Health & Living

Family planning isn’t just about preventing pregnancies. It's about planning life and making sure that if you want children, you and your spouse are in the best place to do so. In conjunction with World Population Day, we’re taking this opportunity to cut through the misinformation and answer all the questions about contraception and family planning that you’ve thought about but not asked. We spea...

When is a sore throat not just a sore throat? Painful inflammation of the tonsils may not always be a benign, short-lived infection. What happens when episodes of tonsillitis keep coming back, or when there is chronic, long-term inflammation? When is surgery to remove the tonsils necessary? We explore with consultant ENT surgeon Dr Hardip Singh.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener...

According to OpenAI, over 1.2 million users discuss suicide on ChatGPT every week.  When we read yet another news report of AI encouraging suicidal thoughts or developing emotional relationships with its users, how alarmed should we be about mental health entering an untested and unregulated realm? We speak to Assoc Prof Dr Rebecca Brendel, Director, Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical Scho...

On this month's open clinic show, we look at how and why we sweat, and what causes sweating disorders like hyperhidrosis or prickly heat conditions. We also explore anti-perspirants, deodorants, creams and more.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anti-refugee sentiment has sharply increased in recent weeks. Among the claims that have made the rounds is that refugees are taking advantage of our public healthcare system, thus taking limited resources away from Malaysians. But is that really the case? We speak to Dr Susheela Balasundaram, community-based protection officer with UNHCR. Dr Junaidi Ismail, country CEO with Qualitas Medical Group...

When you walk down the aisles at the supermarket, do you notice if the way food products are placed or packaged attracts your attention? Consultant urologist Dr George Lee is joined by nutritionist and public health researcher Dr Sameeha Mohd Jamil from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to dive into how our food environment influences our food decisions and how food retailers can play their part in m...

For children born with a primary immunodeficiency (PID), a delayed diagnosis can have devastating consequences. We find out why newborn screening and early diagnosis are critical, in a conversation with Bruce Lim, a parent advocate and president of Persatuan Pesakit Imunodefisiensi Primer Malaysia (MYPOPI). Bruce is also a parent to a child with XLA (X Linked Agammaglobulinemia), a type of PID.See...

Over 46% of children aged five and below have anaemia in Malaysia, higher than the global average of 40%. It’s a condition that often goes unseen, but it can have a significant impact on children’s health and wellbeing beyond their childhood years. To dive into this condition, particularly iron-deficiency anaemia, we speak to Prof Dr Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin, consultant paediatric endocrinologist...

As a professor of education, Dr Ratnawati Asraf’s professional calling had never seemed more meaningful than when her own grandchildren were discovered to be neurodivergent. Terms like dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autism were no longer textbook concepts, but realities that changed the trajectories of her grandchildren and children’s lives. On this episode of Because Feelings Matter, she shares...

Decades of awareness campaigns have equipped women with the knowledge of how to notice suspicious breast lumps and when to get mammograms done. But what happens when your healthcare workers keep reassuring you that your lump is “nothing to worry about”? Juliet Lau shares how a breast lump she’s had for over a decade became a rare and aggressive cancer, and why she is using this opportunity to also...

Every day, many children could be struggling with a medical condition that may need urgent, life-saving surgery for them to survive and thrive. Yet, there are still children in Malaysia who are not able to access these highly specialised surgical services. We find out how the Malaysian Association of Paediatric Surgery helps to improve children’s access to surgical care, especially those from unde...

Malaysia has implemented a ban on social media accounts for children under 16, starting 1 June. We look to how Australia has fared six months into their own ban, and whether there’s been real-life impact in terms of children’s access to these platforms. Find out how to get a copy of Makchic’s book ‘The Society of Online Superheroes: A Super Smart Guide to Internet Safety’ here.Image Credit: S...

Music and dance can be a great way to connect people and get them out of their shell. So what happens when these elements are brought to a community of older adults? On this episode of Healthy Ageing, we dive into how arts-based interventions can help to improve the well-being of older adults, particularly their cognitive health. To do that, we speak to Peny Chan, the co-founder of ArtsProud, a so...

