All posts by ackersch

Men’s Health Week recently took place Since men are more likely to smoke, drink alcohol to hazardous levels and be overweight or obese the focus is on leading a healthy lifestyle.

The sad fact is that one in five men don’t make it to retirement age. The biggest single cause of death in men is cancer, and 75% of premature deaths from coronary heart disease among men.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is vital for avoiding these sorts of diseases, yet men are more likely than women to smoke and drink alcohol at hazardous levels. Over 65% of men are overweight or obese. Participation in activity amongst men declines with age: 83% of men aged 16-24 met the recommendations for physical activity, compared with 57% aged 65-74.

Think about this next time you grumble about the failing NHS. Are you part of the problem?

https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/mens-health-week-2015-why-healthy-living

Head lice can be awkward to treat due to the time-consuming and precise nature of treatment and high re-infestation rate.

The insecticide products that were used to treat lice infestations have largely replaced with silicone and oil-based preparations which have a physical rather than a chemical action.

After a head lice infestation has been confirmed you can treat the lice at home by wet combing the hair with a head lice comb or by using a lotion or spray that’s designed to kill head lice.

However, neither will protect against re-infestation if head-to-head contact is made with someone with head lice during the treatment period.

You can get a fine toothed comb suitable for wet combing from your local pharmacy. Your pharmacist will also be able to recommend an over-the-counter lotion or spray and advise you about how to use it correctly if this is your preferred option.

Across the UK 22% of women fail to turn up for cervical screening (or smear test), according to figures from the NHS Screening programme, rising to one in three of 25-29 year olds.

The smear test involves taking a sample of cells from the cervix which is then examined for cancerous abnormalities. Regular screening provides a high degree of protection from cervical cancer.

Screening is not a test to find cancer. It detects abnormalities at an early stage so that preventative action can be taken. Without screening about one in 60 women will develop cervical cancer. Screening can prevent the cancer developing in around seven out of 10 cases.

How often you are invited for screening (ladies only!) depends where you live:
• England, Wales and N Ireland
Women aged 25-49 every 3 years
Women aged 50-64 every 5 years
• Scotland:
Women aged 20-60 every 3 years

If you have missed a test recently see you GP. If you get summoned, please go! To find out more about cervical cancer go to http://www.jostrust.org.uk/

Coeliac UK has launched the UK’s first online assessment to help the half a million people in the UK thought to be living with undiagnosed coeliac disease.

The assessment tool is part of a two year campaign highlighting the most common symptoms of coeliac disease and prompts people with these symptoms to ask themselves: ‘Is it coeliac disease?’ A website at www.isitcoeliacdisease.org.uk hosts the assessment and provides information about the disease.

Coeliac disease occurs when the body’s immune system damages the lining of the small bowel after gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is eaten. There is no cure and no medication: the only treatment is a gluten-free diet for life. Gluten free foods are likely to be sold at your local pharmacy – otherwise check the packaging carefully.

Key symptoms include: frequent bouts of diarrhoea, stomach pain and cramping, regular mouth ulcers, fatigue, lots of gas, nausea and vomiting, and unexplained anaemia. One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, with the prevalence rising to one in ten for close family members.

If you ever needed evidence of the benefits of smoke-free legislation, this is it. One of the most comprehensive investigations into the impact of the smoking ban on child health in England has shown it has resulted in over 11,000 fewer admissions to hospital a year from respiratory infections in children.

Researchers analysed 1.6 million hospital admissions in children aged 0-14 across England from 2001-2012. The results found that the introduction of legislation was followed by an immediate reduction of 13.8% in admission to hospital for lower respiratory tract infections. Admissions for upper respiratory tract infections also decreased, but at a more gradual rate.

While passive smoking is bad for everyone, children are especially vulnerable to the effects of second-hand smoke as their lungs are smaller and are still developing.

If you have children and want to quit, then speak to your pharmacist who can provide advice and support, as well as a range of nicotine replacement options to help you kick the habit.

Smoke‐free legislation and childhood hospitalisations for respiratory tract infections Authors: Jasper V. Been; Christopher Millett; John Tayu Lee; Constant P. van Schayck; Aziz Sheikh DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00014615
European Respiratory Society (ERS)

Even short periods of low intensity exercise can benefit life expectancy for elderly people.

