Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are among the most widely prescribed medications in the United States, primarily for managing depression. While SSRIs emerged as antidepressants during the late 1970s, it drastically revolutionized the therapeutic practice regarding other psychotrophic agents for various mental illnesses by establishing them as effective yet a good tolerated alternate for antidepressive agents earlier produced. At present, they are often the first pharmacological therapy for depression along with other mental health conditions.

SSRIs, are a type of antidepressant medication designed to alleviate symptoms of depression by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical neurotransmitter which plays a critical role in mood regulation, memory, sleep, digestion, and sexual function. Often, scientists termed the chemical as the "feel-good" chemical because its release is closely associated with happiness and emotional well-being. Low levels of this chemical have been associated with mood disorders, including depression.

SSRIs are able to work because they selectively inhibit the reabsorption, or reuptake, of serotonin into nerve cells in the brain. The higher level of serotonin that becomes available promotes the betterment of mood and diminishes anxiety. Older antidepressant classes were found to cause many side effects. That's why this new generation is often used and appreciated by both the patients and doctors themselves.

How Do SSRIs Work?

The mechanism of SSRIs is hidden in their name- selective serotonin reuptake inhibition. When serotonin is released by neurons, it transmits signals to other neurons before being reabsorbed. SSRIs block this reabsorption process, making more serotonin available in the brain. This increase in serotonin levels is thought to help regulate mood and enhance responsiveness to complementary treatments, such as CBT.

Conditions Treated by SSRIs

While SSRIs are primarily prescribed for depression, their benefits extend to several other mental health and medical conditions, including:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): The reduction of excessive and persistent worry.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): The reduction of intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors.

Panic Disorder: The management of sudden episodes of intense fear and physical symptoms.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The processing and coping with traumatic experiences.

Social Anxiety Disorder: Increasing comfort in social interactions.

Bulimia Nervosa: Controlling binge-eating and purging behaviors.

SSRIs are also prescribed off-label for disorders such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and symptoms of menopause. They can also be used to treat premature ejaculation and other forms of chronic pain.

Potential Side Effects of SSRIs

As with any medication, SSRIs have the potential for side effects. Most people tolerate them well, but some may experience symptoms, especially during the first few weeks of treatment. Common side effects include:

• Nausea and indigestion
• Headaches
• Drowsiness or insomnia
• Dry mouth
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Sexual dysfunction (e.g., decreased libido, difficulty achieving orgasm)

Most side effects subside as the body becomes accustomed to the medication. However, patients should contact their healthcare provider if symptoms do not subside or worsen.

Precautions and Contraindications

SSRIs are not appropriate for everyone. People with specific medical conditions or situations need to exercise extreme caution or avoid these medications altogether. These include:

Pregnancy: Most SSRIs are considered safe during pregnancy, but some, such as paroxetine, carry risks, including birth defects, postpartum hemorrhage, and withdrawal symptoms in newborns.

Drug Interactions: SSRIs can interact with other medications, including blood thinners, NSAIDs, and certain supplements.

Preexisting Conditions: People with liver disease, seizure disorders, or bipolar disorder should discuss potential risks with their doctor before starting SSRIs.

Risks of Untreated Depression During Pregnancy

For pregnant individuals, untreated depression poses significant risks, including poor prenatal care, preterm birth, and developmental issues for the baby. A thorough discussion with a healthcare provider can help weigh the benefits and risks of continuing SSRIs during pregnancy.

Starting and Managing SSRI Treatment

When beginning an SSRI, patients are typically started on the lowest effective dose to minimize side effects. Gradual dose adjustments may follow, based on the patient’s response and tolerance. Regular follow-up appointments with a healthcare provider are essential to monitor progress and address any concerns.

One of the challenges with SSRI treatment is that its effects are not instant. The mood and symptoms might take weeks to show significant improvement. Abrupt discontinuation of SSRIs results in withdrawal symptoms, dizziness, irritability, and flu-like sensations. Patients should always consult their doctor before stopping or changing their medication.

SSRIs have changed the landscape of treatment for depression and other mental health disorders. These drugs have brought hope and relief to millions of people all over the world. Although not free of risks and side effects, the benefits often outweigh them if used appropriately. This is because SSRIs increase serotonin levels in the brain, restoring balance to emotions and quality of life. As with all medication, informed discussion with a healthcare provider is critical in ensuring safe and effective treatment.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2393-14-333

Antidepressant during pregnancy and postpartum hemorrhage: a systematic review

Safety of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Pregnancy: A Review of Current Evidence, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40263-016-0338-3

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, https://doi.org/10.1159/000516031

Prenatal exposure to antidepressants and increased risk of psychiatric disorders, https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3950

The 2025 flu season has turned out to be unlike any other in recent memory. This year, the flu season is marked by record-setting infections, multiple viral peaks, vaccine mismatches, and an overstretched healthcare system.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this year’s influenza activity is the most intense since the 2009 swine flu pandemic, with over 80 million estimated illnesses and rising. What’s driving this intensity, and what should the public know about prevention and symptom management?

