The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Docs discuss new surgery skills and techniques Our Correspondent Ludhiana, April 16 A galaxy of super specialists in different disciplines deliberated on ‘Recent Advances of Health care and Progression — An International Perspective’ at a CME organised by Deep Hospital to mark the completion of its 20th anniversary here yesterday. Addressing the gathering of more than 500 delegates from the northern region, Dr A.N. Jha, director of neuro-surgery at MAX Hospitals, New Delhi, said after working for over six years in England he had found that better infrastructure and health care facilities were available now in India. “This had attracted me to return and settle in India and say good bye to the West”. He emphasised the significance of the ‘golden first hour’, which was most crucial for any head injury patient to be shifted to the nearest trauma centre. He claimed that brain microsurgery procedures being performed in India were comparable to the best in the world and that too at much lesser cost. Dr O.N. Nagi, renowned orthopaedic surgeon from Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, stressed the need for cost effective knee and hip replacement surgeries so as to help the patients from the lower strata of society. He observed that with the availability of new skills and techniques in joint replacement surgery, it had now become possible for those undergoing these procedures to squat and also perform yoga. Dr Randhir Sood, head of gastroenterology at Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, in his presentation on minimally invasive endoscopic techniques, remarked that thousands of ulcer patients could now be relieved with popping lesser number of pills with the advent of new drugs available in India. Dr L.S. Chawla, former vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, and Dr S.B. Khurana, former principal of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, were the chairpersons of the event. In his opening remarks, Dr Khurana advised Punjabis to adopt life style changes so as to avoid heart disease. “People ought to shun desi ghee, which is turning millions of Punjabis into diabetic patients. With the rate people were falling prey to diabetes, it would be no wonder if India becomes the diabetic capital of the world by 2010,” he cautioned. He pleaded for drastic changes in eating habits and following a regimen of physical activity. Chairman and Managing Director of Deep Hospital Dr Baldeep Singh said it was a great honour to play host to such a big number of the members of the medical fraternity from Punjab and neighbouring states. He said to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the hospital, a high-tech kidney and dialysis unit had been started, which would be managed by senior consultant nephrology Dr Rajan Issac from AIIMS, New Delhi.
	NGOs to play major role in fight against drug abuse Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 16 The district administration has informed that an effective multi-faceted drive to eradicate the menace of drug addiction was being launched with the involvement of NGOs already working in this field in the district. In order to take the drive to a fruitful end the progress would be reviewed once every fortnight by holding meetings of the representatives of NGOs and officers concerned. Sumer Singh Gurjar, Deputy Commissioner, chaired a meeting of the office-bearers of 18 NGOs and officers concerned at Bachat Bhawan here today. Those present put forth their suggestions to tackle rampant abuse of drugs and demanded that preventive, awareness and punitive measures should be initiated so that the youth could be motivated to shun drugs and get involved in useful activities. The Deputy Commissioner exhorted the NGOs to come forward to work with dedication to reverse the rise in the trend of addiction among the youth. NGOs can play a vital role to educate the people and to create awareness about the dangerous effects of drugs and intoxicants. It was decided in the meeting that each NGO would organise one awareness camp in every week in a central place where the attendance of drug addicts from the surrounding villages/areas would be ensured to get good results, he added. He also told them to present reformed addicts as role models to motivate others. Gurjar also asked the NGOs to persuade the addicts in the camps to get de-addiction treatment in de-addition centre being run by NGO and after the release from he centre after getting full treatment, the NGO would also provide after care and help in rehabilitating the person. The DC said Pryank Bharti ADC(D) and Gurmeet Singh Secretary Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle Trust, would work as nodal functionaries on behalf of administration and NGOs, respectively, and they would coordinate with the NGOs to sort out any problem on a day-to-day basis. Gurjar said drug addiction had had become a serious problem and was ruining the lives of the youth. Regarding implementation of the prevailing acts, he said the administration would strictly implement the prevailing laws to check the sale and supply of the drugs and intoxicants and special checking would be conducted by the health department. The DC directed the Civil Surgeon to gear up the machinery and send the weekly progress report to him regarding the raid on chemist shops engaged in the sale of drugs. He said boards regarding the ban on smoking would also be displayed near government offices and public places and action would be initiated against those found violating the rules. Gurjar informed that for the current year the government had reduced the number of liquor shops in the district from 233 to 208. He informed that four de-addiction centres at Model Town Extension, Kila Raipur, Mullanpur and Salem Tabri, were already being run by different NGOS in the district. He also asked the representatives of NGOs to inform the Civil Surgeon on phone, in case they noticed any chemist selling the drugs and told the Civil Surgeon to take prompt action. He said in case the Civil Surgeon failed to take action then the NGO concerned should contact ADC (D). Pryank Bharti, ADC (D), while speaking on the occasion said the menace of drugs “was destroying our society and it was the duty of NGOs to create awareness among the people about it”. Gurmit Singh, Secretary, GGSSC Trust, assured on behalf of the NGOs to extend full cooperation in eradicating the menace of drugs from society. He said sufficient literature for this purpose would also be printed and distributed among people. He informed that GGSSC was running two de-addiction centres and was giving full treatment and counselling to the addicts. As many as 12 representatives of the NGOs put forth their suggestion to make the drive effective. Others who attended the meeting, included Dr Dipinder Singh, GGSC, Dr Pushpinder Singh, SGTB Charitable Hospital, Dr Sarabhjit Singh, Sukirat, Dr Sarup Singh Alag, Prof. Karamjit Singh from Sirjandhara, Sukhdev Singh, Guru Angad Dev Education and Welfare Council, Dr Amandeep Singh, Guru Nanak Charitable Trust, Hardeep Singh, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Model Town, Jatinder Singh, president, Gurdwara Dhan Pothohar, Karam Singh, DSSO, Harvinder Kaur DEO (E) and Major Singh Sandhu, DEO (S).