Malaysia’s Ministry of Health has recently confirmed that they are looking into potential sites to build a hospital to serve the Petaling Jaya-Subang Jaya-Puchong corridor, an area which does not currently have a government hospital. But discussions are ongoing and construction will take years, so in the meantime is there another solution to help overburdened hospitals? That’s where the concept of...

We’ve been warned that the El Nino phenomenon could lead to an increase in dengue cases due to higher temperatures. In light of the constant threat of dengue, we ask Dr Nor Fariza Ngah, Deputy Director-General of Health (Research and Technical Support), Ministry of Health and Co-Chair of the Dengue Alliance about what’s working and what’s not when it comes to Malaysia’s dengue prevention strategie...

Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer among men, and second most common among women in Malaysia, but almost three-quarters of cases are diagnosed at late stages. Is there anything we can do to detect the cancer much earlier and intervene meaningfully? Is Malaysia long overdue for a national colorectal cancer screening programme, and what will it take to get one underway? Image Credit: S...

Donating blood is one of the easiest acts most of us can do to save lives. Yet, Malaysia, like many countries around the world, struggles to get people to do so. In conjunction with World Blood Donor Day, which was observed earlier on 14th June, we’ll be exploring what exactly drives people to donate blood and why capitalising on the ‘warm glow’ that blood donors feel could prove effective. Joinin...

On this month’s open clinic, consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Harjeet Singh joins us to answer your questions about the shoulders - how these joints support our daily arm movements, how our love of badminton and pickleball could lead to shoulder injuries, and when it’s dangerous to shrug off these problems.Image Credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Parents and caregivers in the rare disease community often feel alone, overwhelmed and stressed in the journey of caring for their loved ones. This is the second part of a conversation where we find out about the mental health needs of caregivers in this situation, and why parental support is crucial. This conversation touches on suicide and self-harm. If you, or someone you know, needs emoti...

The FIFA World Cup kicks off today! Anticipation is high for all 104 matches but there are also concerns over the welfare of athletes and fans alike, as this could be the hottest World Cup on record. So how will the extreme heat affect an athlete's well-being and performance? On top of that, what kind of injuries become more likely during a tournament like this? For some insights, consultant urolo...

After a more than 10-year stagnant tobacco tax rate, Malaysia’s cigarette excise duties went up by only 2 sen per stick in Budget 2026. We explore the discrepancies between our tobacco taxes and the national health expenditure to treat smoking- and vaping-related diseases, and what should be a meaningful rate of tobacco tax to change smoking behaviours.Image credit: ShutterstockSee omnystudio.com/...

It’s not just about living longer these days, but maintaining the cognitive and physical capabilities that’s comparable to someone decades younger. So what does it take to be a superager? What’s actually happening in their brain? We speak to neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar from Universiti Malaya, and research fellow Dr Kiirtaara Aravindhan from the Dementia Research Centre Singapore. Image...

Genes are the blueprint for our bodies. Passed down from generation to generation, they influence a variety of traits from how we look to our health. Our genes can also help us learn more than just about human health but about human evolution as well. On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to a geneticist, Dr Maude Phipps, to learn more about her field of work and what it takes to becom...

The human anatomy is more than just two-dimensional drawings in a medical textbook. It is a living, breathing and constantly evolving study of what makes us human - in health, in sickness and even in death. Could we enhance our knowledge and appreciation of the human condition by viewing anatomy through an artistic lens? We explore what happens when an anatomy professor meets an art curator.Image...

Malaysia has made great strides in its tobacco control strategies, including new legislation that regulates the sale, promotion and packaging of cigarette and vape products, as well as public smoking places. However, are these laws and policies achieving changes in people’s behaviours and choices? What’s missing in the last mile of our anti-smoking strategies? We speak to Prof Dr Jamalludin Rahman...