Let’s break down what makes this flu season so severe and what it means for your health.

A Season Like No Other: What Makes 2025 Different?

In most years, flu activity in the U.S. typically follows a predictable pattern, starting in October, peaking between December and February, and fading by April. But the 2024–2025 season has defied that rhythm.

Cases surged past the national baseline in December and then, unexpectedly, peaked again in February, a second wave that blindsided doctors and public health experts.

As of March 2025, the CDC had reported an estimated 37 million influenza infections, 480,000 hospitalizations, and 21,000 deaths. Hospitalizations, in fact, reached their highest levels in 15 years.

One key driver? A mismatch between circulating flu strains and this year’s vaccine. The dominant strains: H1N1 and H3N2, accounted for more than 99% of cases.

H3N2, in particular, is known for mutating quickly and evading immune responses, and only about half of circulating H3N2 samples matched well with vaccine antibodies, according to CDC surveillance data.

Post-Pandemic Immune Gap

Another reason this year’s flu is hitting so hard: our immune systems are still catching up.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread masking, social distancing, and school closures suppressed not just SARS-CoV-2 but also seasonal flu and other common respiratory viruses. While that helped in the short term, it reduced community-level immunity over time, especially among children, who typically build natural resistance through repeated exposures.

“Young children who were toddlers or preschoolers during the pandemic missed early exposures to flu viruses,” explained experts at the nonprofit group Families Fighting Flu. “Now they’re in school, more socially active, and more vulnerable.”

The CDC reported a troubling spike in pediatric flu deaths this season with 216 fatalities, making it the deadliest flu season for children outside of a pandemic year. Neurological complications such as seizures and hallucinations also rose among young patients.

A Shift in Viral Dominance

Another unusual trend: COVID-19 has taken a back seat this winter

Unlike previous years when COVID-19 variants dominated respiratory illness charts, flu has surged ahead as the top driver of doctor visits and hospitalizations. This could be due to a shift in viral dominance, changing weather patterns, or differences in immunity buildup. According to the CDC, nearly 8% of all outpatient visits are currently for flu-like symptoms, much higher than what’s typical for this time of year.

Vaccine Fatigue and Gaps in Coverage

Vaccination remains the strongest tool we have to fight influenza, but uptake has been stagnant, or worse, declining, in key groups.

As of April 2025:

• Only 49.2% of children and 46.7% of adults had received the flu vaccine
• Among pregnant women, that number dropped to 38%
• Medicare beneficiaries aged 65+ had just 48.3% coverage
• And overall, nearly 9.2 million fewer doses were administered compared to the pre-pandemic 2019–2020 season

Barriers like vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare access, and fewer flu shot clinics in rural areas continue to widen the gap.

What Are the Symptoms in 2025?

The 2025 flu has shown typical but often more intense symptoms than in previous years. Here’s what to look out for:

• Sudden onset fever
• Severe body aches and chills
• Sore throat and persistent cough
• Nasal congestion
• Diarrhea and vomiting (more frequent in children)
• Extreme fatigue
• Headache
• In some children, neurological symptoms like confusion or seizures

These symptoms may overlap with COVID-19 or RSV, but tend to come on faster and hit harder in flu cases this season.

How Long Do Symptoms Last?

For most healthy people, flu symptoms begin 1 to 4 days after exposure and typically last about 5 to 7 days. However, fatigue and cough may linger for up to two weeks.

You’re considered most contagious in the first 3 to 4 days after symptoms start but can continue to spread the virus up to a week later. The CDC recommends staying home until you’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without medication.

Vaccinated individuals may experience milder or shorter symptoms, but those with underlying conditions, young children, and older adults may have longer recoveries and higher risk of complications.

Can the Flu Cause Serious Health Problems?

Yes, especially in people with weakened immune systems, chronic illnesses, or no prior flu immunity.

Possible complications include:

• Pneumonia
• Ear and sinus infections
• Exacerbation of asthma or heart disease
• Life-threatening conditions requiring ICU care

This is why experts stress that prevention remains the best medicine.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

Here’s how to lower your risk during the remainder of the 2025 season:

• Get vaccinated, even now. It may still protect against circulating strains
• Wash your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid touching your face in public settings
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
• Stay home if you’re unwell to prevent spreading the virus

A lung cancer diagnosis shatters worlds. It thrusts patients into a whirlwind of fear, confusion, and uncertainty. What now? How will I cope? Is this the end? These questions are inevitable and urgent. Yet, amid the anxiety, many patients harbor a dangerous belief: that if cancer has taken hold, quitting smoking is pointless.

