HEALTH WATCH

Free distribution of ‘sore eyes’

Nadira Gunatilleke

The time was 10.30am. I was standing at the entrance of my office to leave for an assignment. I was waiting for the vehicle. A young guy walked to the entrance.

He was holding a lunch parcel in one hand and can you guess about what was on his other hand? Well, with the other hand he was covering his left eye with a handkerchief. He punched the card, then scanned his finger (from the hand that was covering his eyes) on the finger print machine and went in. He, was suffering from sore eyes!

What do you think about this person? He is not the only person who reported to work with an eye infection now thats spreading everywhere. There are many other people who do the same. Who is responsible for this? How can we take care of our personal hygiene when there are people who wish to distribute any type of viral infection freely?

These are the instant questions which hit our minds when we see a person with sore eyes, a cold or fever. Those are not deadly diseases but for some people it can cause more than simple damage in certain ways.

The guy who reported to work with sore eyes knew very well that he was suffering from sore eyes. Maybe he was under medications. On his arrival he purposely (or compelled to do so) contaminated the keys on both the card punching machine and finger print machine. Then he went into his air conditioned department and contaminated the whole room.

According to eye specialists, air conditioned rooms help immensely to spread sore eye infection. How about the toilets he used, taps he touched, the registry he signed, buses he traveled in and mroe? The problem is not sore eyes. What if the popular influenza hit our country again? The local health authorities have already issued warnings on possible outbreak of AH1N1 again in the future.

The state, the Health Ministry or the provincial health authorities cannot prevent any type of disease without the support of the general public. It will be an impossible mission! Why do people do this? There should be one or more reasons. On simple reason could be the fear of loosing his/her job. What is the point if some companies create fear in its employees on loosing his/her job while the Government and the Health Ministry spend millions of rupees to prevent deadly viruses spreading such as AH1N1?

“Oh! You are having a very simple cold. You don’t need to take medicine for that. Anyway who takes medicine for a very minor thing like a cold? You take medicine for a simple thing like this. Are you crazy to take leave and stay at home because of a simple cold ? Are you crazy to waste your leave on such a matter?”

Those are the exact words I heard many times in my life. Maybe you also heard the same words at least once in your life. It shows what type of attitude some people have towards sicknesses. This attitude is good for you sometimes but it is not good at all for the common society, especially at a time a disease is spreading rapidly all over the country.

It is heart aching to see the very irresponsible and dangerous attitude of some people in the society. Facing a disease without taking medicines or reporting to work is something heroic for them!

But they do not think that it is deadly for some others such as the people who suffer from chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetics mellitus and others.

There is a possibility that they can lose their life because of your simple cold and ignorance! What if your own family member dies from a respiratory system related sickness because of the selfishness and carelessness of another?

“Ohhhh...I can’t breath and I am shivering with fever. I have loose motion too. I came to office because I have a lot of work to finish. I don’t have much leave left and want to take leave next week for my cousin’s wedding...so I have to work these days no matter what happens to me. I’ll take a rest in the ladies rest room and go home after my shift. Then I can save the leave”.

This is not something new for us. All of us hear this story almost every day in our life and maybe you are one of the persons who says this to others. But the time has come to think twice before reporting to work when you have a simple cold. Maybe you are distributing (A)H1N1 among your colleagues freely and unknowingly!

“Oh! My son had a cold today but I sent him to school. Today there is an important science lesson. He can’t miss it”. This is another story you hear often.

How about the other innocent children with chronic illnesses who sit next to your son and study for six hours? Maybe one of them can lose his life because of your attitude!

Step on to any road in Sri Lanka and just walk hundred meters. You can find more than hundred spots where people have spat on the road. Spitting on roads or anywhere possible is something ‘normal’ in Sri Lanka. Some people never cover their mouths when coughing. We can forgive for the illiterate people who do not have any idea about hygiene. But how about the well educated people working in reputed companies? It is all about their selfishness and irresponsible behavior.

It is the State which suffers because of the selfishness, ignorance and carelessness of a few persons. A mask cost over Rs18. If the infected people follow the relevant guidelines issued to the public by the Epidemiology Unit of the Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry we can control any disease. Anyone can get access to those guidelines and to the guidelines issued by the WHO through media and the Internet.

