Face Transplant
October 8, 2007
I can’t imagine going through Isabelle’s experience — living with a mutilated face for more than two years and then having someone else’s face (a suicide victim) for the rest of her life.
Pacquiao, Save Us
October 5, 2007
October 6, 2007 is another day for Pacquiao fans to debate and possibly celebrate if the Pambansang Kamao will win over Marco Antonio Barerra. Of course, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, will stop, take a break and turn their t.v. sets on just to see Manny fight. Fact is, I’m not a fan, but of course, as the nation’s pride in the realm of boxing, I cannot help but be awed in him as well.
In recent years, boxing has had a firm hold on us Pinoys that even choosing who will sing our national anthem for boxing fights has become such a troublesome affair. Hopefully, Kyla will not screw this one like what Christian Bautista did on the Penalosa fight just a month ago. I mean, missing out several important lines from the Lupang Hinirang is such a terrible, terrible mistake. And I have to say, I pity Christian Bautista for his tarnished rep.
Read the rest of the story here.
Filipinos vs Desperate Housewives
October 4, 2007
It is very common for us to include a smelly Indian, bow-legged Japanese war-freak in WWII uniform or money-grubbing Chinese in our TV shows.
*cough*hypocrisy*cough*
*cough*double standard*cough*
Invectives against Desperate Houswives?
October 4, 2007
There’s been a lot of developments in national politics this week which I have not been able to monitor anymore and which I will try to follow by the time the semester ends. In the meantime, we have the International Bloggers’ Day for Burma tomorrow. (Check it out, check it out!)
But what’s more interesting for most people is this: the TV series Desperate Housewives has been getting the ire of some Pinoys. Frankly though, I don’t think there is enough reason for a collective and frantic supplication of invectives against the show. My sentiment echoes that of the Sassy Lawyer:
The Philippine reproductive health policy: a loosely guarded secret?
October 1, 2007
My daughter CJ will turn three this December, and increasingly, the most usual question that people pop when we talk about kids is “wala pa bang kasunod yan?” I usually laugh it off, but sometimes it becomes irritating when the questions grow in number. I mean, sometimes the way the question is asked almost sounds like insinuating the lack of sexual activity.So for the record, yes, my wife and I have a wonderful sex life. I wonder if knowing that will make them happy. 
Of course I digress.
When they prod further, I usually just say that “birth control works”, but what I fail to say is that our chosen birth control method is courtesy of the government. And we got it for a very low cost.
Yes — the government actually has an effective birth control policy, at least for our case. But it’s a loosely guarded secret.
Don’t get high on drugs
September 6, 2007
In the Philippines, medicines are 3.4 percent to 184 percent higher than the international reference index. For example, a 250 milligram Amoxycillin costs $9 in Indonesia, $8 in Nepal, $5 in Pakistan and $22 in the Philippines. Erythromycin costs $12 in India, $5 in Pakistan and $22 in the Philippines.
Read more at Mongster’s Nest
The Invasion
September 4, 2007
The movie The Invasion
which topbills Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig was not at all what I expected. The trailer shows a space shuttle accident and Nicole Kidman evading detection by not showing emotion while walking through people whose minds have been controlled. I expected to see aliens. I did not expect the plot to be medical in nature. It is Outbreak once again but this time the offending agent is from out of this world. The problem with the movie is that although the plot is medical in nature, it neglects to address this issue altogether. Although some explanation is given, it appears far fetched and forced. Much of the movie was devoted to running and evading detection. And so you leave the moviehouse with more questions than answers.
Read more here.
.
HELPING THE NEEDY
August 28, 2007
The Special Education Center of Kalibo Elementary School II was established in 1997 by a teacher, who after graduating his first training in special education for the visually impaired leading to a degree of Masters of Arts in Special Education was tasked to establish a Special Education Class for the visually impaired pupils. The enrollment started with only about five. With the meager budget allocated by the government for the program, the teacher took the initiative to solicit funds from donors through the Kapisanan ng Mga may Kapansanan sa Pilipinas Region VI Chapter.
