Deepika Padukonecancelled hervisit to theupcoming fashionweek in Paris inthe wake of Covid-19

COUGH, COLD, FLU

We tend to call a bad cold ‘flu’ or ‘feelingfluey’. “But with genuine flu, you willbe too weak to get out of bed,” says

Dr Sarah Brewer, medical director of theUK-based Healthspan (health

eportal). If it is the realthing, expect to beabsent and ensure

you are fever-freefor 24 hours be-

fore returning toschool, college,

work, play-ground, etc.

HEADACHES

T hey’re common and respond well topainkillers, so there’s no real excuse tocall in sick. Migraines, however, are

more than just a headache: they can last forseveral days. If you suffer from migraines, youknow your pain threshold, so decide accordingly.

Health apps to your rescue

“Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.”

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, POET 03POLISH YOUR SKILLS

Q If I bring a dish to a party, can Itake home some of the leftovers

or is it rude to ask for it?– A cool guest

A. Hi, throwing a party is hard work.

Given the effort it takes to clean home,order or make food and clean up afterthe party is over, a host has the right toenjoy leftover goodies the next day.

Only if there’s too much food left overthat the host would be happy for you totake some things back. In that case... Check with the host politely: Ask thehosts if they enjoyed the dish you gotfor them. If they say: “Yes, we reallyliked it and may have it for breakfast”,that’s your cue to just smile and say“Sure”. If they say: “Oh, there’s so muchfood”, offer to take the leftovers. Don’tforget to thank them for the party.

By SUNAIINAA A HAK, etiquette guide

ExpertSPEAK

LIFE SKILLSONLINE UNIVERSE

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TV &

MOV

IES

MUST DOMUST SEEMARCH17, 2020 FACT: Saint Patrick didn’t

wear green. His colour was“SaintPatrick’sblue.” Thecolour greenbecameassociatedwith StPatrick’s Dayafter it waslinked to the Irish independ-ence movement in the late18th century.

FACT: Before entering in thefield of badminton, Saina

Nehwal was achampion inkarate, in whichshe holds abrown belt. Shecelebratesevery win byindulging in icecream. She has

already been accredited byPadma Bhushan, Rajiv GandhiKhel Ratna and Arjuna Award.

0461: Bishop Patrick (St Patrick), diedin Saul. Ireland celebrates this day in hishonour. It was celebrated first time inNew York City in 1756.

1905: Albert Einstein finished his scien-tific paper detailing his Quantum Theoryof Light, one of the foundations of mod-ern physics.

1990: Saina Nehwal, Indian badmintonstar, was born.

2004: NASA's Messenger became thefirst spacecraft to enter into orbitaround Mercury.

THIS DAY THAT YEAR

With talks of boostingimmunity in general and

also because ofcoronavirus, takeextra care of your

health and stay fit.Here are

apps thatwill help

➤ In timesof an epidemic

or pandemic out-break, it’s not a good

idea to share food withclassmates or work-mates. Eat your owntiffin and explain to

others if they feelyou are being

rude

➤ Whenordering food from

apps and so on, be kind tothe delivery boys, who are

working to give you yourchoice of food in tough

times. A report has saidthat people nowadays

are ordering morefood than ever

from apps

FOODUCATE: This app is for thosewho want to eat mindfully and like tokeep track of what they are consuming.Besides counting calories, it will alsoshow you a detailed breakdown of thenutrition present in packaged food.

RUNTASTIC: It is one of the bestapps for activities like jogging, running,biking and walking. It can be your per-sonal trainer for a marathon. It trackshow far you run and sets a goal foryou. Work together and you will be fit.

HEALTHIFYME: It is especiallymeant for Indian users as it has a com-prehensive database of more than20,000 Indian foods. It also offers anon-demand fitness trainer, yogainstructor and dietician.

ZOMBIES RUN: Yes, running canbe a fun activity with this app. Thevoice over in Zombie Run will tell youabout the zombies lurking around andwill offer the running statistics. Keepescaping to stay fit!

LIFESUM: This app is like your per-sonal health coach. With several featureslike reminders, food analysis and caloriecounting, Lifesum is an all-in-one app tomanage your overall health. It also helpsimprove your workout session.

CONTAIN IT:Cough and sneezeinto your elbow to

reduce the spread of cold.Adopt a one-use only rule for tis-sues and wash hands afterevery nose-blow.

MANAGING ETIQUETTE: It’s not easy to work withdepression. While you don’t have to hide the condi-

tion, don’t discuss it with people who don’t have theability to understand mental health issues and who

may end up asking embarrassing questions to you.

