A Little Bit of Me

Mesti you all pernah tengok Erin Brockovich kan? Okay la, kalau tak pernah, let me tell you sikit-sikit pasal plot cerita ni (or better still, korang boleh google it. Hehehe…)

Basically, Erin (the main character) is a very talented single mother, tapi malangnya dia sentiasa bernasib malang. She was a beauty queen, she has the brain, and very very sexy. Tapi… Dia tak ada kerja and kena tanggung anak yang kecil2 lagi semuanya. But she stumbled upon a job as an attorney assistant. And yada yada yada masa dia kerja kat situ, ada kes pasal polluted water dan kesannya pada masyarakat sekeliling, memang sangat-sangat teruk. Ada yang kena kanser, muntah darah dan sebagainya. In fact, ada yang mati pasal tu. And yang paling penting sekali, this story is based on real-life event! Cerita benar you!

I guess, it doesn’t take a genius to know how important clean, pure water to our body and health. Tetapi, berapa ramai yang benar-benar tahu yang air yang kita masak dan minum directly dari paip kita tu bersih? Meh I tunjukkan you fakta pasal kandungan bahan kimia dan bacteria dalam air kita. Antara bahan-bahan pencemaran yang terkandung dalam air kita:-

• Micro-organisms: e.g. bacteria, virus, parasites - yang boleh menyebabkan penyakit-penyakit seperti gastroenteritis (radang/inflamasi salur makanan), jangkitan salmonella, dystentry (diarrhoea yang sangat teruk), hepatitis dan sbg.
• Bahan kimia organik: e.g. Pesticides, herbicides, trihalomthanes yang terbentuk apabila chlorine dalam air bertindak balas dengan bahan-bahan organik lain
• Bahan kimia inorganic: e.g. arsenik, benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), styrene, toluene, and vinyl chloride yang boleh menyebabkan kanser, penyakit saraf, kerosakan hati dan buah pinggang, tidak boleh mengandung dan kecacatan pada fetus.

Reference : http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/he393.html

Ewhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Gross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Memang senang for out water source to be contaminated. For example from:-

• The rain water that is polluted with chemical gases in the air (asap kereta, asap kilang, pembakaran dsbg)
• Hasil pembuangan kilang-kilang
• Najis haiwan ternakan
• Sampah sarap
• Racun serangga (pesticides)
  

Itu air dari paip air kita, yang dah diproses daripada syarikat bekalan air. Okaylah, air kita minum kat rumah kita masak so that gets rid of some of the bacteria. Tapi yang lain-lain masih ada. Macam mana pula dengan air yang kita minum dari restoran (contohnya air batu yang mostly made from unboiled tap water) yang kita sendiri tak pasti kebersihan dan kesuciannya. Nauzubillah…

How can we let ourselves, our family minum air macam ni? Zaman ni bukan macam zaman dulu-dulu yang air sungai masih bersih. Jadi, it is our responsibility untuk memperbaiki sumber air minuman kita.

So, as a health care professional, I feel that it is my duty to share with you about Bio Aura Hi Tech Water Filter. Semua orang mesti pernah tengok iklan Bio Aura kat TV3 kan? Okay, let me just refresh your memory on how Bio Aura boleh bersihkan sumber air kita dan membantu kita untuk memperoleh kesihatan.

Bio Aura is not like any other water filter. Okay, cerita sikit pasal keistimewaaan Bio Aura ya?Dalam Bio Aura, ada 6 penapis iaitu:-

1. Penapis A : Ceramic - menapis sehingga 99.999% - menyingkir pasir, lumpur, bakteria, karat
2. Penapis B: Bacteriostatic Filter Media - Menghilangkan bau yang tak menyenangkan, warna, rasa, bahan pencuci dan elemen-elemen kotor yang lain untuk mengelakkan dari pertumbuhan bakteria
3. Penapis C: KDF + Resin + Activated Carbon Block - memenuhi piawaian FDA, US EPA untuk menapis logam berat, klorin, pencemar kimia, bakteria dan rumpai air.
4. Penapis D: Silver Carbon Block - Menyerap bahan-bahan radioaktif dalam air, bahan kimia dan racun serangga
5. Penapis E: Bio Micro Ball - Teknologi Penukar Tenaga yang memecah molekul air kepada atom-atomnya supaya tenaganya boleh diserap oleh tubuh dan menambah oksigen dalam darah
6. Penapis F: Nano Ceramic Ball + Bio Micro Ball - Teknologi Nano ini boleh menstabilkan tenaga dalam molekul air dan cenderung untuk bersifat alkali yang menstabilkan pH dalam badan. Ia boleh menambahkan tenaga melalui pengaktifan sel-sel badan, detoxifying, melancarkan peredaran darah dan meningkatkan metabolisme.
   
