The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Close to one-fifth of children in Bangalore suffer from allergies'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 06, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Close to one-fifth of children in Bangalore suffer from allergies'

Special Correspondent

People urged not to neglect their health

Bangalore: The healthcare aspect of parenting was the focus of the talk by Jagadish Chinnappa, paediatric consultant, Manipal Hospital, at the valedictory of the health check-up camp for employees of The Hindu, Bangalore, on Saturday.

Factors

Dealing with the health concerns of parents of children from the foetus to the school-leaving stage, Dr. Chinnappa said that it was not just genetic but environmental and developmental factors too affected the child's health.

Malformations

On the plus side, advanced scanning machines made it possible to detect even malformations in the womb, thus helping in taking corrective steps early, he said.

"The good thing is there are seven advanced neo natal care centres for infants here, there were none 20 years ago.

Vaccines

"Vaccines are now available for infections like chicken pox, typhoid and hepatitis-B, and their cost has steadily come down. Childhood malignancies can be detected early and they are curable," the paediatrician said.

Allergies

Bangalore had certain geo-climatic factors that affected childhood health. Close to one-fifth of the children in the city suffered from various allergies, Dr. Chinnappa said.

Director of The Hindu, Nalini Krishnan, expressed happiness at the fact that more than 75 per cent of the staff in Bangalore had gone through the master health check-up and follow-up counselling by the team of doctors.

Cautioned

"You should not neglect your health or the need for proper diet and lifestyle changes. With proper time management, enough time can be found to take care of your health and that of your families," she said.

Chief of Bureau of The Hindu, Bangalore, A. Jayaram referred to the lack of public health facilities even in a city like Bangalore.

Chikungunya

"The spread of chikungunya reveals the fact that the Government does not have good doctors in its hospitals and clinics," he said.

Honoured

Senior Assistant Editor R. Chandrakanth introduced the winning carrom and badminton teams from The Hindu that participated in the inter-media tournaments organised by the Press Club of Bangalore. They were presented trophies by Dr. Nalini Krishnan.

Regional General Manager, The Hindu, N. Rajashekar, welcomed the guests.

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