Does your office make you ill? The culprit may not be the strenuous work schedule but the dust on your keyboard. New studies suggest that a non-sanitised workspace can be the cause behind many infections. Insufficient cleaning of carpets, desks and other surfaces, unclean drinking glasses, shared use of telephones and computer keyboards and deficient air conditioning can lead to the transmission of many viral and bacterial infections and allergic ailments. As part of a 30-year-old, ongoing research, US-based microbiologist Charles Gerba recently studied 328 surfaces in an average office, including elevator buttons, door handles and telephones, and found on them staphylococcus bacteria that cause skin infections and meningitis, and E-coli.

Though cold is the most common disease contracted in the office, doctors have observed a link between office hygiene and stomach disorders, peeling skin and respiratory infections, even TB in extreme cases. "Indian companies must implement Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) guidelines," says Dr Satish Amarnath, head of the infections department at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore. Developed in the US, OSHA outlines 8,000 conditions for a company to get the ISO certification. Machines must be disinfected and there should be a strict check on the storage of water and the condition of office kitchens. It will save your sick leave.

-By Nirmala Ravindran

The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan that can be used for a quick diagnosis is in India. The pet-ct scanner, introduced at the Apollo Gleneagles Centre, Hyderabad, can spot tissue abnormalities at an early stage. Repeated scans can be used to monitor the treatment. The CT can pinpoint the exact size, shape and location of abnormalities even in blood vessels and brain capillaries through non-invasive ways. A body scan can cost Rs 24,500 but it will save you a lifetime of worry.

Battling age with Botox remains a fad. Ever since doctors accidentally discovered that the Clostridium botulinum injection given to control neurological spasms around the eyes also smoothened wrinkles, Botox found its claim to fame. Now there are "experts" everywhere, promising miracle cure for wrinkles. But Botox is not for everyone. "People below 25 years or over 65, pregnant women and those with skin allergies and muscular disorders must avoid Botox treatment," says Mumbai-based cosmetic surgeon Narendra Pandya, whose book Botox: A Ready Reckoner has been released recently.

In young people, wrinkles are often premature and the medicine makes no difference while in old people, since their skin has lost its elasticity, a treatment may remove lines but will not endow good looks. "For Botox injections, approach a qualified doctor, especially one who understands facial anatomy," says Pandya. Botox, which works best on forehead wrinkles and crow's feet, can cause harmful side-effects like scarring and facial paralysis.

While a single Botox treatment can cost Rs 10,000, the big news is that the effects of Botox, good or bad, will last only three-four months. Wrinkles will return. Just as Nature wants them to be.

- Compiled by Shefalee Vasudev

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