It is up to you to save your fellow citizens.

Importance of early and accurate cancer detection

Improved cancer survival rate, increased access to treatment for cancer patients, organized screening, improved public awareness of and knowledge about cancer early detection and its prevention are all very important factors in a country like Sri Lanka where the cancer has increased at an alarming rate.

MRKSS which is a healthcare organization involved in providing the highest quality pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, medical and surgical equipment to the Sri Lankan market, addressed this issue in their ongoing CSR initiative - MRKSS Wellness Program - which involves facilitating medical professionals in all regions of Sri Lanka and updating them on the new development and methodologies that are being adopted for various diseases.

Recently, they coordinated an event at Rathnapura General Hospital where Dr. Wasantha Rathnayake who is a Oncologist Consultant at the Rathnapura General Hospital, discussed early detection and interventions of cancers. Many doctors participated in this event and discussions were held on the importance of cancer prevention and early detection by screening, which are key components for cancer control, leading in turn to a decrease in cancer incidence and mortality in the population.

They further discussed, how cancer prevention and early detection are also key elements to implement primary and secondary prevention strategies on common cancers, which contribute to cancer control in general.

Another area focused on, was the importance in developing international networks, that provide scientific evidence on the validity of screening and early diagnosis tools. For screening to be effective, it must incorporate an accurate, easy to apply, simple, inexpensive, culturally acceptable and is a safe screening test. This also goes along with the development and implementation of quality assurance guidelines in order to assure highly accurate screening procedures.

Quality assurance is of paramount importance in cancer screening because at any given time the vast majority of individuals in normal risk populations will not have detectable disease or lesions that, if left unattended, would pose a significant threat to the life or health of the individual. Thus, the accuracy of the screening process must be very high in order to correctly identify those individuals who may benefit from early detection.

Dr. Rathnayake also spoke about the histories of three patients as a learning case study for the doctors, how best to manage similar patients and how community based care could be delivered to such patients. In addition, he discussed the importance of community and extended family support in managing a cancer patient and it’s usefulness in maximizing positive outcomes for the patient.

MRKSS will conduct their next workshop at Karapitiya Teaching Hospital which will focus on Angiogenesis in tumor tissue. This venture is especially admired by the junior doctors as this is a great opportunity for them to brush up their clinical and diagnostic skills.

Naturopathy remedies for all sufferings

Dr. Pandith Wimal Laxman - Oyagodapala Arya Hela Wedamedura

All Buddhas have explained their guiding in three methodologies for complete and permanent eradication of all 10 sufferings including all illnesses. All 10 sufferings are 100 percent mentally controlled, natural and inter connected. Therefore, eradication also has to be on the same line. Otherwise remedies will not be effective and un-natural. So we should understand all eight Naturopathy remedies recommended for eradication of all 10 sufferings completely, by all Buddhas in the same way.

Out of these eight remedies six are 100 percent mentally controlled and natural. The balance two are Meta physical. Further these eight remedies will solve / eradicate all 10 sufferings immediately through the mental thoughts.

All what a patient has to do, is to erase four myths believes and five un-natural or negative living thoughts from his or her own un-conscious mind.

It is very easy to erase, since all nine are inter connected always for creating suffering for the individuals. Those nine are as follows.

1. Mundane comforts are there for enjoying for the long term.

2. It can enjoy by satisfying six elements, collecting wealth and maximum consumption of goods and services.

3. It can enjoy after death also.

4. Five precepts, giving, disciplines and meditation are the methodology for these comforts.

5. Believe in permanent self - spirit and need for protecting it.

6. Doubt and ill trust on the truths in the nature.

7. Fear and embarrassment for thinking, talking and activating natural truths.

8. Discriminating all other beings and matters.

9. Laziness, sleepiness and postponing works.

Humans need only three pre-conditions to erase the above nine negative thoughts as follows.

1. Healthy, free and open mind.

2. Genuine intention / need to eradicate all suffer completely and permanently.

3. Genuine, continuous and natural efforts to reach the final aim / goal.

If one can build above three pre- conditions in the un-conscious mind, the un-conscious mind of the self would help erase nine negative thoughts and register 16 positive thoughts in the un-conscious mind immediately. Without negative or positive thoughts no one can live in this world. Once it is changed to the positive permanently it is impossible to go back to the negative living again. It is the nature of the world. It is common to all beings and all times also. It clearly explains in the first and second stanzas of the Dhamma Pada.

