Odysseys of George

Feed small kids small fish

Last updated: Monday, January 07, 2008

Small kids should eat only small fish to avoid building up dangerously high levels of mercury, Australian health officials warned on Sunday following research on three Asian families who fed their children a rice and fish porridge called congee.

Their children, aged 15 months to two years, who had eaten congee - known as juk in Korea and chao in Vietnam - had up to five times normal mercury levels, according to a report in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Stephen Corbett, a doctor with the Sydney West Area Health Service, told reporters that fish of the right type in the right quantity was good for children’s nutrition.

“Two to three portions a week and small fish for small fry,” he advised, warning that mercury at even relatively low levels could affect children’s development.

Fish to avoid

Dr Lisa Szabo, chief scientist of the New South Wales Food Authority, said that parents had to worry about only six types of fish: shark, broadbill, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and catfish.

“In part it’s because they’re bigger,” she said. “But they’re also longer-lived and they’re predatory fish, which means that they eat a lot of small fish so that’s why they tend to accumulate the mercury.”

Prior to hosting the Grand Rounds last week, I was interviewed by Nicholas Genes, for the Pre-Rounds Medscape Med Students.

The interview article was actually posted on the 12th November. Please feel free to check it out.

Surgeon Dives Deep to Display Photos of the OR and the Ocean Floor

Posted 12/11/2007

Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD

What does a starfish have in common with a gallbladder? They both possess a fascinating beauty, at least when photographed by Dr. Geeverughese C. George. A surgeon and frequent traveler, Dr. George shares his photos and thoughts online at The Odysseys of George. In our recent correspondence, Dr. George discussed his background, photography, and some of the differences in Malaysian medicine.

Dr. Genes: For a surgeon, you sure seem to live life to the fullest! Is that your interpretation of your site’s motto, “Vita non est vivere sed valere”?

Dr. George: Well, living life to the fullest is something I aim for everyday. There is more to life than just work and career achievements. I enjoy travelling and thus I try to take some time away to do this. Diving was always something that interested me, but due to some reasons, I only managed to do it a few years ago — and since then I’ve never regretted it and never looked back. It has also made me indulge in photography more, as the beauty beneath the seas is awesome.

The Odysseys of George hosts Grand Rounds
December 11, 2007

Dr. Genes: What camera do you use underwater? Is it the same as what you use for your pathology and OR photography?

Dr. George: I am using a “point and shoot” camera, and have yet to invest in a dSLR. I am using a Canon G7 with Ikelite casing and a strobe for underwater lighting. I use the same camera for my land and OR shots.

Dr. Genes: Because of your travels, you may have a better idea of what medical careers are like in other lands. How is Malaysia different? You’ve mentioned that half of Malaysian men smoke, that you see a lot of complications from uncontrolled diabetes; how does that affect your practice or your work schedule?

Dr. George: Malaysia is a developing country, and therefore there aren’t as many specialists or subspecialists as in the Western community. The health awareness here is just coming around, but we are still very far from reaching good or excellent healthcare service and goals.

Dr. Genes: How long have you been a surgeon? Are you specializing?

Dr. George: I am a general surgeon with interest in upper gastrointestinal surgery. I have been a surgeon for 3 years now.

Dr. Genes: How did you discover blogging? Do your colleagues know about your online activities?

Dr. George: Blogging came as an “incidental finding” while trying to find a mode of communication with my sister, who migrated to Australia. Then, my friends helped me get the hang of it, and the rest is history. Many here know of my blog, and I am not anonymous. Blogging is common, but whether it is accepted by my hospital is yet unknown. I suppose if I breach rules, then they wouldn’t be too happy.

Dr. Genes: What are some of your favorite posts? What do your readers seem to like on your site?

Dr. George: My favorite posts are actually my medical and diving ones. I notice that most readers are not too interested in political topics — they tend to respond more to my photography, which is very encouraging.

Dr. Genes: Readers will have an opportunity to see more of the world through Dr. George’s eyes when he hosts Grand Rounds on December 11, 2007. Visit his site to see the best in online medical writing from doctors, nurses, researchers, students, and healthcare professionals, all arranged and organized by Dr. George.

Thank you!

The weekend saw me packing my bags for what is probably the last dive trip for the year. The group was mostly the same as the group that went to Redang recently. It was just after a week, after the ferry accident that occurred. That made us worry but like one of my articles I wrote before, was any of our public transportation safe before. We Malaysians, tend to take life for granted and as long as something never happens, it is assumed that it would never happen. Then when it actually occurs, all hell breaks loose and suddenly we become all excited and angry just to find that all goes back to how it was within 2 weeks after the last body was found. We, Malaysian are that naive that even when a fortune teller tells us to throw a watermelon into the sea, if it floats then the victim is probably alive - that also can believe and practice. Forgive me for my ignorance but as far as I know all watermelons float like coconuts. So can we, then, really blame others for this mishap when we ourselves agree to board a boat when it overloaded and further not insist on being given a life jacket or if given reluctantly wear it or if possible do not.

