Important Blood Tests During Monsoon Season: Disease Risks and Symptoms

Travel insurance is often viewed merely as an optional add-on when booking a trip. However, in the event of an urgent medical situation abroad, it can be the deciding factor between receiving necessary care and facing potentially enormous financial and practical consequences.

Although travelers usually focus on accommodation, flights, luggage, and leisure, a sudden illness or injury can quickly disrupt plans for a vacation, business trip, or visit to family. Chris Petorius, Director of Underwriting and Claims at GENRIC Insurance, noted that the financial repercussions of a medical emergency abroad can be quite significant.

Petorius emphasized that travelers often face not only a healthcare crisis but also hospital bills that can reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of rands. Medical treatment can include emergency consultations, examinations, specialized care, surgeries, hospitalization, medication, and ambulance transport. The cost of such services is particularly high in countries where private medicine is expensive and requires prior guarantees before treatment begins.

Additional expenses may arise if the traveler cannot return home according to the original plan. Costs for extending accommodation, changing flights, food, transportation, and support for accompanying family members also increase the financial burden. Furthermore, medical evacuation and repatriation can entail substantial costs.

GENRIC reported paying several large insurance claims for medical cases, including: over 2.1 million rands for a traveler in Finland who suffered acute appendicitis, died, and was repatriated to South Africa; over 420,000 rands for an appendicitis case in Hong Kong, including a bill of 339,400 rands; over 1.2 million rands for a traveler in the United States who required two hospital admissions after severe kidney stones; nearly 445,000 rands for a heart attack during a trip to Turkey; and about 870,000 rands for a traveler in the United Kingdom who developed multiple organ failure.

Petorius noted that these paid claims demonstrate how quickly a medical incident can turn a vacation or business trip into a serious financial crisis. He added that such medical problems can happen to anyone, even outwardly healthy people. According to Petorius, when a person falls ill in a foreign country, the difficulty lies not only in the cost but also in the stress associated with navigating an unfamiliar healthcare system, often in another language, while having to make urgent decisions.

Travel insurance itself does not prevent illness, injury, or other setbacks, but it can provide financial protection and emergency assistance in unforeseen events. Therefore, Petorius advises viewing insurance as an integral part of responsible travel planning, rather than just coverage for lost luggage or flight delays.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) technology allows doctors to examine the structures of the eye beneath the retina. This method functions similarly to ultrasound examination, using light to build cross-sectional slices of tissue layer by layer, and is a standard way to early detect glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy damage.

Existing devices for these examinations are large and expensive, and they are usually installed in medical institutions. Patients from small towns who need such an examination have to travel to the city, which many people do not do until their vision has significantly deteriorated.

The company, registered as Tishyas Medical Device Development Solutions and founded in Bengaluru in June 2018, took on the task of reducing the size of this equipment. The company is led by Dr. Ravi Kiran Manapuram, who holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Houston and previously worked in this field in the United States before returning to India.

The developed product is called IXanner 7vn—a portable OCT device that the company positions as suitable for comprehensive eye examination outside of hospital settings. The main focus is on the location of diagnosis: primary level screening, with only cases requiring surgical intervention being referred further.

The company has already begun applying its equipment in practice. In March 2024, it conducted a retinal screening camp in Bengaluru in collaboration with a local trust, demonstrating the device's portability. The most critical condition requiring such screening is diabetic retinopathy. India is among the countries with the largest population of diabetics in the world. Retinal damage develops symptomlessly until an advanced stage is reached, and screening is the only way to notice the problem in time. Most people who require such an examination do not have access to the appropriate equipment.

The company's second product, TissueXanner, uses a similar imaging method to obtain tissue analysis without the need for incisions, and the company has announced filing a trademark application for it. Besides ophthalmology, it is applicable in veterinary medicine, biotechnology, agriculture, and industrial manufacturing.

The team around Manapuram includes co-founder Shweta Patnaik, who is responsible for financial management, and Smita Patnaik, a microbiologist leading the life sciences division. The company mentions collaborations with IIT Hyderabad, the manufacturer of ophthalmic devices Remidio, a doctor from Centre For Sight, and the American firm Lumedica.

As of the end of March 2023, MedevPlus reported revenue of 1.37 crore rupees with paid-up capital of 26.7 lakh rupees. Funding came in small amounts from multiple sources. Company databases record approximately $323,000 raised over five rounds from seventeen investors, five of whom are institutional, including VIT-TBI, BIRAC, and BITS Pilani, with the most recent round amounting to about $128,000 in March 2025. Additionally, the company received support under the NIDHI PRAYAS program of the Ministry of Science and Technology for hardware prototypes and has been recognized by organizations such as Startup India, MSME, AIMED, and DPIIT.

Public sources lack information regarding approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of India, which regulates medical devices, nor could peer-reviewed clinical validation of the device be found.

The company was presented at the Bharat Innovates exhibition in Nice, France, in June 2026, where it was described as engaged in retinal diagnostics. The next stage for any medical device is transitioning from a working prototype to being purchased by hospitals and screening programs in large quantities, which requires obtaining approvals, determining pricing, and providing evidence.

Dalchini is an important spice in Indian cuisine, used in making tea, vegetable dishes, biryani, and sweets. In addition to culinary uses, cinnamon is also included in home remedies for weight loss, blood sugar control, and eliminating unpleasant odors from the house.

However, not all cinnamon available on the market is of high quality. Many people mistakenly take low-quality cinnamon for real cinnamon, whereas Ceylon cinnamon is considered authentic. Therefore, it is important to understand the differences between these types and how they affect health.

Recently certified nutritionist Kiran Kukredja shared in her recent Instagram post information that about 90 percent of people do not know the difference between real cinnamon and cassia. She explained in simple terms how to make this identification and which type of cinnamon is better for regular consumption.

If a person uses cinnamon with concern for their health, Ceylon cinnamon should be preferred.

In shops and supermarkets in India, cassia cinnamon is mainly sold, and it is quite easy to distinguish it.

Coumarin is a natural compound found in some varieties of cinnamon. Experts warn that prolonged consumption of large doses of this substance can put an additional strain on the liver. This is why when using cinnamon daily in the form of tea, water, or other folk recipes, one must monitor the quantity. Excessive consumption of any spice can bring harm instead of benefit.

When buying cinnamon in a store, one cannot base the decision solely on the price. It is necessary to carefully examine the packaging and ensure that it states that it is Ceylon cinnamon, not cassia. When buying whole cinnamon, one should also pay attention to its color, shape, and layering.

Cinnamon is undoubtedly a beneficial spice, but choosing the right variety is equally important. If you consume it daily, it is recommended to prioritize Ceylon cinnamon. At the same time, the consumption of cassia cinnamon should be limited. A little information will help you choose the right spice and take better care of your health.