Before studying the eight remedies you should understand, what the 10 sufferings are.

All 10 are interlinked always and activated through thoughts.

1. Dislike and fear for immature deaths

2. Dislike and fear for all types of ills.

3. Dislike and fear for getting older (aging)

4. Dislike and fear for falling into four hells.

5. Dislike and fear for re-birthing again.

6. Dislike and fear for happenings, not desired.

7. Dislike and fear for desired not happenings.

8. Dislike and fear for unlike seen.

9. Dislike and fear for unlike hearings.

10. Dislike and fear for unlike feelings.

There is no any other ways to create sufferers for all beings in the world. It is one of the 13 noble qualities of the Sri Sathya Dhammaya explained by all Buddhas for eradication of all suffers.

There are only 33 different types of beings and four different types of matters in the Nature. Both of these are made by amalgamating six different invisible and changing atoms as follows.

1. Quality of Liquidity.

2. Quality of Temperature.

3. Quality of Lightness.

4. Quality of Hardness.

5. Quality of Space or Gap.

6. Quality of Management / Coordination.

All Beings have all six atoms in different combination. Three types of matters have five atoms in different combinations except the quality of management / coordination. Other matter has no atoms at all. The management or the coordination of the individual being is done 100 percent by the individual mind. Similarly the coordination / management of the nature are also done 100 percent by the collective mind of all living beings, in the nature. There is a fixed natural program for this natural management. It has been named as “Cause = Effect” by all Buddhas and analysis as follows.

“The causes have analysis into three again as, ignorance or understanding the natural truths, unlimited or limited future expectations and negative or positive living. The effects have analysis into three again as, 10 mental suffers, 10 mental comforts and average life expectancy of different types of beings”. Nothing Atalo Dhammaya would happen in the nature, out of this natural program. The natural synergy needed for this universal function is generated by the individual beings, through their living. The thinking, talking and acting are three out flows. The seeing, hearing and feeling are the three inflows. Buddha analyses each into four steps.

Now we will try to understand the eight remedies / strategies recommended for eliminating all suffering by all Buddhas as follows.

1. Realization the importance of building an open and free mind for understanding natural truths.

2. Consumption of bearing minimum resources for positive living.

3. Realization the importance of self satisfaction and respect for self mind.

4. Realization the importance of the mindfulness and the continuous efforts, without being lazy for positive living.

5. Understanding the importunacy of erasing negative thoughts as quickly as possible.

6. Application of external, natural, mental or non-physical treatments for the individual to eliminate all 10 sufferings.

7. Application of internal, natural, metaphysical treatments for the individual for eradication of above 10 linked sufferings.

8. Application of external natural metaphysical treatments for the individual for complete and permanent eradication of all 10 mental sufferings.

These remedies give first priority for prevention and curing get the second priority. Further material treatment has less priority than mental treatment and further natural treatment get first priority than artificial treatments. No operations done for not essential needs. All efforts are nature friendly and within the Cause = Effect equation. All treatments are self controlled and indigenous to Sri Lanka. The treatments are common to all, permanent and have instant results. There is no adverse or after side effects at all. Basic principles in Naturopathy are as follows.

1. Prevention is better than cure.

2. Mind over matters reality.

3. Eradicating one or two suffering / pains are not natural, since all 10 are linked together.

4. Temporary relief is not the aim at all but permanent relief.

5. Activating natural immunity and generating positive synergy is essential.

6. No market oriented approach at all.

7. No bluffing and misleading at all.

8. All treatments are 100% nature friendly.

Duties and responsibilities consult

1. Identiying root cause for the problem.

2. Eliminating root cause using the above eight strategies.

3. No intention of getting any benefits from the clients or relatives.

4. Understanding of beneficial and not beneficial things to the clients or the patient.

5. Increasing the moral of the patient / client.

Duties and responsibilities - patient

1. Follow and obey instructions given by the consultant.

2. Should not hide any related information.

3. Be satisfied always with what you have now.

4. Should not panic or be nervous at all.

5. Genuine need for effort for solving all suffering quickly as possible.

To be continued