Staying alive

Health care is a topic which is well-represented on the Web. Here are a few sites dealing with medication, fitness and nutrition which will help you go beyond your doctor

  • Global Health and Fitness
    A great site for health freaks is found at Global Health and Fitness, the 'on-line guide to healthy living and optimal fitness.' Whether it's losing pounds and keeping them off, or gaining strength, endurance and flexibility or just improving your appearance, this site offers them all. Of course, everything doesn't come free and to get optimal service from the GH&F people you've got to subscribe. However, there's a lot of free info that you can access, like the cardiovascular exercises, a fit tip of the day, recipe of the day, and samples from an online book on fitness. Besides, there are useful programs for nutrition analysis, counting calories and a BMR calculator which gives the metabolism rate or calories burned to sustain life, using which you can estimate your daily caloric needs. If you're really serious about fitness, fill in the detailed form for a fitness analysis report. After submission you will receive a list of recommendations on how to achieve your fitness goals based on your physical condition and lifestyle.

  • America's Health Network Among the outstanding health resources is the site run by America's Health Network. Want to read up on a particular ailment and the cures available? The AHN has practically all the answers for you, except of course for the proviso, 'Consult your physician!' At the Interactive Health section you have the Anatomy Explorer, Chat Room, and the facility to send e-Cards to someone who's ailing. Then take a look at the self-management guides, where, based on a common symptom you identify, you are provided information that can help you take an active role in your health care management decisions. A great feature of the site however, is the live operations. So be there while triplets are born, an open heart surgery is performed or a delicate operation is done on a brain aneurysm.

  • Nutrition Navigator Any physician will tell you that nutrition is a very important part of health care, if not the most important. The Nutrition Navigator from Tuft's University of the USA is the first online rating and review guide that solves the two major problems Web users have when seeking nutrition information: how to quickly find information best suited to their needs and whether to trust the information they find there. So if you're a diabetic, a heart patient, a sports man or just a sedentary office worker, you can check out the diet best suited to you here. As for authenticity, the site boasts of a high-powered panel of medical specialists from the US and Canada who vet the information provided here. Wish our Indian doctors got together and gave us a nutrition site with a more desi flavour. Besides its own content, the site has a useful resource guide providing links to other sites for anyone interested in nutrition. A section devoted specially to journalists will certainly be useful for health scribes researching matter pertaining to a particular illness.

  • Healthlink Another informative medical site is Healthlink, hosted by the Medical College of Wisconsin. The site is produced by a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and medical informatics specialists. You can browse the site by topics, from allergies and arthritis to travel medicine, weight control and women's health, with dozens of others in between. Questions and answers to various problems are presented and links are given to related articles where you can learn more. The site has its own panel of health writers who post regular articles. Then you can subscribe (it's free) to the site and receive a regular health letter through e-mail.

  • Health Library We have a good Indian health site in HELP � the Health Education Library for People. People include both doctors and patients. For doctors there are online journals and text books, medical news, medical software, medical supplies, medical conferences, continuing education, and searchable databases of professional information. Patients have the facility of keeping their medical records online, browsing through health journals, health calculators, health-related quizzes, and news which enables them to know of the latest treatments available for their ailments. The library contains over 20 free online full-text books and magazines on health and disease. Besides, the Health Online section has a catalogue of over 5,000 books and 10,000 pamphlets. For 'Everything you want to Know about medicine in India,' check out the India File which leads to news from the world Of Indian medicine. Though the lay person is cautioned that finally, it is your doctor who knows best, the humour section tries to do away with this personage with the adage: "A smile a day keeps the doctor away!"

  • Malaria-IPCA Malaria is undoubtedly one of the more rampant diseases in our disease-infested land. Ipca Labs now have a site exclusively devoted to malaria. The site provides an exhaustive online resource for this ailment, covering its incidence worldwide and in India; types of malaria, with diagnosis and treatment; clinical presentations; care of a malaria patient; and travellers info. While a lay person can certainly increase his or her knowledge by browsing the site, much of the matter here is particularly aimed at the professional. Doctors could well benefit from the explanation of the laboratory diagnosis of the disease which elaborates on the methods used. And if they want to be kept up-to-date on the latest developments in curtailing the spread and in the treatment of malaria, the site provides the facility of providing this information via e-mail.

  • CanHelp This is a useful site for cancer patients and their doctors. The site is designed to assist you and your family in making informed, intelligent decisions on cancer treatments. Sophisticated research techniques and consultation with a worldwide network of renowned experts provide patients and physicians with up-to-date data and an understanding of specific treatment opportunities.

  • HeartPoint As the name indicates, Heart Point promises to give you information on all types of heart ailments. While no one should be their own doctor, a doctor may not have the time to explain to you in detail what exactly afflicts you. So sites like Heart Point come in mighty handy as with both graphics and text the various aspects of heart disease are explained. Though the perspective here is from that of the medical profession, the site provides valuable tips for the patient and her relatives. When we accessed the gallery section, there were 30 different heart conditions featured with animated graphics and extensive discussions. The other sections include health tips on medication, eating out, low-fat eating, and words to get well. In the last we found an Arab proverb: Trust in God, but tie your camel to a tree.

  • Headaches.org Now who would have thought that there would be an entire site devoted to headaches? The National Headache Foundation of the USA did and promptly put up the site. To make the best use of the site, like if you want the latest breaking news on headaches, you need to become a member for a small payment. However, you can still access a lot of information even on a casual surf. There are various types of headaches covered like tension-type, migraine, cluster and hormone. An interesting glossary takes you from abdominal migraine to vasodilatation.

  • Surya Eyetech Surya Eyetech Hospital and Research Foundation claims Yukta Mookhey as its most famous patron. If you can�t go to this Mulund-based centre in Mumbai, you can avail of some useful eye-care information from the site. Since you have to do so by sitting at your computer, you can start with reading about computer-related diseases, like computer vision syndrome, computer body syndrome and electronic strain. There are some handy tips to observe while working on computers. The site also features a section on eye yoga, tips on how to watch television and a self eye test which you can take by answering a few questions.

  • Diabetes.org American Diabetes Association has made it its life�s work to �prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.� Accordingly, the site features everything one needs to know, whether it is nutrition, exercise, medication or even who�s at risk for diabetes. To find out whether you�re at risk, you can take the simple risk test. Then, you have a daily tip and recipe. When we checked the site, the recipe featured was cream of chicken soup! The news section features some of the latest diabetes-related news stories. You can get online information by subscribing as a professional or general member. A special section for professionals details clinical practice, lists the different diabetes councils and journals and gives an insight into the latest research.

  • Mental Health, India Mental Health India is a site hosted by a leading Indian psychiatrist, Dr Sanjay Chugh. It features mental health-care for all sorts of people from kids to elders. Chugh�s site covers a variety of mental disorders from the adjustment and anxiety type through schizophrenia and other psychoses. The site discusses over 150 different psychiatry-related medicines in detail. There are separate sections on sexuality, sport psychology, parenting and child psychology. And if you have a personal problem, you can seek advice from Dr Chugh and get a reply through your e-mail.

    Manuel Fernandes

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    Updated 9/May/2000

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