What to do about ear wax
When an ear becomes
blocked, there’s one solution: a visit to the surgery to have it syringed.
This painless procedure works within seconds, but doctors are not too happy
to repeat the process every few months.
If a build-up of wax occurs regularly, there are other
measures to take. Hopi candles, available from health food stores, are
soothing and can help dissolve the wax. The process is a little unnerving,
in that you have to light one end of the candle, having put the other end
into your ear. But it is designed to burn very slowly and fizzles out before
it gets anywhere near the ear itself. Ideally, you need someone to help
apply the candle.
Another alternative is a device called an Audispray,
consisting of sterile seawater and various elements that dissolve wax
delivered by a spray nozzle. There’s a special offer on this product till
September 30th of £5.95, plus £2.50 p & p, from Cubex if you email:
customerservice
@cubex.co.uk
But first a word of warning: before you treat ear wax
yourself, check with your doctor. The product should not be used when there
is any inflammation, eardrum perforation or foreign body in the ear canal.
And never use cotton wool buds to try to remove ear wax. All they do is push
any debris further into the ear.
More good news about fish
Grilling or baking is
the best way to eat fish, says a report from the American Heart Association.
Cooked this way, the omega-3 oils are best preserved, and they are the
substances that protect against heart conditions.
Breathlessness and tiredness are often the first signs of
heart irregularities, a condition called atrial fibrillation. The American
12-year study of over 4500 people showed that grilled or baked fish eaten
about four times a week lowered by a third the risk of the condition in
people of sixty-plus. Curiously, there was one fish that could be cooked any
way and still retain sufficient omega-3 - fresh tuna.
Before you rush off to the fishmongers, take note that some experts
recommend eating fish only once or twice a week, because of possible
contaminants. You have to balance between the health-giving properties of
fish and the pollution they pick up in the food chain.
Quick fix for migraine
A new nasal form of a
drug works fast to combat migraine. Drugs normally take an hour or two to
kick in, by which time a migraine may have developed into a severe attack,
but Zomig, now in the form of a nasal spray, can bring relief in 10 minutes.
Dr Andy Dowson, who runs the headache clinic at King’s
College Hospital in London, has been prescribing nasal Zomig for patients.
Pain relief after ten minutes was experienced by 15% of patients in trials,
and by 35% after half an hour.
Zomig nasal spray is available through the GP, so if you’re
still on older forms of the drug, or on any other
slow-response medication, it’s worth making an appointment with your doctor.
Index to
all previous Healthwise editions
For books on Health visit the Amazon
Family and Health Section.
Don't forget if you buy books or videos from Amazon by linking from
laterlife, you generate money for Charity.
|
 |
Drugs that fool the brain
The placebo effect, in
which fake pills appear to be as effective as real ones, really does work.
Brain-scanning experiments show that the brain displays physical changes in
response to pain, and these changes matched when placebo tests were
performed.
Volunteers at the University of Michigan, who were given
electric shocks and subjected to heat discomfort, rated the pain less when
they believed that a cream applied to their arm had anti-pain properties.
Magnetic resonance scanning showed significant reduction of activity in the
relevant pain-sensitive brain areas.
The medical profession has a bit of a problem with the
placebo effect – which is, after all, a way of tricking the patient into
believing they’re getting the real thing. So it’s unlikely to become common
practice. But a doctor who listens to the patient, explains all the facts
clearly and has a good old-fashioned bedside manner could be doling out
plenty of placebo effect without offering any fake pills.
Know what you’re taking
From BUPA news, the
quarterly publication sent free to members of BUPA. comes some useful advice
on taking medicines. When you are prescribed any new drug, always ask the
following questions:
-
When should they be
taken?
-
Can I drink alcohol
while on them?
-
Can I drive?
-
Can I also take any
over-the-counter medicines?
-
Are the other drugs
I am taking compatible with this new one?
-
Could I be allergic
to this medicine?
-
Can I stop taking it
once I feel better?
-
Are there any side
effects?
-
What should I do if
I experience any of them?
New online service from Help the Aged
A guide to health services, advice for
going into hospital and housing options, information on conditions affecting
us as we age are available on the new ‘Health and Care’ webpages for over
50s at
www.helptheaged
.org.uk/health
Designed in-house by the Charity’s New Media team, the information is
part of the Charity’s vision to ensure older people have access to
information that can help improve their lives.
Help the Aged campaigns with and on behalf of the UK’s 11.1 million older
people, and provides advice, information and practical support to help older
people live independent lives. The Charity is working to combat poverty,
reduce isolation, defeat ageism and promote quality in care.
If in any doubt about any of the
information covered in healthwise articles and it's relevance for you, consult your GP.
In edition 53:-
Knowledge
is power
Use the internet
to keep properly informed about health matters
The Anti-jet-lag
diet
Another chance
to see this diet before you go on a long-haul flight
How to be a
healthy traveller
Essential
reading if you are going on holiday
Heart attack
symptoms: different for men and women
Chest pain as an
indicator for heart attack is not reliable for women, according to
a report
Feeling dizzy
There are lots
of reasons for that lightheaded, dizzy feeling.
Drinking is good
for twins (and everyone else too)
Recent research with twins showed that
the drinkers had considerably higher bone density in spine and
hip than the abstainers.
 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.
|
