Health talk made easy

MANILA, Philippines - As a mother of two daughters, Connie Sison admits she’s still learning the ropes of basic health matters like first aid.

“I didn’t know how to stop nosebleed should — knock on wood — my kid comes home with a bloody nose,” she admits.

Yes, the broadcast journalist is no stranger to health issues, having tackled them in her years as host of public service shows. But until Pinoy M.D., Mga Doktor ng Bayan, her new health and beauty show on GMA 7 (starting Saturday, June 12 at 6 a.m.), came along, Connie didn’t know she should make the nosebleed victim sit upright to keep blood from further flowing.

“I’m learning a lot,” she says, while looking at Dr. Isaac David ”Doc Dave” Ampil II and Dr. Raul “Dr. Q” Quillamor beside her. Doc Dave, a cancer surgeon and Dr. Q, an obstetrician gynecologist, are her Pinoy M.D. co-hosts.

And they welcome Connie’s questions, no matter how simple they are. In fact, the simpler they are, the better. The more people will learn about basic, but vital things crucial to health and well-being.

Will pulling out white hair from the scalp increase these telltale “signs of wisdom”? Just how many x-rays a year can you take without exposing yourself to the dangers of radiation? Is pasma to be avoided like the proverbial plague? Is hilot good or bad?

Rikki Escudero, GMA 7 VP for Regional TV and head of Expansion and Production Services says the segment Totoo Ba will answer these common questions.

“It will shatter myths,” she promises.

And since myths galore is keeping us from living a healthy-worry free life, Connie, the show’s resident layman will not be afraid to raise questions Juan dela Cruz has been dying to ask but is afraid, or can’t afford to ask the doctor.

“Libreng magtanong,” she points out.

And since public service is her comfort zone, Connie promises to ask basic questions. She will go beyond that and give beauty tips to fellow moms.

“Do you know, for instance, that brown sugar can help improve the skin?” she asks. “The procedure is simple. I will tackle it on the show.”

Wonder now more how Connie maintains that smooth, glowing skin viewers don’t mind seeing first thing in the morning before they kick off their Saturday activities.

Connie’s glowing skin is just a bonus for televiewers. The real deal is taking comfort in the fact that you can hie off to a diabetes center in Marikina where experts see indigent patients every Wednesday and Saturday.

To Escudero — and the Pinoy M.D.’s staff’s — delight, the center also brings down prices of medicine, making it within reach of the common tao. You can ask for the center’s exact location via the show’s nationwide toll-free numbers 1-800-63-7777-7, 1-800-63-7777-8 and 1-800-63-7777-9. Manila viewers may call 981-1977; 981-1978 or 981-1979.

What hospital should I go to for my ailment? What kind of doctor should I see? Answers to these, and other related questions are a mere phone call away.

“We can’t diagnose on the phone,” Dr. Q relates. “We need the person’s medical history. A headache, for instance, can be just a symptom. It can secondary to an eye problem, tooth decay, or brain tumor. If a medication doesn’t solve the problem, we first find out if the patient is complying with doctor’s instructions.”

Doc Dave himself will go out of his way to give viewers an inside look — straight from the operating room —- at an actual breast cancer surgery on the show’s pilot episode (common fungal diseases during the rainy season will also be discussed).

Early risers taking breakfast need not choke on their sinangag, though. Doc Dave and the show’s staff will spare them the gory details of the delicate operation.

Besides, who says you can’t look at a serious topic like cancer in the eye and discuss it in a casual, less buttoned-up way? And while you’re at it, who says a doctor must always be formal, stiff and scary?

Not these doctors, thanks to Connie, director Freddie Santos, whose hosting workshop helped the physicians loosen up, and the staff of Pinoy M.D.

So what was that health question you were dying to ask again?