Archive | Health

Here’s What Helps Keeping Me Hydrated in Ramadan

During the holy month of Ramadan, it’s important to stay hydrated in order to keep yourself energized during the day. But with the long fasting hours nowadays and with the sun setting around 8PM, it becomes challenging to consume the right amount of water before you go to sleep especially if you’re like me and hate the taste of water. I have no problem drinking a big bottle of juice in a single sitting but I just hate the raw taste of water.

To overcome that, I sometimes add mint leaves and lemon slices to a bottle of water to boost my water intake after Iftar, but on other lazy days I just resort to these Bolero sachets for a sugar free and low calorie drink. They come in more than 20 flavors but my personal favorite are the mango, lemon, and ice tea. You just dissolve them in 1.5L of water and you’re good to go.

I personally rarely wake up for Suhour so from the time I finish my Iftar until I sleep at around 12AM I have little time to drink a relatively big amount of water, but Bolero seriously makes it so easy and I highly recommend it if you too have the same problem as I do.

Some other brands like Darine have similar sugar free sachets by the way, but I’m just used to Bolero simply because they were in the market first.

0

Lebanon Ranked The Healthiest Arab Country According to Bloomberg

Lebanon was ranked the healthiest Arab country according to the Bloomberg 2017 Global Health index last month. Among 163 countries included in Bloomberg’s study Lebanon came in at 32 ahead of Qatar (36), Bahrain (40), UAE (43) and Oman (48). The study was based on several criteria such as  life expectancy at birth, causes of death, availability of clean water, and existing health risks.

Some articles are attributing the result to our Mediterranean cuisine which doesn’t relatively rely much on animal fat as much as other Arab cuisines do. A lot of our traditional food requires the use of vegetables, olive oil and other healthy ingredients, on the other hand you see other Arabs depending more on rice cooked in mmargarine with beef or lamb meat in varied ways.

However, what I believe the study should have also taken into consideration is healthcare accessibility for senior citizens. Lebanon scores pretty bad in this field since people automatically lose their social security coverage once they retire at 64, time they eventually need healthcare services the most! I personally pay a hefty amount every year for a private insurance company in order to keep my parents medically covered, and I still had to fight with the admission office at one of the hospitals in Beirut because they were refusing to let my father in when he got sick last year. But yes, we are still ranked 1st!

0

Please Help Rozine Get A Liver Transplant

32499_1469083892_1087933160_10401891_10152685863284164_4058677368553655158_n

It aches the heart when you feel powerless about saving the lives of your loved ones, and this is exactly what Catherine Moughalian is going through right now after she learned she has to collect $200,000 in order finance a liver transplant for her mother Rozine.

Rozine was recently diagnosed with a liver failure, and due to her health deteriorating so fast she cannot wait until she finds a donor in Lebanon, so her daughter turned to the online community to help secure the necessary funds for a transplant outside Lebanon before the end of July.

Please consider contributing with whatever amount you can afford to help Rozine make it, some of us spend $50 over a couple of drinks in Beirut, so why not skipping a plan this weekend to help save a life instead?

You can donate through Zoomaal here.

My mom, Rozine Moughalian, is a 56 year-old psychologist and mother of two. She lives in Bourj Hammoud, an area that has been recently piled with garbage and darkened by black smoke from burning trash. In the last three months, my mom developed subacute liver failure, which doctors were unable to diagnose and suspect possible drug or toxin exposure. The condition developed quickly, and mom went from working three jobs two months ago to being hospitalized with a terminal condition today. She is currently in need of a liver transplant without delay (within the next two weeks).

It is an extremely difficult process to find donors and secure funds in such a short period of time. So, due to bureaucratic procedures and time constraints, she can’t receive a liver transplant in Lebanon and it was recommended by doctors that she be transferred abroad for proper assessment and treatment. We are currently aiming for transferring her to Iran or India, these being the cheapest options. France was also an option earlier but it costs double what the surgery would cost in Iran or India.

Mom does not have the money for such a surgery, and she doesn’t have access to free quality healthcare. We need to raise at least 200,000 USD by the end of the month to be able to fund her surgery or it will be too late.

I find it absurd that my mom won’t get to live out the month because we can’t afford the money or a donor. She has the right to access free medical care, she has the right to get appointments with doctors without wasta, and the right to be admitted into the hospital at the expense of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) without having to wait a day in the ER while we make the “right calls to the right people.”

In a country where our basic rights are not available, or only available to a select few, sticking together is more of a basic need than duty. If you feel you can donate, any amount will bring us closer to the goal of keeping my mom alive.

I understand if you can’t donate, but please share this message with people who you think can help, either financially or by pointing us to people who have had a similar experience and can help with procedures and logistics.

I urge you to gather your resources as I am gathering mine. Thank you for reading this.

In solidarity,

Catherine Moughalian

If you have means of helping other than donations please contact me:

catherine.moughalian@gmail.com 961 3 098 817

0

Drugs Price List in Lebanon Now Available Online

screen644x572

The Ministry of Public Health released their new website and mobile app a few days ago, and among the new services they now offer is a listing of the available drugs in Lebanon along with their official prices so you can compare them with the prices set by your local pharmacy and know if you’re being overcharged, in addition to the ability to compare a certain drug to its available alternatives having the same formula.

This is definitely a good step forward by the ministry to identify the pharmacies that do not abide by the set prices, and ensure that consumers are getting their medicine at a fair price.

The drugs price list is available both on the ministry’s website and the mobile app for iOS and Android.

3

Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes