Health & Living

With schools closed, and daily routines disrupted, children’s bedtimes have gone out the window. Part of the problem may also be the increased use of gadgets, as well as mental health issues among kids and teens. We ask consultant development paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan for tips on how parents can get their children’s sleep back on track during this pandemic. Image source: Shu...

Schools are set to reopen in stages beginning 1st March with preschoolers, Standard 1, and Standard 2 students, while SPM students continue taking their examinations. However, the announcement has been met by both relief and concern among parents - while children are finally able to return to school, the question remains if it’s safe to do so when COVID-19 cases are still high. To weigh in o...

A year ago, the infamous Langkah Sheraton took place, which eventually led to the Perikatan Nasional government taking over. Arguably, the biggest challenge for the PN administration has not been managing politics or public opinion, but the pandemic. We take a look at how PN has fared in steering the country through this public health crisis, and how 2021 should look under their leadership. Image...

Last year, the National Cancer Council Malaysia (MAKNA) was one of the recipients of the Merdeka Award under the Education & Community category. We speak to Farahida Mohd Farid, General Manager of MAKNA, to find out more about how the organisation has been supporting cancer patients in Malaysia for over 26 years. Image Source: MAKNA Facebook See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All eyes are on the arrival of the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech next week. What happens when the vaccines arrive, and what will happen from the time they exit the plane to the point where they enter our arms? Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin joins us to explain the rollout of the largest vaccination programme in our country’s his...

With the first batch of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines arriving by end February, you may be wondering if they're safe for you and your family members. Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, consultant paediatrician, is one of the country's foremost experts on vaccination. On this special "AMA" episode of Ask A Doctor, you can Ask Musa Anything about COVID-19 vaccines, including whether you should get the shot, is...

In Malaysia, having a car and being able to drive is a symbol of independence, regardless of age. But for the older population, ageing could result in physical and cognitive limitations that affect their ability to drive safely. So how do we keep our elderly loved ones safe, and when is it time for them to give up the keys? Consultant geriatrician Prof Dr Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman weighs in. Ima...

Today’s children and young people will be the “lost generation” of this COVID-19 pandemic. Not only have they lost at least a year of education, it’s also been a year of lost opportunities and friendships. There has been a lot of talk about access to online learning, but what about access to mental health support for both students and teachers? We find out more from Dr Arma...

Today’s children and young people will be the “lost generation” of this COVID-19 pandemic. Not only have they lost at least a year of education, it’s also been a year of lost opportunities and friendships. There has been a lot of talk about access to online learning, but what about access to mental health support for both students and teachers? We find out more from Dr Arma...

We’ve been warned that pandemics like COVID-19 will become more common, and each one possibly worse than before. But what might the next pandemic look like? We are joined by Prof Wang Linfa, Director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore to discuss what we can learn from past pandemics, and how we can be better prepared for the next. Wit...

What happens when you’re unable to control your urine? Such a basic and necessary function can lead to many complications in your daily lives. According to the Ministry of Health, up to 30% of Malaysian women have had urinary incontinence at some point. But even though it is a common condition, it is not commonly talked about or addressed to give women relief. We find out more about what cau...

As we celebrate the love that is all around this month, consultant clinical psychologist Paul Jambunathan joins us to discuss the role that love plays in our mental well-being, and what love means in a healthy relationship. Image source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, the Selangor government announced that it intends to purchase 5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for people living in the state. Significantly, it was also mentioned that some of these doses will be provided to foreign workers at an affordable cost. With no one safe until most of us are vaccinated, public health researcher Dr Mark Cheong joins us to discuss why we need to include...

Throughout the pandemic in 2020, the promise of a COVID-19 vaccine gave hope to people that there would be an end in sight to this crisis. Now that several vaccines have been approved, we are battling another crisis: one of vaccine hesitancy. We discuss whether this will affect vaccine uptake and our ability to battle the disease. Image Source: Shutterstock  See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Research in Malaysia has found that not only are there millions of angry drivers on our roads, we also fare worse than countries like the United States, Australia, Spain and Turkey. The main causes of road rage are problems that we’re all familiar with, including refusing to give wa...

Fertility treatments offer a lifeline to couples who aren’t able to or are struggling to conceive naturally, but they come at a cost. Procedures such as IVF can be a significant financial burden, and that’s not even accounting for the costs of raising a child. We speak to fertility specialist Dr Navdeep Singh Pannu on how he helps couples navigate the financial complexities of fertilit...

Working from home has resulted in a range of aches and pains. When are these problems related to nerve entrapment, and how do we treat it? Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh addresses nerve entrapment issues, particularly with people seeing the effects of working from home over the last 10 months. Image Source: Shutterstock  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you counter an anti-vaxxer or someone with misinformation about vaccines? Is social media a boon or a bane? We speak to two healthcare professionals with a huge Twitter following: Dr Khoo Yoong Khean, Managing Editor of the Malaysian Medical Gazette and Dr Khairul Hafidz, founder & chairman of MedTweetMY. Image Source: Shutterstock  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Cancer therapies are increasingly becoming more targeted and personalised, as we understand more about the genetic profile of various cancers. But the human genome isn’t homogenous, especially when it comes to ethnic differences. So when our genetic information about cancer is deriv...

With cities being home to more than 50% of the world’s population, the role of good urban planning in ensuring residents’ wellbeing is more important than ever. Has the COVID-19 pandemic put the agenda of ‘healthy cities’ to the test? We check in with urban planner Mustapha Kamal to find out how we can learn from this pandemic to build healthier and more resilient cities. I...

For our first Brain Waves episode of the year, we tap into our emotions to look at how much of our sensitivity to emotions and emotional intelligence is linked to environmental factors and how much of it is linked to our genes? Are some of us simply genetically wired to be more in tune with our own emotions and those of others? Neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar weighs in. Image Source: Shutte...

Ever since the first MCO in March last year, we’ve learned to adapt to the “new normal”, thinking that it would be temporary. But almost eleven months later, many of us find ourselves under MCO 2.0 as it’s colloquially called. Is it normal that some of us are starting to feel fatigued and find ourselves lax in following the SOPs? Here to help us understand how human behavio...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. While other countries are talking about possibly eliminating cervical cancer, Malaysia is still seeing it ranking among the top three cancers in women. More worrying, the 2018 Malaysian Study on Cancer Survival showed that almost 40% of cervical cancers are still diagnosed at stages 3 and...

“When I was in second or third grade, I started thinking about how can we use science and technology to create social change.” That’s a quote from Time's first-ever Kid of the Year 2020, 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao. In numerous interviews, Gitanjali has spoken about how her achievements and pursuits in creating inventions are rooted in her sense of curiosity about how to solve prob...

Indonesia’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy has gotten much attention because they’re prioritising young, working adults below the age of 60 rather than the elderly. Other countries, including Malaysia, are prioritising the elderly, in a bid to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Is this the right move? In the first of our new monthly series focussing on the elderly, we take a lo...