Type the word ‘Health’ in online Oxford Dictionary and the first definition reads: ‘The state of being free from illness or injury’.
While a dictionary might restrict itself to the literal meaning of the word, there is indeed much more to health than one thinks. In this age of science, there coexists an alternative stream of medicines as well with stress on improving healthcare on the rise. Though the words ‘stress’ and ‘healthcare’ are oxymoronic, the hype around the World Health Day (that is today, April 7) compels one to mention them in the same breath.
Plenty of advertisements on the need to increase use of olive oil; heart ailments due to high cholesterol level and even cancer of various types, have created awareness. Or at least have initiated the discussion on these crucial healthcare issues.
While worrying about our heart and health in general, we omit the importance
of few body parts which are also important for our overall wellbeing.
For instance, it is a given that people don’t go to the dentist till the toothache becomes unbearable. “From the time of Sushruta, the ultimate physician in 6th century BC, when he wrote the first book on medicine, there were chapters on dental diseases and since then practices in dental surgeries have been invoked,” informs Dr Vimal Arora, chief clinical officer, Clove Dental.
He shares that Indian teeth have been by and large wonderful since “Indians traditionally used neem or kikar, finger massaging of the gums and vigorous rinsing.” Unfortunately, with the change in time and dietary habits, the change in brushing habits hasn’t kept pace. Dental ailments are neglected by a majority of people which has led to excessive need for root canals and other oral hygiene issues.
Similarly, it has become a practice to scratch/clean the ear with foreign objects which may harm the sensitive body part. Dr Amitabh Malik, senior consultant ENT, Paras Hospital Gurgaon says, “Ears have a self-cleaning mechanism, so the best way to take care of them is to leave them alone. Often people buy eardrops from chemists and start using them without consulting the specialist which can go wrong. Even excessive use of ear plugs can cause ear pain which can’t be treated by eardrops!”
Just as it is not advisable to ignore an earache, it is also not advisable to ignore excess stress. “Mind and body are very much connected to each other,” says Dr Kamra Chibber, clinical psychologist and head – mental and behavioural sciences, Fortis Healthcare.
The people have started talking about mental illness as a ‘heath issue’ after a recent interview of actor Deepika Padukone. However, what still goes unnoticed is the effort of an individual to “accept and acknowledge that there is a problem,” adds Dr Chibber elucidating with an example: “A gentleman walked into my room and reported about his anxiety problem. He had three issues - his business not doing well, a property that he wants to put on rent and the need to buy a house. The most doable option I suggested to him was to buy the house since he had ready cash.”
Dr Chibber points out, “One must push oneself to solution-seeking”. But when we
are mentally stressed, even the obvious solutions don’t strike us. It is then that we need to discuss our problems with our dear ones or if required, visit a specialist.
To introspect the definition mentioned earlier, it is the state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness or malfunction that should be defined as ‘Health’.