Anyway, I digress. The trip went well and we all enjoyed ourselves. We did a total of 5 dives and I must say, the second day was far better in terms of visibility and the marine life.

These are some of the pictures.

Part of the dive group.

As I sit to log my dives, I realise I have to make another 9 more dives to reach 100. To make it a memorable 100th dive, maybe I should dive at Sipadan or another overseas point, The Red Sea, maybe! Wow!

Dive 2: Crystal Palace, Rottnest Island

Well after a hearty lunch, we headed off to our second dive spot. We anchored and the sun was shining brightly. Again, the hearty skipper proceeded to tell us the depth and that Crystal Palace was a beautiful cavern like landscape situated towards the west. This time the temperature though still 18degrees Celcius but because of the sun, it felt better.

Th current was strong and the earth felt like it was moving because this sandy bottom only had weeds growing and thus when the weeds move it caused a relativity effect to your eyes.

We managed to find the place and I should say that this was better than the first dive. The cave like formation is made from a raised rock or coral and thus it was beautiful. One of them had their air run out so we had to surface earlier and upon ascending a large manta ray cruised at the surface ever so gentle and effortlessly despite its enormous size.

A nudibranch

This was something I had never seen. It is called a Baler snail and it is huge. Beautiful design on its body.

This chap the devil fish was irritating me when I was taking a shot of the Baler snail. So I decided to take its photo and see how nicely, this little Devil posed for me.

The three of my friends who dived with me.

Rob, John and Hayley

Thus ended my dive in Australia. The next time I come, I must go up to Ningaloo Reef.

The Lunch break or better known as Surface Interval Time

The boat proceeded closer to the island to stop over for lunch. Some of the divers took this opportunity to snorkel and freedive. I was shivering cold and the wind was not making the sun any worth.

The island is beautiful and there were a variety of birds. I fell in love with the seagulls.

Rottnest Island

The flight

Attention!

Well, the lunch was good and filling and enjoyed the seagulls while waiting for the nitrogen in my blood to dissipate off my system.

We soon made way to our next stop. Dive 2 : Crystal Palace

Since I was in Perth, I took the opportunity to go for 2 dives. There were not many dive shops in Fremantle and the only one that I came across was of Dolphin Dive. So, I checked in for 2 dives and rented a 7mm wetsuit as the sea temperature would be about expected 18degrees Celcius. We were given the option to meet up at the jetty or in front of the dive shop at 0730.

Excited, my brother-in-law sent me to the shop at about 0720. There was a guy in a car waiting who later I got to know as John, a New Zealander working in the mines in Australia. He is an open water diver. About 10 minutes later, we saw a young girl walking towards the shop, and sitting herself there waiting. She is Hayley, a divemaster. There was still no sign of the shop owner. About 0830, I told my brother-in-law to proceed home while I continue waiting. Just then, a lady walked up to the shop and proceeded to open the dive shop! Another guy was also waiting nearby, Rob, who is an open water diver.

15 minutes later, a van pulled up and we were taken to the jetty. Talk about punctuality! i am no punctuality king but this is way off the promised time.

Reaching the jetty, I was shocked to see the number of divers who were going along with us. There was almost 30 over divers and more than half were students for the advance license. The boat was huge. We were carefully checked in and soon headed off to Rottnest Island. The skipper gave us the ground rules of the boat. About an hour later, we anchored for our dive.

Dive 1: Cigar Reef, Rottnest Island

The boat anchored at a depth of 25m. The skipper came to the deck and told us that the depth below the exit is about 25m and if we were to swim towards the front of the boat, we would be heading the reef with an average depth of 18m. That was it. No local guide to take us around. No explanation of what to expect, the current, the geography of the reef! Goodness! We were on our own. There were also very few photographers and I had the most complete set up! (which way not complete to Malaysian standards) I wasn’t happy but nobody seem to complain so I guess that is how it is done in Australia. In Malaysia, a local guide follows us for our dives and before the dive a thorough briefing is done about the dive site.

Anyway, the four of us somehow grouped up together and decided stick together. It was a giant stride into the icy cold waters as I felt I jumped into crushed ice. My dive computer recorded a 18degree and I could feel the cold cutting through my 7mm thick suit. My buddy, John ran into some problems with his bouyancy device(BCD) and aborted the dive immediately.

We descended into cooler waters and soon we were 18m deep and 17degree celcius . the visibility was about 5 to 8m and I was trying to adapt to these differences. Rob and Hayley were good in spotting things and so I just swam along till they called and then I shot the shots. Even my camera froze for a while before it came back to live. We managed to stay for about 50minutes before ascending. Enjoy the pictures!

Blue devil fish.

Star fish

Stonefish

Cuttlefish

Rob

Hayley

Rottnest Island

to be continued…….