Spoken Query

Your mother runs out of her blood pressure medication.  Can she refill her prescription at a U.S. pharmacy?  You forgot to bring your Ayurvedic medicines.  Can your parents mail it to you from India?  Your father is traveling to the U.S and wants to carry his prescription medications that aren’t available OTC in the US.  Can you?   These are just some of the questions people who need medications worry about.  So, what are the rules for refilling or shipping medications or flying to the US with them?  How to refill medicines at the local pharmacy in the US? If you need a prescription filled, you should visit a local doctor as very few pharmacies can fill a foreign prescription, and this is determined on a state-by-state basis. Therefore, it is very important that you have a travel insurance and your foreign prescription. You need to show your foreign prescription to the local US doctor and request him/her to issue you a local prescription which you can use to buy medication in

After my blog post on "Coronavirus: How To Make Face Mask At Home" , the article received a huge traffic with emails asking for advice on how they can make masks without stitching. While most of you were excited with the little sewing project, I realize that at times like this, it is important to help people by sharing tutorials that anyone can easily take advantage of. Moreover, I understand that many of you may not have a sewing machine or a thread and needle or may not know how to use them (I don't either). Therefore, I decided to share the simplest, easiest and useful mask tutorial. No cutting or stitching is required. Yes, you read that right! Moreover, it takes one minute and just two items. The final product Instructions for making a  face mask with handkerchief and hair ties Materials for making one mask: One Handkerchief or bandana (100% cotton and tightly weaved) and two hair-ties. An old handkerchief will do, as long as it is not torn. Then the en

Today, the CDC recommended that all Americans voluntarily wear cloth masks in public.   The first place I looked was at the local Safeway but, as expected, I didn't find any masks there. The next place was Amazon, however the masks there were either only for sale to  hospitals/Government agencies or had delivery dates set for late June. So,  I decided to  make one at home. The final product! I went through many DIY masks tutorials on Youtube but these had complicated instructions and require materials that are not readily available at home. One such material (in fact, the most important one) is the "FILTER" that is used inside the mask.Here is a link describing the  different filter materials for making a DIY mask  and their effectiveness .    Most tutorials recommend using HEPA or MERV 13-14 filters since these eliminate 99.97% of any airborne particulate matter. These are used inside vacuum cleaners and air conditioners and are as effective as surgic

Canton Waterfront Promenade It's Saturday and we decided to go for a short walk to get some fresh air and exercise.  At first, we were thinking if it was safe to go outside? There is a lot of confusion around this. On one hand we are told to stay home as much as possible and on the other hand, we are also been told that it is important to keep exercising - and that a walk or run in the park is OK. For instance, Mitchell Silver, New York's  city parks commissioner, encouraged residents to use parks, pointing out that spending time outdoors can reduce stress and boost immunity. Brian Labus, a professor in public health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas said,  "If you're outside walking by yourself, you're not exposed; if you're out walking the dog by yourself, there's no risk, it's when you have contact with other people that you need to be concerned. " However, last week  scientists established that  coronavirus  droplets  could  l

As coronavirus continues to spread around the world, fake advice on how to avoid catching the disease is also spreading rapidly on social media.  To the producers of such lies, it is a humble request:  "JUST STOP IT,”  - avoid sharing information from untrustworthy or unverified sources. Your intention may be good, but know that misinformation during such a time could spread terror and can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus. As social media influencers or bloggers, please remain as diligent about the accuracy of the information you share so that you can follow proper precautions to keep your loved ones safe. To the people who are getting influenced by such lies, it is important to understand that the claims of these viral messages have not been backed by trusted healthcare professionals. Therefore, please seek accurate information from verified sources such as CDC, UNICEF or WHO and not from your favorite content creators (not even m