Did You Know...
SMOKING CAUSES HAIR LOSS?
TRUE
NOT only does smoking accelerate hair loss, it is also linked to premature greying, too. Last year, a study of 740 men in Taiwan both smokers and non smokers found a greater rate of hair loss among the smokers, a risk that grew with the amount they smoked.
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Tackling dust mites beats allergies?
FALSE: Allergies such as asthma are rarely soothed by sprays and other ways to control dust mites. A study published last year found that asthmatics who used mite-resistant bedcovers and sprays wheezed, coughed and used their Inhalers just as much as those who didn't.
Washing clothes and blankets more frequently and avoiding smoke and strong odours are more effective ways to deal with the triggers for asthma.
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HICCUPS
PEANUT butter's sticky consistency means trying to remove It from your tongue and teeth interrupts the swallowing and breathing pattern associated with hiccups. Chew a teaspoon of peanut butter as soon as they start.
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CHESTY COUGH
CURRIED, sauteed onions contain quercetin and sulfur compounds which break up CURRIED, sauteed onions contain quercetin and sulfur compounds which break up mucus and loosen phlegm. Saute two onions with a teaspoon of curry powder and two tablespoons of olive oil until soft, then eat to relieve your cough.
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GOUT
CHERRIES contain an enzyme that helps neutralise the crystals of uric acid which cluster around the joints and cause gout.
Eat 20 a day to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
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BURN OFF EXTRA CALORIES
IF YOU have a choice, walk on cobbles and stony ground rather than flat pavements. Uneven ground works off extra calories and exercises your abdominal muscles
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BREATHING INTO A BAG CAUSES HYPERVENTILATION
FALSE
INSTEAD, stay calm and breathe slowly. It's true that breathing into a paper bag can help genuine hyperventilation because it is caused by a lack of carbon dioxide, and `rebreathing' the exhaled air in the bag helps to restore it. Unfortunately, people often confuse asthma and heart attacks with hyperventilation; and breathing into a bag
with these conditions could be dangerous because you need more oxygen, not less. So better to be safe than sorry and forget the paper bag.
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Play dough can help joint pain?
A HIGH-TECH play dough could be a new way to renew joints. The natural, pliable material is moulded around the worn down joint, restoring its smooth shape this reduces pain, improves movement and functioning, and helps with other symptoms.
The treatment is being tested on ankle joints. Surgery to replace these has a relatively high failure rate, possibly because ankles take such enormous pressure per sqare inch.
In the new procedure, pioneered at the San Diego Medical Center, the joint is renewed with the 'play dough' material, made using human or animal collagen (a type of strong protein which connects and supports bones, skin, muscles, tendons and cartilage).
As it is a natural product there is no risk of rejection. Within a few weeks, cells from the collagen material begin to fuse with the patient's own cartilage tissue to give added strength.
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Getting up at night may cut cancer risk?
FREQUENT trips to the bathroom at night could halve the risk of bladder cancer. Researchers have discovered that two or more visits to the loo reduce the risk by 40 per cent in men and 50 per cent in women. Its thought that more frequent urination flushes out toxins involved in the development of the cancer.
The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute in America, found this risk reduction even applied to smokers, who are seven times more likely to get the disease. With frequent urination, their risk fell to just three times that of non¬smokers. This indicates that the risk of bladder cancer is related to how long cancer-causing compounds sit in the bladder. Around 10,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with bladder cancer each year, with men twice as likely to develop it. Risk rises after the age of 50.
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Sugary solution for tooth decay
A FRUIT-FLAVOURED syrup could be an unlikely new weapon in the battle against tooth decay in children. Tests show the syrup, made with a natural sweetener called xylitol, can protect young teeth against corrosion.
Xylitol comes from the bark of the silver birch tree, and is widely used in products such as sugar-free chewing gum. Research has suggested it reduces levels of harmful bacteria in the mouth called streptococcus mutans.
Scientists at the University of Washing¬ton studied the effects of the syrup on children as young as six months old in the Pacific Marshall Islands, which has one of the highest rates of childhood tooth decay in the world, as a result of a sugary diet. The results, presented at the Interna¬tional Association for Dental Research conference in Toronto, showed that 76 per cent of toddlers given the syrup were free of tooth decay, compared with 48 per of those who did not take it.