   Oleh kerana Bio Aura dilengkapi dengan Teknologi Nano, ia mempunyai fungsi lebih daripada penapis air, tetapi sebagai penyumbang kepada kesihatan yang mendalam. Ramai yang dah mencuba Bio Aura water filter ni... And here is a video to prove its effectiveness in improving the pH of water (please clink on the link below):-
   
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uonjIOiIEts
   
   
   

A testimoni from Bio Aura user:-

Nama: Senawi bin Abdullah
Umur: 62 tahun
Alamat: kg Guar Lepai, Arau, Perlis

Jenis penyakit yang dihadapai:
* menghidapi gout sejak tahun 2001, tidak boleh melakukan kerja-kerja berat.
* kandungan asid urik yang sangat tinggi dalam darah.
* Sakit di seluruh badan terutamanya di bahagian sendi-sendi
* banyak berpantang makanan seperti sotong, udang, kacang, ikan bilis dan seafood lain

Usaha yang dilakukan:
* Rawatan dari klinik kerajaan, hospital swasta, rawatan tradisional tidak berkesan. Hanya mampu bertahan seketika.

Selepas menggunakan Bio Aura:-
Dalam tempoh 1 bulan, kesakitan di sendi-sendi mula berkurangan. Dapat melakukan kerja-kerja berat dan mula ke sawah. Dulu terpaksa berpantang, tetapi sekarang seafood boleh dimakan sedikit demi sedikit.


Sebagai seorang helathcare professional (I am a pharmacist by the way), I sendiri sedar akan tanggungjawab I untuk menyebarkan kelebihan Bio Aura dan untuk membantu you all memperbaiki mutu kehidupan dan kualiti air semua, I tak ambil untung pun dengan jualan special filter Bio Aura ni.

How can we let ourselves, our family minum air macam ni? Zaman ni bukan macam zaman dulu-dulu yang air sungai masih bersih. Jadi, it is our responsibility untuk memperbaiki sumber air minuman kita.

Berapa sangatlah RM 2,000 berbanding dengan kesihatan you, your parents, your husband, your wife dan anak-anak kesayangan? Begitu juga kepada pemilik restoran dan pengusaha makanan atau minuman. Bayangkan berapa banyak kerugian you kena tanggung kalau ada pelanggan yang kena keracunan makanan disebabkan oleh sumber air yang digunakan untuk makanan yang dihidangkan? As a matter of fact… Dengan I, you all boleh bayar ansuran. It is an investment for YOUR health and future.

Let me, help you. I am always available, kalau nak sembang-sembang tanya banyak-banyak pasal Bio Aura just give me a message / call okay?

AZRA - 0173783414 or nur_azra@yahoo.com

Some of the funniest English blunders I came across:-

To me, they are hilarious. But to the person who wrote them out, it’s quite embarrassing. But never mind, there’s always room for improvement and as bad it may be, but being embarrassed about your English is a good push/motivation for you to improve yourself. That happened to me and my sister.

Sebelum kami berdua masuk Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (P) Sri Aman, we didn’t feel the need to master English. Sebab our previous school tak speaking macam budak-budak kaya and ‘classy’ in that school. So, because of that, we were teased and the ‘popular’ girls used to take the mickey out of our English. As for me, I was helping out with gotong royong and I asked the seniors if I could borrow their gloves. Back then, I pronounced ‘gloves’ with a very strong O. So their childish reply was “oh my God, budak kampong mana cakap macam ni?” Ouch!! That hurt like a b****.

As for my sister, it happened when she was 13. She was in English lesson and put on the spot for not knowing what was the word “kasihan” in English. The poor girl stood at the corner of her classroom being a laughing stock by the fricking class mates.

Surely, these are the memories that we wish we never had to go through. Or ones that we could forget. We probably cried and felt awful for the next couple of weeks and still haunt us few years after that. But they were really the push that was needed for us to learn and master English. So, if you have experienced such occasion, NEVER let that go and let that be your motivation.

Nonetheless, I have no respect for the people mentioned above and those who make fun of others inability and misery.

P/S : My Hakim is experiencing the same but on opposite circumstances – because he uses English more than BM and his BM sounds very formal. What the hell is wrong with these people?!

We all need work to earn for a decent living. But that's not it, I work so that I feel functional and I have great motivation to help people with my knowledge and skills. And to achieve that, it is very important that the workplace is productive and a healthy environment: basically a place where you're happy to work! As a matter of fact, all employers should try hard to create a working environment that is safe, bright, well-ventilated and equipped with necessities. And the people working in the same place should really work together and co-operate to achieve that. And the easiest way to do that is simply by smiling at one another.

