Navtej Kohli on Spontaneous Human Combustion
By navtej-kohli | July 3, 2008
Ever heard of people going up in flames without any fire? If no, you got to read this post on Navtej Kohli Medical Blog!
It will certainly knock you off your feet!
Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the alleged burning of a person’s body without a readily apparent, identifiable external source of ignition. The combustion may result in simple burns and blisters to the skin, smoking, or a complete incineration of the body. The latter is the form most often ‘recognized’ as SHC. There is much speculation and controversy over SHC. It is not a proven natural occurrence, but many theories have attempted to explain SHC’s existence and how it may occur. The two most common explanations offered to account for apparent SHC are the non-spontaneous “wick effect” fire, and the rare discharge called static flash fires. Although mathematically it can be shown that the human body contains enough energy stored in the form of fat and other tissues to consume it completely, in normal circumstances bodies will not sustain a flame on their own.
On July 2nd 1951 remains were found of a 67 year old widower named Mary Reeser. Her burnt smouldering remains were found by her Neighbor and some house painters. She had been sitting in an easy chair when the incident happened. Her left foot still wearing a slipper remained intact and only the corner of the room and the chair she was sitting in had been burnt. Firemen, police and pathologists examined Mrs. Reeser’s remains and also found her liver which was fused to a lump of vertebrae and her skull which had been shrunk to the size of a baseball by the unusually intense heat.
The the walls of the apartment were covered with a greasy substance, plastic switches had melted along with two candles which the wicks had been left unburnt. There was only a small circular burn area which encompassed the remains of Mrs. Reeser and her chair. For such a cremation experts say that a temperature of 2500 degrees is necessary. A cigarette accidently dropped whilst asleep would never of caused such heat. The true cause of the burning death of Mrs. Reeser is still unknown. She is the most famous case of Spontaneous Human Combustion.
Topics: Rare Medical Cases and Facts | No Comments »
Let’s Go on a Laughing Spree
By navtej-kohli | July 1, 2008
Navtej Kohli tells a code of conduct for the patients to follow. Here are few Do’s and Dont’s for patients ethical behavior 
1. Do not expect your doctor to share your discomfort.
Involvement with the patient’s suffering might cause him to lose valuable scientific objectivity.
2. Be cheerful at all times.
Your doctor leads a busy and trying life and requires all the gentleness and reassurance he can get.
3. Try to suffer from the disease for which you are being treated.
Remember that your doctor has a professional reputation to uphold.
4. Do not complain if the treatment fails to bring relief.
You must believe that your doctor has achieved a deep insight into the true nature of your illness, which transcends any mere permanent disability you may have experienced.
5. Never ask your doctor to explain what he is doing or why he is doing it.
It is presumptuous to assume that such profound matters could be explained in terms that you would understand.
6. Submit to novel experimental treatment readily.
Though the surgery may not benefit you directly, the resulting research paper will surely be of widespread interest.
7. Pay your medical bills promptly and willingly.
You should consider it a privilege to contribute, however modestly, to the well-being of physicians and other humanitarians.
8. Do not suffer from ailments that you cannot afford.
It is sheer arrogance to contract illnesses that are beyond your means.
9. Never reveal any of the shortcomings that have come to light in the course of treatment by your doctor.
The patient-doctor relationship is a privileged one, and you have a sacred duty to protect him from exposure.
10. Never die while in your doctor’s presence or under his direct care.
This will only cause him needless inconvenience and embarrassment.
Topics: Health Humor | No Comments »
Navtej Kolhi- Depression Symptoms
By navtej-kohli | June 25, 2008
Navtej Kohli talks about depression and how to spot whether or not a person is suffering from depression.
Someone has rightly said, “Life is not a bed of roses.” But does that makes your life a bed of thorns?
Of course Not!
Its all self inflicted! Times are when we get engulfed in dense clouds of melancholy and gloom. However, there is nothing peculiar about it, it’s naturally human! We all feel low and sad at one point or another. But sometimes these thoughts grow so intense that it starts affecting our routine life. Medically, such state of mind is termed as Depression.
As hunger-to-achieve-all is relentlessly panging within us, at same time we are dwelling into gray emotions like loss, failure, guilt etc. some recent surveys suggest a dramatic rise in the number of depression cases identified globally. Sadly, these surveys don’t consider the depression cases that go undiagnosed.
