MEDICAL MATTERS

[Marilyn]

Pardon my negativity Tiz...but where would the "possible" infection have come from? Likely you will be fine without any further cream!

[Tizer]

I assume it's because the `thing', a blue-black raised plaque that was producing pus, might have harboured a bacteria? Or maybe he just wants to get in a last chance to prescribe antibiotics while they still work (sometimes)?

[Stanley]

If it was producing pus (dead cells) it sounds as though nature is at work on a cure.....

[plaques]

Not if it is ulcerating. Keep it out of the sun.

[Tizer]

I've got the antibiotic now...fusidic acid. Used for skin conditions and especially against Staph aureus and MRSA.

[Stanley]

Best of luck with it.
Janet told me yesterday that research on the effectiveness of statins is hot news in Australia. The results cast doubt on the claims for the drug. I haven't seen anything about this for a while and wonder what's going on. As you may remember, as far as I am concerned the jury is still out on them and I refuse to take them.

[Tizer]

I thought some of you gardeners might be interested to see this leaflet which Mrs Tiz picked up at the Cheslea Flower Show...

[Stanley]

It reminds me of a time when I was staying with friends in the New Forest and helped them out by felling a tree and cutting it down to logs and brash. I did a day with a chain saw and spent six months paying for it! I'd damaged my already suspect back by being so unbalanced because of the weight of the saw.... Exercise is good but you can have too much of a good thing.
See THIS for a further benefit of losing weight. It protects men from the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer. The evidence builds, it's a win win situation, watch your weight!

[Wendyf]

Colin has just got his latest blood test results and his HbA1c is now 37mmol, down from 56mmol in November last year. His cholesterol still a bit high at 5.5 but coming down despite the high fat diet and stopping statins, it was 6.5 in March. Yippee, he is well pleased with himself!

[PanBiker]

Excellent Wendy, Col should be rightly proud of himself, always a boost when you are going in the right direction, well done.

[plaques]

Puts me in mind of the old Stanley Holloway Monologue
Last verse.

I crawled in the street and I murmured,'I'm done.'
Then up came Old Jenkins and shouted,'Oh son!'
'My word you do look well!
My word you do look well!
You're looking fine and in the pink!'
I shouted, 'Am I?... Come and have a drink!
You've put new life in me, I'm sounder than a bell.
By gad! There's life in the old dog yet.
My word I do feel well!'

[Stanley]

Good old Stanley Holloway..... I wonder where my book of his monologues went to....?
Wendy, tell Col I'm delighted. I've always been a fan of self diagnosis and medication and he's a shining example of the benefits(as is Kev).

[Stanley]

I don't know whether you have ever looked up 'Wellington boot related injuries' on Google but it's an eye opener! They are extremely dangerous! (LINK).
I was reminded of this two days ago when I decided to get a pair of my Tricker Boots out ready for my teaching at Keele. The leather had shrunk slightly because it's a while since I wore them and in the process of getting my feet into them I hurt my right leg. However, I'm pleased to report that they are easing a bit now and I can get into them better. The pain persisted yesterday but has gone altogether today so I have got away with it!

[Stanley]

The Horizon programme on the genetic factors in obesity last night on BBC 2 is well worth watching. For many years obese people have blamed their genes and been derided. It now seems that there is some basis for this but it works in surprising ways.

[Big Kev]

Colin has just got his latest blood test results and his HbA1c is now 37mmol, down from 56mmol in November last year. His cholesterol still a bit high at 5.5 but coming down despite the high fat diet and stopping statins, it was 6.5 in March. Yippee, he is well pleased with himself!

Great news, well done Col. My HbA1c isn't quite down to that level yet but not far off, my cholesterol has stayed at 4 though, no different to when I was taking statins...

[Stanley]

I was triggered to look at my blood test. (December 2015). My HbA1C was 47, down from 63 a year earlier. Cholesterol 5.1 also down slightly. Everything else within parameters. This was the analysis that moved me from Type 2 to 'pre-diabetic'. I wonder how many people take notice like we do......

