Health & Living

In the last few months, we have heard about cases of domestic violence, abuse and harassment increasing during the COVID-19 lockdowns around the globe. Women and children who are isolated at home with their abusers are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Enquiries to Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) domestic violence telephone and messaging services increased 3.4 times in May com...

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve read and heard the reports of a spike in cases of domestic violence as a consequence of lockdown measures to contain the disease. Understandably most of these reports have focussed on the impact on women and children, but another group that are just as likely to be facing abuse and neglect during these times are the elderly. This World Elder Abuse Awar...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. Malaysia is facing several important health crises – not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the increasing incidence of chronic, non-communicable diseases, along with an ageing population. Rehabilitation medicine is critical to help patients regain function following injuries, sur...

Recently, it was reported that a group of scientists have created what they call the “most human” chimaera yet - a mouse embryo that’s exactly 4% human. As always, neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar is here to help us unpack this news, and we’re also joined by Dr Nishakanthi Gopalan, bioethicist from Universiti Malaya, to further explore the ethical issues behind these...

The 12th Malaysia Plan is due to be tabled in Parliament this August, but the various changes in government since the 11th Malaysia Plan has led to some uncertainties over the direction for the upcoming five-year cycle. We look at what the priorities should be for the 12th Malaysia Plan, on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic and the findings of the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019. See omn...

From tapping on your smartphone and keyboard, to driving and doing household work, you are putting your hands to work every waking moment of the day. At one time or another, you have probably experienced a minor injury to your fingers, hands, or wrists that has caused pain or swelling. But not all hand injuries are the same, and not all can be brushed off as overuse injuries. Dr Low Tze Hau, Consu...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. With COVID-19 now found across the world, there are concerns that the virus which causes the disease, SARS-CoV-2, could mutate into something more dangerous, more transmissible, or even both. While we know that the coronavirus has and could mutate further, how will this impact drug and va...

Last year, Singapore’s first brain bank was launched by Nanyang Technological University Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. Done in partnership with the National Healthcare Group and the National Neuroscience Institute, the brain bank aims to be a resource for research into neurological disorders. To help us find out more about how Brain Bank Singapore will function and the...

Your child has said ‘no’ to you for the umpteenth time. You’ve tried every method, from reasoning with your child, to coaxing, and finally, scolding. How do you deal with a stubborn child without losing your sanity, whether it’s a toddler or a teenager? We ask consultant development paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan for advice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

Today, technology has granted us ways of looking into our bodies that we could not have imagined before. Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of the X-ray in 1895 was the beginning of modern medical imaging. But before the X-ray, there was photographic imaging to study human anatomy. We take a trip back in time with consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh to look at how imaging in anatomy...

Intensivists are among the key specialists needed in treating COVID-19 patients, especially those who have severe symptoms and require intensive care. But do we have enough intensivists in Malaysia to help us fight this pandemic? And what happens if we don’t? We find out more from consultant intensivist Dr Shanthi Ratnam, who is also the Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Society of Intensi...

Dr George Lee returns to discuss the latest medical news. Expect deep insights delivered with generous humour. A study projected that if Malaysian hospitals are faced with a 12-week long disruption of its services due to COVID-19, we could face a backlog of more than 150,000 surgeries which could take up to 11 months to clear. To help us break down these findings and find out whether this is a pos...

MySejahtera, MyTrace, and SELangkah are among the apps that are available to help manage the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. They each work in different ways, and perform different functions. But it can be confusing if you’re trying to figure out which app you should download, especially amid concerns about privacy, data security and efficacy. We ask Dr Helmi Zakariah, member of the Selangor...

Every day, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health Malaysia stands behind a podium and presents us with numbers – numbers of COVID-19 infections, deaths, recoveries, clusters, and tests. All this data gives us information, which is key in our efforts to fight the pandemic. We speak to Dr Dhesi Baha Raja, Public Health Medicine Specialist and Co-Founder of Young Digital Leaders Malaysi...

Doctor in the House is back! Today, we’ll be catching up with consultant urologist Dr George Lee and consultant respiratory physician Dr Helmy Haja Mydin to find out what they’ve been doing during the pandemic and the MCO, and what changes in the healthcare sector they’ve seen during this time. We also check in with Dr Helmy on how the MCO has affected plans for Hari Raya. ...

As parents, you want your children to grow up to be confident adults with a healthy dose of self-esteem. But how do you nurture these qualities in your children, both if they’re typically and non-typically developing? And how does their self-esteem affect their development from a young age up until their teens? We speak to Dr Cindy Chan Su Huay , consultant developmental paediatrician, from...

Several candidates for the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine have entered clinical trials, and the results are eagerly anticipated. While scientists envision a global vaccine that will benefit the world’s population, in reality, political and economic factors will determine which country gets to vaccinate its citizens against COVID-19. Where does that leave Malaysia? Do we have the vaccine production capac...

“If your product killed 8 million people each year, you’d also target a new generation” – that’s the tagline for World No Tobacco Day this year, which looks at the tactics used by tobacco and related industries to attract younger generations. We catch up with consultant psychiatrist Assoc Prof Dr Amer Siddiq bin Amer Nordin from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre to fin...

While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted issues faced by various healthcare specialties, not much has been discussed when it comes to palliative care. However, it is important that patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases continue to receive palliative care despite the pandemic and the measures taken to mitigate it. Here to help us understand how the pandemic has and will change pall...

Many parents send their young children to kindergartens and other childcare centres knowing that they are in a safe and secure environment. But how will this change in a post-COVID-19 environment? We speak to Ng Lai-Thin, project officer from the National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC) to find out more about the guidelines that NECIC has published on measures that early childhoo...

We use our sense of touch to make sense of the environment around us, but it is also essential for our emotional well-being. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are faced with the possibility of having to go for months without the possibility of touching or hugging our friends and family. Neurogeneticist Dr Azlina Ahmad Annuar is back with her Brain Waves series to help us find out what happens i...

The race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 is reminiscent of the race to the moon during the Cold War in the 1960s. The country that gets there first, gets to vaccinate its population first, and thus, emerges the victor. Where does that leave Malaysia? Do we have the capacity for vaccine R&D, as well as production? How does our lack of capacity pose a threat to our health security? In the...

A miscarriage is a physically and emotionally painful experience. While miscarriages are relatively common in pregnancies, every woman’s recovery and healing process is different. We speak to consultant obstetrician & gynecologist Dr Joyce Lee Chai Yuit about what you should do if you have a miscarriage, and why it’s important to get emotional support. See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Testing for COVID-19 is key in our efforts to curb the spread of the virus. However, with all the different types of tests available, it is important to distinguish what each test is able to deliver, and what will be the role of these tests as we prepare to transition towards the lifting of the Movement Control Order. We speak to Dr Richard Fong, Geneticist and Genomics Specialist from Massey Univ...

For the past seven weeks in Malaysia, our Movement Control Order has placed restrictions on our movements. For better or for worse, we’ve been stuck at home, with our partners, family members, housemates, friends or alone. How has being in this bubble affected our relationships? And what will happen when the MCO is lifted in the near future? We speak to consultant clinical psychologist Paul...