You would have read my previous blog on money and health the conundrum, if not please read before this blog.
I discussed the importance of health over money and in fact described a way of combining money and health. Thus we spend time to acquire money and assets to make us happy in the future.
Some of us would spend more time on acquiring health than the time we spend on acquiring money. this may be due to the fact that we value health more than money or we have lots of money already.
Acquiring health, we may do by going to a gym, for a swim, jog in the park, eat healthy as opposed to indulging in junk foods etc. Acquiring money, we may do by doing a job, working overtime, have a second job, work harder in further education to acquire a better job which will result in a better paid job.
But life is not entirely tomorrow. life is not yesterday either. Life is today with work towards a better tomorrow. Working in a health sector, we do see people who do not have a choice in a better tomorrow. A 39 year old, a father of two young kids, presents to me with shoulder pain, only to be diagnosed to be suffering a cancer which has already spread all over his body! shocking is it not ? this makes you think
What is life, is it more money with an ability to enjoy the wordly pleasures, or is it being healthy which we can acquire with good food and exercise. not completely. it is an ability to enjoy the worldly pleasures with a healthy mind and body at this point of time. as i said today we can plan to an extent for tomorrow, however can be unpredictable.
This brings me to the title of this blog, namely "savour this moment". Today at this point of time, be happy and healthy. Being happy and healthy now will not be enough for tomorrow which is also going to be your life. Hence whatever you do to acquire money and health for tomorrow, enjoy the act of doing so.
i.e enjoy your job which you will have to do today for a better tomorrow. If you cannot enjoy the job you are doing now, please look for your job which you will enjoy and savour the moment. Similarly if you do exercise, choose an activity which you enjoy and choose a healthy food which you enjoy.
feel sorry for people who do not do their job with pleasure and well, as they are not only wasting their life. Also feel sorry for people who do not care for their and their kith and kin's health as they are also wasting their life. Appreciate the person who enjoys doing something to a wealthier and healthier tomorrow.
now to the second part of my title,"Time is as important as the money and health". I hope you would have got this by now. Essentially savour this moment of time, as your life is the time now, .
If we savour this moment doing our job happily and keeping ourselves healthy, then we are indeed enjoying our life. Is is not what we all want.
Regards
Chockalingam
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Understand the "Shortest Possible Route in the Shortest possible Time" Logic
If you want to succeed in life, you have to be ahead of others. this is applicable in education, work, business and life in general. The logic then sounds right meaning that "it is an efficient way of finishing a job or work", right?. The logic then sounds OK eh!. no not really.
But not really in certain situations. you would understand this very well if you see the traffic in India. When you understand this "shortest possbile route in the shortest possible time" strategy is being followed by the driver on the other side, you begin to explain the so called accidents in road traffic.
In Other words the title logic cannot and should not be followed where you want a system to be streamlined and everyone following the same rule. this not only applies in traffic, also in a work place, education, health sector. In short it should not be followed wherever you need people in a organized area such as work place or society in general to follow a prescribed path.
Back to the traffic analogy, driving in a country like UK where the people are prepared to take a longer route so that there is an order is easier and safer, as they do not follow the logic as safety is more important.
however this does create a problem. if everyone follows the exact route, you do not get eccentrics who are often the one who would move in leaps and bounds and often change the world. so you do need eccentrics who are going to be different and think laterally. hence you do need to nurture them and not discourage them completely. for example a person who leaves a college in the middle of his course may be thought of not following the order. but he might be the next Richard Branson!
Back to the title, sounds right and it is right in certain situations. But not really in lot of situations where you do need order when many people are involved.
Hence the best thing we can do is to understand the logic and see the benefits and use them. It is also important to understand when there are dangers when this logic is being used.
For example in Indian Traffic, when you see a pedestrian or cyclist crossing in front of you in a car attempting to move forward. instead of thinking, " is he a maniac trying to kill himself being hit by my car", you would think " go on, i understand your logic"
I will detail how understanding this logic helps you in other situations in future blogs
Regards
Chockalingam
But not really in certain situations. you would understand this very well if you see the traffic in India. When you understand this "shortest possbile route in the shortest possible time" strategy is being followed by the driver on the other side, you begin to explain the so called accidents in road traffic.
In Other words the title logic cannot and should not be followed where you want a system to be streamlined and everyone following the same rule. this not only applies in traffic, also in a work place, education, health sector. In short it should not be followed wherever you need people in a organized area such as work place or society in general to follow a prescribed path.
