This should have been explored for doctors first

Secretary Legal Affairs to head committee on Comprehensive Insurance Scheme for Advocates

My colleague Ira, an advocate brought my attention about a PIB release which stated that the Government has set-up a five-member committee to examine the issues related to framing of a proper, structured scheme for providing of medical insurance cover to the advocates and also suggest modalities for the implementation of such scheme.

The Union Minister for Law set-up the committer under the chairmanship of Secretary Legal Affairs with members including aa senior representative from the Department of Financial Services, representative of Department of legal affairs and one representative each from Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils.

The committee shall, within three months, recommend a comprehensive insurance scheme for the welfare of the advocates all over India to address concerns relating to untimely death and medical insurance.

The scheme may include assistance from central and state governments as also involvement of State Bar Councils and in the representatives operating lawyer’s welfare fund.

I personally feel equal priority should have been for the medical profession also.

Medical profession is a high-risk profession. Doctors on an average die one decade earlier than non-doctor professionals. They are at risk of antibiotic resistant infections, contagious and infectious diseases, work fatigue, mental problems, heart attacks, paralysis and cancers.

A comprehensive insurance for doctors will be an added incentive to stay happy in the profession. Till that is done all doctors may be considered a CGHS beneficiary in the country.

Morning Medtalks with Dr KK Aggarwal

1. Smoking and heart burn: Smoking can irritate the entire gastrointestinal tract. In addition, frequent sucking on a cigarette can cause you to swallow air. This increases pressure inside the stomach, which encourages reflux. Smoking can also relax the LES.
2. OREGON: CDC released a report about a boy who contracted tetanus back in Oregon back in 2017.It was the first tetanus case in the state in over thirty years. Very few physicians in the U.S. know how to manage tetanus because its so rare. The CDC says the boys parents spent about 800-thousand dollars on medical expenses. The average tetanus shot costs around 30 dollars.
3. If the disability percentage is below 80 with the use of an assisted device, a candidate will be eligible to apply to study medicine. It will be applicable to UG and PG courses. The Board of Governors-Medical Council of India (BoG-MCI) approve the proposal last month.
4. Eating a low-calorie diet that mimics fasting can help reduce intestinal inflammation and repair the gut, and help treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Researchers from the University of Southern California found that a “fasting-mimicking diet” caused a reduction in intestinal inflammation and an increase in intestinal stem cells in part by promoting the expansion of beneficial gut microbiota.

Woman biased should be removed when it comes to health

Many symptoms faced by women are passed off as anxiety.

A few weeks ago, a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology revealed the bias gender creates in the perception of pain.

Another study published in The British Medical Journal found that women required three or more consultations, twice more often than men, before they were referred to a specialist.

Studies have shown that on an average, it is more likely that women’s pain will be classified as psychogenic.

Women, seen as emotional, find doctors chalking their pain down to anxiety or stress, or other mental-health issues. Adding on to it, is the fact that there’s less research done on women’s health compared to men’s health: it took us years to instill the seriousness of period pain, and conditions like vulvodynia are still relatively unknown.

When a woman complains of symptoms such as breathlessness, it is passed off, quite often by themselves, as anxiety or a panic attack. This is because traditionally, women are the ‘nurturers’ and ‘caregivers’ and so tend to put the health and well-being of their family ahead of their own needs.

They form the backbone of the family, which holds the family together. Therefore, women should receive equal attention and care as do the men in their families. For instance, heart disease has generally never been thought to be a woman’s disease. However, heart disease is the number one cause of death in women. Despite this, women do not get diagnosed timely or take treatment timely.

It is very important to spread awareness on the fact that women too are prone to serious health problems, which if diagnosed and treated at the right time can help in preventing further complications.

Heart attacks do occur in women, even young women. It is important to remember that women are more likely to have atypical signs and symptoms, which may be the reason for the delay in calling for medical help. Women are more likely to have pain in the jaw, neck or back (between the shoulder blades), unexplained weakness, shortness of breath, cough, dizziness or nausea. We must take care of all women in our families, their health and well-being, even if they don’t do it themselves.

Some tips

Reduce your saturated fats intake to less than 7% of calories. Your diet should include oily fish at least twice a week as a source for omega-3 fatty acids.

• Make sure you do not take hormone replacement therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulators, antioxidant supplements (vitamin E, C and beta-carotene) and folic acid for primary or secondary prevention of heart disease.
• If you are 65 or older, ask your GP for routine low dose aspirin regardless of heart disease risk status. The upper dose of aspirin for high-risk women is 325 mg per day rather than 162 mg.
• Reduce bad LDL cholesterol to less than 70 mg/dL in case you have a very high-risk of heart disease.