#Thread
Yesterday @EricTopol tweeted about @TheLancet publication reporting "trasmission of SARS CoV 2 mainly via airborne route"

Little did he know that his sphere of influence reaches a city called Nashik in India and pensioners living in my housing complex in Pune, India.
By midnight, i started receiving questions and worried messages from my relatives in Nashik quoting this.
"Now Covid is airborne! we are doomed" was universal concern.
Then a neighbor called in the morning with same concern. Messages on her whatsapp group predicted doom.
Everyone wanted to know - What to do next?

Some had already closed their windows and ventilator gills to protect themselves from "virus air".
This is peak summer in India, temperatures are nearing forties (Celsius).My relatives don't live in air-conditioned homes.
I tried my best to explain things to them and reduce their anxiety. Wearing a good mask properly when stepping out, avoiding crowded places and closed spaces is all that can be told at the moment.

We doctors have been singing same tune since over a year.
I don't know if people even listen. Because politicians sure don't.

My request to authors of such profoundly influential papers ( @trishgreenhalgh et al) , reputed journals and medical influencers ( @EricTopol ) -
Please add a box "message/action points for all" with papers.

Medical research journals have never done anything like this so far as they assume specialist readership. i am sure med journals didn't know that people all over the world can be influenced by their work within hours.
this is unprecedented opportunity for science to influence public behavior. Something every scientist lives for.

Simple English and actionable information will go a long long way.

Thanks in anticipation.

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More from @docbhooshan

19 Apr
If you are worried about catching Covid while at home, you can try these simple steps to reduce your worry -

1. Use small chunks of time (15-30 min) by allocating to specific activity

2. Do not re-work plans - e.g. if you are buying grosseries once a week stay with it.
3. Stop looking for more info - avoiding crowd + closed spaces and wearing mask all the time is enough.

4. Washing hands ONCE after returning home is good enough.
5. Watch your emotions - distract yourself from worry, anger, sadness by involving in physical activity, art, music, etc.
Read 9 tweets
16 Apr
Dear Shri @maheshmkale ,

Congratulations to your father for making complete recovery from Covid.
Your video on plasma donation is doing rounds on social media.

Pl read thru this thread -
Plasma therapy in covid is of almost no additional benefit, prohibitively expensive, human resource intensive.

Here is excellent quality, published research on this issue - health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/diagnosti…
Countless relatives are now DEMANDING this therapy for their loved ones.

You can understand their plight to arrange for this therapy. You have been thru same recently.
Read 5 tweets
14 Apr
Last evening my eldest sister in law had a long chat with my wife on phone.

She asked her "how are you? This work is so difficult. How do you handle all this?"

My wife is Intensive Care Specialist. Doing Covid work since April 2020.

This is the first time anyone from extended
family asked about her well being.

She gets numerous calls everyday from multiple relatives and friends asking about medical advice, second opinion for their friends, vaccine queries, and what not.
At all times of day and night.

This is on top of her exhausting Covid work.
Whole of last year, like most of my doctor colleagues in India, she hasn't had unbroken 4 hours of sleep.

It is unimaginably difficult. Her hospital @symbiosistweets supports her really well and her own innate resilience has seen her thru so far.
Read 5 tweets
9 Apr
Remdesivir-
As headlines scream shortage and photos of hapless relatives standing in long lines are on front page,
public impression is that scores of people are dying as this life saving elixir is in short supply.

Nothing could be further from truth.

A thread.
If remdesivir was the fabled "Sanjivani buti" we wouldn't see millions of deaths all over the world.

After initial enthusiasm in Feb/March 2020, well designed clinical trials put question mark on superiority of Remdesivir over standard care.
As even more data gathered, clinicians suspected that a small subset of patients may benefit from remdesivir. (There are enough papers to support every claim and more)
Read 11 tweets
12 Mar
This thread is about -
1. harm caused to doctor-patient relationship due to corporatisation of healthcare
2. corruption in govt machinary and
3. laws that govern practice of medicine.

It is about my father who passed away few days ago.
Few months ago when my father was diagnosed with autoimmune vasculitis on top of his chronic kidney disease secondary to lifelong diabetes, we knew his days are numbered. He knew it too.

Doctors gave us a very clear idea about seriousness, complexity and prognosis of it all.
So when he stopped eating solid food in adequate quantity and remained in his bed all through the day, we knew where this was headed.

Two months in and out of ICU, alternate day dialysis and high level of care given to him by family, nurses and doctors wasn't going to make
Read 24 tweets
22 Feb
Back to roots.
#Psychiatry

Psychiatry is presently not as ostracized as it once used to be, confined to asylums.

Now a days you may even find psychiatrists invited to public functions.

A welcome change but likely to be short lived.

Why?
Read on -
#stigma has always been a huge problem for psychiatry.

We got mental health away from Shamans but managed to get stigma in the process.

Persons with mental illness were always feared and hated. Hence confined to asylum, away from sanitized life of people.
Anything perceived as threatening (mentally ill, free thinking women, disenfranchised minorities, political opponents, sexual minorities) was labelled as "madness/character flaw/unsoundness" etc and sent to asylum to spend rest of their life.
Read 12 tweets

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