The Health Cube’s Let’s Talk Health Series
August 7, 2007
Everybody is invited to attend The Health Cube’s Let’s Talk Health Series on August 15, Wednesday at 3 pm at The Health Cube Lobby. Topics include vaccination ABC’s, introduction to nutrition and botox wonders.
NO REGISTRATION FEE.
Read more here.
Laser printers pose health risk
August 3, 2007
A study found out that emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke. Smoking ban in some country are already taking its effects but it seems that people has new reason to worry.
The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska’s team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles. CNET news
The researchers tested 62 laser printer models and found that 17 of them were “high emitters” of toner particles. Although these particles have not had examined for chemical contents but these were considered carcinogens [agents causing cancer].
Lay Fora on High Blood Pressure
July 25, 2007
In celebration of its 21st year, the St. Luke’s Heart Institute is holding a lay fora on hypertension dubbed Alta Presyon: Deal or No Deal on August 7, 2007 from 8 AM to 12 NN at the 14th Floor Auditorium 1 of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. Read more here.
2007 State of the Nation Address
July 23, 2007
The 2006 SONA was a load of crap, a circus act of some sorts that the midget proclaimed a unity call for everyone, even her enemies. This year’s SONA is another one. Or rather a much bigger pile of shit.
“I’d rather be right than popular.”
PGMA’s 2007 SONA is an irony. What does she mean by being “right”? In her small deluded mind, she brags that the Human Security Act will protect our rights and shield us from terrorists. I must admit that enacting such a law is a step in securing peace but without able-bodied and sane executors of this law, in less than a year, I think almost everyone who opposes the administration will be P500,000 richer. Does she think that she and her minions have gotten away with murder, with their so-called unexplained deaths? Being right entails having morals, not pseudo laws and shitty promises. No wonder she’s never popular.
“The President is as strong as she wants to be.”
Admittedly, I have to agree on this. But I think she should have said something like, “The President is now as strong as Marcos.” I believe that quote is more fitting for her stature. What has happened to her impeachment case? Dead. The sad part in all of this is that the supposed opposition senators are now sliding comfortably under PGMA’s blanket of security. The young GO senators are now out for themselves, busy preparing for the 2010 elections. Politics is really dirty, and everyone who sinks their hands in it are drawn into a world of unparalled stupidity, selfishness and greed. Honestly, I’d like to think that we have a genuine opposition against the midget tyrant. But for now, I see none.
“Uulitin ko: Hindi ako sagabal sa ambisyon ninuman. But make no mistake, I will not stand idly when anyone gets in the way of the national interest and tries to block the national vision,”
What national interest, national vision? I think she means her plans to terminate democracy and decency in the country. PGMA has to realize that she has to stop addressing herself in the 3rd person perspective. No one is standing in her way, not even her puny shadow. She is the one standing in everyone’s way, how dare she point her fingers to us!
Math Model Helps Cure Hepa-C
July 20, 2007
Another excellent breakthrough in the field of science and medicine. A joint research by specialists in University of Haifa(Institute of Evolution) and Indiana University recently discovered a mathematical method that is able to indentify genes that battle against viruses and diseases in our body. Based on a research lead by Dr. Leonid Brodsky and Dr. Milton Taylor, they’ve already identified over 37 genes(out of possible 20,000 genes) that help in combating the Hepa-C strain.
According to Dr. Brodsky, “”When we know which genes are responsible for fighting the viruses which attack our liver, we will be able to look for the medications which will activate these genes most favorably”. He further added, “”In the specific case of hepatitis C, we have now isolated the genes that show which patients will respond to treatment. Until now, all patients received treatment for an extended period of time without knowing whether or not they would respond. In the future, we hope to find other medications that will be more effective in activating all of the 37 genes.”
(read more…)
Blogging in a hospital?
July 16, 2007
PinoyExplorer in a hospital? Yes, you are absolutely right. Sometimes, travelling is an exhausting experience but it is worthwhile. Though I have a line of travelling stories to share, I was able to include this as my top priority for now.
I stayed at St. Lukes hospital for 3 days now, but opsss! I am not the one who’s sick:). I was here because my wife had experienced again a terrible drop of her potassium count and according to her doctor this is a fatal condition that needs immediate medical action.
