Category: Blog Posts

Health Connect – October Edition 

Cataracts refer to the opacification / clouding of the lenses in one’s eyes, thereby causing a multitude of visual problems.

The majority of cataracts are age-related, and the incidence of cataracts usually increases with age due to degeneration. However, cataracts can also occur due to prior insults such as ocular trauma, infections, inflammation, radiation, medication side-effects, comorbidities etc.

The symptoms of cataracts may vary widely and include blurring and distortion of vision, blindness, difficulties with night driving, glare issues and more. It is routinely diagnosed via eye examinations (e.g. fundoscopy, slit-lamp examination) by a healthcare provider.

The management of cataracts is dependent on several factors including one’s age, maturity of cataracts, comorbidities and more. Surgical intervention, whereby new lenses are inserted, is the mainstay of treatment. Do speak to your healthcare provider for further information regarding this.

References
1. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/cataract-in-adults
2. https://www.nuh.com.sg/About-NUH/Clinical-Outcomes/Pages/Cataract.aspx#:~:text=In%20Singapore%2C%20the%20percentage%20of,people%2075%20years%20and%20older.

Health Connect – September Edition

To kickstart our new monthly series, we will start off with a topic that has been widely reported in the media recently – monkeypox

Background

Monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus, an orthopoxvirus. There are 2 distinct types of the monkeypox virus – West African and Central African. The monkeypox virus from Western Africa is thought to be less virulent. While monkeypox is not a pathogen that we are familiar with in this part of the world that we live in, it has in fact been known to cause disease in humans for many years in Africa and is even endemic in certain parts of Africa.

Transmission

Monkeypox cases, outside of Africa, have been traditionally linked to global travel, importing of animals etc. However, since earlier this year, the medical community has taken note of the fact that there are cases of monkeypox infections in various parts of the world, with some patients having no known travel history. At present, investigations are underway to better understand this.

Transmission of the virus can be broadly classified into animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission. Animal-to-human transmission occurs when an individual is exposed and in contact with an infected animal’s fluids or bites etc. Human-to-human transmission can occur through close contact and exposure to infectious materials and fluids, skin lesions and respiratory droplets etc.

Clinical Manifestations

Most of the time, monkeypox infections are self-limiting and symptoms are mild, though serious complications do occasionally occur. Common symptoms include rash, fever, chills, lymph node swellings, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and more.

Treatment

Treatment of monkeypox infections are usually supportive and symptomatic in nature. Antiviral medications/vaccinations are currently being explored.

Do refer to the resources from the Ministry of Health (Singapore) and World Health Organization for further information and the latest updates.

References

1. Ministry of Health, Singapore. (2022, June 7). Monkeypox. Ministry of Health. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.moh.gov.sg/diseases-updates/monkeypox
2. Isaacs, S. N. (2022, June 10). Monkeypox. UpToDate. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/monkeypox?search=monkeypox&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~17&usage_type=default&display_rank=1#H2690330960

Health Connect – July Edition

To kickstart our new monthly series, we will start off with a topic that has been widely reported in the media recently – monkeypox

Background

Monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the Monkeypox virus, an orthopoxvirus. There are 2 distinct types of the monkeypox virus – West African and Central African. The monkeypox virus from Western Africa is thought to be less virulent. While monkeypox is not a pathogen that we are familiar with in this part of the world that we live in, it has in fact been known to cause disease in humans for many years in Africa and is even endemic in certain parts of Africa.

Transmission

Monkeypox cases, outside of Africa, have been traditionally linked to global travel, importing of animals etc. However, since earlier this year, the medical community has taken note of the fact that there are cases of monkeypox infections in various parts of the world, with some patients having no known travel history. At present, investigations are underway to better understand this.

Transmission of the virus can be broadly classified into animal-to-human or human-to-human transmission. Animal-to-human transmission occurs when an individual is exposed and in contact with an infected animal’s fluids or bites etc. Human-to-human transmission can occur through close contact and exposure to infectious materials and fluids, skin lesions and respiratory droplets etc.

Clinical Manifestations

Most of the time, monkeypox infections are self-limiting and symptoms are mild, though serious complications do occasionally occur. Common symptoms include rash, fever, chills, lymph node swellings, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and more.

Treatment

Treatment of monkeypox infections are usually supportive and symptomatic in nature. Antiviral medications/vaccinations are currently being explored.

Do refer to the resources from the Ministry of Health (Singapore) and World Health Organization for further information and the latest updates.

References

1. Ministry of Health, Singapore. (2022, June 7). Monkeypox. Ministry of Health. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.moh.gov.sg/diseases-updates/monkeypox
2. Isaacs, S. N. (2022, June 10). Monkeypox. UpToDate. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/monkeypox?search=monkeypox&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~17&usage_type=default&display_rank=1#H2690330960