Dr. Pradhan's Eye Care

06/09/2026

I’m one day late already wishing all teachers on their day. Why does India celebrate this day on 5 September every year? It’s the birth anniversary of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a great educationist, philosopher and president of the Republic of India. India honours its stars.
Without teachers, there would be darkness all over. They help the world to dispel this darkness and give knowledge.
So from the doctors’ perceptive, can we say we are also teachers? Without a doubt. In the medical college we learn medicine from doctors who are also teachers in the art and science of medicine. During specialisation, we learn from the doctors who have been trained in that speciality. Once we become specialists ourselves, we train other doctors and paramedics what we know. So by every count doctors are also teachers.
However, in the modern times , there is one quality lacking starkly and needs to be developed if we are going to cure the patient body and spirit which is the holistic approach. What I mean to say is there is enough technological knowledge which is growing by the day but sadly I find compassion and empathy lacking miserably. I went to the best medical institutions but I was never taught compassion for a suffering human being. Without treating the spirit and only treating the body, medicine becomes incomplete. This is the message I want to spread among those who read my posts. A teacher, any teacher in any field cannot be a good teacher if he or she lacks compassion towards his students and all human beings.

02/09/2026

02/09/2026

Give the Gift of Sight

Our eyes are precious to us in life. After death, they can become precious to someone else.

During National Eye Donation Fortnight, let us remember that a simple decision made today can restore sight to another human being tomorrow.

Eye donation does not mean donating the whole eye for transplantation. The cornea - the transparent window at the front of the eye - is carefully retrieved after death and may be used to restore sight in a person who is corneally blind.

One donor can potentially help more than one person. The procedure is simple, does not disfigure the face, and does not interfere with funeral rites. The family should inform the nearest eye bank as soon as possible after death, ideally within 6 hours.

There is a large gap between the number of people who need corneal transplantation and the number of suitable donor corneas available. India currently has around 1.1 million people with corneal blindness, while only about 25,000-30,000 corneal transplants are performed each year.

So, talk to your family. Make your wishes known. Pledge your eyes.

After we are gone, let our eyes continue to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

— Dr. Rajan Pradhan

09/08/2026

What The patient needs to know about Pre
diabetes and Diabetes in Q&A
Yesterday we spoke a little on this topic, nutrition, lifestyle changes and whether these conditions can be reversed or not. Now the Q&A

1. What is Insulin dependent Diabetes or Juvenile onset diabetes/ Diabetes 1 ?
- This is a condition where the body doesn’t produce insulin because the beta cells of the pancreas have been destroyed by an attack by the body’s own immune system. Before the discovery of insulin by Sir Robert Banting, a Canadian physician, all the children suffering from this type of diabetes would eventually die.

2. Which celebrities have type 1 diabetes?
- Nick Jones, Teressa May, Wasim Akram, Sania Nehwal, Tom Hanks among others. They are all living normal lives and excelling in what they do. But all of them have to inject insulin several times to stay alive!

3. Who develops Pre diabetes?
- Genetics does play a role here; ie, if both the parents are diabetic, chances the offspring will develop Pre diabetes and later diabetes if he/she doesn’t make changes in their food habits, life style and metformin is said to keep it at bay.

4. Is Diabetes reversible?
- Type 1 diabetes is not reversible but a lot research is ongoing to develop an artificial pancreas producing insulin.
As for Pre diabetes; a certain number of cases become normal with the help of medicine, food, exercise and supplements. In India, 70 % of Pre diabetes convert to full blown diabetes if not diagnosed early . The world data is 50%.
As for type 2 diabetes, even though there are plenty of Diabetes reversal programs in India and the West, the internationally renowned diabetologist, D. V Mohan of Chennai says diabetes cannot be completely reversed but can go into remission just like some cancers which also go into remission for a number of years only to resurface as metastasis. The same is true of diabetes.
To be continued @

08/08/2026

Nutrition, micronutrients, lifestyle modifications for diabetes remission and Pre diabetes reversal

