In the days before the new academic year begins, the quest for books, uniforms and shoes continues. Health is often ignored—but a child who is exhausted, hungry, anxious, dehydrated or struggling to see the board cannot succeed. Sleep patterns may have changed during the vacation, so it is wise to …

This Independence Day, Trinidad and Tobago turns 64. If the country were one of my patients, this would be about the age when I would become more interested in health. I would ask about diabetes in the family, home blood pressure checks, cholesterol, sleep, smoking, alcohol, waist circumference and whether …

The third scalding shower before breakfast was not for cleanliness. It was the only place the young man stopped vomiting. There was a cycle of blood tests, drips, injections for nausea, endoscopy and abdominal scans that yielded little useful information. The hot-water behaviour is such a peculiar clinical clue that …

The half-used insulin vial was wrapped in a stained cloth and tucked inside a small purse. She had carried it through the sweltering heat, on a maxi and then on foot, to reach the clinic. “Doctor, I know the sugar high,” she said. “But tell me something. Where you want …

Men will discuss chest pain, blood in the urine and constipation with surprising courage. Erectile dysfunction often arrives in a whisper. Sometimes the patient waits until the consultation is almost over: “One more thing, Doc…” Erectile dysfunction means repeatedly being unable to obtain or sustain an erection firm enough for …

For thousands of years, humanity has suspected the moon of interfering in almost every department of medicine. Sleeplessness, fever, bleeding, melancholy, romance, tides, werewolves and madness in the emergency department? Someone has almost certainly blamed the moon. This monthly rhythm seemed too powerful to be irrelevant. If the moon could …

Coffee and chocolate have spent years in and out of medicine’s good books. One month, coffee is blamed for palpitations, high blood pressure and sleepless nights. The next, it is being praised for lowering the risk of diabetes, liver disease and early death. Chocolate is treated no better. A study …

There is a strange irony in the national conversation now unfolding. We are being asked to consider hosting artificial intelligence (AI) data centres but most of us know remarkably little about what they are, what they consume or what they may demand of the country. As a result, most of …

The school holidays have arrived. Children wake later. Shoes disappear under beds. Lunch kits are forgotten for a while. Grandparents become emergency babysitters. Cousins appear from nowhere. The house fills with noise, arguments, laughter, crumbs, wet towels and small human beings who suddenly seem to be hungry every 20 minutes. …

There is one image from childhood that has never left me. After the Common Entrance results were announced, the school playground became a festival of joy. Children ran across the yard calling out the names of their new schools. Parents embraced one another. Teachers smiled with quiet satisfaction. Yet, away …

Most people worry about their heart. Some worry about their blood sugar, cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure or the mysterious ache that appears after the age of forty and never entirely leaves. Very few worry about their gums. That may be one of the greatest mistakes in modern health. The average …

There is a moment that catches many of us by surprise. Indeed, it arrives without warning. One day, your father is the strongest man you know. He lifts impossible things. Fixes impossible problems. Knows the answer to every question. Drives through the night without getting tired. Walks faster than everyone …