Philippine Healthcare From The Eyes of the Lay Person
July 5, 2007
Lately I’ve been featuring articles written by my fellow doctors regarding the current healthcare status of our country. And yes, we’ve received both positive and negative comments about the views presented by these doctors. But that’s the purpose of the whole thing, right? So that a whole lot of people be aware of what’s happening and to initiate discussion about it, in the hope that something could be done to stop the deterioration and to rebuild.
And since I want to have a balance of views here, today I’m featuring an article, written by Lalon dela Rosa of thE.thumBSuckeR. He tells us of his niece’s experience of being admitted in a government hospital and how disappointing it is that there can be very rude public healthcare staff. But, in contrast to the negative experience, he also detailed some good points these hospitals have.
What Makes Our Public Healthcare Poorer?
by Lalon dela Rosa
It’s been like 3 days and 4 nights already that my newest/youngest niece, Chryz Ghian was admitted and is staying in a government-subsidized hospital (the National Children’s Hospital in E. Rodriguez Ave, Cubao, Quezon City) due to the child’s on and off fever that’s been going on for 3 whole days before her parents then decided to bring him in to a doctor.. he was first brought in to a private clinic nearby but then the doctor there suggested if we could bring the baby to PGH so they could perform further diagnostics as to why Ghian is having such fever, the clinic is unable to do that for they don’t have the necessary facilities to accommodate us.
So we’ve got no choice but to bring him in to PGH instead.. but as always, that public hospital never failed to disappoint us with their poor public service.. we literally waited for nothing (btw, we waited patiently and we weren’t even that typical demanding patients although i believe we have all the rights to do so, we’re paying high taxes, we exercise our right to vote, we’re law-abiding citizens and we approach public officials respectfully).. disgusted, we then went to the National Children’s Hospital.. it’s really long ride from Taft Ave and you might wanna ask why there? simply because i have an Aunt that’s working there as a Nurse Aid for more than 25 years and at least we’re assuming that good public service is guaranteed for us there.. but still we didn’t have it the way we should have it, and everybody else as well.
why i said so? because most (though there are some nice nurses and doctors naman) regular Nurses there are all snob and freaking hostile (in general) to us.. one time i went there to pay a visit to my niece and i weren’t able to get a friendly respond or even a definite answer as to where i could find my niece’s ward.. here’s a conversation with me and a good-looking guy nurse there (sayang ang gwapo pa naman nya)…
No Guilt For Selfishness
June 28, 2007
Author’s note: I’m publishing this article online now, since the newspaper editor to whom I submitted this article seemed to be uninterested in publishing it and did not reply to my email.
* Â Â * Â Â * Â Â * Â Â *
Not too long ago, I wrote an article entitled, “M.D.’s on Strike: Why Doctors are Leaving and Why They Should Be Leavingâ€. I posted it on my multiply blog and a mailing list I’m subscribed to. Some received it positively, appreciating the risk to bring out an unpopular idea in the open (the only thing that perhaps hindered its offline publication is that I published it online first. Also I have a sneaking suspicion that the newspaper opinion editor does not like bloggers). I also got not so few violent reactions and was accused of neglect of my duties as citizen and abandoning my fellowmen.
I have a hunch that those who emailed or left me accusatory comments on my blogs meant to make me feel guilty of my “selfishnessâ€.
But let me see, why do I need to be guilty thinking about myself? It is in our nature to strive for self-preservation. We are happy when we fulfill our basic needs and have work in keeping of our interests and joys. By striving to work in another place which can provide for the needs of my family and I, I work for our survival. By working on such place where my contributions to health care provision is better understood and appreciated, I work for my own happiness and personal growth. Are these things evil? Of course not. And yet, people see my resolve to work abroad and to encourage others to do, too, if they can, as an indicator of selfishness.
According to these people who call me selfish, there’s already a dwindling number of health care professionals in the country so I should not be adding to the numbers who are already leaving. They say I OUGHT to stay because it is my duty to my fellowmen to serve them. They say I shouldn’t complain about being dirt poor because every doctor goes through that stage of being “dirt poor†anyway. Note, however that those who told me to stay poor are those who are already on the other side of the globe, chilling in their parkas in the perpetual cold but can afford themselves laptops and a decent car to drive.
