Bfm :: Health & Living

Many of us would still remember the incident earlier this year where a young boy died after he choked on a round gummy sweet. That incident sparked awareness among parents and the public alike about the risk of choking, especially among young children. To find out more about these risks and how we can prevent it, not just among children but adults alike, we speak to Dr Hardip Singh, consultant ENT surgeon at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz. He is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. You can find a video on what  to do when someone is choking here.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Doctors predicted she wouldn’t live past two years, but six years later, she’s still thriving. Hear Iren Lau’s journey of living with ovarian cancer and how she overcame the odds and stayed strong for her family. We also hear from consultant gynaecological oncologist Prof Dr Woo Yin Ling about how far we’ve come in treating ovarian cancer. You can find the Ovarian Cancer Society Malaysia on Facebook and Instagram.NCD Chronicles is a series about people living with NCDs, going beyond the diagnosis to explore their personal experiences, their challenges, as well as the impact of their health condition on their loved ones. These stories reveal the importance of understanding the unique struggles and needs of the individuals behind the disease, in our response to the NCD epidemic. 

“I always knew you were different,” wrote Jian Goh in his comic book series ‘Once Upon a Miao’. He was referring to his mother, who had struggled with severe depression, mood swings and hallucinations since he was in primary school. He shares about the isolation and burnout that he has experienced as part of this dynamic with his mother, and how becoming a caregiver to her has increased his awareness of mental health issues.Every mental health struggle has a story behind it. ‘Because Feelings Matter’ is a series that brings you the stories of people and their mental health issues. These stories aim to normalise conversations about mental health, and to show that it’s okay to struggle emotionally and psychologically, but more importantly, to reach out for help. Image Credit: Jian Goh

Women’s sexual health is still considered a taboo subject in some segments of society despite how impactful it can be on women’s lives. On this episode of Ask A Doctor, we answer all questions on women’s sexual health that you’ve been too afraid to ask. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Former US President Joe Biden has just been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer that has spread to the bones. We get consultant urologist Dr George Lee to talk about how prostate cancer - typically believed to be a slow-growing cancer - can turn aggressive, and what treatment options can be offered to patients.Image Credit: Shutterstock

What’s the difference between letting children play, and using play in therapy for emotional, behavioural, and psychological issues in young children? We find out from Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, consultant developmental paediatrician, and Raynette Soon, play therapist.Image Credit: Shutterstock

One of the most common perceptions of people diagnosed with schizophrenia is that they tend to be violent. But how much of that is true and how much do we really understand about what it means to live with a serious mental health disorder? For this episode of Mind Matters, and in conjunction with World Schizophrenia Day, coming up on May 24th, we want to shed some light on this less spoken about mental health disorder and how we can better support people living with schizophrenia in the community. We speak to Assoc Prof Dr Amer Siddiq bin Amer Nordin, Consultant Psychiatrist at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Lynnette Chai, Licensed & Registered Counsellor, and Missy, who is living with schizophrenia. Dr Amer and Lynnette are also both part of the Care Warriors Association. Image Credit: Shutterstock

When you’re walking down the supermarket aisle, what drives you to decide what to buy? Are you ticking items off a list or being tempted by what’s on offer? Do you think about what is a healthier or a cheaper option? Understanding how people make these decisions matters in a society where we’re seeing rising rates of non-communicable diseases, which are partially driven by people’s eating and grocery habits. Here to dive into that is Dr Eric Finkelstein, health economist and Professor of Health Services and Systems Research at the Duke-NUS Medical School.Image Credit: Shutterstock

How much salt do you consume every day, and how much of that do you think comes from meals that you order or tah pau from coffeeshops and restaurants? And can food vendors change their menus to reflect lower salt usage? To commemorate World Salt Awareness Week from 12-18 May, we speak to Prof Dr Chia Yook Chin, President of the Malaysian Society for World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health (MyWASSH), to find out more about an initiative to introduce salt reduction across the Sunway University campus.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Everything related to healthcare is becoming more expensive today, including medicines, hospital and clinic visits, and insurance premiums. What role do community pharmacies play in helping people get affordable and effective care for their health problems, and are there potential cost savings to the government and other payors in our health system? We speak to Sarah Abdullah, President of the Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild.Image Credit: Shutterstock

