Author: Sameed Chaudhary

You scratch one spot, and within minutes another part of your body starts itching. By night it gets worse, and no amount of cream or talcum powder seems to help. Itching all over the body, known as خارش (kharish) in Urdu, is one of the most common complaints people bring to skin clinics across Pakistan. Itching all over the body is most often caused by an allergy or dry skin, but when it lasts more than two weeks or appears without any visible rash, it can be a sign of an internal problem like a liver, kidney, thyroid, or blood…

Dark chocolate has quietly become a staple in Pakistani households, sitting on shelves at Al-Fatah in Lahore and Imtiaz in Karachi alongside the mithai and biscuits that have always been there. What changed is why people are buying it. More Pakistani consumers are now reaching for a 70% cocoa bar not just as a treat but as a deliberate dietary choice. Pakistan is ranked among the top 30 chocolate-consuming countries globally, with annual expenditure on chocolate estimated at over 250,000 US dollars, according to market data cited by local retail analysts. A growing share of that spend is shifting toward…

Chamomile tea in Pakistan goes by a few names you might already recognise: بابونہ چائے (Babuna Chai) or گل بابونہ کی چائے (Gul-e-Babuna Ki Chai). It’s brewed from the dried flowers of the chamomile plant and has been used across the subcontinent for generations as a calming bedtime drink. Pakistanis have long turned to herbal teas when regular doodh patti feels too heavy at night. Chamomile fits naturally into that habit. You’ll find it at pansar shops in Karachi’s Jodia Bazaar, at supermarkets in Lahore and Islamabad, and increasingly in loose-leaf form from Hunza Valley suppliers online. What makes it…

You’ve probably seen the word “consultant” written outside a doctor’s clinic or on a hospital door in Lahore or Karachi. It sounds formal, maybe even intimidating. But in Pakistan’s healthcare system, a medical consultant is simply a senior specialist doctor — someone you see when your condition needs more than a general physician can offer. The title carries real weight here. In Pakistan, a doctor earns the consultant designation only after completing MBBS, a house job, and then passing the Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (FCPS) or an equivalent postgraduate qualification such as MRCP (UK). That…

Hernia pain is something many Pakistani men and women quietly live with for months, assuming the groin bulge or abdominal ache will sort itself out. A visit to a general surgeon often gets delayed, especially in cities like Lahore and Rawalpindi where long clinic queues are common. That delay can sometimes turn a manageable condition into a medical emergency. Hernias are among the most frequently operated conditions in Pakistan, with inguinal (groin) hernias being especially common in men who do heavy physical labour. According to clinical data, inguinal hernias affect roughly 25% of men at some point in their lives.…

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Atlas 2024, around 34.5 million Pakistani adults are living with diabetes, and the country now has the highest age-standardised diabetes prevalence in the world at 31.4 percent. Roughly one in three adults in Pakistan is affected, and an estimated 8.9 million people are undiagnosed, per The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. That is a serious gap — because the early signs of diabetes are easy to dismiss and the damage builds quietly. The sections below walk through the early symptoms in both Urdu and English, explain the main risk factors for Pakistani adults, and…

Long work hours, heavy traffic on Lahore’s main arteries, financial pressures, and the constant buzz of family obligations — stress has become a daily reality for millions of people across Pakistan. Most people push through it, assuming that feeling overwhelmed is just part of life. That assumption can cost them their health. According to the WHO, stress-related disorders are among the fastest-growing mental health concerns in South Asia, and Pakistan is no exception. A local study published on ResearchGate found that most Pakistanis rely on informal coping strategies — talking to family, listening to music, religious practices — rather than…

Kidney stones are one of the most common urological problems seen in Pakistan, and Karachi’s heat and humidity make the city particularly prone to cases. The condition forms when minerals and salts concentrate in the urine and crystallize inside the kidneys — a process that can go unnoticed for months or cause sudden, intense pain once a stone begins to move. Urologists across Karachi report a steady rise in patients presenting with renal colic, especially during the summer months when dehydration is common. A review published in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery (2022) identified dehydration and dietary imbalance —…

Male infertility in Pakistan carries more stigma than it deserves — and that stigma often delays the very care that could help. Many couples spend years assuming the problem lies with the wife, when research from Pakistan’s own medical institutions shows that male factors contribute to a significant share of conception difficulties. The sooner both partners are evaluated, the sooner a clear path forward emerges. A study published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (2025) found that roughly 22% of couples in Pakistan experience infertility, with male factors identified as the predominant cause in a substantial proportion of those…

Frizzy hair is something most people in Pakistan deal with at some point — whether it’s the thick monsoon air in Karachi turning a fresh blowout into a puff cloud, or the dry winter winds in Islamabad leaving strands brittle and flyaway. The problem is not just cosmetic. Persistent frizz often signals that the hair cuticle is damaged or dehydrated, and without the right care it tends to get worse over time. Pakistan’s climate is particularly unforgiving for hair. Lahore and Karachi regularly see humidity levels above 70% during the monsoon months, and the hard water common in most Pakistani…