Apr 22
Many people with back pain may be trying the wrong kind of treatment to relieve their symptoms.
This was the conclusion drawn from the results of a consumer survey presented to the Australian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting held in Sydney recently.
Creative Commons licensed image
In commenting on the survey results, Professor Andrew McLachlan from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney, said that better management of back pain would lead to better health outcomes for the individual and a less severe impact on the health care system for the community.
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Tagged with: back • pain
Apr 15
Australians rarely need encouragement to have a bite to eat. Indeed it’s quite clear that most of us eat too much, too often. Statistics indicate that we are fast becoming the most overweight nation in the world, and being overweight or obese means considerably more health problems such as arthritis, heart disease and diabetes.
It might seem strange, therefore, that Diabetes Australia, the charitable organisation caring for all people with diabetes, is suggesting once again that we get together for a bite – in fact, the annual April ‘Great Australian Bite’ (GAB).
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Apr 08
“Old age” is a term we don’t usually apply to ourselves. Whatever our age, we generally think of other people as being old.
At the official level, the term “seniors” is often applied to anyone over the age of 55; while “Seniors Cards” are generally provided to people over 60 who are not in full time employment. From a medical point of view the line is usually drawn at 65.
Whatever definition we use, people in the older age group are certainly increasing in number, as a proportion of the total population. It seems older people are becoming more popular too. They are being specifically targeted by providers of goods and services – including governments. The aging “baby boomers” are expected to have greater purchasing power.
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Tagged with: ageing
Apr 01
Flu only affects old people, right? Wrong!
The fact is, rates of flu infection are highest among children. Nevertheless, children under the age of five are less likely to show the typical symptoms of flu – the fever and the cough – and you may not know that your child has actually contracted the infection.
Whilst most children generally cope pretty well with the flu, some may not be so lucky; and in any event they’re all very good at spreading the infection around. There is now mounting evidence that widespread vaccination of children against influenza slashes infection rates in both children and the more vulnerable elderly.
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Tagged with: flu • infection
Mar 25
It’s almost certain that you, someone in your family or a close friend will have some form of arthritis.
Arthritis, of which there are over 100 different types, is Australia’s major cause of pain and disability. Arthritis directly impacts around 4 million Australians and impacts indirectly on many millions more.
It’s an enormous economic cost burden on the community too – collectively we pay some $24 billion every year – and the extra hidden social and emotional costs are immeasurable.
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Tagged with: arthritis
Mar 18
Skin – it’s our largest and most visible organ; and generally it does a pretty good job of keeping all our other organs neatly packaged inside our body and out of harms way.
However, as a result of exposure (often over exposure), to unfriendly “elements” and occasional (sometimes frequent) neglect by its owner, skin can become quite traumatised. And the result: a dry, inflamed, irritating, itchy redness of the skin known as eczema.
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Tagged with: skin
Mar 12
Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious disease. The organism which causes TB is carried by two billion people – a third of the world’s population – and there are an estimated two million deaths every year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared TB to be a global health emergency and designated 24 March each year as World TB Day.
In contrast to most of the rest of the world, Australia is fortunate in having a relatively low but nevertheless constant pattern of TB. There is an average of around 1,000 new cases here every year. This is primarily due to reactivation of a dormant infection in people who were first infected in another country before emigrating to Australia; or who may have been originally infected during their childhood in Australia when the TB rates among the general community were much higher.
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Tagged with: infection
Mar 03
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prolonged and sometimes delayed anxiety disorder resulting from a traumatic event.
PTSD is a serious psychological reaction that some people develop after an overwhelmingly frightening or traumatic experience, especially an experience that threatens life or safety.
Most people who experience a traumatic event will have emotional and psychological reactions (e.g. fear, sadness, guilt, anger) that reduce with time. However, some people develop the longer lasting condition of PTSD.
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Tagged with: mental health
Feb 26
Recent research in the UK has led to the possibility that the potentially fatal peanut allergy may, at least in some instances, be effectively controlled by the introduction of slowly increased doses of powdered peanut – doses that begin with minute quantities and ultimately lead to the regular ingestion of whole peanuts.
It’s a risky process and can only be undertaken under medical supervision.
Of course nuts are not the only source of adverse reactions to foods. Perhaps less spectacular, but certainly more common, is the reaction to certain cereals – specifically cereals containing the protein gluten.
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Tagged with: coeliac • food • gastro
Feb 18
With around 135 million people worldwide wearing contact lenses, it’s certainly become a very popular way of correcting a variety of vision impairment problems.
Of course, contact lenses are not all the same; they differ not only with regard to the prescription needs of the wearer, but they can also be made of different materials – making them more or less suitable for every individual.
Contact lenses can be made of hard plastic or a soft gel-like material. The modern hard lenses are also known as rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses.
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Tagged with: contact lenses • eyes
