Taking the sting off dengue
Early diagnosis and good clinical management are the panacea for preventing dengue-deaths. “This is the only way to battle this strange viral disease where healthy and well-nourished children and adults seem to be more vulnerable,” stressed Consultant Paediatrician Dr. LakKumar Fernando. Commending his colleagues, both Paediatricians and Physicians, across the country whose efforts have reflected a [...]
Turning to the power of positive psychiatry and psychology
In my career as a psychiatrist I have treated many patients with depressive disorder. Sometimes the patients have told me, “I am depressed, can you help me?” Some others said, “Can you make me happy?” I treated both requests the same. I prescribed antidepressants. I believed that depression and happiness were opposites and if I [...]
‘Beli-ful’ of goodness
We are richly endowed with numerous beneficial plants and fruits that contain chemical compounds that help either directly or indirectly to prevent or treat diseases as well as to promote health and wellbeing. One such important plant is Aegle marmelos, the tree that produces the golden apple (bael), commonly known as Beli in Sinhalese and Koovalam [...]
Give thought to those snacks served at meetings
Numerous are the meetings that people attend to discuss important issues, snacking all the while without a thought, on the fried, salted and sugared short-eats temptingly placed around the table. With non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes on a sharp rise, the Health Ministry, the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka (CCPSL) and the [...]
‘Now let’s see what the problem is’
They are the first contact with anyone who is ill in the wider community. Not only do patients see ‘Family Doctors’ as their personal healers but they also trust them implicitly to do the best for them. It is in this light that Family Physician Prof. Leela De Alwis Karunaratne who is Founder-Professor of Family [...]
Start at the very beginning, with a good breakfast
Do you find yourself in a mad rush every morning, with your children rushing to get to school and your husband running late for work? When they just gulp down their milk or tea and head off to a busy start, have you ever wondered how it was like in the good old days when [...]