Saturday, 19 October 2013

20 October, 2013

‘Snakebites grossly underestimated in India’

With India said to have one of the highest number of snakebite deaths in the world, co-operation between herpetologists, physicians and anti-venom manufacturers is necessary for timely help, a British expert said Saturday.
He also highlighted that snakebites which are ‘not taken seriously’ in the country, should be treated as a disease.
‘There are good snake experts in India…efforts could be greatly helped if there’s a concerted effort. The issue of snakebites in India is grossly underestimated. There is not enough co-ordination between the experts and doctors,’ said David Warrell, international director at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) here.
He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Medicon International 2013 organised by RCP in collaboration with Peerless Hospital and B.K.Roy Foundation in Kolkata.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), there are around 83,000 snakebites per annum in the country with 11,000 deaths.
Warrell, whose research interests have largely focused on malaria, rabies and snakebite, also pointed out that most city doctors are caught off-guard while addressing the huge number of snake bites in rural areas.
‘They should be acquainted with the numbers and the scenario…when they go to villages they are caught unaware and are overwhelmed with the incidences,’ said Warrell.
Moreover, fostering dialogues between anti-venom manufacturers and clinicians is essential to address grievances.
The specialist expressed confidence in the advancements by Indian toxinologists-scientists who deal with natural toxins derived from microbial, animal and plants.
20.10.2013



Sachin Tendulkar saved me from depression: Arvind Bhat

Sachin Tendulkar has touched a billion lives. One of them was ace badminton player Arvind Bhat who suffered an ankle injury in 2006 that put him out of action for a year. The ace shuttler thought that was the end of the road and considered retiring from the game altogether. However, he says the Little Master gave him a pep talk which helped him get back to the summit.
Arvind Bhat told TOI, ‘I had been attending neuro-linguistic programming sessions when I was forced into a sabbatical thanks to an ankle injury in 2006. Little did I know that I would learn the most important lesson in NLP from Sachin Tendulkar. I was depressed and contemplating retirement at 26 as my ankle injury showed no signs of healing. I was forced to miss tournaments and my rhythm was badly affected. It was then that I got an opportunity to talk to Sachin. What I remember of the conversation was that he was in no hurry to hang up. Actually I was thinking I might be disturbing him. But he was relaxed, explaining to me for about 20 minutes how I can emerge out of the injury.’
Bhat added, ‘Sachin said the best way out of an injury is to visualize its healing. He had done that all the time when he was injured, even as he was attended to by doctors and physios. ‘Close your eyes for a few minutes watch the cure happen and imagine yourself getting back into action. Injuries healed at least five percent quicker’, he had said.
Sachin also stressed the need for focus. He told Bhat that when he was in the zone, a cricket ball looked as big as a big football.  
20.10.2013







For those who believe no proof is necessary, for those who don’t believe no proof is possible
Stuart Chase


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