Wellness

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 …

Racial tensions are running high in Trinidad and Tobago at the moment. It is sad—heart-breaking really. Our “leaders” have descended into the language of c-words, n-words and percentages. But what about the T-word? Tolerance: that powerful watch word handed to us by our nation’s founders. Or togetherness: “together we aspire, …

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 …

When I reach into the freezer for something from my hoard of cooked dishes, I am often reminded of the origins. The oildown from when breadfruit kept calling me, and I was roasting, mashing, and cubing obsessively. A version of a shepherd’s pie with small chunks of stewed goat nestling …

“[…] As the applause faded, I thought about our inconsistent and unreliable water schedule, even in the rainy season. I’ve seen farmers complain about losing 35% of their crops to relentless heat. “[…] Data centres are water and energy monsters… This is not development—it is deferred reckoning…” The following Letter …

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. …

It’s hard to find composure in the face of the overwhelming human tragedy that has befallen our Venezuelan neighbours. Everything can disappear just so. The immediate impact is one thing, but the consequent hardship as rebuilding efforts begin is mind-boggling. Look at Haiti and Jamaica. Do we really grasp the …

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 …