There exists a very thin line between depression and sadness. Depression is a much severe or rather advanced form of sadness. Let’s decipher the difference between the two.
Commonly depression entails pessimism followed by a keen sense of guilt, incessant sadness and overwhelming hopelessness. Besides, depression also hinders our concentration power and decision making capacities. Here, I’m not referring to the mild indecisiveness that some of us possess in nature, what I’m talking about is the absolute inability to function in everyday life situations.
Then there are those plagued by fatigue and low energy levels. Some complains of constant body aches, despite proper treatment. Along with physical ailments changes have also been noticed in sleeping habits. While Insomnia can be seen as one symptom, hypersomnia can be seen as another. Quite reverse, isn’t?
People often lose interest in activities, they earlier took pleasure in. Change in appetite also occurs with depression. People either start bingeing on food or vice versa.
If you or anyone you know continues to show any of these symptoms for more than two weeks, it’s time to ring alarm. Don’t indulge into self-diagnosis. Depression is a serious problem that needs proper treatment and medication.
Topics: Health and Fitness | No Comments »
Low Fat Soup by Navtej Kohli
By navtej-kohli | June 17, 2008
Healthy, Tasty, Low Fat Soup Recipe from Navtej Kohli
- Winter melon - 400g
- Ginger slices - 5 to 8
- Knorr soup mix - 3/4 tbsp
- Salt - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
- Green onion - 1 (diced)
- Sesame oil - 1 teaspoon
- Water - 3 cups
Procedure:
- Peel and core the winter melon. Cut into 3cm squares that are 1cm thick.
- Bring the water to a boil, and add in the winter melon, soup mix, ginger slices, and salt.
- Cook for 7 to 10 minutes until the winter melon is tender. Then dish into a bowl.
- Sprinkle on the green onions, and sesame oil.
This low fat soup recipe is very simple to make. You can probably finish cooking it in 15 minutes. You can use all types of veggies for this delicious, healthy, lowfat soup. You can use squash, cucumber, mushrooms, tofu, lettuce, or a combination of different ingredients.
For more recipes visit Navtej Kohli
Topics: Food for Health | No Comments »
Did that actually happen? Navtej Kohli facts
By navtej-kohli | June 13, 2008
Navtej Kohli blog compiles some weird medical facts:
- Medical researchers contend that no disease ever identified has been completely eradicated.
- The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.
- No one seems to know why people blush.
- In 1972, a group of scientists reported that you could cure the common cold by freezing the big toe.
- The number one cause of blindness in the United States is diabetes.
- The adult human heart weighs about ten ounces.
- People who laugh a lot are much healthier than those who don’t. Dr. Lee Berk at the Loma Linda School of Public Health in California found that laughing lowers levels of stress hormones, and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds have it best - they laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
- People who have a tough time handling the stress of money woes are twice as likely to develop severe gum disease, a new study finds.
- Between 25% to 33% of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.
- Of the 206 bones in the average human adult’s body, 106 are in the hands and feet. (54 in the hands and 52 in the feet)
- In 1815 French chemist Michael Eugene Chevreul realized the first link between diabetes and sugar metabolism when he discovered that the urine of a diabetic was identical to grape sugar.
- Sumerians (from 5000 BC) thought that the liver made blood and the heart was the center of thought.
- Men have more blood than women. Men have 1.5 gallons for men versus 0.875 gallons for women.
- The first Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages were three inches wide and eighteen inches long. You made your own bandage by cutting off as much as you needed.
- The human brain stops growing at the age of 18.
- In 1977, a 13 year old child found a tooth growing out of his left foot.
Navtej Kohli now on Xing 
Topics: Rare Medical Cases and Facts | No Comments »
Laugh out Loud with Navtej Kohli
By navtej-kohli | June 12, 2008
Navtej Kohli cracks another hilarious joke, Enjoy 
A woman walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch. “I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a long happy life?”
“I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said. “I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise.”
“That’s amazing,” the woman said. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-six,” he said.
Thank Gawd! I look my age.
By the way, how old are you?
Navtej Kohli now on Xing
Topics: Health Humor | No Comments »
Navtej Kohli’s Medical news
By navtej-kohli | June 4, 2008
Navtej Kohli came across this rare medical case that happened recently.
