Could this VERY common kitchen spice be stopping your medication from working? DR MARTIN SCURR replies
Stuart Kira, Hatfield, Herts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning for residents in the Northern Territory as cases of sexually transmitted infection explode
Medical experts are warning residents in the Northern Territory to get tested for syphilis following an explosion in cases of the potentially deadly infection. The NT has recorded more than 183 cases of syphilis so far this year, following back-to-back near-record months since an outbreak began in 2013. Consistently high case numbers prompted the territory's top medical officer to establish a dedicated response team, the syphilis Incident Management Team (IMT) in February. Syphilis can be particularly devastating for pregnant women, leading to miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, low birth weight and congenital syphilis. Australian Medical Association NT president Dr John Zorbas acknowledged the numbers were high, but suggested better testing could be contributing to the spike. 'Sometimes a large increase in case numbers is a good thing,' he told NT News. 'That means we're doing more testing, we're finding these cases and we're actually getting those cases treated.' Of the 183 cases identified in the NT from January 1 to June 22, 93 per cent of cases were successfully treated, a government spokesperson told the publication. Syphilis is a sexually-transmissible infection (STI) usually caused by having vaginal, oral or anal sex with an infected person, through pregnancy and, in rare cases, through skin-to-skin contact. While it is easy to cure if found early, it can cause serious illness, disability and even death if left untreated. The IMT advised pregnant women to test five times across the course of a pregnancy - at the outset, at 28 weeks, at 36 weeks, at birth and six weeks after birth. It also recommended testing for all people aged 15 years and older presenting to any health service including primary health care and emergency departments. Common symptoms include sores or ulcers in the genital areas, anus, cervix or mouth, rash, skin lesions, swollen lymph glands, fever, patchy hair loss, muscle and joint aches, headaches, tiredness and warty lumps. Not all patients will present with symptoms, however, meaning regular testing is crucial to ensure the disease does not cause long-term damage. Syphilis can spread to the nervous system, known as neurosyphilis, which can lead to headaches, altered behaviour, difficulty coordinating muscle movements, paralysis, numbness and even dementia. It can also spread to the eye, known as ocular syphilis, which can cause vision loss, blurred vision, eye pain, eye redness and even permanent blindness. Syphilis was almost entirely eradicated in Australia by the early 2000s but cases have exploded following an outbreak in north-west Queensland in 2011. Since then, the disease has spread nationwide with outbreaks currently active in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. Case numbers across the country increased 400 per cent between 2011 and 2023, with a disproportionate impact on Indigenous Australian communities. The NT has been hit hardest by the outbreak, with its per capita rate more than five times higher than any other jurisdiction at its peak in 2018. To avoid contracting syphilis, the Department of Health recommends people should get tested regularly and avoid sexual activity while unwell. It also recommends using condoms with condom-safe lubricants during vaginal and anal sex and dental dams during oral sex. You should see your doctor or visit a family planning clinic or sexual health clinic if you are concerned you or anyone you have had sexual contact with has syphilis.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Urgent recall for life-saving device over dangerous defect
An entire line of defibrillators has been urgently recalled after issues with the devices' circuits caused some of them to fail. The federal government issued a notice for medical technology firm Stryker's HeartSine samaritan Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) on June 24. 'A manufacturing problem related to a circuit board component may impair the device's ability to function or cause failure,' it said. 'This failure could occur at any point when the device is holding a charge. This may be in preparation to deliver therapy, while delivering a shock, or after shock delivery. 'The device becomes inoperable after the failure occurs.' The notice said the defect was spotted during quality testing, not patient use. The source of the issue was the Pad-Pak, a single-use battery and electrode cartridge containing the battery to power the defibrillator and two electrode pads. Users should check their AED serial number to see if it is affected, noting the devices are part of a subset of HeartSine samaritan PAD Models 350P, 360P, 450P and 500P. The affected devices are part of a subset of serial numbers beginning with 21, 22, 23 or 24, and are then followed by the letter B, D, E, G or H. Stryker said users should continue monitoring their PAD device to ensure the status indicator is flashing green every five to 10 seconds. They should contact Stryker immediately if the status indicator is flashing red, or they can hear continuous beeping or the voice prompt 'Warning, Low Battery'. Alternatively, they should contact the company if no status indicator is displayed. For further information, Stryker can be reached on 02 9170 9131 or through email at
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Call for early action to tackle ‘alarming' rise of childhood obesity
Childhood obesity has risen to 'alarming' levels, academics have said as they called for action to prevent unhealthy lifestyles setting in among babies and toddlers. Experts said that a child's trajectories are set early in life and 'appear difficult to alter after the age of about five years'. They said that the first 1,000 days of life – from pregnancy through to a child's second birthday – are 'critical to development and health across the life-course' as they called for early action to prevent obesity in children. These interventions could include: helping women to begin pregnancy at a healthy weight; encouraging breastfeeding, which is linked with a reduced risk of childhood obesity and avoiding 'rapid catch-up growth' in low birth weight babies. 'The overall goal should be to establish and maintain a healthy body-weight trajectory that avoids excess gain early in life,' experts from the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the Italian National Academy of Sciences said. In the UK, 1.3 million children are obese and a further 2.3 million are overweight, the authors said. The authors highlight how single interventions 'such as diet or physical activity, in single settings' rarely work without consideration of wider factors which may contribute to childhood obesity. The report says that portraying obesity as a 'character flaw' leads to stigmatisation which can be counterproductive and may increase the risk of unhealthy diet and lifestyle, but positive messages about the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight may work better. 'Childhood obesity has become an urgent public health challenge that is both affecting lives today and storing up problems for the future,' the report states. According to the latest National Childhood Measurement Programme figures, one in ten (9.6%) children in England are obese when they begin their schooling. And 22.1% of 10 and 11-year-olds in Year 6 are obese. Obesity is higher in boys than girls, the figures show. And those living in poorer neighbourhoods are more likely to be obese compared to those in the wealthiest. The authors of the new report highlight how levels of obesity in deprived areas is creating a 'vicious cycle' because obesity is linked to reduced job opportunities which in turn is a risk factor for weight gain. The new report comes as the Government prepares to launch it's 10 year plan for health, which has a focus on preventing ill health from occurring in the first place. Under new proposals set out in the plan retailers could be made to set targets to increase their sales of less fattening products. But the authors of the new report said that 'robust' regulation of the food industry is needed rather than relying on voluntary agreements, with evidence supporting taxation of unhealthy products and potential subsidies for healthier options. 'The first 1,000 days, including time in the womb, represent an important window of opportunity to set children on a healthy trajectory for life,' said Professor Susan Ozanne, co-chair of the report. 'Once obesity is established, it becomes increasingly harder to reverse. 'This isn't about individual willpower or blaming and shaming – it's about creating an environment for parents, carers and their children that supports healthy development from the very beginning.' Professor Rosalind Smyth, clinical vice-president at the Academy of Medical Sciences, added: 'When we address health inequalities in the earliest years, we're not just improving individual outcomes – we're building the foundations for a healthier, more productive society. 'The evidence reinforces that prevention, which requires a cross-sectoral approach, must be co-ordinated across all government departments.' Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Good nutrition is essential to giving babies the best start in life and this government has set a bold ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. 'As part of our 10 Year Health Plan, food retailers and manufacturers will 'make the healthy choice the easy choice' in a world-first partnership between government and industry to tackle the obesity epidemic and ease pressure on the NHS. 'We have also set out plans to tackle widening health inequalities through fundamental reforms to our health system – putting an end to a postcode lottery of care, and we have allocated an extra £57 million for Start for Life services, helping expectant and new mothers with their infants.'