Being diagnosed with Pre diabetes or diabetes is not a life sentence because the former is a warning that your metabolism is not ok and the latter is the result of your years of insulin resistance , genetics and you being told that diabetes is a lifelong disease. But this is not the whole truth.
In this short awareness write up which cannot be taken as a medical advice, i will deal with - what insulin resistance is, signs and symptoms of Pre diabetes, nutrition, micronutrients, lifestyle changes and how to get to diabetes remission.
1. Insulin and insulin resistance.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of the endocrine gland called pancreas. Whenever you eat, especially carbohydrates, it turns into glucose or sugar and enters the blood stream , the rise in blood sugar level signals the pancreas to release insulin which is like a a lock that signals the receptor on the cell surface to open to receive the glucose molecule to be converted into energy . If over the years, the patient eats too much of fatty foods, processed foods, drinks alcohol and sugary drinks, the cells begin to ignore the signal and the lock doesn’t open. The glucose stays in the blood in what is termed hyperglycaemia (excess glucose in the blood). This is the beginning of insulin resistance.
2. Signs and symptoms of insulin resistance
Since insulin is a a kind of growth hormone, it begins to store the glucose as fat around the belly and as visceral fat around every organ, especially pancreas and liver.
If you notice dark, velvety patches around the neck, armpits, belly etc; this is called Acanthosis nigra and is a sign of insulin resistance. If you do not change your dietary excesses and lifestyle, and do not heed the warning signs, then afters 10-20 years you go into Pre diabetic stage and then into full blown diabetes.
3. The steps to take:- if you feel fatigued all the time, you’re gaining or losing weight, feel hungry all the time, excess thirst and going to the bathroom several times at night, along with deteriorating vision , then you need to consult a duabetologist or better still an endocrinologist.
He/she will order several blood tests like glucose tolerance test, fasting blood sugar, post prandial blood sugar, HbA1C ( which is an average of 3 month’s blood sugar shown as a percentage) and some doctors order a fasting insulin and thyroid profile. Based on the report, he will prescribe medicines. The most prescribed and oldest medicine is Metformin. Thus is even prescribed for Pre diabetes.
4. The normal blood sugar levels:- FBS-70-99mg /dl. PPBS- 70-140 mg/dl. Fasting insulin - 2-25 micro IU/ mL but best to keep it under 10.
5. How can Pre diabetes be reversed?
Stop sugar totally. Stop drinking alcohol. Take metformin prescribed by your doctor. Eat healthy: No processed food like corn flakes, white bread, sugary drinks, fatty or fried foods.
Eat complex carbohydrates like millet, barley, rolled oats, lots of green leafy vegetables, do not eat starchy vegetables like potatoes. Take lentils, beans, dry fruits and seasonal fruits in moderation. Avoid red meat line mutton, pork and beef. Take chicken and fatty fish and lots of fibers and stay hydrated. If you are a vegetarian, replace meat with panner, soya milk etc.
6. Food supplements and micronutrients- Chia seeds, flax seeds, whey protein, vitamin B12. D3 if they are low. Apple c***r vinegar 1 table spoon with one glass of water before breakfast. Take vitamin B and mineral tablets.
7. Exercise- Best to walk 15 minutes after every meal; do resistance training 2-3 times a week . Even walking up the steps is a kind of anti gravity exercise.
7. Check your blood sugar with a glucometer before breakfast and before dinner and keep a record of it. Better still use a cgm ( continuous glucose monitor) which gives a graph of your blood sugar 24/7. One sensor lasts for 15 days.
8. Weight- if you are overweight, losing even 5-7 % of your weight is beneficial.
To be continued@

29/07/2026

01/07/2026

Doctor’s Day - A Prayer for Wisdom and Compassion

Every year on Doctor’s Day, we celebrate the men and women who have dedicated their lives to relieving suffering. Yet this day is not only about honouring doctors. It is also an opportunity to strengthen the bond between doctors and patients - a relationship built on trust, understanding, and shared responsibility.