Back to the traffic analogy, driving in a country like UK where the people are prepared to take a longer route so that there is an order is easier and safer, as they do not follow the logic as safety is more important.
however this does create a problem. if everyone follows the exact route, you do not get eccentrics who are often the one who would move in leaps and bounds and often change the world. so you do need eccentrics who are going to be different and think laterally. hence you do need to nurture them and not discourage them completely. for example a person who leaves a college in the middle of his course may be thought of not following the order. but he might be the next Richard Branson!
Back to the title, sounds right and it is right in certain situations. But not really in lot of situations where you do need order when many people are involved.
Hence the best thing we can do is to understand the logic and see the benefits and use them. It is also important to understand when there are dangers when this logic is being used.
For example in Indian Traffic, when you see a pedestrian or cyclist crossing in front of you in a car attempting to move forward. instead of thinking, " is he a maniac trying to kill himself being hit by my car", you would think " go on, i understand your logic"
I will detail how understanding this logic helps you in other situations in future blogs
Regards
Chockalingam
Monday, May 23, 2011
A Typical Road Traffic Accident in India -Seat Belt is important
A middle class family now can afford a car or can certainly rent a car for their trip on the road. I have now treated several accident victims at Trichy for the last two years. The injuries are quite typical.
1. The driver either dies or suffers from chest injuries with multiple rib fractures. He would end up having pneumo or hemothorax namely collection of air or blood around the lungs which can be life threatening.
2. The front seat passenger suffers from facial injuries, head injuries as he or she is thrown on to the windscreen and either dies or presents to the hospital. They have problems with air going to the wind pipe and may die if not recognized. As they are trying to protect themselves going forward, they put their hands forwards and suffers from upper limb injuries on both sides. They may also suffer from disocated hip joints
3. The rear seat passengers suffer from lower limb and upper limb injuries, chest injuries and abdominal injuries. They are like the toy within a shell which is popular toy with the children. you shake the shell and the toy inside rattles inside. The rear seat passengers are rattled inside the hard car shell and get multiple injuries.
4. Children often escape due to the pliability of the tissues though it is not guaranteed.
Now the big question then is, what should one do
1. understand the local traffic paths. most accidents happen when a driver goes into an area without experience of local traffic. Meaning that the traffic path of pedestricans, cyclists, two wheelers, tractors, lorries, buses can be in any direction at a given place. hence following traffic rules in India is not enough, but understand the traffic rules as followed by the other person.
to understand the first point, remember the shortest possible route would be taken by an Indian wherever he or she goes and whatever possible method of transport he is using.
2.Always wear a helmet and Seat Belt when riding in in a two wheeler and a car respectively. The injuries as i had listed can be largely prevented by seat belt and i stress most of the times.
3. Remember using a vehicle such as a two wheeler or a car is for comfort and not for speed of access to reach a given point. I am not saying that you should not go fast, but keep telling yourselves that i am having a nice comfortable ride as opposed to going in a crowded bus .i am not using the car to go quickly from point A to B
4. Do not drive the car if you are the driver if your passengers would not wear a seat belt, i.e your family for example. This should be one of the golden rules you must follow to protect your family. do not yield to reasons for not wearing seat belts.
5. When driving during the day time, be aware of smarties driving into your lane from the opposite side. the left lane is safer in a dual carriage way
6. when driving at the night time. be aware of smarties who have parked their vehicles or driving without any lights at the back. you will smash to their back
7.If you can avoid, and i must say that you should avoid any night time driving as a family or in business. It is not worth it
8. Traffic awareness is not there in India with most road users and when combined with lack of speed awareness, then it is a lethal combination.
One of my good friends advised that preferrably avoid going anywhere or reduce the amount of time you spend travelling to increase your chances of living in India.
I felt sad when i learnt of the death of the minister today and i felt that it is time i Shared some of the road safety issues to you
Chockalingam
1. The driver either dies or suffers from chest injuries with multiple rib fractures. He would end up having pneumo or hemothorax namely collection of air or blood around the lungs which can be life threatening.
2. The front seat passenger suffers from facial injuries, head injuries as he or she is thrown on to the windscreen and either dies or presents to the hospital. They have problems with air going to the wind pipe and may die if not recognized. As they are trying to protect themselves going forward, they put their hands forwards and suffers from upper limb injuries on both sides. They may also suffer from disocated hip joints
3. The rear seat passengers suffer from lower limb and upper limb injuries, chest injuries and abdominal injuries. They are like the toy within a shell which is popular toy with the children. you shake the shell and the toy inside rattles inside. The rear seat passengers are rattled inside the hard car shell and get multiple injuries.
