pen.books.and.scalpel

It won't be wrong to say that India is the capital of the world for iron deficiency anaemia. The number of cases every year in India alone could win you elections. The worst part of it is that the most affected are women and adolescents.  Iron deficiency anaemia is the condition when the body's iron is so low that it causes a drop in haemoglobin level. Haemoglobin is the component that is responsible for carrying oxygen through blood cells to all organs. This haemoglobin is formed by iron that we consume and from the reserves in the bone marrow, and when the iron intake is less, the process is hampered. This is more prevalent in developing and underdeveloped countries, where the malnourished population is higher. Now, if the leader focuses on new strategies and unwanted "developments" instead of improving the nutrition and living conditions of the citizens, then this is bound to happen.  Iron deficiency anaemia happens when the nutritional intake of iron is poor, with

Did you just wish me a 'hale and hearty' life while hiding the 259-plus cardiac symptoms that you chose to ignore? Ah, well, I see. But can we really talk about the hearty part of your life instead of mine? First of all, please don't call me out for including ischemic heart disease or a heart attack under the conditions that are common in women. Because they aren't. Heart attacks are more common in men because, for once, the estrogen in our body decides to stand up for itself like a protagonist who has survived domestic abuse for so long and offers protection against heart disease. But the problem really is that more women develop health attacks after the estrogen wears off, which is after menopause, and it doesn't stop with just that. More women die of attacks than men who have the condition. Not very surprisingly, heart attacks are underreported in women, and studies are also more on men than women to comment on the gender bias exhibited by the condition. With my

I am pretty sure you are tired by now to know the number of conditions that prefer women over men. After all, being so awesome to the level that even ailments find you attractive is just on another level. Gallstones are no less, and they, too, are more common in women. The first time they taught us a pneumonic to remember who would likely develop this condition, I was so frustrated and "galled". You know who they say in the books are more likely to develop the condition - the 5 Fs: Fat (rapid weight loss, obesity), Fair (white population), Fertile (those who have had more kids), Female and over Forty. Now tell me, if this doesn't irritate you, what else will? Unfortunately, this holds true and is widely proven. Gallstones just mean there are stones in your gall bladder, which is an organ responsible for storing bile, helping in the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Medically, they call this condition cholelithiasis, which is popularly called gallstone disease

BOOK NAME: WORK-LIFE BALANCE - MALEVOLENT MANAGERS AND FOLKLORIC FREELANCERS AUTHOR NAME: BENJAMIN CHEE AND WAYNE REE GENRE: FOLKLORE  PUBLISHER: DIFFERENCE ENGINE BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Work-Life-Balance-Malevolent-Folkloric-Freelancers/dp/981184559X BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW This is not just my second Singaporean folkloric literature but also my second illustrated book after The Handmaid's Tale. This book is based on Singaporean folkloric characters like the Pontianaks, Mephistopheles, Manananggals, Ba Jiao Guis, Raksasis, Toyols and more. What happens when the mythical characters are faced with real-life problems that happen in the corporate world today? When a multinational company rises overnight, the mythical characters are at risk of losing their jobs and must fight against malicious forces to resist becoming regular corporate employees. This book was a combination of prose and illustration and was very short when looking from a comic point of view. It

For the first time in so many days, I hope I will finally make sense to most of you as fibroid uterus is a relatively common diagnosis. It is said that almost 70-80% of women have fibroid uterus at some point of life even if they don’t have symptoms. I can easily count the number of women in my extended family and friends' circle who are diagnosed with fibroid uterus and still lead a symptom free life. Fibroid uterus is a condition where small lumps develop inside the uterus from its smooth layer. Almost all fibroids are benign, meaning they are non-cancerous and don't turn into one unless that 0.01% comes into play in the extremely unfortunate. So don't panic when your doctor refers to your condition as a tumour, as most of them prefer to call it a tumour, irrespective of whether it's cancer or not. Unlike most toothpaste advertisements, we even claim that fibroids never turn into cancer, which is 100% of the time. So what's there to worry about? Why should we talk

Every time I think about endometriosis, I can't do so without reliving the memory in front of my eyes. Meera (name changed) was a girl of nineteen, a little too mature for her age. But ironically been married for three years and was desperate to become pregnant because of peer pressure. But unlike others, she wasn't one of our patients but a newbie nurse in the surgery department. Every now and then, she would come to us and share about her life, which had changed after her marriage. She would speak animatedly about her dreams of being a homemaker and caring for her husband and children, which hasn't been possible till now. She was forced to work after her studies as she had nothing to do at home, and she wasn't being "fruitful" to her in-laws as such, she was told.  After hopping on from one doctor to another, she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis, which caused her more stress than the condition itself. She was diagnosed with primary infertility and wa

Fight me all you want, but you can't convince me that depression isn't a real disorder. Trust me, many people think that it's just an illusion people create around themselves to escape reality. But if they were ever to suffer from the same, I am sure they would pray they didn't have to. This post concerns the forbidden 'D' word most of us are even scared to utter.     The chemistry behind depression  Depression is one of the leading causes of decreased quality of life in women worldwide. The disorder happens because of changes in the chemical levels in the brain, like serotonin, that are expressed as physical and mental health changes. The chemicals that are supposed to make you feel happy are reduced and the chemicals that make you feel sad and emotional are disproportionately increased.     Depression in women Depression is mainly found to affect women more than men all over the world for obvious reasons. As women, we are all always under pressure, constantly

Can we finally talk about a deadly condition that most women consider taboo, and not many know that it's completely preventable? Yes, I am talking about cervical cancer. For anyone who is hearing the term for the first time, the cervix is a part of the female genital system connecting the uterus to the vagina, assisting in childbirth. At present, cervical cancer is said to be the fourth most common killer cancer in women worldwide.  Though it might sound scary and anxiety-inducing, it is one of those cancers that is entirely preventable by vaccination. This cancer, unlike others, is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus. Yes, you heard it right. A virus causing cancer! That's because the virus causes local damage in the cervix, and over the years, changes keep happening to culminate into cancer. There are so many variants of the virus, but only variants 16 and 18 are associated with cancer, and the other types cause genital warts, which are treatable.  Now, if you ask m

Please excuse my repetitive posts on breast cancer and the myths surrounding it. I am aware of the number of times I have spoken about it through my social media in the past. But if I were given an option to talk about it over and over again, I would still do it. The reason is that it's the number one cause of death in women in India and the second leading cause of death globally. Yet, our women remain either under-diagnosed or seek treatment at later stages when nothing much can be done. If you ask me why it should be a matter of concern at all, the answer is that anyone with breasts is at risk of developing cancer in this lifetime, duh! But not just anyone, only those who are at risk like: - Carrying affected genes  - Having higher estrogen exposure like those who attain puberty at a very young age / reach menopause very late / never borne a child in the past - Following unhealthy lifestyles, including alcohol and smoking - Taking hormonal medicines for bone problems  Now, havin

Ahem, ahem. Pardon me for starting the challenge with the scariest topic of today's time - ageing and diseases. But it's high time we speak about it to learn about a condition that is fast growing today. Not many years ago, as I watched my grandfather helplessly succumb to the nameless monster we never knew existed, I wished we had a solution to his problem. But sadly, they said his condition didn't have much scope for cure. Years later, when I realised that he had Alzheimer's at a time when we lacked awareness about the disease, I resolved to talk and write more about it to let people know what really Alzheimer's is.  Let's assume we all know how scary ageing is if not for Alzheimer's. Rightly so, not many of us might know of the condition because awareness hasn't been created actively, and research and treatment on it are only in the developing phase. Like many, if you too have little idea about it, keep reading to learn more. You know how they say nev