14th Feb is Valentine’s Day: Beware of date rape drugs

We often hear of cases of alleged rapes. The girl was given some drink following which she had no recall of what happened. Once caught, often the defense of the accused is that the girl was a party to the sexual act. Such cases are the result of date rape drugs, used to spike soft drinks or alcoholic drinks. Their use is common.Although alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy, over-the-counter sleeping pills and anti-histamines, even cold medications can be used, the term “date rape drug” classically applies to any of the three drugs: GHB (gamma hydroxybutyric acid), Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), popularly called “Roofies” and ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride). Rohypnol is legal in Europe and Mexico, but is banned in the US and India.

In 2013, ketamine hydrochloride was shifted from Schedule H to Schedule X of the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules to prevent its easy availability and misuse. It has been listed as psychotropic substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act

Several factors make these drugs desirable to sexual predators. They often have no color, smell or taste and so can be easily slipped into drinks and food without the victim’s knowledge. They are very fast acting; as all traces of the drugs leave the body within 72 hours of intake, they are not found in any routine toxicology screen or blood test.

The victim is rendered unconscious but responsive with little or no memory of what happens while the drug is active in their system. The drugs also make the person act without inhibition. They are incapable of thinking clearly or of making appropriate decision. This makes for a very passive victim; one who is still able to play a role in what is happening but is unable to refuse and will have no clear memory of what happened, the assailant, or the events surrounding the assault. Without any memory of events, the victim is often unaware that they have even been raped, and if they are aware or have suspicions they make very poor witnesses.

Here are a few tips to protect from date rape.1. Don’t accept any drinks from other people, except trusted friends.2. Open containers yourself.3. Keep your drink with you at all times, even when you go to the bathroom.4. Don’t share drinks5. Don’t drink from punch bowls or other large, common, open containers. They may already have drugs in them6. Don’t drink anything that tastes or smells strange. Sometimes, GHB tastes salty.7. Have a non-drinking friend with you to make sure nothing happens (if you are consuming alcohol).8. If you think that you have been drugged and raped: Go to the police station or hospital right away. Get a urine test as soon as possible. The drugs leave your system quickly. Rohypnol leaves your body 72 hours after you take it. GHB leaves the body in 12 hours. Don’t urinate before getting help. Don’t douche, bathe, or change clothes before getting help. These things may give evidence of the rape.

Harvard Study: Cannabis Users Have A Higher Sperm Count

A new study out of Harvard showed cannabis users actually had higher sperm counts than non-users. These findings contradict scientists’ previous hypotheses that cannabis lowers sperm count. The study consisted of semen and blood samples from 662 men enrolled at the Fertility Center at Massachusetts General Hospital between 2000 and 2017. Besides high sperm counts, the study also found that patients who are self-reported heavy cannabis users have higher testosterone levels than non-users.

Want to give a gift to your grandfather: give protein and not chocolate

Eating extra protein may protect older adults from becoming disabled and help them maintain independent lives, according to a study published online Nov. 1, 2018, by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day.

Consuming less than the RDA for daily protein was associated with a higher probability of being disabled. In comparison, eating 25% to 50% more than the RDA recommendation — an average of 1 to 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day — was associated with being more independent.Extra protein helped delay the loss of muscle mass and strength commonly seen in older adults.

Have you missed your deworming dose: take it today?

As per WHO over 1.5 billion people globally are at risk of contracting soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections or roundworms. India accounts for a quarter of the world’s STH-infected children; 64% of them are younger than 14 years.

54th World Health Assembly, in 2011, committed itself to reducing the prevalence and the intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections in all countries by 50%. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in 2015, launched the National Deworming Programme under the National Health Mission, one of the largest fixed-day, mass drug administration public health programmes in the world, to reach out to over 230 million children by 2020 through teachers and frontline health workers administering deworming tablets (Albendazole).

Open defecation, contaminated soil and water, uncooked food, and not following basic hygiene are the main reasons for transmission (worm larvae and eggs). If undiagnosed, worms persist in the body and lay thousands of eggs every day. Worms cause a decline in iron, protein and vitamin A levels, leading to anaemia, a lower appetite, malnutrition, and diarrhoea.

In February 2018, India reached out to more than 266 million children through the National Deworming Day programme.

Doctors can complement it with other health programmes, for example, the Government of India’s Vitamin A as well as the Iron and Folic Acid Programme.