From badminton to swimming or lifting weights in the gym, most exercises require good shoulder strength and mobility. So what happens if you lose that full range of motion? We find out from consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Harjeet Singh and consultant sports medicine physician Dr Kamaljeet Singh.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Many problems in our personal and work relationships stem from conflict and disagreements that have been left unsaid. Licensed counsellor Heeran Kaur joins us to walk you through what happens when conflict is not addressed or resolved, and how to start those conversations with people around you.  Image Credit: Shutterstock

As part of Dr Siti Laura Mazalan’s job as a congenital and paediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, she touches a tiny infant’s beating heart, handling the delicate arteries, veins and valves, in order to treat congenital and acquired heart and chest diseases in children. We speak to Dr Siti Laura about why this vital field in medicine urgently needs to be pursued by young doctors and medical students. 

Being obese increases your risk for various health complications, and that’s especially true - and more dangerous - when you’re pregnant and overweight. We speak to consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist Dr Vicky Ho to find out how obesity affects women who are trying to start a family as well as the risk that comes with it throughout pregnancy - including on the unborn baby. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Once upon a time, growing old meant being surrounded by family members in a multigenerational home. Today, that family has shrunk, and growing old might mean an older person needing long-term institutional or home-based care. While we have a dependable healthcare system that takes care of older adults, our aged care system is less so, with access depending largely on what people can afford. On the Public Health show, we speak to Assoc Prof Dr Rahimah Ibrahim, Director of MyAgeing at Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Dr Ramnan Jeyasingam, CEO and Director of Health Services at Pacific Senior Living, to explore the complexities of financing aged care in Malaysia. Image Credit: Shutterstock

For some people, exercising may not lead to obvious results - at least not in the short-term and depending on how you’re working out. This means that some might turn to supplements or performance-enhancing drugs, which may help you achieve the results you want to see but at what cost? We find out why these products can be dangerous and how people can see a difference without resorting to these products from consultant sports medicine physician Dr Arvin Raj. Image Credit: Shutterstock

When you think about chronic diseases, you may not think that children could be affected. But did you know that asthma is the most common chronic disease in children? It can even lead to death, if it is not well-controlled. On World Asthma Day (observed on the first Tuesday of every May), we’re looking at childhood asthma in Malaysia, with Dr Jessie Anne de Bruyne, Consultant Paediatric Respiratory Physician and Prof Dr Ahmad Izuanuddin Ismail, Consultant Respiratory Physician, both from the Lung Foundation of Malaysia and the Malaysian Thoracic Society.Image Credit: Shutterstock

You might have seen recent headlines which say that the shingles vaccine can decrease the risk of dementia, but how does that work? On this episode of Healthy Ageing, we speak to consultant geriatrician Dr Kejal Hasmukharay to find out why getting the shingles vaccine matters, not just to decrease the risk of dementia but for our older adults to lead healthy lives.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Yesterday, the drug price display mandate came into force, which requires private health facilities such as private GPs and community pharmacies to physically display the price list for products such as prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. This has been a particularly contentious issue - the Ministry of Health says that this is part of efforts to address rising medical inflation, but medical groups have also been resistant to its implementation - or perhaps more accurately, how it’s being implemented. We’ll be diving into this policy with FOMCA and MMA. We also briefly hear from Rachel Gan May Shiang, the Secretary of Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild. Image Credit: Shutterstock

When it comes to cardiovascular disease in our country, we are not only burdened by coronary artery disease, but also, increasingly, heart failure. As the rates of cardiometabolic diseases increase in Malaysia, people will also have to contend with heart failure as an endpoint, which means their quality of life in their remaining years can deteriorate tremendously. How does early diagnosis and the use of cost-effective treatment improve the outlook for heart failure patients? We speak to Professor Chim C. Lang, Tuanku Muhriz Royal Chair, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, whose research in these areas of diagnosis and therapy has been incorporated into international guidelines. (Prof Lang is also Professor of Cardiology at the University of Dundee.)Image Credit: Shutterstock