date. 1796- Small pox vaccine introduced byContinue reading “Medical advances since the 18th century!”
Why Physicians Write?
Storytelling forms the very basis of medicine. We doctors listen to patients stories, construct a narrative and tell other doctors those stories (case presentations, studies and case reports) comparing notes with existing scientific data and collective knowledge (conferences and peer-reviewed journals). Physicians are witnesses of human drama- life, death, suffering, fear, pain and joy- every day. This theater that plays out in front of them sometimes finds catharsis and bleeds onto paper.
Surrendering to hierarchy!
Hierarchies are important in medicine but what is also important is safeguards to bypass the entrenched systems. Some things need to be said or this will never find a voice.
Ways to build a successful career in Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology has been one of the fastest growing specialties in the world. The advances in the field in the last three decades has been astounding. Yet building a career in Ophthalmology is becoming come complex. I hope to add some insight about how to get started in Ophthalmology in India
Can LED Screens Damage Our Eyesight?
As of now not really! There are various media outlets trying to bring a new spin to the story of LED lighting and eyes. LED lighting has improved efficiency as well as reduced power consumption. I feel this need to be seen objectively supported by actual evidence and not the hypothesis of scientists in aContinue reading “Can LED Screens Damage Our Eyesight?”
How should a medical student use his Internship?
I got asked this question on Quora How do i make best use of internship during MBBS in India? It got me thinking as to what internship meant to me. I finished my internship nearly 7 years back so maybe now I have better perspective on what it meant back then. I answered and IContinue reading “How should a medical student use his Internship?”
Life of a 21st century doctor!
The medical science has seen a sea change over the last century…..more than what has been achieved in the previous 5 centuries put together. The change has been for the better for patients as people are getting cured of diseases which previously had no cures. In this state of change to expect the medical profession not to change is simply naive. I would like to enumerate the good, the bad and the ugly of the medical profession in general and the joys and challenges of doctors in particular. This is in no way a negative or cynical post. It is more of a perspective of how things are and how it is going to be.
About Me
Free thinker| Poet| Doctor| Ophthalmic Plastic Surgeon| Writer| Traveller| Passionately Curious
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Nice essay. Timely warning too. It’s easy for self-styled experts to say things like, “Haldi is good for you”, or,…
The coagulation profile 3 weeks ago was normal. Amongst the herbal meds turmeric may have been adulterated with chemicals.
Thanks to WhatsApp, these inaccurate, often harmful “remedies” (some claiming to cure COVID) are doing the rounds. I recently read…
Thanks for reading buddy. Yeah it’s being seen a lot these days. Overdoing things is the problem.
Thanks Deepika. Nice you catch you after a long time! 🙂
This is a much required awareness, before people lose it burning their egos!! Its important for one to understand their…
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A truly balanced look at the whole saga. He calls out the panic driven and fame driven with equal aplomb.…
Nice article, Sir ! It is pathetic to come across people like BM. Hegde, zakir naik, deepak chopra who carry…