Checkout the definiton of LIFE in a dictionary and it will probably confuse you more.

Have not blogged for awhile because nothing motivated me enough mentally or emotionally till now. Unfortunately it had to be a negative news that moved me enough mentally and emotionally to login and write about it.

As you would have guessed, I am gonna touch on LIFE. My definition of LIFE is a simple Living In Finite Environment. We are born, we grow then we die. Yes, we do die. We are not immortals but mere mortals with no guarantees for tomorrow. Our life is a journey with a destination.

Moments ago, I received news about a good business friend who was just diagnosed with cancer. I had just met him last week and he was looking great and jovial. This news hit me and it hit me hard.

Perhaps it is not an understatement to say that we mortals are a foolish lot. We chase deadlines, pursue and accumulate wealth, set high goals, etc. Don’t misunderstand me…..all these are well and not sinful but what have we forsaken in our pursuit of those? What are we sacrificing? Is it worth it? Have we set our priorities right? Are we ‘investing’ in the right places?

News such as this brings us to a screeching halt and our mind and emotion is flooded with questions. No doubt the impact is evident “NOW” but we are also sadly short term memory mortals. In time, we lose sight again of our values and priorities and return to our foolish ways…..maybe not everyone.

Spare a thought and prayer for my friend (and family) that he will be strong and healed. Next spare a thought for yourself. What would you do if you are in his shoes? Would you have any regrets? Are you prepared to move on should God almighty says so?

Dying is a simple matter. Question is what have you done or how have you impacted the lives of people around you during your journey? Remember your loved ones too. They will remain here but have you done the needy to prepare for them?

I am Smoking

Shhhh…I am not referring to smoking cigarettes. I had never, don’t and never will smoke. Not only is it bad for health, it is also bad for our pockets. I often tell my staff that only the rich smokes  (no offense intended).

Anyway, coming back to my topic “I am smoking”, I am referring to days when I feel like my engine a.k.a body is smoking due to stress. Sometimes without realizing or due to work demand, I am working at max capacity non-stop the entire day. At one point in time of the day, my body will suddenly send an “alarm” saying “ENOUGH”.

 

This is risky. There have been paper reports that people have died from being overwork. I do not want to be in that shoe.

Battle of the Bulge

Traffic was horrendous this morning. Literally car was crawling from home to my office.

As people always say, “Don’t rush around. Take time to smell the flowers”. Well, there were no flowers to smell but plenty of things to see. One of the very interesting sight that captured my attention was a “bulge”.  What bulge? Courtesy of our nation’s Royal Malaysian Police Force.

It was a traffic policeman manning the traffic junction. I was shocked to see his “inflated” tummy. I have seen many police officers with bulges but this is *ahem* HUGE! If I were to measure it, it will easily surpass 45inches!

Then the thought came to me – If he had to pursue a crook on feet, will he be able to run? I read in the papers long time ago that police personnels undergo fitness/health tests every year and there is a standard they have to maintain. With all these bulges around, do they actually pass the test?

Psst! Someone asked me why I did not take the picture of the officer. Don’t want la…afterwards kena saman le (english: don’t want for fear of getting summoned)

Being a police personnel must be rewarding considering the many bulges I have seen. Perhaps PDRM will care to clarify the process and guidelines for fitness and health.

Bags for Eyes?

Like my Eyes?

Eye bags or Eye circles? Ladies if they see eye circles will normally shriek “Ahhhhh! I got eye bags” :p

According to Wikipedia, Eye circles are distinguished circles around the eyes, caused by either:

• Periorbital darkness
• Periorbital puffiness

What is the meaning of the above? Beats me! Ask your doctor about it.

Polls say that eyes are actually the most mesmerizing feature in the human face. Therefore it should be your eyes that catches the attention, not the bags under them. My wife has beautiful eyes (PTL)

Do I have eye circles? Unfortunately I do. On certain days it gets especially bad. I will look in the mirror and go “OMG”. I need to clarify that I am not vain but sometimes even I get shocked myself 😦

So are there any remedies for eye circles? Perhaps some ladies or metroman wish to share with us some beauty secrets (no plastic surgery or botox please… :p)

Experts advise this…

You can have a natural eye bag removal by changing your diet, lifestyle and by religiously doing facial exercises 10 to 15 mins a day.

Eye bags can be caused by:

• Loss of skin elasticity due to aging 
• Droopy cheek muscles 
• Sinus infection or allergic rhinitis
• Thyroid or kidney problem 
• Fatigue and lack of sleep
• Hormonal imbalances
• Food and dust allergies
• Iron deficiency
• Caffeine addiction
• Smoking
• Menstruation
• Pregnancy
• Overworked eye muscles in the case of people with vision problems
• Toxicity

So how do we get rid of eye bags (summarized points)?

1. Eat as much whole foods as possible
2. Keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water
3. Avoid foods and beverages that encourage fluid retention
4. Steer away from food toxins
5. Consume extra iron
6. Control your sodium intake
7. To reduce the appearance of bags under eyes, place both of your index fingers on the sides of your outer nostrils and apply gentle pressure on the two areas for ten seconds. You can either steadily press these points or move your fingers in tiny circular motions. Repeat five times. Pressing on these acupressure points will initiate release of toxins that can manifest as under eye bags.
8. Fix your body clock and follow a facial exercise regime
9. Use the cold cucumber remedy

For more information, there are tons of information on the web. Check it out. My wife practises the cold cucumber on me which is very comfortable. Almost all the time I will fall asleep while the cucumber is placed on my eyes – Yes, it is that comfortable!

