Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR  Dermatitis is a broad expression. It covers different disorders, with one main presentation — a red, tickly rash. The term, eczema, is sometimes used for dermatitis. While some types of dermatitis affect only specific parts of the body, there are others that can present themselves anywhere. Some forms of dermatitis have

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Depression is no pleasant feeling, much less an agreeable expression. It affects millions of people to varying degrees. It has a tendency, in a manner born, to ‘attack’ without a clear reason, albeit contemporary research supports the view that complex psychological, environmental and biochemical factors may trigger, or ‘engender,’ our initial

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Osteoarthritis [OA] is a degenerative disorder. It affects millions of people worldwide — it’s seemingly more common than heart disease and diabetes. Call it a paradox, or what you may, one major fact remains — OA is only going to expand in its intensity and also get firmly rooted in one’s

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Allergies can often be psychosomatic. There is an interesting story. A nineteenth-century US physician, Dr John Noland MacKenzie, MD, wrote how one of his patients, a 32-year old woman, experienced allergy symptoms when exposed to the odour of roses. Her symptoms included a violent cold with watery eyes and runny nose,

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR There are dozens of viruses that cause colds — the most common being rhinoviruses. Over 200 types of rhinoviruses are implicated in the causative mechanism of a cold. The worst part is — the nasal distress, caused by rhinoviruses, are more frequent in spring and fall, although they can instigate the

Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Acne is as old as civilisation. If King Tut carried acne scars to his grave, the ancient Romans believed that acne could be treated with sulphur baths — in circa 753 BC. Acne is a common, distressing disorder — when it is severe it can leave perpetual scars, leading to depression,