It's not just a myth, it’s dangerous. Newer studies show quitting smoking even after a cancer diagnosis can significantly improve survival, make treatments more effective, and alleviate symptoms. In other words: even after cancer strikes, letting go of cigarettes can save your life.

In many small towns across India, where awareness about cancer and tobacco risks is limited, patients often continue to smoke despite their diagnosis. “Some feel it is too late to stop. Others are too addicted or too hopeless to try,” says Dr. Ruchi Singh, HOD & Senior Consultant of Radiation Oncology at Asian Hospital. This is the kind of thinking that kills from the inside out.

The reality is the opposite. Dr. Singh emphasizes, “We try to explain … it is never too late. If they stop smoking, even after the cancer has started, the treatment becomes more effective. It is one of the most important things they can do for themselves.”

Every cigarette after diagnosis undermines treatment, weakens the body, and shortens survival. But should someone quit even late into their cancer journey their lungs begin to heal, treatments work better, and recurrence becomes less likely.

How Does Quitting Smoking Extends or Saves Lives?

Global research aligns with Dr. Singh’s clinical advise, a study by IARC and Russian oncologists followed 517 lung cancer patients who smoked at diagnosis. Those who quit within three months lived 22 months longer on average and had 33% lower mortality risk and 30% lower disease progression, regardless of stage or smoking intensity.

The Prospective cohort of the Annals of Internal Medicine confirmed quitting after diagnosis yields meaningful survival benefits.

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. A Harvard study of nearly 5,600 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients found former smokers lived longer than current smokers, suggesting even pre-diagnosis quitting increases survival. Additional studies show quitting at or around diagnosis reduces mortality significantly and improves outcomes across all stages of NSCLC.

Smoking cessation isn’t just beneficial—it is one of the most powerful lifesaving interventions for lung cancer patients.

People tend to discount vaccines or preventive care because success makes the threat invisible. Lung cancer prevention has been a public health battle for decades. Policymakers and physicians worked to reduce smoking rates, and incidence fell. But once a cancer diagnosis arrives, all remission plans depend on a foundation of good habits—like quitting tobacco.

Tobacco smoke introduces toxins, weakens immune function, and diminishes treatment outcomes. Continuing to smoke after diagnosis:

• Lowers treatment efficacy
• Increases post-surgery complications
• Heightens the risk of recurrence or second primary cancers
• Shortens survival significantly
• Quitting reverses much of that risk—even post-diagnosis.

How to Quit Smoking After Lung Cancer Diagnosis?

Treatment regimens already overwhelm patients. Quitting smoking under stress and physical duress is tough—but not impossible. With the right support, patients dramatically increase their success odds. Here’s a compassionate roadmap:

1. Set your quit date now, delay weakens motivation and clarity.
2. Seek medical support, consult your oncologist or a specialist in Siliguri. Therapy, nicotine replacements, or counseling can double your quitting success.
3. Lean on loved ones, share your commitment and ask for accountability.
4. Identify your triggers- stress, discomfort, or routine can push you back. Replace smoking with walking, meditation, or tea.
5. Shift lifestyle habits and replace “smoke with morning coffee” rituals with alternative rituals—like stretching or herbal tea.
6. Build habits that support health- hydration, nutritious food, gentle movement and joy—these restore lung health and resilience.

Indeed, about 36% of tobacco-linked lung cancer patients manage to quit after diagnosis. Those are lives reclaimed.

Lung cancer still has a stigma. Many see it as self-inflicted. That stigma often delays help—including quitting support. But as Dr. Singh reminds us: “People think cancer means a death sentence. But many cases are treatable, especially if caught early. If someone quits smoking, we see real improvement such as better breathing, better recovery after surgery, and fewer chances of the cancer coming back.”

For patients, oncology teams, and families, smoking cessation after diagnosis isn’t optional—it’s urgent evidence-backed medicine.

A lung cancer diagnosis changes everything, but it does not define what comes next. Quitting smoking—even when the disease has already appeared—creates space for healing, response, and survival. It says, “I’m still here. I’m still fighting."

If you or someone you love is facing lung cancer- quit, today. It doesn’t erase the past—but it can extend the future. Numbers don’t lie: treatment plus quitting smoking can give us 22 more months, more energy, more peace, and a higher chance of beating this disease. Quitting is more than choice. It’s courage. And it is always worth it.

When you stop for a moment, take a deep breath. How clean do you think is the air you just inhaled? If you live in a city or anywhere near heavy traffic, construction zones, or industrial areas chances are that breath carried more than just oxygen. Increasingly, health experts are raising a red flag: air pollution is becoming just as dangerous for your lungs as cigarette smoke. Unlike a lit cigarette, you can’t see it or smell it as easily, but the damage? It’s happening all the same—quietly, gradually, and across the globe.

