General Health

Or more broadly, how can we feed the entire planet a healthy and sustainable diet? For the last three years, 37 of the world’s best scientists have been working on this question, and they now have the answer! The EAT-Lancet report offers the first-ever target for a food system that works for the people AND saves the planet at the same time. So how does this diet look like? Well,…

“This is the third time tonight I am waking up to pee! Will I ever get a proper sleep? I am so tired everyday! At this rate, I am going die of fatigue”   Does it ring a bell with you? If you often experience this, you may have a condition known as nocturia. Unlike enuresis, (also known as bed-wetting) where an individual does not arouse from sleep even when…

I had my first cigarette when I was 5. A close relative had let me try a puff, and I remember I loved the smell. At that time, I thought cigarette was such a wonderful invention.   I didn’t become a regular smoker though. Why? My mum was terrific at repetition (some call it nagging). She made sure that the “smoking is bad” idea stuck with me at a very…

Food poisoning or acute gastroenteritis is a food-borne illness caused by consumption of contaminated food. While the symptoms vary depending on type of microorganisms causing the illness, most cases would involve nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and occasionally fever.[1] Adults who are otherwise healthy will experience mild, self-limiting symptoms (recovers in a few hours to days). In fact, antibiotic treatment is not warranted in most cases as long as the…

Being the frugal that I am, I refused to discard a block of expensive gourmet cheese (which I consume little at a time just so that I don’t finish it too soon) despite it looking a little ‘odd’ and smelling a little ‘funny’ after few weeks. No prizes for guessing that I ended up with a good bout of food poisoning. Well, that’s what you get when you eat contaminated…

Mr. Y, a public servant from a small town in Sabah used to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and finally decides that he wants to quit. Unfortunately, he failed the first time round, even with the help of a quit smoking program. He tried quitting again, with the help of the quit smoking program, prayers from his family and his own determination to stop, he finally succeeded! He…

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend regarding the situation of pharmacists practicing in public hospitals. “Since the number of pharmacists practicing in a public hospital increased tremendously in the past few years, is the workload more manageable now?” I enquired. “Manageable? While it is true that the number of pharmacists have increase, our work efficiency has reduced because the workflow has become more complicated. So, it’s currently worse…

While waiting for my flight to take off, I noticed an obese gentleman painstakingly passing through the aisle and sat right next to me. As my nose is sensitive to dust and smoke, I immediately noticed a strong scent of tobacco smoke from my newfound neighbour’s clothes.   Nevertheless, I offered him a smile of courtesy and observed that he was out of breath while frantically ransacking his bag for…