A nine-year-old girl who was taken to hospital suffering stomach pains was found to be carrying the foetus of her undeveloped twin.
Surgeons in the Greek city of Larissa discovered the six-centimetre (two inch) foetus when the young girl was brought to hospital, complaining of a stomach ache.
“They could see on the right side that her belly was swollen, but they couldn’t suspect that this tumour would hide an embryo,” said Iakovos Brouskelis, the hospital’s director.
Surgeons removed the “tumour”, which was a foetus with a head, hair and eyes, but no brain or umbilical cord, Doctors at the hospital at Larissa said the girl had recovered with no problems from the operation to remove what is known as a “parasite foetus”
Foetus in foetu, a rare disorder of embryonic development in which one twin is absorbed by the other in the womb, living off it as a parasite, occurs in one of 500,000 live births.
In 2003, doctors in Kazakhstan treated seven-year-old Alamjan Nematilaev, who complained that he felt something moving inside of him. When surgeons operated, they found his “twin”, which had a head, hair, genitals and a partially-formed face.
In 2006, a Chilean boy was born in the southern city of Temuco with a four-in-long-foetus inside his abdomen.
Doctors remain unsure as to what causes the condition.
Have you also heard such rare medical cases, do post your comments !
Topics: Medical News, Rare Medical Cases and Facts | No Comments »
Navtej Kohli on the Joy of Laughing!
By navtej-kohli | June 2, 2008
Laughter is a priceless medicine! The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle or sneeze. Navtej Kohli tells you why “Laughter is the best therapy.”
Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter:
1. Laughter lowers blood pressure:
People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.
2. Humor changes our biochemical state:
Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.
3. Laughter protects the heart:
Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to the study at the University of Maryland Medical Center (cited above). The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
4. Laughter gives our bodies a good workout:
Laughter can be a great workout for your diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles. It massages abdominal organs, tones intestinal functioning, and strengthens the muscles that hold the abdominal organs in place. Not only does laughter give your midsection a workout, it can benefit digestion and absorption functioning as well. It is estimated that hearty laughter can burn calories equivalent to several minutes on the rowing machine or the exercise bike.
5. Humor improves brain function and relieves stress:
Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information.
Check out some cool and interesting stuff by Navtej Kohli on Rediffblog.
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10 Ways to Get Sleep
By navtej-kohli | May 28, 2008
Are you suffering from insomnia….Try these!
- Listen to soothing music.
- Set up a routine. Go to bed at the same time every night.
- Read a book of your choice.
- Do some light exercise.
- Consider aromatherapy.
- Shower before bed.
- Don’t eat sugar or caffeine before you sleep.
- Try to avoid heavy meals before bedtime.
- Don’t face the clock while you try to sleep so it doesn’t distract you.
- Use breathing exercises to relax you.
So try these tips and let me know if it helps you to get your sleep.
Topics: Health and Fitness | No Comments »
Handling Over Weight Kids
By navtej-kohli | May 27, 2008
Today most of the parents are facing problem of how to help their overweight child.
One of the most important thing is that the parents should be supportive. You should let them know that they are fine whatever their weight. Children’s feelings about themselves are usually based on their parents’ feelings about them.
You should have open talks with them and give them space and comfort zone to talk to you about their concerns. Your child probably knows better than anyone else that he or she has a weight problem. For this reason, overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents.
The second important thing is to focus on the family more. Parents should try not to leave children aside because of their weight. Family involvement helps to teach everyone healthful habits and does not single out the overweight child.
You should also focus on increasing your family’s physical activity. Balance of physical activity and eating habits is very effecient for controlling your weight. It is also an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Some simple ways to increase your family’s physical activity include the following:
You should try to become a role model for your children. If your children see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active for the rest of their lives.
You should be sensitive to your child’s needs. Overweight children may feel uncomfortable about participating in certain activities. It is important to help your child find physical activities that they enjoy and that aren’t embarrassing or too difficult.
Reduce the amount of time you and your family spend in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or spending time on the computer.
You should tell your family about healthy eating habits. The best way to begin is to learn more about children’s nutritional needs by reading or talking with a health professional and then to offer them some healthy options, allowing your children to choose what and how much they eat.
-Navtej Kohli. Also read some tricky and interesting stuff by Navtej Kohli on his rediff blog.
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