See, there are so many benefits of smiling:-

- Smiling uses less muscle than frowning - so it's actually hardwork to frown that to smile

- Smiling to someone usually trigger a smile on another person's face and it is contagious - so it is the easiest place to spread the happiness

- Smiling is the easiest way to welcome someone new and it is quite an 'ice breaker'

- You never know what's on the other person's mind - and if she/he feels low, a simple smile would definitely cheer the other person up

- A positive act such as smiling, laughing trigger happy hormones such as serotonin - which is a natural stimulant in your body. So, the more you smile, the higher is your serotonin level and that's the easiest way to make you a happier person!

- Senyum itu sedekah... So, why be stingy?

Although I know none of you readers are from my workplace (which is in a great need of lotsa smiles by the way!), but where ever you work or are at - do smile to the people around you. It's okay if everyone around you seems miserable, but you should not be. So yes, let's start spreading the smile around!

Here are some of my personal favourites that I hope can make you smile ;-)

Apa lah agaknya Luqman gelakkan ni?

Just like every other Malaysian, I visit the private clinic more often than the government-provided Klinik Kesihatan for minor ailments. The service is faster (although not always) and the whole set-up of a private clinic is more welcoming. Of course, all these come with a price. A 5 minute consultation + take-home paracetamol, cough syrup, anti-congestion and antibiotic for minor fever usually cost around RM 40 in Shah Alam.

However, do private practices always provide the best treatment option or services for their customers? The aspect that I would like to comment on is the lacking of patient’s involvement in making treatment decisions in private clinics (despite the money I have paid for consultation fees). Have you had your say in choosing what treatment you want for your own illness?

Ok, so what is an informed shared decision?

Informed shared decision is the decision made by the patient with the doctor after the patient has considered all the treatment options available based on the information given by the doctor.

To make an informed decision, the doctor should guide the patient and discuss the options available. During the discussion, the patient should really be briefed on the options pros and cons (e.g. if it’s a medicine – the benefits and side effects), how long the treatment regime should last for, the cost of the treatment and finally, doctors should answer all the questions addressed by the patient. It is not easy to make such discussion without the doctor’s initiative. Although I am a pharmacist and I have some knowledge about diseases and treatments (of course, not as great as doctors), nonetheless I used to feel ‘overpowered’ by the doctor when I face them. So, here are some tips on how you can work out making an informed decision with your doctor:-

1. Be well-equipped with knowledge about your condition and the current treatment practices.
A website that uses terms that can be understood by most people is http://www.medicinenet.com/. You can also find out the established treatment options from the website.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
If you are worried that you might get disheartened by their negative attitude, take a family member or friend along because doctor will seem less intimidating with the support of family/friend.

3. Remember what you and doctor have discussed about.
You can do this by writing down the key points your doctor mentioned. And it is not wrong to say something like “Could you please run through what you said to me again so I can be sure I understand it?"

Now, you don't want this to happen to you right?

I see more and more antidepressants advertisements on websites nowadays; some of the common tagline used including “Not sure if it’s depression? Learn about the broad range of symptoms” or “Is it depression? Learn about the symptoms here”. By clicking on the link, you will usually be directed to the websites with a list of depression symptoms. The symptoms of depression are broad and can range from headaches, backache to the more serious ones like thoughts of death and suicide. Of course, this information is true and they are good to know, but they can also be misleading.

I think that this is a very negative way to tell normal people who are well that they may be having depression. Some of the websites ‘diagnose’ internet users by using a checklist of symptoms and can make them worry that they are having depression. Most of us experience some form of discomforts that are part of the symptoms of depression, but having some of the symptoms do not make you depressed. Some of the physical symptoms of depression are:-
Aches and pains – which is also caused by daily physical activities like carrying weights, long-hour standing and even typing continuously at work (Repetitive Stress Injury, RSI)
Change in appetite or weight –this is very common in females, especially before menstruation (weight gain due to water retention), or sometimes when it’s the festive season, we eat more so we gain weight
Fatigue or lack of energy – some of us work long hours and the nature of the work is physical activities like walking, driving or reading countless documents. It is completely normal to be exhausted by the end of the day

You see what I mean? The way these advertisements are made can be easily misinterpreted. As a matter of fact, I believe that they are made to make people believe that they are having depression to boost the antidepressants sales. We should bear in mind that these advertisements are from pharmaceutical companies, kaaching!!! (Money, money and more money!)