22 July, 2016

What if your doctor recommends taking a selfie?

Selfies, with pouting lips and arched eyebrows to mark every occasion, may have come to be known as attention seeking, addictive and dangerous behaviour but what if your doctor recommends taking one? From monitoring various stages of cancer to advising dental patients on the best techniques of oral hygiene, health experts in Chennai are finding that self-portrait photographs and videos may help promote good health, and early diagnosis to prevent diseases.

The idea that selfies can be used as visual diaries, to monitor and correct health problems, made six students at the Ragas Dental College, Chennai, take a video of themselves brushing their teeth everyday. This was for a study about refining toothbrush techniques. "In a city like Chennai, many people may brush their teeth at least once a day but only a few of them use the right technique," said Dr Rooban Thavaraja, one of the researchers.

Toothbrush habit is often the best way to maintain oral hygiene but as there may be no one good way to brush your teeth, often people suffer from dental problems. "The unique formation and setting of every individual means that different people may need different methods of oral care," said Dr Rooban. So he trained his volunteers in the right way to brush teeth. The students were then asked to takeselfie videos while brushing every morning for 14 days. Four students completed the task and the researchers observed improvement up to 8% in their brushing skills. The authors of the study , published in the Indian Journal of Dental Research, say they managed to demonstrate initial feasibility of using selfie videos to better dental health, but need a more detailed study to assess its effectiveness.

Although many doctors are still hesitant to use cellphones for interactions and prescriptions, a few of them feel it can be used by women for self examination of breast cancer. "Women can be asked to take a video of them selves once every month for three months and bring it for a review. This can help ensure that they don't miss any step. But it should be done in a small group, where women make videos of themselves wearing a light T-shirt and see if it works," said Dr Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan, founder of Canstop, an NGO that works in cancer prevention.

In rare cases, doctors say selfie videos are effective especially when the symptoms are not immediately visible, like in case of fits. "I tell my patients to take videos when they are experiencing a stroke or fits and they have done it. It helps me know how long they had a fit, what were the symptoms and much more. This is a more accurate way of understanding their condition as most descriptions are often not accurate," said senior neurologist Dr T Arulmozhi.

"People take selfies because they want to feel good. It is a positive way to encourage someone to do well with little effort and no cost. It is, however, not a replacement for a doctor's visit but just an aid," said Dr Anusha AM, assistant professor of psychiatry, Shri Satya Sai Medical College.

Source: www.timesofindia.com

22.07.2016

Everyone has the same amount of time in a day. The difference is what you decide to do with it