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WHICH is the best active toy
to buy your family this christmas? Playing the following for half an hour will burn these calories:
BASKETBALL 170
HULA-HOOP 105
POGO STICK 130
SKIPPING ROPE 210
SKATEBOARD 120
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GET RID OF BLOATING BY BATHING IN EPSOM SALTS?
TRUE
Epsom Salts to get rid of bloating. The magnesium sulphate draws excess fluid out of the body.
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By the way...
PATIENTS coming to the end of their lives will now be allowed to choose where they die as part of a new Government strategy.
Currently only one in five dies at home, even though two-thirds of people say that this is their wish. In order to facilitate this, the plan is to create teams of 'rapid
response nurses'.
What puzzled me about this announcement is that all through my career, support of patients dying at home is something family doctors have always done. Our task has been to nurture our patients from cradle to grave. That, after all, is why many of us choose to be GPs.
Then I realised why this new strategy is necessary. The GP contract drawn up in 2004 took all this away from the traditional family doctorthe end of 24-hour patient care meant most GPs no longer had to look after patients outside office hours. It's been argued by some that 24-hour responsibility deterred many young doctors from pursuing a career in general practice, but the result has been a loss in terms of solace and support for the patients.
In fact, this was the part of the job that drew many of us to the profession in the first place. In rural parts of the country I am sure that GPs continue to care for their patients in this way. But these are the dinosaurs: in the towns and cities, such dedication has been sacrificed at the altar of shorter working hours. However, I believe we will soon see GPs returning to cradle-to-grave care. It is there that the greatest rewards as a physician can lie
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REMOVING TONSILS
HAVING your tonsils removed used to be a childhood rite of passage and was thought to prevent tonsillitis. But the operation has become increasingly uncommon. 'We now know tonsils play an important role in protecting the immune system s underestimated by previous generation of doctors,' says Anastasia Rachmanidou, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at University Hospital Lewisham. 'A main function of tonsils is to trapbacteria and viruses which are breathed in. Antibodies and immune cells in the tonsils help kill germs and prevent throat and lung infections. There is a greater resistance to taking tonsils out these days; they are only removed if a child has six attacks of tonsillitis in a year.'
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EAT THIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
PARMESAN
A GRATED tablespoon has 42 calories and an eighth of your suggested daily calcium amount. calcium prevents some of the fat you eat from being absorbed.
POACHED EGGS
RESEARCHERS found women who'ate eggs for breakfast had a smaller lunch.
In fact, they consumed 400 fewer calories over the next 36 hours than women who ate bagels for breakfast.
GRANARY BREAD
THE seeds and grains in this make it
harder to digest than white or wholemeal, so you feel fuller for longer.
High cholesterol? Try a splash
of rapeseed oil on your salad
ADDING rapeseed oil to the diet may lower the cholesterol and blood fat levels of patients who have had high cholesterol from birth.
The metabolic condition, known as familial hypercholesterolemia, affects around 60,000 Britons. It can lead to an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis or furring up of the arteries, and heart disease.
The oil can cut levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides blood fat levels by up to 29 per cent after just five months.
In an Austrian trial, children aged six to 18 with the condition ate a classic low-fat, low-cholesterol diet enriched with the oil. In the first two months they took an average of 15g a day, going up to 22g a day for the last three months. Rapeseed oil contains half the saturated fat of oils such as olive oil. It is also high in unsaturated fats, which helps reduce cholesterol levels.
DRINKING at least three cups of tea every day could improve the life expectancy of people with heart disease. In a study at Harvard University, researchers found that drinking two or more cups of tea a day was linked to a
44 per cent lower risk of premature death in patients who'd suffered a heart attack. It's thought that tea specifically compounds called polyphenols has a beneficial effect on the lining of the arteries. In a new trial, researchers will use MRI scans of tea drinkers and non-tea drinkers to assess any changes in the state of their arteries
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Is there an alternative? For Erectile Dysfunction
THESE MAY WORK
YOHIMBINE: A therapy using bark from the yohimbe tree. Believed to increase blood flow to the area and prevent it from leaving too quickly.
GINSENG: An Asian herbal medicine (right) containing the chemical saponin, which increases blood flow. Studies show it may improve potency.
