When Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula started having hearing problems, he left for New Delhi. Doctors say he needs a shot to fix the vessels connecting his left ear to his throat. Sitaula also has diabetes and has been watching what he eats for two decades. In addition, he is a strict vegetarian, does not drink, and avoids onions.
The whole country knows about Prime Minister Koirala's health problems. He is on oxygen for much of the day. He suffers from chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which means he has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He has to have an MRI every two days. Doctors suspected that Koirala had TB and started treating him, but the nasty side effects of the medication outweighed the illness, and he is no longer on TB drugs.
Madhab Nepal suffers from cardiovascular stenosis, or the narrowing of a heart valve. He says he is very careful about his health. He has been exercising and doing yoga and lost 6kg recently.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal has high blood pressure. "I did not have this problem during the 'people's war', but developed it after I started living in Kathmandu," he says.
Sher Bahadur Deuba is an asthmatic chain-smoker. He has a stomach ailment that has in the past taken him to Bangkok and Delhi for treatment. He is also understood to have severe skin problems, which is why his wife takes him in for a weekly facial. Sushil Koirala has tongue cancer and went to the US last year for surgery. All his teeth had to be pulled out, which is why he has trouble speaking loudly these days. He is also diabetic. Shailaja Acharya has breast cancer. She announced last year that since she has to go to India for treatment regularly, she wouldn't mind being Nepal's ambassador there.