The European Horsemeat Scandal

It is a disgusting thought to eat something you think you know but actually it is something else. And so the horse meat scandal in Europe is a chance discovery which has shocked many people who have the least idea that they are not eating beef but horse meat. You can read the timeline of the exposed scandal here.

Beef or Horse meat - can you tell?

Besides the distaste, the main issue is eating horse meat that is tainted by pain killer phenylbutazone. This drug is known to cause blood problems namely aplastic anaemia. People are worried that it has entered the food chain and cause widespread effects. You can see the video on this rare but dangerous effects of the drug in the food chain. Drug residues perhaps, but over a long period of ingestion they could prove fatal.

It reminds me of the story of the disappearance of the vultures in Mumbai. These birds of prey were instrumental in "the burial" of dead bodies of people belonging to the Parsi faith in India at one time. The bodies are left for the birds to consume as per their religious tradition. But gradually these animals died away and it was found that  they perished en masse from kidney failure due to eating human meat tainted with the drug indomethacine ( nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents or NSAID) used to threat arthritis.

It is therefore very important that our food is not contaminated with such drugs which could compromise our health through its reactions with our body when taken on a long term basis.

The investigations are going on now as to establish and arrest possible criminal elements which produce  and profit from cheap contaminated  foods at the expense of public health.

Scabies and Medication Misuse

Last week a mother and her two teenage children came to the clinic complaining of intensely itchy skin. I took one look at the lesions especially in the interdigital areas of the hands and feet to quickly diagnose it as scabies, a skin disease caused by tiny mites burrowing into the skin.

The mother immediately said that the three of them came 10 days earlier and were told that it was kudis buta, a Malay word for scabies. They were prescribed with an emulsion to be applied to the body and one of the sons was also given an injection but the conditions have not subsided and in fact it worsened in one of her sons causing him intense discomfort and unable to sleep at night due to the itchiness.

The teenage patient's palms, note
the pus-filled blister

They looked exasperated and the mother said "Please give us injections and strong antibiotics to get rid of this skin problem!". I noticed that the son with the most lesions and purulent vesicles had a strange looking palms, dry and scaly and whitish  And when asked how the palms came to be in such an appearance, the mother related that the boy had been applying the emulsion everyday at least two, three times to get rid of the itchiness for the last 10 days!

Obviously this family has not been informed about this skin condition as to its cause and how to prevent its recurrence and the proper use of the emulsion (Benzyl Benzoic).

I told them about the mite and its disease history and even showed them the pictures of the mites on Google and stressed upon them the need to sterilise their clothes and beddings and keep their house clean to get rid of the mites . And the emulsion is not to be used for days, in fact it is only for 2 to 3 overnight  whole body applications. Chronic use of the emulsion can be poisonous or detrimental to health.

The mother looked perplexed and I had to explain to her several times that the condition would recur if she did not do anything to remove the mites in her house. The mites are not killed by antibiotics because they not bacteria ( the concept she found hard to understand in the first place).

After spending a good 15 minutes  talking about the skin condition, the mother at last said " I have never known about how the condition is caused and now we will do as you say". It is sad when doctors don't explain to patients properly resulting in so much morbidity and in this case the two children had not gone to school for more than a week as their conditions looked embarrassing beside difficulty holding a pen to write.

 Some doctors only know how to diagnose and prescribe but the prevention part is not explained. This happens due to perhaps their being too busy, failure to  think that it is important or taking things for granted. To me patient-doctor interaction should always be educational in order to have a greater impact on patient's health.

Happy New Year of the Snake 2013

Wishing all my friends and blog readers Gong Xi Fa Cai. May the new year bring us more prosperity and continued happiness.

Happy Chinese New Year of the Snake

To me this new year is not as lively as last year perhaps because of the lack of positive market activities on Bursa which is tamed by the uncertainty of the general election date and the thought of possible change of government. I have kept all my portfolios as they are, that is, not moving out of the market. The current market bearish outlook is a good opportunity to buy some beaten down stocks with good fundamentals.

For those of you who are interested to know some predictions (Feng Shui Index 2013) on the Year of the Snake, you can read them here.

Anyway, whatever it is, I am not going to let the current situation dampen my celebratory mood. The world is not going to end soon and politics is not going to cool down anytime now so why waste our precious time being anxious unnecessarily? Enjoy and be merry. That's the way to keep healthy, though I wouldn't binge on those foods and drinks.

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever

Firecrackers have been released more than two hours ago and so we welcome the Snake with renewed hopes and a fresh zest for life.