Saving Kids From Obesity Starts at Home
June 28, 2007
Several years ago, the word “malnutrition†usually brings about images of poor African children, bone-thin with protruding bellies, weak with hunger as they lie wrapped in their mothers’ arms, equally malnourished, or lying listlessly on the desert sand amidst vultures, awaiting death to overcome them. However, recent events caused us to conjure images of malnutrition as big, bulky humans with the same protruding bellies, not because of ascites, but because of excess adipose tissues. These humans suffer not from hunger of food but rather from not understanding the disaster that is obesity, the other half of malnutrition that has reared its ugly head in the recent years. Now, suddenly, both hunger and overabundance of food oppress us.
Like those stricken with hunger, children it seems are also susceptible to this rising epidemic. But whereas the cause of world hunger is more political and economic in nature, obesity is more of a personal issue.
A typical case was that of a mother, who I saw in my clinic, with hypercholesterolemia and hypertension. I advised her that even with medications, she has to modify her eating habits, so as to keep off the excess weight and keep her blood cholesterol and blood pressure at normal levels.
And her horrified response was: “But how do you expect me to do that? Do I have to cook separate meals for myself. The family simply can’t afford it!â€
After further discussion, I found out that what her family “couldn’t afford†wasn’t monetary in nature. It was the idea of switching the entire family to a different, “abnormal†diet that repelled her.
“My kids, all they want to eat are fried foods: fried chicken, fried fish, french fries, burgers, and chips. I don’t know what to do. So that’s why I also eat what they eat. And thus, the high cholesterol,â€Â she explained.
Days in the Life of a Doctor
June 27, 2007
I think most people still have that engraven image of the wealthy doctor in their minds. Of course, there will be some who are wealthy, because of long, stable medical practice or they were born into wealthy families or they have businesses. But how about the rest of the doctors who, after graduation from medical school, will have to continue to struggle to provide for their own needs, who could not ask money from their burdened parents anymore for payment for clinic slots in big hospitals and who, because of the lack of monetary resources, will have to settle with working (”moonlighting”) temporarily in multiple hospitals? Manageable, if you’re unmarried. But, what if you’re a family man?
Here’s a glimpse at the life of a doctor, from an article by Dr. Henry Delgado, posted at the pinoyMD mailing list:
Doctors in the country have different lifestyles. They are in a kind of living according to where they started. Some were very fortunate to have wealthy supportive parents. They could afford a residency in a hospital which would give a $250 per month stipend, some $170 per month, some as low as less than $100. But still they could use cars, eat in reputable restaurants, take a leave and have an out-of-town vacation, have family and kids with nannies, a decent kind of living. No struggle at all. After the training program, there’s a condo clinic waiting, stocks (worth millions) in one of the biggest hospital in Metro therefore, privileges of practice; by that time his kids are going to school and can still afford their tuitions, books, and uniforms. Their problem starts on how to maintain that lifestyle.
Others were less fortunate. After med school, parents could only afford to give some cash to start. With same salaries, they ride jeepneys, get wet during rainy days; eat in a neighborhood carinderia, during paydays, sometimes McDonald’s or Jollibee; live in a humble apartment with an electric fan beside when sleeping. This is albeit easy when single. But if with family, ask milk samples from med-reps or his baby, store drug samples just in case someone gets sick, hop for bargain sales of clothes and wear at SM, if nanny is not feasible wife stays at home, and the doctor earns their living. They struggle everyday for survival. No savings at all. If baby gets seriously sick, even with a free PF, hospitalization entails debt. He can use credit cards if he have, or borrow from friends and folks, or make loans in SSS or GSIS. By the time he finishes his 3-year program, he is debt -ridden, no hospital to start to, no clinic privileges. To start a practice, he figures out that he needs at least $7,000 for hospital stocks, roughly $500 for repairs and finishing of his clinic, $300 for government dues and permits and certain kind of amount for other miscellaneous. And he just came from a $250 per month salary for 3 years. And his kid will
start schooling.Others are above this level. Wife also works and earns higher than is. Of course, lifestyle would change. They could afford a car but the wife would use it, the doctor would commute. They eat in a reputable restaurant, the wife pays the bill. They could afford a housing loan but under the name of his wife because she pays the monthly amortization. The doctor is in-charge of the monthly utilities. They go shopping, the wife buys for his clothes and for their kid. He has credit card but an extension of his wife’s so she could monitor his shopping. His kid would not approach him to ask money because his kid knows that his dad has none. After his residency program, he has no money to start with. No more salary, so he asks “temporary allowance” from his wife. And suddenly the doctor became a burden, so situation becomes annoying to his wife. He would start on HMOs which would give him hardly $200 per month, enough only for his everyday gas for his 10-year-old car and lunch.
