Dengue On The Rise

With all the recent hullaballoo about swine flu, people seem to overlook the fact that it's now Dengue season here in the Philippines, what with the onset of the rainy season.

Dengue fever has been a perennial problem here. It caused more deaths than swine flu ever did, and in a faster fashion. We already know the cause: it's a vector-borne disease, and it's main carrier is the Anopheles aegyptii day biting mosquito. What's sad is that it's actually preventable. Mosquitoes are pretty predictable, and as long as you get rid of it, there would be less outbreaks since Dengue is not spread without these carriers.

Since we live in a tropical country, I guess we do have to live with the reality that we will always be plagued by mosquitoes. However, there are ways to prevent mosquito bites and subsequent disease (like dengue or malaria). In fact, nature has provided us with some means. We currently use our own natural insect repellant (made of virgin coconut oil and oils of citronella, lemongrass and lavender) which are effective so far in preventing mosquito bites and far safer than DEET containing repellants. A good website for more information regarding mosquitoes is this: http://www.mosquitoinfo.info .

Too Much Cola Can Cause Muscle Problems

My husband's is a Coke addict. The drink (Coca cola), and not cocaine, in case you're getting the wrong idea. I think that he should be consuming less softdrinks as they are really not good for the body. While I don't believe the forwarded emails regarding the purported evils of softdrinks, specifically Coca Cola, I do realize that there is no nutritional value in such drinks. But like any addict, he finds it hard to quit.

I came across this article though, and I told him that his recent complaints of muscle pains may be related to the amount of Coke he imbibes. I'm glad to note that his consumption seems to be decreasing, although I really hope that it would cease entirely.

Branded vs Generic Medications

Branded, or more expensive medication? Or, generic and more affordable medication? In these matters, if I could afford it, I would rather go for the more reliable brands even if they are more expensive because, as a doctor myself, I've found them to be more consistent and reliable in their quality, hence there is a greater chance for patients to actually get the right dosage and the right medication, and as a consequence, get better faster. The faster you heal, the faster you can recover your productivity.

On the other hand, if I do not have enough money to buy the whole prescribed course of branded medicine, I will consider going for their generic equivalents, but I would first look at the drug company that manufactured the medication. There are some legal drug companies that offer lower priced, but still quality generic drugs. Those are what I would go for.

The drug development process is quite a complicated process, so I would much rather go for a company which has the means and the experience to produce quality medications, rather than some fly-by-night company whose credentials may be doubtful.

Coffee Break ver. 1.5

The question: How committed are you to health and fitness?

Since we're both doctors, you'd think our husband and I would be more health and fitness conscious. But we're not, if what you're thinking about in terms of keeping healthy and fit is a really good diet regimen and a regular exercise program.

We basically try to moderate our eating ourselves by trying to eat less unhealthy stuff like fatty and oily foods. But that's about it. Our exercise now mostly consists of everyday stuff like chasing after our energetic toddler and walking around the mall (it's too hot to walk outside!)...if we have the time.

Maybe we should step up the efforts. After all, we are already creeping into middle age (eep!). We do want to get old being still healthy and functional, and not dependent on anybody.