BUTEA SUPERBA: Traditionally taken as an aphrodisiac, some studies show this herbal supplement from Thailand improves sexual function.
HYPNOTHERAPY: The induction of a trance-like state may improve sexual function, but more research is needed.
THESE WON'T WORK
GINKGO: A herb from the ginkgo biloba tree taken to increase blood flow, but there is not enough
evidence to confirm this.
ACUPUNCTURE: The ancient Chinese practice using needles to tackle health problems.
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INDIGESTION
is often associated with over-indulging, but some people have particularly sensitive stomachs that can be irritated by certain foods or even a lack of food.
Remegel is an antacid it contains calcium carbonate that neutralises the effects of stomach acid that can other-wise irritate it and cause indigestion. But the effect will be brief, lasting perhaps just a few minutes as soon as you eat something else, your stomach will produce more acid and the problem will return. Instead, I would recommend Gaviscon. It contains an antacid, like Remegel, but also an alginate.
This is a substance that coats the lining of the stomach and the food.
It's another way to prevent the acid-causing irritation and is longer lasting than Remegel.
Remegel £3.65 for 40 tabs
Gaviscon Double Action £5.17 for 32tabs
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SOLVE YOUR PERSPIRATION PROBLEMS
Sufferers of hyperhidrosis - a condition that causes profuse sweating - may now be able to treat the embarrassing condition at home with a machine that uses just water and electric current, writes Anastasia Stephens.
Afflicting almost three per cent of the population, excessive sweating usually affects the hands, feet or armpits, causing continual wetness, swelling and even pain. If strong antiperspirants do not work, patients can have Botox treatment. This can involve more than 100 injections and the results last only three months.
Surgery to sever nerves leading to sweat glands is another option, but this can lead to 'compensatory sweating', shifting the problem to a different area of the body. There can be more serious side effects, too - severing the nerve that feeds the sweat glands of the feet, for
example, can make men infertile. But Hidrex, a machine that uses a process called iontophoresis, is proving to be a highly successful and safe alternative - and can be used at home.
Patients hold moist sponge pads under their arms, as shown left, or immerse their hands or feet in shallow bowls of water, while a gentle electric current passes through it. Usually no more than a tingling sensation is felt.
After ten to 15 days of the 15-minute sessions, sweat secretions reduce by SO per cent. After this, patients need top-up treatments once a week.
"Dials have found iontophoresis works for most patients,' explains dermatologist Dr Maria Gonzalez, of the Cardiff University School of Medicine. 'While the exact mechanism remains unknown, the current used in iontophoresis switches off the sweat gland.'
At trials at the University of Dusseldorf, when Hidrex was used for 30 minutes a day for two weeks, 98 per cent of patients saw their symptoms reduce.
Iontophoresis has been available at specialist NHS clinics for some time, but many GPs have not known about it and the equipment has
been expensive and cumbersome. Retailing at E379.99 and designed for home use, Hidrex changes that.
Dave Tebb of Sweatguard, the distributors of Hidrex, has been a hyperhidrosis sufferer since the age of 12. 'I tried a home-use machine in Germany two years ago,' he says. 'It was the first treatment that worked for me, so I started importing the equipment. You can have treatment whenever you need it.'
www.sweatguard.co.uk
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Can't fall asleep
WEAR socks in bed if you have trouble sleeping.
A Dutch study found this helped people fall asleep 27 per cent faster than when they were barefoot. Socks help dilate the blood vessels in the feet, warming you up. This prompts a signal to your brain telling it you are ready to fall asleep.
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BEE FREE FROM INFECTION
I've been a fan of manuka honey since it first came into this country from New Zealand, about two decades ago. (In fact, I wrote the first article about it, complete with a drawing of Winnie the Pooh with his paw in the honey pot...) The bees feed on the nectar from the manuka shrub, better known as tea tree, which is a staple of the Maori pharmacopeia due to its effective antibacterial and antifungal properties. As well as being used in hospitals worldwide for wound healing, the honey may help support your immune system. So with all these infections about, I'm giving myself a delicious dose of two teaspoons a day of Green Bay Organic Raw 15+ Manuka Honey, El 1.95 for 227g, from Victoria Health, see below. PS: the 'Raw' means it hasn't been heat-processed, because this may destroy some nutrients. They advise not putting it in hot drinks for the same reason.