Dying Healthcare in the Philippines: Another Doctor’s Perspective
June 25, 2007
Although I don’t think I’m a blogger well-established enough to feature the writings of another blogger, still I’d like to take this opportunity to share with your another doctor’s perspective on the status of the health care system in the Philippines. This just goes to say that not few doctors (and not only me) see the terrible dilemma our country is facing regarding our health care system and that doctors are raising their voices to be able to let the whole country know that many changes should be done soon, if not, now.
Here’s Dr. Carl Dwight Demetria’s take on the issue (as posted in another forum):
* * * * *
Health care in the Philippines is dying.
And for me, it is a slow, painful death. Like a hemorrhaging patient with advanced TB, who neglected to take the needed but annoyingly long anti-Koch’s medications.
We could run the merry-go-round of declaring who is the more righteous: the pragmatist who believes that “the best provider is the one who leaves”, or the apologist/optimist who generalizes medical students as rich, and can tolerate a few more years of drought before they hit the big time in local medical practice.
But the prospects for our patient named Philippine health care is necessarily colored by our personal experiences as doctors. Even as we slowly espouse evidence-based medicine in our human patients, in social problems such as this one we inevitably fall on our own emotion-colored glasses to see the picture.
So to add to this discussion I return to what I have experienced in my short stint as a doctor.
Even while studying in the State University, there has always been a distinction between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. This delineation can be noticed once somebody initiates a discussion about future plans. The ‘haves’, either by virtue of a sizeable war chest, an inheritable clinic practice, or extensive networking, are almost always cocksure about their plans for the future: residency in PGH, or taking the USMLE.
The ‘have-nots’, who have struggled silently to get through medical school, are not as sure as to their future plans. The lack of a medical Economics class does not help matters.
As they approach the clinics, they all see first hand the innards of a government hospital, and its one oft-repeated saving grace: the richness of clinical material called patients. Otherwise, the bureaucracy cripples everything from supplies to having enough nurses to the imposed, but subtle, monstrosity that is termed ‘hierarchy’. Only a few would dare express delight at this set-up, declaring their fealty to the hospital and the corresponding willingness to sacrifice ‘few’ years to train there. Most would be silently waiting for the day that they could break free from the hospital’s grip.
CARESP Annual Convention
June 24, 2007
The Cardiac Rehabilitation Society of the Philippines will be holding its annual convention on July 26-27, 2007. The 2-day event will be held at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC Plaza. Read more
The new ‘plastic’ blood
June 24, 2007
Scientists continue to find ways to deliver better health care to patients; one new innovation is the availability of artificial blood, so called because it is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like hemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body. This new discovery could help to substitute for blood, which is not always readily available in cases of emergencies, especially pointed out was its huge advantage in war zones.
Besides its storage advantage; it is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool, it can be sterilized, and can be kept for longer, the new artificial blood has its advantages over human blood as pointed out in this WikiPedia article.
Vision
June 19, 2007
I’m sure you experience having a vision during your silent moments. It happens to me a lot of times too, specially I’m typically quiet, and tends to be swallowed in my own world.
While riding the fx on my way home the other day, I had a vision about one of my big ambitions. It’s still rather vague so I guess the universe still has a difficulty helping create an easy path for me. The good thing is it that my vision is not merely thinking of wanting to change the world one person at a time (come to think of it, this has been one of my mantras, my driving force why I’m pursuing my current career). Read more
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