Health Beyond Headlines

Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes, and although it has long been associated with tropical and subtropical regions, it is no longer something that only travelers need to think about. The virus circulates in many parts of the world, and local transmission can occur wherever mosquitoes capable of spreading dengue are established.

Sometimes, anxiety does not feel like anxiety. It may look like a mind that will not slow down, a constant feeling that something is about to go wrong, or a body that seems to be reacting to a danger you cannot quite identify.

When someone starts a medication, there is usually an expectation attached to it. We expect the pain to decrease, the blood pressure to come down, an infection to resolve, a symptom to become manageable, or a future complication to become less likely. 

Mental health is often discussed through the lens of mental illness, as if there were only two polar opposites: illness and the absence of illness. So we talk about depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, substance use, and how to “beat” these conditions, and much of the public conversation starts and ends there. 

Women’s health is often used as a synonym for reproductive health, as if the only difference between female and male bodies were the reproductive system. Saying this is not the same as saying that menstruation, pregnancy, contraception, fertility, and menopause are not important parts of women’s health. It's just a reminder that sex also affects other parts of the body.