4. Children often escape due to the pliability of the tissues though it is not guaranteed.
Now the big question then is, what should one do
1. understand the local traffic paths. most accidents happen when a driver goes into an area without experience of local traffic. Meaning that the traffic path of pedestricans, cyclists, two wheelers, tractors, lorries, buses can be in any direction at a given place. hence following traffic rules in India is not enough, but understand the traffic rules as followed by the other person.
to understand the first point, remember the shortest possible route would be taken by an Indian wherever he or she goes and whatever possible method of transport he is using.
2.Always wear a helmet and Seat Belt when riding in in a two wheeler and a car respectively. The injuries as i had listed can be largely prevented by seat belt and i stress most of the times.
3. Remember using a vehicle such as a two wheeler or a car is for comfort and not for speed of access to reach a given point. I am not saying that you should not go fast, but keep telling yourselves that i am having a nice comfortable ride as opposed to going in a crowded bus .i am not using the car to go quickly from point A to B
4. Do not drive the car if you are the driver if your passengers would not wear a seat belt, i.e your family for example. This should be one of the golden rules you must follow to protect your family. do not yield to reasons for not wearing seat belts.
5. When driving during the day time, be aware of smarties driving into your lane from the opposite side. the left lane is safer in a dual carriage way
6. when driving at the night time. be aware of smarties who have parked their vehicles or driving without any lights at the back. you will smash to their back
7.If you can avoid, and i must say that you should avoid any night time driving as a family or in business. It is not worth it
8. Traffic awareness is not there in India with most road users and when combined with lack of speed awareness, then it is a lethal combination.
One of my good friends advised that preferrably avoid going anywhere or reduce the amount of time you spend travelling to increase your chances of living in India.
I felt sad when i learnt of the death of the minister today and i felt that it is time i Shared some of the road safety issues to you
Chockalingam
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sugam Charity and health awareness camp at Thatchankurichi, a village in South India
27th of February 2011
As part of our health awareness campaign from the charity we conducted this camp at Thatchankurichi a village in Tamil Nadu, South India. At the outset, i would like to thank the volunteers from the village without their help this would not have materialised. We would also like to thank the School Headmaster, The District Educational Officer and the Collector who have agreed for this camp to be conducted.
KMC and KMC Speciality Hospital provided their technical expertise of the Nursing School Prinicipal and the senior Nurses and their team. they worked hard over the entire session without any break. The doctors were again Dr Rajarathinam, Dr Mathimaraiselvan, Dr Geetha Ravi who worked for nothing at the end of the day, and in fact leaving their work commitments for the charitable work.
There was no treatment given at this site of the camp and no free medication were distributed. The aim of the camp to identify the problems and give free advice.
i am attaching couple of photos
with regards
Chockalingam
health awareness activities at Trichy
I am adding some of the articles written in press and some of the photos of the health awareness activities done at Trichy with KMC speciality and KMC hospitals.
Orthopaedic problems of bones and joints are many and we took on only four issues last year at KMC Speciality Hospital named by WHO bone and Joint Decade. they are 1. osteoporosis 2. arthritis 3. road traffic accidents 4. back and neck problems.
We have done Meet our Patients Meet where the press and the public could freely interact with our patients benefited from advanced ortho care treatment at KMC and KMC speciality hospitals.
We have done Bone and Joint Walk to raise awareness on Bone and joint problems as listed above.
We have given awareness talks to senior citizens who are pensioners in a standard format.
We have done first aid program to traffic personnel twice in the last two year to raise awareness on road traffic accidents 2. we have done many free orthopaedic consultations starting in march 2009 at KMC Speciality hospital both as camps and regular free clinics on Fridays for patients who cannot afford to attend a hospital such as ours. These have mainly targeted arthritic patients though osteoporosis and back problems have been covered.
We have done two ATLS type courses named Essentials of Initial Trauma Management at KMC Hospital for doctors sponsored entirely by KMC Hospital and all the consultants have gifted their time and efforts to teach the fundamental principles in trauma management.
I will elaborate all our activities in the next blog and list them and post more articles.
