MEDICAL MATTERS

[Stanley]

At least you know that the jabs are working!

[PanBiker]

[Tizer]

In 12 years of flu jabs I've had that happen once or twice, perhaps due to changes in the flu varieties in the vaccine.

[Stanley]

I occasionally have a mild reaction. I shall report when I have had this one.....

[Stanley]

See THIS encouraging report of a man who has been able to control his limbs even though totally paraplegic. It's done by strapping him on an exoskeleton which he controls with his mind via a computer. Early days yet and only possible in the laboratory but it's progress and hopefully will be improved.

[Tizer]

We had our flu jabs yesterday from our GP. It's remarkable how a big surgery can keep such precise timing - ours were bang on time, I think our appointment times were 10.14 and 10.16. They were doing pneumonia jabs too and Mrs Tiz had hers. The doc wanted to give me one too but I told him I'd already had it (it's a one-off vaccination). He said it wasn't on my records, then he realised I'd only been with his surgery for two years. I'd had it at the previous surgery before we moved here but the information wasn't on my records transferred over. Mrs Tiz confirmed I'd had it, which pleased him!

She has two sore arms last night and this morning; I haven't had any soreness and neither of us feel unwell. I've sprouted a big cold sore on my lip overnight and that might be some form of side-effect, I suppose. But it's better than getting flu!

[Stanley]

Fly to the Zofirax Tiz! One of the most effective over the counter remedies there is! As soon as I get that tingling feeling, usually after a knock or strong toasted cheese, I put a tiny spot on....Mary's sister, Jo, researched Herpes in Australia and she used me as a guinea pig once when I developed a beauty while in Sydney. She was a mine of information and told me that paracetamol was the best pain killer for them as it acts directly on the nerves which is where the infection resides.

[chinatyke]

Fly to the Zofirax Tiz! One of the most effective over the counter remedies there is! As soon as I get that tingling feeling, usually after a knock or strong toasted cheese, I put a tiny spot on....Mary's sister, Jo, researched Herpes in Australia and she used me as a guinea pig once when I developed a beauty while in Sydney. She was a mine of information and told me that paracetamol was the best pain killer for them as it acts directly on the nerves which is where the infection resides.

Zovirax (5% Aciclovir) costs less than 50pence for 10g here compared to over £5 for 2g in Boots, UK. Yes, it is very effective if used promptly.

[Stanley]

Yup! They know how to charge for it!

[Tizer]

I agree it's very effective and you have to be quick off the mark and also apply it frequently (5x a day on the label). I get cold sores from either stress (mental or due to other illness) or physical damage (electric razor, pressure on lip from biting hard food etc). I use the proprietary Zovirax which is a thick cream and not the cheap Boots option which is thin liquid, more lotion than cream. I tried the Boots once and when I first opened the tube the thin liquid shot out of the end and wasted much of it before I could get the cap back on!

[Stanley]

And you need so little of it to be effective!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on what could be a significant discovery. Tranexamic acid helps stop bleeding in and around the brain when blood vessels have been torn.
A large international study in The Lancet now suggests it improves patient survival rates if given early enough.
It cannot undo damage but can stop smaller bleeds becoming worse.
Intravenous tranexamic acid is already used to treat patients with life-threatening bleeds from chest or abdomen injuries as well as women with dangerous bleeding after childbirth.
The WHO says it will investigate this as a matter of urgency.
Not as positive. See THIS BBC account of a damning report on the state of the NHS. In response, the government says they are investing record amounts, completely ignoring the fact that even this scale of investment doesn't begin to make up for what has been cut since 2010.
Not a pretty picture!

[Stanley]

Closer to home, my daughter reports that since cutting out Caffeine her migraines have reduced considerably. Her life is much easier.... I am so glad something has worked, knowing your kids are suffering and not being able to do anything about it is terrible. I have advised her to do a search on the web to find if she is inadvertently getting caffeine from anywhere else. I seem to remember that some foods have a caffeine-like hit in them.

[Tizer]

I have to avoid coffee. I don't get a migraine but it sets my nerves on edge and makes me jumpy. I gave it up in the 1980s when I realised its effects. Some cheese and sometimes fish will do the same. So will eating too much high-cocoa content chocolate, especially late in the evening (remember? ). The energy drinks have a lot to answer for in our present aggressive society.

[Stanley]

Good advice Tiz. I've copied it to Susan!
I agree with you about the 'energy drinks'. Amazing how many kids are given money by parents to buy breakfast on the way to school and spend it on those drinks and junk snacks and chocolate. I pick up the evidence every morning on second dog walk. No wonder they are stroppy in classes.

[Stanley]

Susan asks me to thank you Tiz. She has taken notice and is doing her own research. Caffeine lurks in the most obscure places!

[Tizer]

Yes, its a bit like my problem with spices in foods. They now turn up in the most unlikely food products. The manufacturers know that, like with caffeine, people get addicted to them so they stick a bit in everything. I had a gut upset recently from M&S sliced roast beef - when we checked back on the packaging label we found they've started adding horseradish to it. Another strange thing is that they now put artificial sweeteners not just into sugar-free drinks but into the sugary ones as well. If they can no longer keep people hooked on sugar at least they can keep them hooked on sweetness!

