The recent breakthrough regarding the global pandemic is that the majority of the patients can be cured by a malaria medicine named hydroxychloroquine. The drug is used to treat malaria patients and has been recently proved to be effective against coronavirus in the initial stages. 

The full effect of the antimalarial drug is to be tested, but for the time being, this drug is the best chance at survival for the patients suffering from this deadly disease all over the world. The drug is in huge demand all over the world, and India has the majority of healthcare companies that manufacture this drug. 

Well, this is not the first time that India has given the world a major breakthrough in terms of healthcare. Time and again, the Indian healthcare industry has proved itself to be much more effective and reliable than the healthcare systems of other countries. This is the main reason that every year thousands of foreigners flock to India for the excellent healthcare facilities this country provides. 

The healthcare services in India are also quite economical when compared to other countries. The healthcare services in India are so efficient that there is a different distinction for the foreigners who visit India for medical check-ups. These foreigners are regarded as medical tourists.

The major reasons most of the foreign nationals choose India to get treatment for their diseases are listed below.

• Expertise 

Indian hospitals and lab researchers are much more advanced than any other country and are well-equipped with state of the art types of equipment. With the latest equipment and the expertise of well-developed doctors, nurses, surgeons, and hospital management staff, Indian hospitals are able to provide world-class services to foreign patients. Come to think of it, and you will realize that there are best ENT hospitals in India, best heart surgeons, best pain-relieving drug manufacturers in India. So the expertise of the doctors and the best medical equipment make the health care services in India top-notch.

• Cost-effective

The health treatments in India cost much less than any other country. For instance, mostly foreigners usually visit India for cancer treatments. This is because the cost of treatment of cancer in the US is almost thrice the cost of cancer treatment in India. So the difference is quite clear to the patients. And not only for cancers, but people also visit India for other deadly diseases as well. After cancer, ENT diseases are the prominent types of diseases people want to get treatment for. This is because, despite the fact that India has some of the best ENT hospitals, the cost of treatment of ENT diseases are also considerably cheaper than other countries. 

• Ease of accessibility

Another reason that medical tourism is on the rise in India is due to the reason being English is the most spoken language in India. Mostly European and North American countries do not have as many English speakers as in India. So that makes it easier for foreign patients to interact with the Indian doctors and nurses. They do not feel restricted to have a conversation with the medical staff and can also easily understand what the doctors are trying to convey to them. Thus English being the second language for most of the Indians helps us to better the health care services in India.

The increasing medical tourism is a good sign for India’s economic development. The government should make the norms and regulations easier for Indian hospitals to put themselves on the global map. We should not forget that the world’s first surgeon Sushruta was an Indian, and much of the modern medicine is derived from our medieval age texts. If anything, we should try to regain our status as the pioneers of medicine on a global level.

Depression is often counted out of the ‘poor health’ category, but major depression, in medical science, is a chronic illness with high prevalence levels. Depressive disorders are one of the leading causes of years lived with disability, and depression-related deaths (suicide and stroke) are constantly increasing globally, especially in women. Most researchers say the prevalence of depression is much higher in women compared to men. The primary reason behind this imbalanced prevalence is suggested to be biological sex differences, while there may be various other reasons including numerous social, psychological, biological and economic factors.

Hormonal Differences

Estrogen and progesterone affect neuroendocrine, neurotransmitter, and circadian systems, all of which concerns with mood disorders. Further, mood disorders have been said to have a proportional relationship with the female sex hormones, which tend to be affected by menstrual cycle in women. This also means that hormonal fluctuations during childbirth also associate with similar mood disorders. Given that the hormonal risk factors come in play in the reproductive years, peak onset of depressive disorders in women is therefore seen between ages of 25 and 44.

Social Lumber

Girls of younger ages are often professed to be more sensitive and nurturing to the judgments, beliefs and opinions of others, while boys are pushed towards developing a greater sense of independence in their lives. Besides, even as they grow up, women and men are supposed in a definite idealistic figure, where women are expected to have certain conduct in the society and adhere to certain rules. This type of socialization leads to greater depression in women who must frequently look outside themselves for substantiation.

Cultural Influences

Considering the still in place gender norms in India, it is theorized that women, with a fear of turning to a cultural misfit, tend to receive unpleasant life events related to children, reproduction or housing more dramatically than men, considering them an important part of defining their identity. Therefore, housewives and mothers find their parts diminished, while working women face discriminatory inequality at their jobs, leading to conflicts between their multiple roles and societal identity, resulting in stress and depression.

Varied coping abilities

Evidences suggest that women experience more life events with greater sensitivity throughout their lifetimes. Adolescent girls tend to suffer from life events relating to relationships (with parents, peers and friends) and take greater levels of distress than boys. Other factors relating to marital problems, family responsibilities, on-job discrimination, losing a loved one etc. can be psychological disturbances leading to depression in women.