A large portion of my work as a doctor in Nepal is to treat infections. Even in chronic conditions – COPD, diabetes, malignancy – I find that infectious micro-organisms take the toll more rapidly than the disease itself. It is fascinating how these minute beings have the power to bring human life to a standstill. Fever […]
Tag: Nepal
Peter Labib and Jeremy Jordan: Conducting research in developing countries can be as challenging as climbing Everest
The elective is the highlight of a medical student’s time at medical school. As keen trekkers, we decided to conduct a project in Nepal on the effects of altitude on the hormone hepcidin. The project involved following trekkers ascending to Mount Everest base camp, collecting urine samples, freezing them, and then transporting them back to […]
Siddhartha Yadav on the challenges in reducing maternal mortality in Nepal
Wednesday was an unusual day for the prime minister of Nepal. Right when he was about to leave for the capital from Nepalgunj in his helicopter, he received a call from one his acquaintances pleading to air-rescue a pregnant woman with placental haemorrhage from Rukum, a remote hilly district of Nepal. And so a rescue […]
Siddhartha Yadav on optimism in South Asia for health research
Last week was a research-filled week for me. Two biomedical papers to review in the early part of the week and the South Asian Forum for Health Research (SAFHeR) meeting towards the end. Could not ask for more. […]
Siddharta Yadav on changing perceptions of HIV/AIDS
There is a famous proverb in Nepali which says we learn something either by reading about it or by facing it. I prefer the latter because of the everlasting impression that “facing something” leaves, in contrast to the hazy-sketchy memories of reading. I have been reading about HIV and AIDS since my first year in […]
Siddhartha Yadav: Sex and the city
Thamel is a busy tourist hub in Kathmandu. Its streets are lined by numerous shops, massage centres, bars, pubs, hotels, restaurants and even strip clubs, popularly known as dance restaurants. Life in Thamel begins with nightfall. This nightlife used to continue throughout the night. But not any more. A new directive by the home ministry […]
Siddhartha Yadav: Sue me, please
I have just read a BMJ news story about doctors being beaten up in Nepal for the death of a patient. While this may seem to be quite shocking for the western society, it is an everyday reality for us, medicos, living and practising in Nepal. Over the past five years such incidents have been […]