Reminiscences . . .

A continuation of my recollections of our days in the Community Health and Development department of the Christian Medical College, Vellore . . . 

First, the 'konna' flower (Cassia fistula). It's a visual treat during April every year ..  .. ..

Couple sites where stone benches are put which have been the hot spots for some great discussions . . . 

Thoughts on agriculture . . .

I was in my post graduate alma mater, the Christian Medical College, Vellore, the last couple of days. And I had quite a long journey back to NJH.

I happened to go through photographs taken during my time at the Community Health and Development Department. 

The following series of snaps were taken during one of the programs we have for medical students. 

The first snap shows a group of women planting paddy on the fields.

As I finished the shot, I was surprised to see a group of students coming back from school. 

First came the boys . . .

Then the girls . . .

As they vanished from sight, I wondered if their education would be a hurdle for them to work in the fields. 

My grandfather used to work in similar paddy fields. After education and literacy came to our village, there was nobody to work in the fields and they lie vacant. Everybody was busy getting graduation and jobs in the city . . . and abroad . . .

As I was pondering over it, in came dark clouds which looked like foretelling that the future looks bleak . . .

Artisan at work . . .

2 snaps of an artisan at work. Photos taken from CMC Post Graduate days . . . 

Judge for yourselves . . .

I just returned after a workshop on 'Snake Bite' held at the Christian Medical College, Vellore. 

I wish I got some rest. Alas . . . that was not the case . . . 

About couple of hours after I got into the NJH campus, there was a lady who was into her fourth pregnancy and at term. She had started to contract from sometime late afternoon.

The family had called a doctor to help out with the delivery. 

After the injections, she had very severe pain. However, things did not proceed as they wanted to. And she started to bleed heavily . . .The doctor also referred them to NJH.

And the injections . . . the doctor concerned had given a well written prescription . . .

Below are the portions of the prescription blown up . . . 

We did an ultrasound . . . The baby was already dead. And the placenta was separated . . . the cause of her bleeding. She has suprapubic tenderness. I wonder if she had ruptured with the amount of overdose of oxytocin she received. 

We wait for blood investigations . . . Do pray that we would intervene without much complications . . .

And of course . . . would appreciate comments on the prescription.

Worm causing seizures . . .

Last week, we had a 7 year old boy coming into emergency with sudden onset seizures. There was no fever. We were almost sure about what we were dealing with. 

Taperworm cyst inside the brain .. .. .. 

Something which we see quite commonly. 

Another tropical condition which is quite neglected. I don't know about data. But here at NJH, we've quite a lot of patients on anti-seizure medication after the cysts were found inside their brain. Including staff and their relatives . . . 

The traditional and commonly held knowledge is that the infestation is seen in people who eat partially cooked pork. But, what we have in this part of the country is that quite a lot of the patients with neurocysticercosis are vegetarians. 

Of course, we all know the cause. 

The following chart gives the reason . . . 

 

And what could be the major source. This is what I believe is the major culprit.

Yes . . . Salads . . . 

Purported to be very healthy, salads are a major presence in almost diets . . . In addition, the practice of eating raw vegetables. 

Raw vegetables are of course very good from a health point of view. But if they are not washed properly, they could be harbouring eggs of the tapeworm. 

Below is the boy's CT Scan . . . shows the ring shaped lesion. 

So, the next time, you delve into salads, be sure that the vegetables are thoroughly washed.