The Delhi Health Department has been requested by activists to issue directions to all government hospitals not to charge processing fee for providing blood to patients from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).
Advocate Ashok Agarwal, who has written the letter, said: “We have come across cases where patients belonging to EWS category are not in a position to pay the charges, and subsequently blood could not be arranged for the patient. We strongly urge government hospitals to stop the practice. It is a paradoxical situation that an EWS patient, who is being treated free of cost by a private hospital, is being demanded money at a government hospital for blood, that too when the patient has also arranged a blood donor. Moreover, even in an eventuality when an EWS patient is incapable of arranging a donor, government hospital blood banks should provide blood for such patient free of cost.”
Falling mercury is an indication for everyone to take extra care of their joints, say city doctors.
“The season sees aggravated joint pain, and winters trigger chronic cases like gout and arthritis,” said Manish Dalwani, senior orthopaedic surgeon at the NOVA Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital.
“When we are cold, our body restricts how much blood it sends around the extremities, so that it can focus on supplying blood to vital organs like the heart and lungs. This means we lose less heat from blood circulating near the surface of the skin, but it also means that joints get less blood. For some, this can be painful, The soft tissues around the joints are less pliable when cold, so joints feel tight and stiff, resulting in more pain,” he explained.
Doctors recommend that plenty of fruits, vegetables, pulses, cereals and dairy products should be included in the daily diet. Exercising also helps maintain weight, and improves flexibility and strengthens muscles which support the knees.
Here is another reason to get lean. Doctors now claim that obesity may overtake tobacco as the leading cause of cancer and also adversely affect the efficacy of cancer treatment.
“It is thought that metabolic changes associated with obesity, particularly abdominal adiposity, and changes in adipocyte function underlie this increased risk. Obesity is strongly associated with changes in the physiological function of adipose tissue, leading to insulin resistance, chronic inflammation and altered secretion of adipokines,” said bariatric surgeon Pradeep Chowbey.
It has been documented that obesity is associated with increased risks of cancer like esophagus, pancreas, colon, rectum, breast (after menopause), endometrium (lining of the uterus), kidney, thyroid and gallbladder.
— Bindu Shajan Perappadan