VOMITINGAND

DIARRHOEA

Both are clearsigns you shouldstay at home, say

health experts. More-over, they can be

caused by norovirusor rotavirus, or bac-terial infections likesalmonella and you

can pass it to othersthrough direct contact orcontaminated objects.

BAD BACK PAIN

Many working days are lost to back, neck andmuscle pain. Most cases get better with time.But if you have an upcoming sports function

or other extra-curricular activity which involves a lotof physical movement,

speak to your teacheror a senior authority toexcuse yourself. Par-ticipating when you are

not good enough to give your100 per cent is unfair to theteam you are in and to your-self too.

DEPRESSIONAND ANXIETY

Mental healthproblems cost alot of working

days. Everyone experi-ences low moods, butif you are not able tofunction properly, orcan’t face work atall, it’s time to gethelp. Visit a psy-chiatrist andcheck if youhave clinicaldepression orlevels of anxi-ety that needsregular treat-ment or medication.

Is there a

Yes,as the pandemicCovid-19 sweeps the

world, here’s apossible guide for sickday rules – when to

turn up and when tostay away

CONTAIN IT: Bescrupulous abouthand washing.Avoid sharingtowels as youmay pass on theinfection to thesharer. And washyour laundry athigh tempera-tures and disin-fect surfaces.

CONTAIN IT:Strengthen your backwith regular exerciseand get physiotherapy ifthat is what’s requiredto get back your back.

Ahead of the RioOlympics, sprint-er Usain Boltgave it a miss ashe needed timeto work on hisback problem

Actor JenniferLawrence attend-ed 2013 GoldenGlobes with flu,but didn’t shakehands to notspread the virus

➤ Avoid throwing birthday or other parties when a familymember is sick. Also, don’t attend birthday parties whenyou are not well – you shouldn’t be spreading infectionduring get-togethers. The courtesy when you are cough-ing, have fever, diarrhoea, and so on is to stay at home.

➤ When there is an advisory from the government in case ofan epidemic/pandemic outbreak to avoid crowded places likecinema halls, restaurants and malls, do follow the advisory.

➤ Families should avoid holding get togethers during fes-tivals in case of a pandemic outbreak. In case you dohave an invitation, politely refuse. Don’t think on the linesthat your relatives or friends will be upset if you refuse.

➤ Don’t shake hands or hug when you are sick.

IN SICKNESS, FOLLOW THESE TIPS

Follow Macron’s virus-proof

greeting etiquette

➤ Mindful of the coron-avirus outbreak, whenFrench President EmmanuelMacron greeted Spain’s kingand queen recently, hereplaced the traditionalhandshake with an Indian-style ‘Namaste’ – a safeway to greet people

MANAGING ETIQUETTE: Rest, sip water andstay away from get-togethers and partiesbecause you won’t be able to enjoy and mayinconvenience others too.

SOURCE: ADAPTED FROM DAILY MIRROR

MANNER CURIOUS

5 ways toincrease yourconcentration

Train your brain

Brain training games like Sudoku or crossword help de-velop short-term memory,problem solving and pro-cessing skills. They act likesmall 15-minute workouts foryour brain which help inmaintaining concentrationfor longer durations.

Fuel your mindIt is important to eat a prop-er meal to keep your brainhealthy. Skipping breakfastis not a good idea if you wanta productive work day ahead.Have a balanced meal in the

morning to prevent theadrenaline from kicking inand leaving you stressed.Keep a bottle of water at thedesk where you are workingas dehydration too affectsyour concentration.

Organise well

Before you start working,take 15 minutes to plan outthe day ahead. Writing downthe things to be done in thefollowing day and planning

your time accordingly helpsyou perform better. More-over, if you plan the dayahead, you can prioritisework according to the timeof the day that is most activefor you.

One thing at a timeYour brain is able to give onlypartial attention to the manytasks you do at the same timewhen you multitask. In theend, you make more mis-takes and achieve less. In-stead, concentrate on onetask at a time and take ashort break before getting tothe next for best results. TNN

Does your mind wander often inthe middle of an important task?Do you suddenly find yourselffidgeting when working at thesame place for a long time?

Maybe, you lack the concentration to bringthe task at hand to an end. Not being ableto concentrate increases stress. Here areeasy ways to boost your attention span...

TAKE A BREAKIt is advisable to take a break when youhave been working on the same thingfor a very long time. Cooling off and tak-ing time out improves concentration.Use this break to take a walk, listen tomusic or spend some time withnature to clear your mind.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES