Category: Health

AIDS Awareness [en]

Young sexually active Indians (or those about to be so) appear to be no different from their western counterparts when it comes to AIDS awareness. They know they don’t have AIDS. The also know that their girlfriend/boyfriend doesn’t have AIDs, because he/she either is a virgin or has slept only with this or that person, known to be “safe”. Prostitutes and people who inject drugs are those who might have AIDS, not normal people – unless they have had to receive blood.

This is the kind of thinking which is allowing AIDS to spread amongst the heterosexual population, particularly teenagers.

Now, let’s stop and think. If a boy has had unprotected sex with a prostitute, and fears he might have AIDS, will he feel free to talk about it to his peers? What would be the reaction if he did? If a girl or a boy has been sexually abused or raped, recently or as a child, will it be said? Remember Pinki Virani’s (prudent) numbers: four girls out of ten; one boy out of four. In the newspaper the other day, I saw much more scary numbers – probably closer to reality: six girls out of ten, and four boys out of ten.

Munchausen [en]

If the Kaycee fiasco raised your interest about cyberpathology, here is a very interesting article on cybersickness (exploring Munchausen and its consequences).

Nothing [en]

Have you ever tried doing nothing? Nothing like in “not doing anything” but also “not reading” and “not thinking too hard”? I’ve tried and managed for about half an hour. It’s particularly the “not reading” and “not thinking” part that is hard for me. Stick me anywhere with a book or a paper and pencil, and I can survive for hours.

But why on earth…? Actually, it seems my brain went “shkeplunk” in my skull at judo today. No concussion, nothing serious – just a powerful headache. [Edit 11.11.04 Actually, a nice little concussion. I had trouble concentrating for weeks, and headaches for months, after that.] And my physio sent me back home after telling me that I should give my brain a rest for forty-eight hours. I’m most certainly not going to manage that – look, I’m failing already.

“Yeah sure, no banging my head against walls tonight!” I said with a large smile.
She shook her head from side to side to show me. “Like, don’t shake your head or run… and don’t think too hard either.”
I looked at her with some – understandable – surprise. “No thinking?”
“No thinking”, she answered with a perfectly straight face.
“B…but… I have a coursework to do this week…” I protested.

“Skip it”, she smiled.
“Oh… and reading? That’s OK, isn’t it?” My plans for the evening started crumbling down.
“No reading.”
She was leaving. “What can I do then?!”
“Nothing…!” came the answer as she went through the door.

Breasts and Bottles [en]

The IFBAN site will give you some extra food for thought about bottle and breastfeeding. Thanks Karl [get well soon!]

Breastfeeding [en]

Breastfeeding in a Capitalist Society by Rebecca Blood.

I’ll just add that modern western culture is the only one not to find long-term breastfeeding normal, and that Nestlé et al. didn’t put baby food on the market that long ago.

It has also been shown that breastfed babies are exposed to a much wider variety of flavors (mother’s food influencing the taste of milk) than formula-fed babies.

Trop Cool [en]

Vous serez certainement ravis d’apprendre que je fais un pityriasis rosé de Gibert. Charmant, non?
La bonne nouvelle, c’est que ce n’est pas grave du tout, ni incommodant. La mauvaise nouvelle, c’est que je n’ai probablement pas atteint le sommet de l’éruption. Je vais donc laisser mes décolletés dans l’armoire pendant encore quelques semaines!

Babies [en]

Miss Pea‘s last post about her sleepless baby got me hunting around the web.
In India, I had read this great childcare book of Aleika’s, but unfortunately I forgot the name of the author. I’m happy to say I have dug out all the useful information for you.

The Baby Book was written by William and Martha Sears. They advocate Attachment Parenting – which can be brought down to these main points:

  • breastfeeding
  • responding to baby’s cues
  • wearing the baby
  • sharing sleep

The last point is of course very much frowned upon in our modern western society (by the way, the only one in history to have such a weird conception of child-rearing…). Even when I manage to explain to my friends all the advantages for the baby and the parents, it always comes down to the final question: what about sex?

Dr. Sears’ site has a mine of very interesting information on parenting, of course.
You can also find info and links to articles on the Muslim attachment parenting page, although the site might be a little hard on your eyes and your browser.

Cat and Dog Diet [en]

Yes, I know. Lots about my animals, these days.
Well, coming home from the vet’s, it seems that I’ve been doing the worst thing possible: feeding cat food to the dog and vice-versa.

Cats are pure carnivores. Dogs are omnivores. They need a different diet, and each have very specific protein and vitamin requirements.

So here I am, with my veterinary kitty and doggie foods. It looks expensive, but it’s rather economical: as it is dry, a little goes a long way. And it is good quality.

I guess if the vet feeds that to her animals, and she is neither producing it, nor paid to promote it, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?

Des yeux pour entendre [en]

Si j’attends d’avoir écrit une critique complète de chaque livre avant de vous le recommander, je risque bien de ne jamais le faire…

Il est temps de se jeter à  l’eau!

Des yeux pour entendre par Oliver Sacks.
Critiques sur epinions.com (anglais).

Ce livre est une formidable présentation du monde des sourds. Il explore en profondeur les caractéristiques du langage des signes comme langue, et son influence sur le développement et l’épanouissement de ceux qui le parlent.
Un avertissement, toutefois: on court le risque de s’inscrire à  des cours une fois le livre terminé!