Regards
Chockalingam
Awareness article written on joint replacements
Article written on 24th December 2008
Advanced Ortho Treatment facilities at KMC Speciality Hospitals
Joint Replacements and Key Hole Surgery
What are joints and why do I get pain in my joints?
Joints are present when two bones meet allowing movement to occur.
The ends of bones are lined with a tissue called cartilage. This tissue is strong and smooth. This is lubricated with fluid in the joint.
Ligaments are tissues which hold the bones and allow movement in a certain direction.
Joints are damaged by commonly by diseases, injury, ageing or infection.
Problems with the joints are major causes of immobility and disability. We often see people who can only walk slowly, or for short distances due to pain due to the joint problems. Knee arthritis is very common as one gets old.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis means inflammation of joints. It can be due to many causes.
Your Orthopaedic Surgeon would be able to diagnose the cause of arthritis by taking a history from yourselves and examination. He would need to request specific tests if the cause is not clear by examination alone.
Is there a cure for my arthritis?
It depends on the cause of arthritis. The most common cause of arthritis is Osteoarthritis, which is wear and tear of the joint lining called cartilage with age alone. This can come earlier if there had been previous injury.
The treatment of joint disorders has greatly improved in the last thirty years in other countries and over the past ten years in India. This is partly due to the option of treatment with artificial joint replacements.
What are artificial joint replacements?
Artificial joints replace worn out [arthritic] joints. They are very commonly performed for pain and are very successful in relieving pain. Knees and hips are very commonly replaced, though artificial joint replacements are done for shoulder, elbow, hand and ankle as well.
How do they actually look like?
The picture shows some of the actual prostheses in joint replacements. These are not all inclusive as advanced designs are available for patients
What are current advances in joint replacements?
Only part of the knee replaced as shown in the picture below. Advances in metallurgy and materials in the prosthetic design are available to a patient in Trichy. Management before and after surgery has changed over the past few years. The surgeon at KMC Speciality would use the up to date management practised in UK due to his recent return from England.
Are these new or experimental?
No. These have been successfully performed for over thirty years. The joints are manufactured by advanced engineering methods. They are made of very high quality metal, ceramic and polyethylene. Over 60000 patients are receiving these prostheses by surgery in one year in Australia alone [2003-2004 figures]
Who will perform this at KMC and what is his experience
The surgery would be performed by a senior surgeon who has returned to Trichy after more than fifteen years of experience in UK. He has performed surgeries routinely for the past seven years as a senior surgeon. He had been practising in the largest centre for joint Replacements in UK where more than 4200 patients are treated per year alone [2007 figures]
He has performed research in this field in UK. This has been published and his article which is commonly quoted in the international literature.
“ Outcome of cemented-v-cementless fixation of femoral component in TKR with the identification of radiological signs for the prediction of failure
THE KNEE Dec 1; 7(4): 233-238 2000”
Is this treatment without any problems?
This treatment is very successful in relieving pain. However some patients can have complications. The surgery performed by an experienced surgeon can reduce the complications. Hence it is essential to know your Doctor and his experience who performs this surgery.
Will I be able to walk without limp and will my joint move normally after surgery?
As pain goes your walking will actually improve than before surgery. Hip replacement patients return to normality sooner even though it is a deeper joint. Knee replacement patients will return comparatively slower, however there would be no difference in the success of this surgery.
Treatment after surgery improves the success greatly and your Surgeon would advise you accordingly.
What Should I do?
If you or someone you know suffers from joint pain, please understand that one should not have to live with pain.
Not all patients with joint pain will need joint replacements.
Other causes of joint pain can be treatable completely by medication such as gouty arthritis. Some of the patients’ joint pain can be treated by medication such as Rheumatoid arthritis, though surgery can remarkably change one’s life with surgery.
Other patients can be treated by key hole surgery to the joints.
What is key hole surgery of knee?
I am sure you are aware of sportsmen twisting their knee and disappear from the sports scene for couple of months before returning to normality. They often sustain cartilage injuries which are treatable by key hole surgery. Surprisingly quite a lot of general population have cartilage problems, but choose to live with pain. They can also be treated by key hole surgery.
Advanced Ortho Treatment facilities at KMC Speciality Hospitals
Joint Replacements and Key Hole Surgery
What are joints and why do I get pain in my joints?
Joints are present when two bones meet allowing movement to occur.
The ends of bones are lined with a tissue called cartilage. This tissue is strong and smooth. This is lubricated with fluid in the joint.