	World Voice Day It’s your voice, take good care Kuldip Bhatia Ludhiana, April 16 "Listen to your own voice carefully and visit the specialist at the earliest, as a change in the voice may indicate anything from a common cold to a sinister pathology like cancer of the throat," advised Dr Manish Munjal, professor of ENT at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital on "World Voice Day" which is being observed today. The human voice, he remarked, not only expressed the thoughts, ideas, concerns and emotions, but many diseases of the body could also be diagnosed by a change in the voice. Common features of a voice problem were hoarseness, raspy sounding speech, raw or strained throat with voice use, increased effort needed to talk or sing and loss of ability to hit high notes when singing. "Moreover, voice is a source of livelihood for many people. Teachers, lawyers, singers, actors, ragis, hawkers and radio-video jockeys have to rely on their voice to do their jobs. For vocally intensive activities like public speaking or singing and classroom teaching, it is important that you put your best voice forward. Remember that your voice is part of your appearance. Effective verbal communication depends not only on what you say, but also on how you sound." Dr Munjal elaborated that when a person spoke, he or she produced sound by the synchronous vibration of the two vocal cords which lied in the voice box. Alteration in size, shape, tension and mobility of the vocal cords resulted in a distorted voice. The voice could also be affected by certain diseases of the body, which if diagnosed early, could be effectively managed even by non- surgical means. Hormonal changes, tuberculosis, muscle diseases, nerve paralysis to name a few conditions, and the most dreaded cancer of the voice box, could alter the voice. Mechanical trauma due to poor speaking techniques, overuse or abuse of voice, like during shouting and yelling, chemical and thermal trauma due to excess intake of alcohol and smoking resulted in swollen , thickened, thinned or floppy vocal cords with a consequent voice change, he added "These factors which are under our control, if checked at an appropriate time, can prevent irreversible damage to this fragile and delicate instrument of communication. If voice does not return to normal within two or four weeks after a cold, it necessitates a throat examination by an ENT specialist, more so in the case of smokers. Vocal professionals understand the importance of voice to their work but may not know how to keep it healthy. Therefore, the enthusiastic newly recruited teachers and singers feel tired and lose their voices at the end of the day, something which can be rectified by simple vocal hygiene and vocal training." Dr Munjal assured that most voice changes were temporary and self limiting, but if these continued for more than four weeks, a thorough assessment, especially so among smokers and heavy drinkers, who were at a high risk for throat cancer, was called for. Throat cancer, diagnosed early, could be cured without extensive treatment. But any delay in detection and treatment, could even lead to removal of the entire voice box with reduced chances of cure. So the motto should be "do not tax your voice". Similar to tax deadlines, the people, generally, did not think much about their voice until severe pain started troubling them. Therefore, it was imperative to assess one’s vocal health and take action to improve or maintain vocal hygiene, he advised.
	Eat healthy, nutritionist tells students Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 16 A seminar on food and nutrition was held at GNIMT, here, for faculty and students today. Capt Charanjit Singh, the visiting expert, explained the difference between food and nutrition. “Food is what we eat whether we are hungry or not whereas nutrition is what your body really requires,” he said. “These days our daily food is not balanced. Items like oil, spices, salt and sugar are normally higher in the food, whereas vitamins and fibres are generally insufficient in our diet that causes nutritional imbalance in the body.” He explained that diet which contained more fruits and green vegetables was generally healthy and devoid of toxins. The visiting team also carried out the body metabolic index, which helped to determine whether people had any extra body fat. The team also explained that balanced diet with exercise was the best bet for a healthy life. There was a question-answer session after the presentation.