How to keep your germs to yourself

Pathogenic germs are there everywhere, all around us, in the environment. The so called filthy, dirty places are the hub of germs and deadly infectious diseases – this we all know but it’s the clean and supposedly germ free places that should be our concern. For instance your dinner plate can have millions of germs thriving on it. Or the sparkling clean floors, walls, your kitchen? All could be the thriving place for tiny warmongers. You never know!

There are various ways by which you can keep yourself germs free – both preventive and curative. Beside, vaccinations and inoculation, which are the popular ways, antibiotics impede the growth of germs by killing their growth and spreading all over the organs. Our personal hygiene and the consciousness of a cleaner environment add to the germs free and disease free life. It’s also important that you know the priority of keeping the germs to yourself. Here is how:

How to keep your germs to yourself

Cover your nose and mouth while sneezing, coughing, blowing nose.

Discard used tissues in the trash immediately. Cover the trash bin.

Wash your hands after sneezing, blowing your nose or coughing.

Use warm water and soap or alcohol base gel, sanitizers, disposable wipes to wash your hands.

Try to stay at home since that not only helps you recover fast but also helps the environment from spreading the contagious germs.

See a doctor and abide by his prescription. Take rest.

If asked, use face mask.

This doesn’t take much, does it? So, make sure you do your best to keep your environment germs free and the people safe. Happy living safe and healthy!

Self Medication: How safe is it?

Popping pills without prescription: How safe is it?

Self medication is the practice of talking medicines, mostly for generalized symptoms, for oneself without consulting the specialist. In India we are privileged with the right to buy medicines over-the-counter (OTC). However, many forget where to draw the line, and go ahead buying medicines for illnesses that might get them to trouble later in life.

OTC drugs have certainly made life easier for average Indians. However, the same could lead us to irreversible health damages. It’s a common practice to buy anti-fungal creams, analgesics, sunscreens, anti-dandruff shampoos, which are also considered as OTC drugs. We all do that. These are common dermatologically proven health products that hardly get us into reverse medical conditions.

Some even go over the board buying Aspirin, Paracetamols, Vitamin tablets, expectorant and non-expectorant syrups. Buying these does not harm us as much as taking the wrong dosage does. We do not have the medical expertise to decide for the correct dosage. There are so many factors associated with the taking in of the medicines. The prevalent medical conditions of a patient should be taken into account first and foremost. Some people increase the dose without consulting; assuming that two pills would make them feel better than one and so on. They go onto share these tips with family members and friends and influence them as well. Lack of knowledge could be fatal and what seems like a harmless thing could easily lead to disaster.

Self medication is the practice of talking medicines, mostly for generalized symptoms, for oneself without consulting the specialist. In India we are privileged with the right to buy medicines over-the-counter (OTC). However, many forget where to draw the line, and go ahead buying medicines for illnesses that might get them to trouble later in life.

OTC drugs have certainly made life easier for average Indians. However, the same could lead us to irreversible health damages. It’s a common practice to buy anti-fungal creams, analgesics, sunscreens, antidandruff shampoos, which are also considered as OTC drugs. We all do that. These are common dermatologically proven health products that hardly get us into reverse medical conditions.

How safe are Vitamins?

Self medication even while taking vitamins is a big NO. Millions of people who are popping in vitamins are risking their lives to various ailments. Malignant melanoma is now proven to be one of them. Even the water soluble vitamins could lead to dire medical conditions like kidney stone, liver damage, muscle cramps, diarrhoea.

Some do’s and donot’s

Consult your doctor before taking self medication, if you are not sure

Read the warnings and instructions to avoid the possible cross reactions

Get you closet clean of expired medicines

Take the medicines when prescribed

Never share or decide medicines for others

Do your bit of research and know what you are taking

Be a smart citizen, know your life

It is always better to take the natural food supplements like farm fresh vegetables, fruits, cereals, milk, hand made bread, dry fruits. Going back to nature and going back to minimalism makes living safer and healthier.

Homeschooling in India

When Pali came back from the US, deserted and heart broken, she had only solace in her eight year son Ved. Pali was fighting her battle with the family for a few years and finally terminated her relation with Rishi’s father for life. It wasn’t easy for her but what became more difficult is to ensure a good future for her child. India has grown since she had left after her marriage. People are more open, more accepting and more vocal. It seemed, it wouldn’t be difficult for Pali to live single in the small flat that she had inherited from her parents. The challenge came when she had to look for the schools for her son. No school was readily accepting the child who came in between the session. A countable few who did wanted a huge donation. After days of pleading every possible school she knew of, Pali decided to take it no more.

Homeschooling is a common concept in the US. With so many resources, and community support you are never alone if you are homeschooling your child. In India, it might sound a new concept but who can forget the likes of Rabindranath Tagore and Shri Aurobindo who were homeschooled and propagated the true concept of homeschooling!

Pali decided to homeschool her son. She had had a Montessori training after she got her degree in Major. Even though, that would mean nothing, but she decided to pull up her socks to go about the bestpossible ways to educate her son with the best kind of resources while still at home. She had a few basics to be answered before that though.

How it works in India?

There is no separate syllabus for homeschooling children. The parents solely decide on that. Some follow regular board syllabus and others design their own curriculum by referring to syllabi of different boards.

In 2009, a new education law was passed that mandated compulsory school attendance. This law (Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009 – RTE) did not address home education options, or alternative forms of education. The RTE was designed to assure that the poor children would not be deprived of an education. But at the same time it did not intent to force school attendance when parents want to homeschool their children.

Can a homeschooler join regular classes ever?

On reaching Class 10, or whenever the parents feel their children are ready, can take the board exam privately by registering with the National Institute of Open Schooling or International General Certificate of Secondary Education. The degree is acceptable all over the world.

What about the expenses?

The cost of homeschooling varies on what and how the child learns. At times it may exceed the expense of regular schools. Apart from routine requirements like books, CDs, learning and fun kits, one also needs to pay for extra classes as and when required.

After getting into it, Pali had only one area of concern – Rishi’s social networking skills. So, she decided to join the homeschoolers community both online and offline. She also got her son enrolled for the guitar classes, something he had great interest in. She decided to work harder and worked on the possible flaws of the board curriculum that crammed the children. She went for her own that was more stretchable, practical oriented and fun to learn.

And, Pali never looked back after that.