For the average person an exercise program of 30 minutes for five days a week (or 150 minutes per week) has been shown to reduce the risk of death by 30%. However, the ‘pros and cons’ of exercise for elderly people has not been so clearly determined.

Now, a French study has shown that in the elderly the risk of death also decreases with greater and more regular exercise. Over 1,000 people were enrolled in the study at age 65 in 2001 and followed-up for 13 years. Although 10% died during this period, the risk of death was calculated to be 57% lower in those whose activity level was equal to or higher than 150 minutes a week.

There were other significant findings too – notably that starting or restarting physical activity during retirement reduced the risk of death by two-thirds.

As a simple rule at least 15 minutes of physical activity for five days a week would be a suitable first target for the elderly. This could include brisk walking, cycling or swimming. Ask your pharmacist if you need advice.

http://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Last-5-years/Exercise-however-modest-found-progressively-beneficial-to-the-elderly

Myopia – or short-sightedness – is becoming more common across Europe, according to a study by King’s College London. Around a quarter Europeans are short-sighted but it is nearly twice as common in younger people, with almost half (47 per cent) of those aged 25-29 affected.

The study found a strong link between myopia and level of education, with levels in those completing higher education around double to those educated to primary school level. However, while younger generations have spent more time in education, this does not fully explain why myopia is becoming more common.

Myopia generally develops during childhood and adolescence and causes blurred vision that has to be corrected by glasses, contact lenses or laser eye surgery. High myopia carries a risk of sight-threatening conditions such as retinal detachment and glaucoma.

The academics admit they do not fully understand the reasons for the shift, but at the very least it is good news of opticians and spectacle makers.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2015/May/New-study-finds-short-sightedness-is-becoming-more-common-across-Europe.aspx

Surprisingly for such a common problem there is no standard treatment for primary snoring or snoring associated with a mild obstructive sleep apnoea (a sleep disorder in which the person stops breathing for at least 10 seconds each hour during sleep, caused by relaxation of the throat muscles – the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and closes, resulting in blocked airways).

But there might be hope yet for those sleepless bed partners. A Brazilian study has found that mouth and tongue exercises can significantly reduce the frequency of snoring by 36% and the total power of snoring by 59%. The exercises include:

• Pushing the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth and sliding the tongue backward

• Sucking the tongue upward against the roof of the mouth, and pressing the entire tongue against the roof of the mouth

• Forcing the back of the tongue against the floor of the mouth while keeping the tip of the tongue in contact with the bottom, front teeth

• And elevating the back of the roof of the mouth and uvula while saying the vowel “A”.

Got to be worth a try, surely?

http://www.chestnet.org/News/Press-Releases/2015/05/Snoring-keeping-you-up-at-night

How often do you get your eyes tested? If it is only when you can no longer read the small print, then a visit to an optician may be overdue.

There are an estimated 600,000 people with glaucoma in the UK, but 300,000 are undiagnosed. As there are no early symptoms people over 40 should have regular eye health checks every one or two years. Advanced glaucoma leads to serious loss of sight.

It was National Glaucoma Awareness Week in June and it focussed on driving and encouraging people to have regular eye health checks to ensure that they are safe to drive. Glaucoma causes misty, patchy or blurred vision in places. It can cause people to miss the unexpected such as a person crossing the road, a cyclist passing, or a vehicle merging into traffic.

One incentive to get along to the optician is that you are required by law to report to the DVLA if you have glaucoma. Failure to do so may mean a criminal conviction, a fine of up to £1,000 and you may be uninsured to drive.

The good news about glaucoma is with treatment you can protect your vision. Most people will retain useful sight for life.

There used to be a regular stream of stories in the media about a cure for cancer being just around the corner. After several decades cancer is much better understood but there is still no ‘magic bullet’.

Alzheimer’s disease is the ‘new cancer’ with millions of pounds being spent looking at the cause of the disease. There was a frisson of excitement in the media in April when a study in the US found that in mice, in the early stages of the disease, some immune cells that normally protect the brain undergo changes and begin to chew up arginine, an important amino acid.

The researchers found they could stop the immune cells destroying arginine with a drug called difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). When they tested it on the mice, it prevented the brain plaques and memory loss that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

This is interesting but only serves to highlight that scientists haven’t been able come up with a cure or treatment for Alzheimer’s disease because they still don’t know exactly what causes it. They can see what happens to patients and predict what will happen but don’t know how or why – yet.