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Gastric Bypass procedure...what's it all about?
Shaw Somers is consultant surgeon at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and co-founder of Streamline Surgical, which specialises in obesity surgery (streamline-surgical.com). Here he explains the gastric bypass procedure.
An egg-sized pouch is created by stapling the upper part of the stomach. Food is diverted through this into the small intestine where digestion begins. The keyhole surgery takes 11k hours. About six half-inch cuts are made around the upper tummy. Patients usually go home after two to three days; recovery may take two weeks. Surgery is available on the NHS but criteria may vary depending on where you live. Private surgery costs from £10,000.
A gastric band (costing around £7,000) also restricts how much you eat by placing a band around the upper stomach, turning it into an hourglass shape. Food is held in the upper section and passes slowly into the stomach, making you feel full for longer. Unlike a bypass, which suppresses the 'hunger hormone' ghrelin, a band doesn't significantly alter your appetite.
Patients with a BMI of 35 or more, who are at least 18 and may have obesity-related medical problems such as Type 2 diabetes. After age 60 recovery can be harder. The average weight of my patients is 140kg (22 stone), and most can lose 75 per cent of their extra weight.
Most patients start off on a three- to six-month dietary rehab eating soft foods. The swelling at the new join' where the intestine is attached to the now smaller stomach has to reduce. After six months most people can eat normal food, but feel full after smaller amounts. Eating too much or eating tough or lumpy food (eg, bread, cold meats) may lead to bloating or sickness. Patients often experience 'dumping syndrome' sickness with symptoms including shivering when sugar hits the intestine, which then can't cope with it. It's essential to see a specialist bariatric dietician for nutritional advice before and after surgery to limit potential side effects. Alcohol is not banned, but as it is absorbed into the bloodstream more rapidly it is more potent.
Patients will always eat small portions but as the years pass the effects are less drastic, allowing weight loss to stabilise just above ideal weight. A bypass is not a 'quick fix' and weight gain can recur if lifestyle changes such as exercise and eating sensibly are not adhered to.
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NEW PRODUCT...
ICE BANDAGE
THE COOLEST WRAP STAR
When a neighbour twisted her ankle recently, I wrapped it in an Ice Bandage, which claims to reduce swelling and pain within ten minutes. Soaked in alcohols and menthol, the moist bandage (which comes in a sealed foil packet) becomes chilly within minutes of opening. She said it definitely helped, so it's a useful addition to your first aid box. £3.91, from independent pharmacies nationwide and Victoria Health.
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Can I do anything to stop a varicose vein getting worse?
Walk a lot, don't sit for long periods, keep legs up when sitting and try to lose weight. Elastic ankle-to-knee support stockings can help blood flow in the veins.
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Chill for a cool complexion
Relaxation is vital for health because it stimulates the 'rest and digest' part of the nervous system. Nutrients extracted from your foods during digestion are necessary for skin repair and maintenance. Poor digestion means decreased absorption of vitamins, which leads to dry, cracked skin and conditions such as eczema.
Stress, anxiety, worry, fear and rage all stimulate the 'fight or flight' part of the nervous system, while preventing the release of digestive juices and hormones such as insulin. Your body releases adrenaline and increases blood pressure.
One way to relax and increase your oxygen intake is to follow this simple breathing exercise (you will need a hand mirror):
Sit in a chair or lie flat on your back slow, deep breaths and tell yourself
to relax on each inhalation. Keep your chest lifted.
Next, breathe in a slow, deep breath. Then open your mouth wide as you breathe out making a long `1-1HH' sound. Then, holding a mirror, open your mouth wide and breathe while flexing your tongue down so the dangly bit at the back of the throat retracts upwards.
This will sound a bit like Darth Vader's breathing on a good day. Once you have mastered this, try doing it with your mouth closed, breathing through your nose.
The Healthy Skin Diet, by Karen Fischer, is published by Rodale International, RRP £12.99. lb order your copy at £12.99 with free p&p, call The Review Bookstore on
0845 155 0713.
