Health Wise

While the Caribbean region grapples with the rising scourge of non-communicable diseases – the leading cause of morbidity and mortality – communic...

A clearer picture of the risk Zika poses for pregnant women is emerging with more publication of studies following women who were infected. While the ...

As humans, we are all vulnerable to climate change. Climate change is arguably the one "common enemy” that the world shares, according to the United...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become the leading causes of death globally, killing more people each year than all other causes combined. Much ...

Apart from microcephaly, Guillain-Barré Syndrome is another complication of the Zika virus. It is a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system...

Earlier this year, Angola was faced with a yellow fever outbreak, which has infected and killed hundreds of individuals. This is the first epidemic of...

Drug addiction is a brain disease. Although initial drug use might be voluntary, drugs of abuse have been shown to alter gene expression and brain cir...

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Many illnesses and conditions can cause inflammation of the liver, for example, drugs, alcohol, chemicals, ...

As todAY IS World No Tobacco Day, I would like to highlight some of the reasons why one should quit smoking. Most people know that smoking tobacco is ...

Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners mark World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), highlighting the health risks associated wit...

Parents want to do everything possible to make sure their children are healthy and protected from preventable diseases. Apart from a balanced diet, ex...

Vaccination week in the Americas will be celebrated during April 23 - 30, 2016. The theme for the week is ‘Go for the gold! Get vaccinated’. Vacci...

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cau...

For most adults, moderate alcohol use is probably not harmful. However, there are many individuals who may suffer from alcohol use disorder. This mean...

Medicine is more than just seeing patients, diagnosing them and prescribing. The relationship that is formed between the physician and the patient is ...

As we talk about vector borne diseases, we will shift the focus this week away from mosquitoes and consider another vector borne disease that is of pu...

In late 2013, Chikun-gunya emerged in the Caribbean, where it quickly spread to almost every island. Now the threat of Zika, another mosquito borne di...

The fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito has been a long one for the region of the Americas. For years now, dengue has affected the region. The re...

I wish to use this forum to once again reiterate the importance of mosquito control, as we fight against any possible outbreak of the Zika virus here ...

While all the attention is focused now on the Zika virus and the possibility of its introduction in St Vincent and the Grenadines, it is important to ...

Diabetes is a serious complex condition that can affect the entire body. Diabetes requires daily self care and if complications develop, diabetes can ...

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that as of Epidemiological week 2 of 2016 (January 16, 2016), 17 countries in the Latin American ...

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus that infects the respiratory tract of pigs, resulting in nasal secretions, a barking ...

Christmas is a time of celebration, but it tends to be a time of high-fat, high-calorie foods and excessive alcohol consumption also. Being part of th...

Last week, the potential benefits of National Health Insurance (NHI) were highlighted. It was discussed that NHI has the potential to improve access t...

In 2012, I conducted a study in St Vincent and the Grenadines entitled “Willingness to participate and pay for a proposed National Health Insurance ...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) mark a historic and effective method of global mobilization to achieve a set of important social priorities wo...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a worldwide annual campaign involving thousands of organizations, to highlight the importance of breast canc...

A few months ago, one of our local radio stations carried the headline that the HIV/AIDS figures for St Vincent and the Grenadines were alarming. The ...

It is not often that violence and crime are linked to health. Most times, they are viewed as social issues to be addressed solely by law enforcement o...

As a medical practitioner, I have been asked over and over what is my position on the issue of legalizing marijuana in St Vincent and the Grenadines. ...

When we speak of risk, simply put, it is the probability that an event will happen. When talking about cancer, risk is most often used to describe the...