[Stanley]

I was a bit worried in case my back reacted to bending while I was welding but everything is fine this morning. It looks as though I have got away with it..... (fingers crossed!)

[Big Kev]

I'm glad your back survived, I wouldn't have wanted that responsibility...

[Tizer]

Medical Matters seemed the best place to put this bit of news...
`Thousands of counterfeit condoms seized in Castleford' LINK
"Thousands of counterfeit and potentially defective condoms have been seized in West Yorkshire as part of a global crackdown on illicit medicines. About 22,000 fake condoms were discovered at a property in Castleford by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Officers also discovered about 7,000 non-compliant syphilis test strips. Danny Lee-Frost, of the MHRA, said using the condoms would be "playing Russian roulette" with your health. The raid formed part of the Interpol co-ordinated Operation Pangea, an annual week of action tackling the online sale of counterfeit and illicit medical supplies and highlighting the dangers of buying them online."

[Stanley]

I wouldn't have blamed you Kev, it's a fact of life and can happen any time. You have to live with it!
Tiz, you've reminded me of a canard that was current in my youth. It was that there was a government policy to make a pin hole in a certain percentage of what we then called 'French Letters' so as to ensure a high birth rate.... (If you do a search on Google there are multiple posts about pin holes..... Evidently the fear is still alive and well!)

[Tizer]

`High cholesterol 'does not cause heart disease' new research finds, so treating with statins a 'waste of time'' Daily Telegraph
"Cholesterol does not cause heart disease in the elderly and trying to reduce it with drugs like statins is a waste of time, an international group of experts has claimed. A review of research involving nearly 70,000 people found there was no link between what has traditionally been considered “bad” cholesterol and the premature deaths of over 60-year-olds from cardiovascular disease. Published in the BMJ Open journal, the new study found that 92 percent of people with a high cholesterol level lived longer. The authors have called for a re-evaluation of the guidelines for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis, a hardening and narrowing of the arteries, because “the benefits from statin treatment have been exaggerated”. The results have prompted immediate scepticism from other academics, however, who questioned the paper’s balance."

This seems to me to be an extreme view, rather like the recent report about saturated fats from the National Obesity Forum (NOF). I'm not convinced that we need to dose so many people with statins and I do believe they have bad side-effects for many people but this study seems to fly in the face of most other research, so it needs to be viewed with caution until others show they can repeat the results.

[Stanley]

I agree Tiz. Too many of these statements present the results of one piece of research as an incontrovertible fact. Any historian or practical person knows that there is no such thing! There are always nuances and aberrations that are in turn winkled out by further research and you get a confused argument. We have only to look at the long saga of controversy over global warming and climate change to see this in action.
Here's a case in point.... I saw a programme on nutrition on TV about 'superfoods' which in general was perfectly accurate but because of the way it was presented actually gave bad information in parts because they were looking for a simplistic answer.
By the way, one finding that did surprise me (and please me at the same time) was that after testing the efficiency of various ways of hydrating the body, showed quite clearly that the best by far was not one of the expensive sports drinks or even water but milk because it contained the necessary trace elements. Lovely! So God got it right when he invented mother's milk!

[Stanley]

You all know about my long term pain from back and shoulder problems. My shoulder has been a constant nag and funnily enough only bothers me when I am watching TV or lying in bed. I wondered whether it was being triggered by bending my neck forward so I have been experimenting. The outcome is that I have stopped using a pillow in bed. I have done spells with and spells without and am now satisfied that I have less pain without it. Seemed funny at first but now it is perfectly natural. It may not work for you but you can't beat experimenting with things like seating heights, relaxed posture and general matters like that.....

[Stanley]

I'm convinced now that sleeping without a pillow is improving my shoulder and my back.....

[Sue]

Stanley, I didn't see that programme but my friend di. She said the programme implied that milk was the best hydrater of the body at all times. The actual scientific report said it was the best hydrater of the body over and above sports drinks when the body is dehydrated after intense exercise. These two statements are quite different.