Dermatological (Skin) and Opthalmology (Eyes) conditions

Bangalore based journalist, L Subramani, who lost his vision to retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, writes how he survived the horrors of being alone in a covid-19 isolation ward and facing death of fellow warrior. Room 209 had a single bed and a side bench. It faced up to a busy road where you could hear the constant rumbling of traffic and the wailing ambulance, far too often for my comfort. The hospital was generally silent, except for the violent coughing fit of a fellow covid-19 patient…

Urmila Margi, diagnosed with vitiligo as a teenager, says her eye-opening moment was when she met a senior executive at a multinational firm who had vitiligo which made her realise that looks really don’t matter if you prove yourself at your work. When were you diagnosed with vitiligo? It was around 15 to 18 years of ago. How did it affect your daily life? Initially…yes it did affect my life tremendously as I was just 16 – 18 years old when my vitiligo patches first appeared. Did you face any…

क्या तनाव आपके एक्ज़िमा को भड़का रहा है? डॉ. गीता मथाई विभिन्न एक्ज़िमा के ट्रिगर्स के लिए कुछ उपाय बता रही हैं। एक्जिमा क्या है? 'एक्ज़िमा' त्वचा संबंधी रोगों का एक व्यापक समूह है।, और इन में मुख्यलक्षण हैं खुजली, त्वचा का लाल होना,त्वचा पर पपड़ी बनना और फिर उसका छिलना/उतरना। इसमें त्वचा अंततः मोटी और अतिरंजित(हाइपर-पिगमेंट) हो जाती है। एक्ज़िमा किन किन प्रकार के होते हैं? एक्ज़िमा का सबसे आम प्रकार है एटोपिक डर्माटाइटिस। यह कई प्रकार की अलग-अलग एलर्जी के कारण होता है। यह दुनिया भर के 20…

Soumita Basu has been living with the chronic pain associated with Psoriatic Arthritis for almost 10 years. She shares her experience of managing the pain and what works for her.  Chronic pain can be debilitating. It can be isolating. And it is almost always inexplicable. As I write this, I am in excruciating pain. And I recall all the pain stories I have heard from people suffering from chronic pain. Pain that fogs the mind and makes me second guess everything. Sometimes, the question is…

In 2015, Ketaki Jani, was absolutely shattered when she developed alopecia and lost her hair. Being ill at ease with wigs and caps, she decided to get her bald scalp fully tattooed. Read her bold, unconventional battle. *Trigger warning Could you tell us a little about your condition? Well, I am survivor of an autoimmune disorder called Alopecia. Here the person loses hair as per different degree and types. What were the early symptoms? What made you see a doctor? One day, while moving my hand…

Having hope for a cure for an incurable disease is essential as it gives a purpose to be alive but making it the centre of your world is where the problem lies, writes Vineet Saraiwala.  My brother and I have retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye condition in which vision deteriorates as age progresses. There is currently no scientific cure for my condition but I am optimistic of a cure with the rapid advancements in research happening across the world. Some medical conditions are…

Archita Bhalotia, 27 from Mumbai has had Albinism since birth. She shares how she navigated difficult phases during her school life, dealing with vision impairment and learning to become confident and regain self-esteem.  Please tell us a bit about your condition I am a person with Albinism which means the absence of melanin (the chemical responsible for the producing skin color). It also entails weak vision. Albinism is a lifelong condition. What were the early symptoms? What made you go…

Akash Tiwari, 23, who has Vitiligo, had to fight severe depression and discrimination, to embrace his white patches. Today, through his Foundation, Aarus, he empowers people with Vitiligo accept themselves and come to terms with their body image. Trigger Warning My story is like many other success stories of vitiligo. I am no longer afraid to tell the world about my white skin patches. I have accepted them as part of my life and they no longer hold sway over my choices and my decisions. But…

Sanjeev Agrawal, 60, a Professor of Mathematics has been battling invisible illnesses all his life.  He reflects on how his responses to his daughter's challenges due to her invisible illnesses have been shaped by his experiences. #FathersDay series. Asked to write something for Father’s day for PatientsEngage, I go to the site and start wondering – do I write as a caregiver or as a patient? Rather than work out a theme, I decide to write about whatever comes, at this time, to my mind.…

Vineet Saraiwala, Inclusion Lead, Future Retail Limited, pays an emotional tribute to his mother, a mother of two sons with Retinitis Pigmentosa. A Mother's Day Special. It was my mother’s destiny to have two sons, both with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative disease in which vision deteriorates as age progresses. We, my brother and I, are glad that we are not alone in this journey as our mother is equally there in our struggles for the past 25 years. But we never noticed it. My mother’s…