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When to see your dentist
If your teeth can
stand it, latest advice is to see your dentist once in two years.
That’s the recommendation from the National Institute of Clinical
Excellence. The edict applies only to healthy teeth. And it contrasts
to previous wisdom, which advised us to visit twice a year.
The change may be welcomed by dental phobics, but
anyone with problem teeth or gums will still need more regular visits.
In some cases, that could mean three or even four times a year.
The British Dental Association supports the new
ruling, saying that it’s a case of one size not fitting all. Maybe
waiting lists will be shortened for NHS dentists. On the other had,
since nature always abhors a vacuum, the people who are advised to go
more often could still clog up the lists.
How to sell bowel cancer screening to men
Bowel cancer is the third most
common form of cancer in men. More than 15,000 men a year are
diagnosed with it in England. Also, men are almost twice as likely to
die from bowel cancer as women and at a younger age.
There has been evidence from pilot studies that men
are significantly less likely than women to take part in screening
programmes, as they are to use most other health services.
The Men’s Health Forum (www.menshealth
forum.org.uk)
has pointed out that men need humour to persuade them to get health
checks. Now the Government has announced that there are to be more
walk-in GP centres at railway stations, how about a comic strip (yes,
that kind) to entice the males in?
Meanwhile, anyone with a family history of bowel
cancer should consider a screening, as there may be a genetic link.
Your GP will explain the procedure, which usually involves a hospital
appointment, not something carried out at the surgery.
Bones out of balance
Research by the
charity National Osteoporosis Society has revealed that only a quarter
of local NHS organisations are getting the services they need to
screen for thinning bones and vulnerability to falls.
The 2004 target for the Falls Standard of the
National Service Framework for Older People is not being met by a long
shot, says the NOS. Preliminary findings of the survey suggest that,
although good progress has been made on falls, there is still a lot of
work to do on osteoporosis. This despite a recent Government
announcement that services were on target for April 2005.
The National Service Framework for Older People was
launched in March 2001. Standard Six looks at how to reduce falls
among older people. Broken hips, often due to osteoporosis, are a
serious problem and cost the NHS and government at least ?1.7 billion
every year in treatment.
Meanwhile, bone tests make it at pharmacies
A new product,
BioCalth, a calcium-based bone health supplement, is being launched
via pharmacies in the UK throughout 2005. BioCalth Bone Density
Awareness Clinics will be offering free bone mass density (BMD) tests
and advice on prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. See tour dates
on www.biocalth.co.uk.
BMD tests are not readily available on the NHS unless
you are considered to be at high risk of osteoporosis by your GP or
have suffered a fracture (see above). There is a bone fracture every
two minutes in the UK, and one in three women over the age of 50 will
suffer a fracture.
Makers claim that BioCalth works in a completely
different way to calcium carbonate supplements as it contains Calcium
L-threonate, a vitamin C metabolite which works as a ‘biocarrier’ for
calcium, ensuring a 95% absorption rate direct to the bones. The
average calcium supplement, they say, provides only about 10%
absorption.
In a clinical trial, a group of 79 post menopausal
women with osteoporosis or other bone-softening condition were
supplemented with either BioCalth or the traditional calcium carbonate
with vitamin D for six months. The average bone mass density of those
supplemented with BioCalth increased by 41.43 (mg/cm2), compared with
a 17.03 (mg/cm2) for calcium carbonate.
BioCalth is available from pharmacies, healthfood
stores, Nutri Centre, at ?14.99 for a months supply (90 tablets or 60
sachets).
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A cuppa is good for you
Drinking tea
regularly might help memory and even protect against Alzheimer’s
disease, say scientists from Newcastle University Medicinal Plant
Research Centre.
They have found that tea blocks crucial enzymes
that can destroy a neurotransmitter – important for carrying messages
between brain cells. The neurotransmitter is called acetylcholine,
and, significantly, very low levels are found in Alzheimer’s patients.
Both black and green tea block the critrical enzymes,
but – yes, you guessed – the less popular but more potent green tea
works best. Green tea’s benefits last longer than those of black tea,
and you do need to be a serious drinker, taking five to ten cups a
day, to get the effect.
Bad news for drug
companies
First there was Vioxx, the
anti-arthritic drug, which was found to almost double the risk of
heart attacks and stroke in people who had been taking it for 18
months.
After the news broke, the European Medicines
Evaluation Agency was reported to have ordered a safety review of four
powerful painkilling drugs amid fears that they, too, could increase
the risks of heart attacks and strokes. The Cox-2 inhibitors class of
drugs are used by 750,000 Britons to treat the pain of arthritis and
other conditions.
Now AstraZeneca is being sued by two pensioners’
groups in the US, on the basis that its ulcer drug, called Nexium is
no better than an older and cheaper product, Prilosec. The active
ingredient in both drugs is almost identical, and in a country where
patients have to pay for medicines out of their own pockets, there is
a sense of outrage.
And the news gets even worse for the pharmaceutical
industry. A Lancet review of nine studies of the drug atenolol,
prescribed to reduce raised blood pressure, shows that it is no better
than a placebo, or dummy pill in reducing fatal heart attacks.
The reviewers cast doubt on the drug’s use for high
blood pressure and suggest that newer drugs should be considered. But
if you are on any of the above, don’t make a hasty judgement. Discuss
the situation with your doctor.
If in any
doubt about any of the information covered in
healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult
your GP.
In edition 56:-
Dangers for
elderly drug users
If you
have an elderly relative on drugs, it would be worth checking
with the GP that it is suitable
Glucosamine
for vegetarians
There`s now a high strength Glucosamine available to
vegetarians
Pain: how much
is it in the mind?
A
placebo can be as effective as the real thing, as long as the
patient doesn`t know what he or she is getting.
Jokey and Blokey
Men tend to joke about themselves when discussing illness
Asthma
breathing technique
Asthma sufferers using a breathing technique were able to
dispense with their bronchodilators
More trouble for
HRT
A
report says that women who have been on HRT for five years
double their risk of developing blood clots
Whatever
next? Flower Essences for animals
The gentle way to treat a pet`s emotional problems..
Maximise your memory
This work provides detailed instructions, illustrations
and sample exercises that show the reader how to build
a system of personalized frameworks for storing and
recalling information on demand.
Index to all
previous Healthwise editions
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