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In your hands - patients' guide to getting the best treatment
From choosing the hospital you are treated in to picking the consultant you see, new reforms put patients in charge of their healthcare. Here, Dr Ellie Cannon answers the questions she is most often asked about patient choice.
I need to be referred to
hospital to see a specialist.
Can I choose where I am seen? Yes. Many GP surgeries use a computerised referral system
called Choose and Book. This gives the patient the option of choosing where to be seen. You can decide on the basis of location, clinic times or the length of the waiting list. Discuss these with your GP, as they will know the local services well.
How do I choose the best consultant to treat me?
Take advice from your GP and check websites such as www.drfoster.co.uk, which details
consultants' specialities and hospitals' performance.
My consultant recommends
surgery - can I say no?
From major surgery to taking
a course of antibiotics, it is up to you to decide if you have treatment. Patients must give `informed consent' - this means you agree once the doctor has explained to you the treatment, any complications and what might
happen if you opt out. You may also ask for any literature about it.
am unhappy with my
consultant. Can I get a second opinion and how do I do that?
It is reasonable to request
a second opinion from a specialist if you are not comfortable with the diagnosis or the treatment planned. You will need to be re-referred to another consultant by your GP.
Can I choose to be
treated abroad?
Theoretically, if you want to go
abroad for medical treatment, the NHS could offer you financial support. However, in reality your local primary care trust (PCT)
decides which hospitals and services your GP can refer you to. Because of high costs, treatment abroad is not common and not something you can request if it is not already available to your GP.
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PLOYCLINICS or Polyclinics?
IF I WERE a patient would I really want to be treated in a polyclinic? Hardly.
These new supersurgeries will no doubt look impressive built for purpose, they'll probably have lots of shiny new chairs and pictures on the wall.
But more important is the staffing the smallest will have around 20 GPs, the largest up to 50.
With those sorts of numbers it will be impossible to guarantee you will see the same doctor ever.
Polyclinics signal the end of continuity of care.
Why does this matter? Well, continuity of care means that a patient sees the same doctor over time.
As the GP, it means I can use all my personal knowledge about a patient's history, gathered over months or years, in helping them with their problems. This is not just some old-fashioned view of what doctoring is about. The fact is, continuity is better for patients' health. Establishing a relationship builds trust and creates a context for healing; sick people have a particular need for trusting others. Furthermore, personal knowledge of a patient's history and social set-up greatly helps a doctor reach a correct diagnosis which is what medicine is mainly about and this leads to accurate treatment.
And funnily enough, continuity of care is what patients want, too a recent survey found that they rated seeing a doctor they know as more important than extended opening hours. (And we all know how patients are fed up with hours, so they must really care about continuity of care!)
There will be some who don't care about seeing the same doctor. And when it comes to minor ailments, it really doesn't matter who you see.
But what we need now is a balanced debate about how general practice can evolve and flourish, offering personal doctoring for those who need it, and an efficient polyclinic service for others who do not.
One size fits all just will not do.
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Oil soothes the pain of dry eyes
COMMON dry-eye symptoms resulting from wearing contact lenses can be eased with evening primrose oil. Research at the Sussex Eye Hospital shows that taking six capsules of the oil every day can reduce dryness symptoms by up to 40 per cent in as little as three months.
Symptoms of dry eye are a common side-effect reported by contact lens wearers, and are a frequent reason given for stopping wearing them.
In the trial, 76 women who wore soft contact lenses were treated with either the oil or a placebo (olive) oil. Results showed a significant improvement in dryness at three months, and in overall lens comfort at six months.
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Homing in on bad backs
A NEW hand-held device uses electri¬cal signals to pinpoint back and neck pain.
Finding the pain-causing trigger points is extremely difficult with con¬ventional diagnostic methods, such as MRI scans.
In fact, 85 per cent of cases are diag-nosed as non-specific lower-back pain because the direct cause cannot be determined.
The device, developed by Stevens Institute of Technology in the U.S., is passed over various muscles and uses a mild current to find the right one. The theory is that the electrical sig¬nals to the muscle causing the prob¬lem create a different sensation than those which are not.
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Drink green tea to burn that fat
DRINKING a few cups of green tea before heading for the gym could help burn fat, new research claims.
Scientists have found that, during exercise, the tea speeds up a process called oxidation the rate at which fat is broken down.