Pandas are cute and adorable animals but I doubt anyone of us want to look like a Panda. Care for your eyes today

Health, so Precious

In the midst of  hustle-bustle of our daily lives, it is so easy to forget about one of our most important assets – Health.

I was feeling kinda sickly last Friday noon. Brushing off as the fault of the weather, I didn’t think too much about it.

Sure enough, by Friday night, I was down with fever, headache, sore throat, cough.  Being sick is so inconvenient. So many things to so and yet body is shutting down.

Wife was not feeling 100% well herself but she took good care of me.

Thanks honey…for the loving care.

My wife always say there is time for work and time for rest. As much as she reminds me, sometimes I forget too.

When we’re sick then we start to realize that we’ve been foolish.

By the way, I also wish to thank Dr. Don Lim of Clinic Mediviron, Bukit Jalil for his professionalism. He took the time to explain and asked about my situations. Even the staff in his clinic was very efficient, friendly and helpful. His attitude was very refreshing from many of the doctors around today

NDM-1

What ‘s this NDM-1 ? Most certainly not the name of the space rocket that is sending our next angkasawan to space. It has however surfaced in our nation as reported in TheStar.

 

 Thought it will be good for all of us to have some knowledge of this NDM-1. Below a short article on NDM-1 for your reading pleasure…

 

 

 NDM-1, which stands for New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 is a gene (DNA code) carried by some bacteria. If a bacteria strain carries the NDM-1 gene it is resistant to nearly all antibiotics, including carbapenem antibiotics – also known as antibiotics of last resort.

 

Carbepenems are the most powerful antibiotics, used as a last resort for many bacterial infections, such as E. coli and Klebsiella. The NDM-1 gene makes the bacterium produce an enzyme which neutralizes the activity of carbepenem antibiotics.

 

A bacterium carrying the NDM-1 gene is the most powerful superbug around.

 

Put simply:

• NDM-1(New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase-1) is the gene (the DNA code) found in some types of bacteria

• This gene makes the bacteria produce an enzyme called a carbapenemase – making carbepenem antibiotics ineffective (as well as virtually all other antibiotics).

• Carbepenem antibiotics are extremely powerful and used to fight highly resistant bacteria (when other antibiotics have not worked).

There are no current antibiotics to combat NDM-1

There is no research in the pipeline on drugs to combat NDM-1

A bacterium with the NDM-1 DNA code has the potential to be resistant to all our current antibiotics, as well as new antibiotics which may come into the market in the near future.

The DNA code can easily jump from one bacteria strain to another through horizontal gene transfer. IF NDM-1 jumps to an already antibiotic-resistant bacterium, there is a risk of seriously dangerous infections which would spread rapidly from human-to-human. These infections might be untreatable.

UK doctors say they had only ever seen a few cases which are resistant to carbapenems – and these had not been able to transfer resistance to other bacteria. The fact that NDM-1 can easily transfer to different bacteria strains is very worrying, they say.

Currently (12 August 2010) we know that some strains of bacteria, such as E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae carry the NDM-1 gene.

 

The origin of NDM-1
The gene was discovered by Young and team and was named after New Delhi, the Indian capital. The gene is widespread in India and Pakistan, especially in hospitals.
Europeans who have undergone hospitalization in the Indian subcontinent have brought NDM-1 back to Europe. A significant number of Europeans who brought the gene back to Europe had undergone cosmetic surgery in India/Pakistan because it is cheaper there.

How untreatable is this superbug?

So far, doctors in the UK have managed to fight these infections with a combination of several different medications. However, scientists have detected some bacterial strains that are resistant to ALL antibiotics.

The only way to currently combat the spread of NDM-1 is through surveillance, prompt identification and isolation of infected patients, disinfecting hospital equipment, and thorough hand-hygiene procedures in hospitals. This is going to be a challenge and will require international cooperation.

NDM-1 is widespread in India and Pakistan, and it has reached Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia.

 

Alerts in the UK
The Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK has issued an alert to medical professionals. Below is part of the alert:

Allowing patterns of human travel and migration, and the many UK residents who receive medical treatment in India, we believe that UK healthcare will be repeatedly challenged by imported producers. These organisms mostly are resistant to ALL antibiotics except polymyxins and, less consistently, tigecycline. The activity of obscure agents (fosfomycin, arbekacin and isepamicin) and novel compounds is under investigation, but none is readily available for therapy. In these circumstances it is vital to detect producers and to prevent their onward transmission.

Actions advised

• Be alert to the increase in carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and the growing importance of NDM -1 enzyme.

• Recognise exposure to healthcare systems in India and Pakistan as additional major risk factors for infection or colonization with multiresistant, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae

• Refer ALL carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae to ARMRL, except (i) Proteus spp. and Morganella spp. With borderline resistance only to imipenem (common in these genera) and (ii) E. cloacae with intermediate resistance to ertapenem only, as these are generally just derepressed for AmpC. NDM production will be investigated promptly.

• Patients infected with producers should be isolated to prevent onward transmission in hospitals; carriage in the patient’s faecal flora should be examined for producers of the same or different species; similar screening of close unit contacts should be strongly considered.

Sources: The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Health Protection Agency (HPA), and the BBC.

SUPER-Bug