Another result of poor MMR take up is emerging...
`'Mumps' outbreak among south Wales university students' LINK

[Stanley]

I've noticed the artificial sweetener additives as well Tiz, especially since the introduction of the Sugar Tax. It's sweetness we are addicted to, not sugar! Look back at the damage the introduction of sugar cane to Australia did to the teeth of the aboriginal population. A more powerful tool than repression.
Immunisations and vaccines are a religion to people of my generation, we saw the results of the old diseases. Younger generations haven't got his advantage and so are more easily swayed by counter-arguments. They may have to learn all over again!

[PanBiker]

We set off alittle earlier for Skipton this morning as Sally had some tickets previously ordered that she needed to get from the machine at the station for her trip next week to pick up Ruby for half term. That sorted we got our tickets for Leeds and found there was an earlier train we could get. So we set of at 11.12 instead of 11.30. We had arranged to meet our Carla and Isla for lunch so we walked up to the Slug and Lettuce, the shopping pair turned up about 10 minutes after we had sat down. A bit of leisurely lunch and banter over what our Isla had bought with her birthday money, we stayed for about an hour then saw them on their way, we went back down to the City Centre and got the bus up to Jimmy's.

We got off a stop too early, only about 200yards so arrived at the Bexley wing and made it up from -2 floors down to the ground floor at 0 where the Radiology Unit is sited. We tipped up at the department reception 1 hour early. No matter, the receptionist got me to fill in the ID and short medical questionnaire which basically checks that you have no metal implants or stuff like that. I handed it back in, there was only one other lady waiting for a scan and she was scooped up first. I only had to wait about 5 more minutes and I was then called by the radiology nurse. I had shed all my metal bits, loose change, wallet, watch, nothing else really to dump other than my belt. Up in the Radiology unit which is accessed by a digital lock on the door the nurse provided me with a locker for my belt and my fleece sweater which also had a zip. Into the next bay for her to check my details, confirm I had no implants and for her to fit the cannula for the contrast dye, 2 more minutes and the MRI scanner was ready for me.. For a brain scan you have a neck rest, then they fit a higher collar to keep your head braced, headphones go on next and the young nurse asks you what music you want, (they have Youtube so can provide any kind of genre), I just asked for anything. They then fit a rigid perspex face mask which engages with the neck collar so you are braced fairly securely. Panic button passed to left hand and then shortly after you find the table moving your head the required distance into the MRI machine. I have to say that this machine was a lot quieter than the mobile unit I was in last January, still pretty noisy though as it loops through the various phases of the scan. Got to say, I didn't hear very much music over the din. 20 minutes later it quietens down a bit and you get notification that they will be shoving the contrast dye in. Once done another notification that the run has a further 8 minutes to go. Back into the machine and a different range of noises as the contrast data is gathered, all stop and and you feel that they have pushed the eject button. One nurse removes all the head clobber and the other nurse removes the cannula and makes sure you are not leaking, table is lowered and you are done, the nurse hands you the key for the locker once you have left the MRI room. I retrieved my stuff and scooped Sally up from the waiting area. No adverse reaction to the contrast dye.

We only had about 10 minutes to wait for a number 42 bus to come along so hopped on that and got off at the same stop in the City Centre that we set off from. Over the road into the station and we had about half an hour to wait for the next train to Skipton. 16.12 so we were back in Skipton by 17.00, Barlick 15 minutes later. £6.00 for parking at the station although you get £2.00 of that back when you get you tickets. £6.40 each return.

Wait now for the results, radiology interpreters do their stuff first and report along with the imagery to my consultant who will inform me of the results at some point. Don't know if that will be by letter, phone call or a referral.

[Marilyn]

Brings back memories. I hated the MRI. I had to go in all the way as they were doing my lower spine. No headphones...no panic button...no one spoke to me the entire time or explained the noises I would hear. Frightened me to death being entombed in that small space, unable to move, not knowing how long I would be there. A young lad helped me up off the bed afterwards and I burst into tears. It is not an experience I want to repeat.
The inside of the MRI is very close to your face and looks to be lined with (sort of) kiln bricks! But a modern version of them of course.
Being unable to move, I was worried they might wander off and leave me stuck there...no way could I have wriggled free.

[Stanley]

I've only had the one scan and that took about two hours in all. No restraints or music and a nurse and a doctor to talk to all the time. No problem with lying in the scanner.
Hope your results come quickly Ian and are OK.
Have a look at THIS BBC report about air pollution. "Sudden spikes in air pollution in the UK trigger hundreds more heart attacks, strokes and acute asthma attacks on those days, research suggests. A team at King's College London looked at data from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Southampton."
This quite rightly is described as an emergency. We have known about this problem for many years and done nothing about it. It is shameful in a modern society.

[PanBiker]

There was an information display in the Radiology waiting area. It displayed intersting facts about the tech they have in the department. I didn't know that the very first MRI scnner was invented in 1971. No moveable table and the device would only do head scans which took over two hours to gather the data, four times as fast now and much higher resolution. The kit they put on you now with headphones and mask give you talkback to the operators, there must be a microphone in the kit somewhere.

[Big Kev]

There is a video on YouTube with an MRI scanner running without the covers on. They 'spin' incredibly fast...

[Stanley]

Margaret is in hospital today for carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists. That'll slow her down for a while!
06:30. News from Margaret she is out of surgery and eating lunch with hands bandaged up like a boxer.
06:38. She reports no pain but the local anaesthetic hasn't worn off yet. She says the worst bit was when they put a cannula in her foot. God knows what that was for!
Makes me feel queasy but then I always had sympathetic labour pains...

[Stanley]

Margaret is in dock for another day. She reports minimal pain and says her hands already feel better. Good!!