Researchers tested the tea on two groups of men who then took part in timed cycling trials. Half the men were given a capsule containing green tea extract equal to about 3.5 cups of tea, while the others got a dummy capsule. The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that fat oxidation rates were 17 per cent higher among the green tea cyclists.
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DID YOU KNOW?
LAUGHTER boosts the circulation.
U.S. scientists compared the effects of
watching funny and stressful films and
found that while stress slowed blood flow
by 35 per cent, laughter sped it up by
around 22 per cent.
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Stop Snoring
A DEVICE shaped like a moustache which monitors breathing could dramatically improve the lives of thousands of snorers.
The device, which is worn over the top lip while sleeping, can lead to the diagnosis of sleep apnoea a potentially life-threatening condition where a person has irregular breathing at night and is excessively sleepy during the day.
Until now, the only way to tell if someone had this condition was for them to be referred to a specialist NHS sleep clinic, where they would have to stay overnight and be tested at a cost of thousands of pounds. But now this simple over-the-counter device can detect if you are just a simple snorer or a snorer with sleep apnoea.
Approximately one million Britons have the condition.
Triggered by the same muscles that cause snoring, it occurs when the muscles of the soft palate at the base of the tongue and the uvula (the Small fleshy piece of tissue hanging at the back of the throat) relax, partially blocking the opening of the airway.
However, sleep apnoea is more dangerous than snoring because it alters normal breathing patterns. Obese people tend to be at more risk because the muscles at the back of their throat tend to be weaker, but the condition also affects people of a normal weight and can run in families.
WHILE asleep, suf-ferers may stop breathing for between ten to 25 seconds at a time, deplet-ing the bloodstream and brain of vital oxygen supplies. The brain then suddenly sends an emergency signal, telling the person to wake up and take in a big gulp of air.
In one single night, sufferers may experience up to 350 `apnoeic events', and usually find themselves waking up sweaty, with a dry mouth and headache. The frequent interruption of deep sleep leads to excessive daytime fatigue and sleepiness.
Snoring by itself isn't life-threatening, but when combined with sleep apnoea can affect health, and those who have the condition are unable to tell if they have it.
It can cause people to fall asleep during the day and can be deadly if someone dozes off while driving or operating machinery.
Research shows that up to 20 per cent of drivers who fall asleep at the wheel are thought to have a sleep-related disorder such as
apnoea. Other symptoms include loud, heavy snoring, often interrupted by pauses and gasps; irritability, restlessness and morning headaches.
It can also raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
The new device, known as a SleepStrip, records respira-tory events and breaks in breathing. Three tiny sensors are able to detect the breathing rate of a person wearing the device, and this information is recorded on the micro chip to be read by sleep scientists.
The SleepStrip is sent away by post for analysis. If breath¬ing is seen to stop for ten or more seconds at a time, sleep apnoea could be the cause and the patient is referred to a spe¬cialist for treatment.
Arif Munir, 38, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, thought he might have sleep apnoea after looking up his symptoms on the internet. He read about the home-test kit and bought one. 'I was drowsy during the day and waking up tired as if I'd had only a few hours' sleep. I use my car for my job in the finance industry and was worried I'd fall asleep at the wheel.
`I knew I had a snoring prob¬lem because my partner always retreated to sleep in the spare room. It was still a shock to discover it was apnoea.'
Mr Munir's symptoms have been cured by being prescribed a machine called CPAP. It forces air into his mouth through a mask and keeps his airway clear. 'I feel so much better and no longer feel drowsy during the day,' he says.
Dr David Dawson, consultant anaesthetist and specialist in sleep disordered breathing at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, says: 'Snoring is not only a cause of considerable domestic strife, but can also be a symptom of a more serious condition.
In most cases a cure can be achieved by weight loss, but others may require a mandibular advancement splint (a device worn in the mouth) or surgery.
Some will have obstructive sleep apnoea. If this is not treated there is an increased risk that the sufferer will develop high blood pressure.
Snoring is not something that should be ignored by the individual or GPs. It is impor-tant that anyone with symp-toms of apnoea gets them-selves checked out for their health.'
¦ SleepStrip is available in chemists, £29.95, or online at www.snoresense.co.uk; 0845 11 11 747.