Ligaments are tissues which hold the bones and allow movement in a certain direction.
Joints are damaged by commonly by diseases, injury, ageing or infection.
Problems with the joints are major causes of immobility and disability. We often see people who can only walk slowly, or for short distances due to pain due to the joint problems. Knee arthritis is very common as one gets old.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis means inflammation of joints. It can be due to many causes.
Your Orthopaedic Surgeon would be able to diagnose the cause of arthritis by taking a history from yourselves and examination. He would need to request specific tests if the cause is not clear by examination alone.
Is there a cure for my arthritis?
It depends on the cause of arthritis. The most common cause of arthritis is Osteoarthritis, which is wear and tear of the joint lining called cartilage with age alone. This can come earlier if there had been previous injury.
The treatment of joint disorders has greatly improved in the last thirty years in other countries and over the past ten years in India. This is partly due to the option of treatment with artificial joint replacements.
What are artificial joint replacements?
Artificial joints replace worn out [arthritic] joints. They are very commonly performed for pain and are very successful in relieving pain. Knees and hips are very commonly replaced, though artificial joint replacements are done for shoulder, elbow, hand and ankle as well.
How do they actually look like?
The picture shows some of the actual prostheses in joint replacements. These are not all inclusive as advanced designs are available for patients
What are current advances in joint replacements?
Only part of the knee replaced as shown in the picture below. Advances in metallurgy and materials in the prosthetic design are available to a patient in Trichy. Management before and after surgery has changed over the past few years. The surgeon at KMC Speciality would use the up to date management practised in UK due to his recent return from England.
Are these new or experimental?
No. These have been successfully performed for over thirty years. The joints are manufactured by advanced engineering methods. They are made of very high quality metal, ceramic and polyethylene. Over 60000 patients are receiving these prostheses by surgery in one year in Australia alone [2003-2004 figures]
Who will perform this at KMC and what is his experience
The surgery would be performed by a senior surgeon who has returned to Trichy after more than fifteen years of experience in UK. He has performed surgeries routinely for the past seven years as a senior surgeon. He had been practising in the largest centre for joint Replacements in UK where more than 4200 patients are treated per year alone [2007 figures]
He has performed research in this field in UK. This has been published and his article which is commonly quoted in the international literature.
“ Outcome of cemented-v-cementless fixation of femoral component in TKR with the identification of radiological signs for the prediction of failure
THE KNEE Dec 1; 7(4): 233-238 2000”
Is this treatment without any problems?
This treatment is very successful in relieving pain. However some patients can have complications. The surgery performed by an experienced surgeon can reduce the complications. Hence it is essential to know your Doctor and his experience who performs this surgery.
Will I be able to walk without limp and will my joint move normally after surgery?
As pain goes your walking will actually improve than before surgery. Hip replacement patients return to normality sooner even though it is a deeper joint. Knee replacement patients will return comparatively slower, however there would be no difference in the success of this surgery.
Treatment after surgery improves the success greatly and your Surgeon would advise you accordingly.
What Should I do?
If you or someone you know suffers from joint pain, please understand that one should not have to live with pain.
Not all patients with joint pain will need joint replacements.
Other causes of joint pain can be treatable completely by medication such as gouty arthritis. Some of the patients’ joint pain can be treated by medication such as Rheumatoid arthritis, though surgery can remarkably change one’s life with surgery.
Other patients can be treated by key hole surgery to the joints.
What is key hole surgery of knee?
I am sure you are aware of sportsmen twisting their knee and disappear from the sports scene for couple of months before returning to normality. They often sustain cartilage injuries which are treatable by key hole surgery. Surprisingly quite a lot of general population have cartilage problems, but choose to live with pain. They can also be treated by key hole surgery.
Open Doors For More Patients:Raising Awareness of Knee replacement in rural India
The Fourth of September 2010
We decided to make a video of one of my patients who had a knee replacement. The video showed the impact this operation can make to a lady in a rural place in India. This video raises awareness significantly of a disability which is silently crippling people in India. With so many other life threatening issues and health hazards, the disability due to arthritis is not well known or written.
Arthritis not only limits one's walking ability, also disables a person in activities of daily living. I quantify my patients' disability tailored to Indian conditions and also use international scoring systems. But seeing is believing and for the public, there could not be any better educational method than a video play back.
please visit the sugam charity web site from the useful links site to view this video.
Warm Regards
Chockalingam
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