Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
The anti-allergy campaigner
SHE IS extremely allergic to allergy and that's why she has girded her loins to fight it at on international level. Meet Dr. Ruby Pawankar, an Indian doctor from Japan, who is in Delhi on a mission to create awareness against allergic diseases, especially Allergic Rhinitis.
A Keralite by birth and an alumna of AFMC, Pune, Dr. Ruby went to Japan on a scholarship and settled there after the completion of her doctorate from Nippon Medical School, Tokyo. Now she heads the department of Otolaryngology at the same institute.
"Allergic diseases typically start in early childhood with food allergy as the most early to set in, followed by nasal allergy and asthma," says Dr. Ruby. "Symptoms of allergy include itchy, watery eyes; a runny and blocked nose; blocked sinuses and a post nasal drip; wheezing and tight chest, and above all rashes on the skin. In general, these symptoms can cause a marked reduction in the quality of life of the suffering patients, reduced work performance in adults, reduced school performance in children, also leading to a socio-economic burden."
Showing an awareness booklet she has authored for WHO and which she intends to distribute in India, she adds, "10 to 30 per cent of the global population suffers from allergic diseases. And the situation in developing countries like India is even worse. Delhi alone harbours 15000 allergic patients."
A member of the board of directors of the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), Dr. Ruby plans to organise an International Symposium on Rhinology and Allegorgy in Mumbai in November. The President of India will inaugurate the seminar, the first of its kind in India, and experts from 60 countries are expected to participate.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
