The lifestyle triple-threat cutting 20 years from a person's life
Approximately one million adults in England are at risk of significantly cutting 20 years from their lives by combining being overweight, excessive drinking, and smoking.
Analysis by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) reveals that 22 percent of adults in England, totalling about 10 million people, have two or more of these health risk factors.
Experts warn these factors disproportionately increase the risk of developing severe conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and Type-2 diabetes.
Public health advocates stress that these issues are often driven by industry behavior and call for a comprehensive, joined-up approach to public health policymaking to alleviate strain on the NHS.
The government plans to address these challenges through a new 10-year plan, which includes measures like banning junk food advertising, increasing funding for addiction treatment, and phasing out cigarette sales.
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North Wales Chronicle
8 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Elderly forced out of Gwynedd communities amid care stand-off
Kevin Edwards, managing director at the Meddyg Care Group, claimed a health board is refusing to cover the 'true cost' of services provided at his care homes in Porthmadog and Criccieth, meaning people are going to homes further afield. However, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) has insisted that it is 'committed' to providing care for people across North Wales 'as close to home as is clinically safe'. It also argued that it provides many care packages 'well beyond' its core funding rates based on clinical need. Mr Edwards claimed: 'Because we won't accept their base cost, they are not recommending our homes to Gwynedd families.' He claimed this meant some were ending up in homes far from their communities, and the support of their friends and relatives. The health board has responded by saying it is not legally allowed to recommend which homes people choose. He pointed to the difference between what care homes in rural Gwynedd needed, and the fee the health board was willing to pay, was between £40 and £80 per week per resident. 'NHS care should be free to people who need it in their local area, but people are being forced out of the area because homes in rural Gwynedd will not accept the basic fee BCUHB is prepared to pay,' he said. He added that his home provided care through the medium of Welsh but added if people go further afield that may not be the case. 'BCUHB do the costings on their fee, in my view, on the back of a fag packet,' he said and urged the board to adopt a toolkit used to set care funding fees, called CareCubed. 'How can our costs in a rural setting be the same as a home in an urban setting, somewhere in the middle of Rhyl, Llandudno, or Wrexham for instance?' He added. Mario Kreft MBE, chair of social care champions Care Forum Wales, said: 'One of the most important things for families is the location of the home where their loved ones will be living. 'The vast majority of people choose a care home in a community where they want to be in, it's so important. 'This issue highlights what we are facing in North Wales, and that's a health board which has been promising methodology for more than a decade. 'They should be meeting government guidance on this, it's outrageous that they are not.' He added it caused 'further anxiety' to future residents and families, delaying hospital discharges, and saw people taken to parts of the country they don't want to be in, and highlighted a north-south divide over fees. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's Chief Operating Officer Tehmeena Ajmal said: 'We are committed to providing care for people across North Wales as close to home as is clinically safe. 'We understand that these are challenging times for everyone, and we must ensure that our resources are used fairly and appropriately for all. 'For people who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), each person receives an individual assessment. Many people are supported with care packages that go well beyond our published core funding rate, based on their clinical needs. 'It's important to note that we are not legally allowed to recommend which care home families should choose. We must remain fair and cannot show preference for one independent provider over another. 'We continue to admit patients into all nursing care homes in Gwynedd. Currently, there are only very small numbers of people in hospitals waiting for placements in EMI (Elderly Mentally Infirm) nursing care homes. 'We are fully committed to making sure people can receive care in the Welsh language, and—where possible—stay close to their communities, families, and friends. 'These are all important factors when we agree on care placements and funding. 'As a region, we have reviewed a number of fee-setting tools, including CareCubed, which several local authorities have started using. 'We are working closely with them to review and assess this approach.'
