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Since the latter months of 2019 and up to today, there is not a single day that goes by without the words coronavirus or COVID passing our lips. None of us has been spared the upheaval wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, which has been declared to be a public health emergency. This virus, an emerging threat, has stretched the resources available to the health systems and decimated economic activity.

Dear Doc, A second opinion is always good, and I write to ask you for yours. My daughter’s paediatrician says not to worry about her ear infection at the time, but it was happening so frequently, I couldn’t help but be concerned. It hasn’t happened over the last few weeks we’ve all been at home, and she wasn’t going to the nursery. She started nursery again three weeks ago and I worry that

Dear Doc, What is the difference between immunisation and vaccination? - Terrence Dear Terrence, Vaccination is an example of immunisation and is the most common method of achieving immunisation. Immunisation is sensitising the body to an undesired foreign organism, whether a bacteria or virus. The body then becomes prepared or fortified to mount an attack to this same organism by increasing

Dear Doc, I have always heard it said that Barbados is the amputation capital of the world, and in this magazine I have read of people who have reversed their diabetic condition. Given the statistics, would you say that the trend of reversing diabetes in Barbados is making a difference? Is there a trend though? Does the medical fraternity preach reversing the condition, or is it that people with

Dear Doc, I’m early pregnant now and I am diabetic. Is there any tests which can be done to show if my baby will be diabetic too? Will I pass on my condition to my baby? - Ms K Dear Ms. K, I appreciate your concern for your baby, but currently there are no tests that I am aware of. However, be aware that having a gene for diabetes does not mean one will acquire the illness; I am speaking with

Dear Helen, I have always wondered why some people have really big breasts and others small; and why one breast - usually the left - is sometimes so much bigger than the other. How is it that of some women in the same family, one sister would have tiny, tiny breasts, and another sister huge mammary glands? And what causes the breasts to get so big while breastfeeding, and then shrink back to an

Dear Helen, How can I get rid of my anal itch? I thought I had gotten rid of it before as I took the advice of a doctor from the clinic, and made sure I wiped properly. I don’t have any infections and I wonder if it could be from what I eat. The itching happens mainly after I use the toilet.- D Clarke Dear D Clarke I think it would be sensible to ask your doctor to examine you because I suspect

Dear Helen , I recently learned of a girl who started her period in her late teens. What causes ‘late’ periods – or rather, periods just starting in advanced teenaged years? - Charles Dear Charles, The majority of young women start their periods between the age of 12 and 16 years. Some are earlier, some later, but rather than reinvent the wheel, I have taken this list from the UK’s NHS.net

CHILDHOOD OBESITY COVD-19 AND MENTAL HEALTH: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are literally killing us early. NCDs have been estimated to be responsible for 8 out of 10 deaths in Barbados and they are esti-mated to account for 60% of the country’s health expenditure. The economic cost of NCDs here has reached over $ 209 million annually. Obesity increases the likelihood of developing

INTEGRATION WORK-LIFE by Jomo Phillips MSSW-MFT (Clinical Fellow AAMFT) Couple & Family Therapist/Clinical Social Worker An organisation recently asked me to present at an online forum for entrepreneurs in the service industry. The organisers requested that I focus on mental health, particularly “balancing work and life,” given the current challenges that many people are experiencing