More than a century ago, Sir Robert Hutchison wrote The Physician’s Prayer. Though medicine has changed beyond recognition, his words remain timeless.

He prayed:

“From inability to let well alone, from too much zeal for the new and contempt for what is old, from putting knowledge before wisdom, science before art, and cleverness before common sense… Good Lord, deliver us.”

These words remind us that medicine is not about ordering more tests or performing more procedures. It is about knowing when to intervene and when to wait, when to speak and when to listen. Technology has transformed healthcare, but no machine can replace compassion, judgment, and the reassuring touch of a caring physician.

Patients, too, have a role to play. Healing is a partnership. Trust your doctor. Share your concerns honestly. Take your medicines as advised. Ask questions when in doubt. Good health is achieved not by doctors alone, but by doctors and patients walking the same path together.

On this Doctor’s Day, let us remember that the finest doctors are not those who know everything, but those who never stop learning, who remain humble before the mysteries of illness, and who treat every patient with dignity and kindness.

May we continue to place wisdom before knowledge, humanity before technology, and service before self.

Happy Doctor’s Day to all my colleagues, and my heartfelt gratitude to every patient who has placed their trust in our hands.

21/06/2026

International Yoga Day - Yoga for Health and Harmony

Today, on International Yoga Day, we celebrate an ancient gift from India that is far more than a form of exercise.

Yoga offers many proven health benefits. Regular practice improves flexibility, balance, muscle strength, breathing capacity, and cardiovascular health. It helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, promotes better sleep, and contributes to overall physical and mental well-being.

Yet the true essence of yoga lies deeper. The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root Yuj, meaning “to unite.” It is a path towards the union of body, mind, and spirit. The great sages of India viewed yoga not merely as a set of postures but as a means of discovering our inner peace and true nature.

In a world filled with noise, speed, and distraction, yoga invites us to pause, observe, and reconnect with ourselves. Through discipline, mindfulness, breath, and meditation, it helps us cultivate clarity, compassion, and equanimity.

Health is not merely the absence of disease. It is a state of harmony within ourselves and with the world around us. Yoga reminds us that lasting wellness begins from within.

On this International Yoga Day, let us embrace yoga not only as a practice for the body but also as a journey towards inner balance, wisdom, and spiritual growth.

“Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the Self.”

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

No Touch Technique
It’s been a while i haven’t written anything on any subject. It got me thinking when I went to an endocrinologist for a check up- hypothyroidism, Pre diabetes etc… that I noticed he asked me a few relevant questions, wrote down a number of tests and that was it. No palpation, percussion or auscultation. Palpation is to feel with the hand, percussion is to place your fingers over the chest, abdomen etc and tap over the fingers with the forefinger of the other hand like a drummer percussing his drum and auscultation is to listen over the lungs, heart or abdomen with the stethoscope which most doctors like to hang over their neck. What is the point if you’re not using it?
During our undergraduate days in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s , we were taught to make a provisional diagnosis using the above methods and also to watch the patient’s gait , facial expression and at times also to use your faculty of smell like a dog does at the airport to sniff out drugs and bombs; especially cancer which has a sweet, sickly smell.
After the clinical exam, we would order tests to clinch on the diagnosis. Nowadays, doctors all over the world especially after the three years of COVID use the non touch technique to treat their patients.
I must mention though that in my specialisation, ie Ophthalmology , the doctor cannot excuse himself by asking a few questions. ordering lots of tests and then make a diagnosis. We don’t use the stethoscope but its visual version, the slit lamp which is indispensable to the eye doctor. Of course, we use the Tonometer to measure the eye pressure, the ophthalmoscope to examine the retina and the ultrasound to evaluate the posterior segment in case of a dense cataract; to rule out retinal detachment.
Without the human touch, one cannot heal the patient totally- maybe his physical disease can be cured but what about the spirit without healing it, medicine in incomplete.