MEDICAL MATTERS

[chinatyke]

Our neighbour's wife, who had to wait 40 minutes for an ambulance after a massive stroke, has now died. He's shocked because she was healthy and ...

Obviously not.

[Tizer]

There wasn't any indication she was likely to suffer a stroke. Although she had mobility problems and they were elderly they both went to the gym for exercise every morning. So the massive stroke was a shock. Even young, healthy people can suffer a sudden massive stroke. I had a work colleague in his early 20s who was as healthy and fit as anyone and played squash most evenings after work but he dropped dead from a massive stroke.
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I've written before about my concerns that many companies are now far too big and when one fails or has a major problem the effects are much more widespread than if such companies were smaller. This is evident in the present Carillion collapse. But it can be more dangerous when it's a food company, and especially one that sells baby food. So the news today about French company Lactalis should make regulators look again at company size....

`French salmonella baby milk scandal 'affects 83 countries''
"More than 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk have now been recalled in 83 countries in a salmonella scandal involving French company Lactalis. The dairy firm's CEO, Emmanuel Besnier, confirmed the extent of the contamination risk to French media. The products have been subject to a recall since December, after salmonella bacteria was discovered at a factory. Lawsuits have been filed by parents who say their children became unwell after drinking the formula....The Lactalis group is one of the world's largest producers of dairy products, with annual sales of €17bn ($21bn; £15bn), It has 246 production sites in 47 countries and employs 15,000 people in France alone. Recalls have now been issued by the firm three times, and cover its Picot, Milumel and Taranis brands." LINK

[Stanley]

I've been watching Lactalis Tiz. You are right, the mistakes are on a scale in keeping with the size of the company!

[Stanley]

I know I am a peculiar bugger and sometimes come out of left field with my medical observations but bear with me, I only advocate what I have found is good for me!
I've mentioned the practice of pitting muscles against each other when sitting still, first developed in the Canadian Air Force to counteract DVT in ferry pilots, I think the technical term is isometric exercises. I gave a doctor a long lift one day and he told me about it. Since then I have employed the technique when in a sedentary position.
However, of late I have been trying something else. As you get older your control of the bladder and bowels erodes and this can be quite annoying at first and then distressing! I've been aware of this for a while and it won't surprise you to learn I have been furtling! I've always known about pelvic floor exercises but associated it almost exclusively to female health. I was wrong, it's just as important in males. Go and do some Googling on the subject and take notice. I've been doing a lot more of it of late and getting benefits. The beauty of it is that you can do it anywhere, even in public, because nobody can tell you are having a work-out! Don't just dismiss this, give it a go, you might be surprised, as I have been, by the benefits which aren't restricted to bladder and bowel control, they go much wider. Ten minutes a day can make quite a difference. Not surprising really because we lead such sedentary lives and it exercises some very deep muscles.

[Sue]

My pilates/yoga team are running a special session next week on the exercises. The men have all been reminded that the class is not just for the ladies

[Marilyn]

I excercise on my rubber bouncy ball for up to an hour a day.
That may seem like a lot, but easy to do as I sit on it to watch TV of an evening.
It used to be an afternoon thing and I would watch "Hairy Bikers". But they aren't on any more ( most disappointing) so I have to do it while watching my (taped) Corrie instead.
Where there is a will...
One must do pelvic floor excercises!

[Tizer]

I exercise on my rubber bouncy ball for up to an hour a day...as I sit on it to watch TV of an evening.

Is the TV synchronised to bounce at the same rate as you, Maz?

I had Mrs Tiz in fits of laughter recently when I told her I wasn't going to get a trampoline for the garden and put it in the corner by the 6-foot fence. What made her laugh was the thought of people walking by and seeing me going in and out of vision above them. She imagined me conversing with them...
Hello, Mr.....Smith, how are....you today? How's Mrs....Smith? Has...she had her....operation yet?

[Marilyn]

In some of the adverts I can get quite a sweat up Tizzy...some of them have really punchy music.
The other thing I love is the Celtic Women singing. I get quite a sweat up with them too, as I sing along....