On World Lung Cancer Day, it’s time to stop treating pollution as a background inconvenience and start seeing it for what it is: a major, modifiable threat to lung health.

We’ve long understood smoking as the leading cause of lung cancer, but the health narrative is shifting. Air pollution is catching up—and fast. According to the World Health Organization, over 7 million people die each year from air pollution, with billions more living with compromised respiratory health. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, didn’t mince words back in 2018 when he said, “Air pollution is the new tobacco.”

The culprits are tiny, invisible particles like PM2.5 and PM10, nitrogen dioxide from vehicles, and toxins from burning biomass or fossil fuels. These pollutants don’t just irritate the lungs—they penetrate deep into lung tissue, triggering inflammation, reducing immune clearance, and increasing the risk of chronic respiratory illnesses and cancer. As the air gets dirtier, lung cancer in non-smokers—especially women and young adults—is on the rise.

Is Air Pollution Is the New Smoking?

We are already witnessing the consequences of environmental neglect warns Dr. Sachin Trivedi, Director of Medical Oncology at HCG ICS Khubchandani Cancer Centre, further adding, "Cigarette smoking has been known to be the major cause of lung cancer over the past decades. But there is a more recent and equally threatening danger that is on the rise: air pollution."

Dr. Trivedi highlights that a significant number of lung cancer diagnoses are now occurring in non-smokers, suggesting a stronger role for environmental pollutants. From vehicle emissions and industrial fumes to household fuel burning, the sources of this silent threat are everywhere. These pollutants infiltrate deep into the lungs, sparking chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and even malignant mutations.

Why Lung Damage Due To Pollution Doesn’t Show Symptoms?

Even more concerning, these changes often don’t produce symptoms until the disease is advanced. Which is why early detection, lifestyle awareness, and pollution avoidance are critical. Dr. Trivedi urges individuals to recognize and act on subtle warning signs like chronic cough, shortness of breath, or unexplained weight loss, especially among non-smokers who may not suspect lung cancer.

5 Lung-Saving Habits You Can Practice Daily

Despite the scale of the problem, Dr. Trivedi emphasizes that it’s possible to shield your lungs through smart, consistent habits:

1. Wear a Protective Mask Outdoors

Especially in high-traffic or industrial areas, an N95 mask can block harmful particles like PM2.5. It’s a frontline defense your lungs will thank you for.

2. Maintain Clean Indoor Air

Ventilation is key. Use exhaust fans in kitchens, avoid indoor smoking, and install HEPA-filter air purifiers in high-pollution zones. Urban homes need this extra layer of air hygiene.

3. Limit Outdoor Time on High AQI Days

Track air quality through reliable apps. Skip rush hour outings and outdoor workouts when air quality is poor. Exposure control is protection.

4. Eat an Antioxidant-Rich, Lung-Friendly Diet

What you eat matters. A diet high in vitamins A, C, and E from foods like berries, citrus fruits, broccoli, and nuts can counter oxidative lung damage. Turmeric and green tea also offer anti-inflammatory benefits.

5. Don’t Dismiss Early Symptoms

A persistent cough or breathlessness isn’t always a passing cold. Get medical attention early—especially if you're a non-smoker experiencing unusual respiratory symptoms.

Dr. Devendra Parikh, Consultant in Surgical Oncology at HCG Aastha Cancer Centre, adds in a perspective, "Chronic polluted air harms our lungs just as smoking does: it silently, over time, injures delicate tissue and raises cancer risk. He stresses that fine particles from cooking smoke, traffic fumes, or even poorly ventilated homes carry microscopic toxins that inflame lung tissue and trigger genetic changes." He further shares more ways in which you can protect yourself

• Checking your local AQI each morning helps you make smarter decisions. When air quality dips, stay indoors and keep windows shut.
• These devices capture up to 99.97% of fine particles, drastically improving indoor air. Even running a unit for a few hours can ease respiratory strain.
• A proper N95 or KN95 mask creates a secure barrier against inhaling toxic particles. It’s essential during commutes or outdoor errands on high-smog days.
• Simple breathwork techniques or pranayama for five minutes daily can help clear the lungs and improve capacity.
• For those over 50 or with occupational exposure, low-dose CT scans can detect early signs of lung cancer—even before symptoms begin. Early action saves lives.

You can’t filter the world. But you can control your exposure, build resilient habits, and stay alert to what your lungs are telling you. The new reality is this: pollution is the new cigarette, and we can no longer afford to breathe without awareness. On World Lung Cancer Day and beyond—your breath is worth protecting. In cities where clean air isn’t guaranteed, your daily choices are your lungs’ best defense.

Pollution may feel as unavoidable as city noise, but it doesn’t have to be as destructive. By weaving these habits into your daily life, you give your lungs the best chance to clear toxins, reduce inflammation, and ward off the long-term threat of lung cancer.