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Could you be allergic to SEX? When symptoms strike, many wrongly blame them on STDs claims top expert
Some women may suffer from an unusual allergic reaction during or after sex—experiencing intimate discomfort, swelling or even difficulty breathing. The cause, experts say, could be a little-known condition called seminal plasma hypersensitivity, an allergy to proteins found in semen. Dr Michael Carroll, associate professor in reproductive science at Manchester Metropolitan University, says the condition may affect more people than previously thought—and often goes undiagnosed. Writing for The Conversation, he warned it is often mistaken for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), yeast infections, and general sensitivity. But one clue you're in fact 'allergic to sex', is 'symptoms disappearing when condoms are used', he revealed. The sex allergy is now recognised as a 'type 1 hypersensitivity', falling into the same category as peanut allergy, cat dander, and hay fever, he said. While rare, the professor argues that is underdiagnosed due to embarrassment, stigma and a lack of awareness—meaning 'many women suffer in silence'. In women it typically affects the vulva or vagina, but can also cause full body symptoms like hives, wheezing, dizziness, runny nose and even anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening immune response, he warned. Seminal plasma hypersensitivity was first documented in 1967, when a woman was hospitalised after a 'violent allergic reaction' to sex. It was thought to only affect less than 100 women globally, until a study in 1997 found that nearly 12 per cent of those reporting symptoms after sex could have the allergy. While Dr Michael Carroll had similar results in his own unpublished survey in 2013, he thinks the true figure could be higher. The professor said: 'It's time to bring this hidden condition out of the shadows and into the consultation room. 'And it's not just women. It's possible some men may be allergic to their own sperm,' he added. In men it has also been called post-orgasmic illness syndrome—because it causes symptoms that last seconds, minutes or even hours after ejaculation. It can cause headaches, burning eyes, a runny nose, sore throat, fever, muscle weakness and fatigue, claimed French researchers last year. More extreme symptoms include palpitations and incoherent speech, wrote an expert Hospital Center des Quatre Villes, on the outskirts of Paris in a French journal. In the hours after climaxing, a 22-year-old man was described as suffering from sneezing, watery eyes, stomach cramps, muscle pain and deep fatigue, in a paper published in the American Journal of Case Reports earlier this year. While only 60 cases post-orgasmic illness syndrome have been reported since it was first discovered in 2002, it could affect many more as it is likely some don't seek medical attention. 'The problem isn't the sperm', explained Dr Michael Carroll, but rather a prostate-specific antigen, a compound found in semen. And it isn't specific to any one partner—women can develop a reaction to any man's ejaculate. There was also evidence of something called 'cross-reactivity' found—when those with existing allergies can develop another one. So if you're allergic to dogs or other things, you may have developed an allergy to sex, even if you don't realise it. 'In one unusual case, a woman with a Brazil nut allergy broke out in hives after sex, probably due to trace nut proteins in her partner's semen,' he said. The diagnostic process involves a review of your sexual and medical history often followed by a skin prick test with your partner's semen or blood tests. Treatments include prophylactic antihistamines to prevent allergic reactions before exposure and anti-inflammatories. There is also desensitisation, which involves a doctor placing a diluted semen solution in the vagina or onto the penis, at 20 minutes intervals. While the allergy doesn't directly affect fertility—and many women with SHP successfully conceive—it can complicate things. 'Avoiding the allergen—usually the most effective treatment for allergies—isn't feasible for couples trying to conceive,' he explained. So, if your allergic to sex and you're trying for a baby, you may wish to choose IVF with washed sperm—to avoid the allergen PSA altogether.
Sky News
15 minutes ago
- Sky News
Plans unveiled for NHS funding to be linked to patient feedback
NHS funding could be linked to patient feedback under new plans, with poorly performing services that "don't listen" penalised with less money. As part of the "10 Year Health Plan" to be unveiled next week, a new scheme will be trialled that will see patients asked to rate the service they received - and if they feel it should get a funding boost or not. It will be introduced first for services that have a track record of very poor performance and where there is evidence of patients "not being listened to", the government said. This will create a "powerful incentive for services to listen to feedback and improve patients' experience", it added. Sky News understands that it will not mean bonuses or pay increases for the best performing staff. NHS payment mechanisms will also be reformed to reward services that keep patients out of hospital as part of a new 'Year of Care Payments' initiative and the government's wider plan for change. 2:04 Speaking to The Times, chief executive of the NHS Confederation Matthew Taylor expressed concerns about the trial. He told the newspaper: "Patient experience is determined by far more than their individual interaction with the clinician and so, unless this is very carefully designed and evaluated, there is a risk that providers could be penalised for more systemic issues, such as constraints around staffing or estates, that are beyond their immediate control to fix." He said that NHS leaders would be keen to "understand more about the proposal", because elements were "concerning". Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "We will reward great patient care, so patient experience and clinical excellence are met with extra cash. These reforms are key to keeping people healthy and out of hospital, and to making the NHS sustainable for the long-term as part of the Plan for Change." In the raft of announcements in the 10 Year Health Plan, the government has said 201 bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England will be scrapped. These include Healthwatch England, set up in 2012 to speak out on behalf of NHS and social care patients, the National Guardian's Office, created in 2015 to support NHS whistleblowers, and the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB). Elsewhere, the new head of NHS England Sir Jim Mackey said key parts of the NHS appear "built to keep the public away because it's an inconvenience". "We've made it really hard, and we've probably all been on the end of it," he told the Daily Telegraph.