[Stanley]

Maz, we are getting new Hairy Bikers programmes so they will eventually be coming to you.
Nice to know nobody thinks I am off piste with my pelvic floor!
I can't visualise you on a trampoline Tiz......
We sensible people know that in the final analysis we are responsible for our own health, it can't be farmed out to the doctors! This struck me this morning as I had a shave. I checked my tongue, no hearthrug and colour good. I am breathing well and have no significant pain. That'll do me for the day and I shall not be adding to the strain on the NHS. How much better would it be if everyone thought in this way?
See THIS for a report in the Sunday Post about research into the role of shallots/onions in combating antibiotic resistance in Tuberculosis. It looks as though your mother was right when she fed you boiled onions if you had a cold! I've always believed that they are an important element in a balanced diet.

[PanBiker]

For cold like symptoms, my dad used to swear by eating a raw onion (like an apple) followed by a whiskey chaser before bed, always seemed to work.

[Marilyn]

My Mum wrapped my head in a cloth soaked in Vinegar when I had a headache.
I said I was cured just so she would take the stinking thing off!
I don't think it made a blind bit of difference...

[Tripps]

So it's true. . .

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after

Up Jack got
And home did trot,
As fast as he could caper;
And went to bed
And bound his head
With vinegar and brown paper.[3]

[Tizer]

When I was in my teens one of my mates always ate a raw onion with his lunch. He claimed it kept colds away. We claimed that was because none of us would go near him.

[Stanley]

Whatever! If it worked.......

[Stanley]

My finger is still improving, fully usable now except for first thing in the morning when it's not bending easily after being still all night. It improves as I get going. I spend a lot of time rubbing it but it may be long term.......
THIS is worth reading even though I think most sensible people knew it already. It's an article pointing out that lazy lifestyles are making the 'elderly' more liable to disease than the generation before them. Blindingly obvious when you think about it but so many ignore it and then expect medical science to produce a 'miracle cure'. I think I once heard a researcher remark that if the health benefits of walking for half an hour a day could be encapsulated in a pill it would make someone a fortune.

[Stanley]

Have you seen the outbreak of sites that offer a consultation with a doctor on line? I have heard several reports warning that whilst they might be efficient sources of medical health advice, the public would do well to note that they make no guarantees that data given them is safe. This could be a lucrative source of income.

[Whyperion]

So it's true. . .

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after

Up Jack got
And home did trot,
As fast as he could caper;
And went to bed
And bound his head
With vinegar and brown paper.[3]

I presume cider vinegar or white rather than malt.

[Stanley]

There's been a very good discussion on World Service this morning about CTE in American football and its long term consequences. See THIS for a Wiki article on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. The figures are frightening and the programme is worth looking up on iPlayer.
One of the major factors is cited as the excessive macho culture in the game and levels of antagonism.
It reminds me of an incident when I was in Minnesota. The coach of a college team who was famous for motivating his players gave them a frenzied pep-talk which was very effective. His players got so enraged that they went berserk, attacked him and put him in hospital.

[Stanley]

I was listening to Jim and the Life Scientific this morning. He was talking to a lady who is an expert on the flu virus. She gave one mother's definition of flu.... If you think you have flu and see a tenner laid on the floor and bend down to pick it up you haven't got flu, just a cold! If it was flu you wouldn't bother. I like it......

[Big Kev]

I've developed an air leak . The tooth that was extracted yesterday has left a hole into my nasal cavity, it feels very strange. I thought the instruction not to blow my nose for two weeks was odd but it makes sense now

[PanBiker]

There is usually a reason Kev, I bet that is weird. Similarly I have a void behind my left tonsil that is subject to infection if I get strep throat. That was courtesy of the Quincy I was hospitalised with years ago. I have to seek AB's a soon as I detect it going bad .

[Big Kev]

Had a courtesy call from the dentist this morning. They aren't happy with the 'air leak' so want to see me this afternoon. Things are never easy

[Tizer]

Dentist? Air leak? I always feel deflated when I go to the dentist.

More seriously, I hope they sort it for you quickly, Kev, it must be unpleasant.

[Big Kev]

Getting my money's worth out of the NHS today, 2 oral surgeons, 1 nurse and an hour in the chair.

[plaques]

I suppose someone who can whistle out of their nose must be a bit of a novelty. Have you thought of Britain's got talent?