Latest news with #retiree
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'The air was so dangerous in my Birmingham postcode I ended up on life support'
A Birmingham resident who lived near the city's landmark motorway, the Spaghetti Junction, has revealed how she ended up on life support. Named only as Jenny, the 75-year-old woman said she 'never realised how dangerous the air was' until she was hospitalised with life-threatening pneumonia. Traffic fumes and poor housing conditions were to blame for her deteriorating health, doctors told her at the time. Living next to the busiest motorway in Europe, she also found herself suffering regular asthma attacks just from stepping outside. Read more: Couple who starved their dog told RSPCA inspectors she was 'given to them by drug dealers' The retiree found her health drastically improved when she moved nearer to green spaces and away from the motorway. Speaking as part of a new Health Equals campaign this week, she said: 'I never realised just how dangerous the air I was breathing every day really was, I used to live near Spaghetti Junction, and would suffer regular asthma attacks just from stepping outside my door. "It wasn't until I ended up in hospital with pneumonia and on life support that doctors told me the traffic fumes and my poor housing conditions were to blame. "Everyone deserves clean air – not just those lucky enough to live near green spaces or away from busy roads. My health improved dramatically after I moved and started walking in parks. But not everyone has that choice." Her experience with air pollution comes as Health Equals, a coalition of 85 organisations, revealed World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines were breached in 35,000 neighbourhoods across Britain. Its report also outlined all 506 schools in Birmingham were in neighbourhoods failing the guidelines, putting 290,000 children at risk of serious long term health problems, including heart disease and stroke. The new findings are being released as part of Health Equals' Make Health Equal campaign, to highlight alarming health inequalities: where toxic air, alongside other issues including poor income, unstable jobs and unsafe homes, are contributing to an alarming 16-year gap in life expectancy across the UK. Health Equals is calling for a cross-government strategy that prioritises action on these essential building blocks of health, to stop lives being cut short. City environment boss Coun Majid Mahmood said: "Poor air quality is a major risk to public health, and that is why we are committed to improving the city's air through our clean air strategy. 'Data published in October 2023 showed that our work to address the air pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, is delivering results, with pollution levels in Birmingham city centre slashed by almost 40 per centr since 2016, driven in part by the introduction of the Clean Air Zone. 'Across the city, a dedicated air quality monitoring programme of potential 'hotspots' in Birmingham has found that all sites are within the annual mean air quality objective. This three year monitoring project concluded in 2024 and sought to identify any locations where concentrations of nitrogen dioxide might exceed the annual mean air quality objective. I am pleased to confirm our evidence suggests that outside of the city centre area, air quality concentrations are within legal limits. 'We also monitor particulate matter, both coarse and fine fractions (PM10 and PM2.5), and all of our sites continue to show compliance with legal limits set by Government. We will continue to work with Government to further drive down concentrations of fine particles as we know these are the largest risk to health and we have extended our monitoring network to this end. 'This is supported by our mission to install year-round air monitoring equipment in schools a key component in this. These monitors come in tandem with accompanying education resources and lesson plans helping to inspire a new generation of Clean Air champions. Our work in this area is underpinned further by projects like 'Car Free School Streets', which seeks to reduce emissions during rush hour, driven by readings from council monitoring data showing that the school gates are among the most polluted parts of the city. 'The school sensor programme has the co-benefit of providing monitoring data for fine particulate matter, recognised as a key pollutant in a range of adverse health outcomes such as heart disease, lung diseases and cancers. 'Furthermore, surplus revenues from the Clean Air Zone are feeding directly into our transport plan, enabling us to work in partnership with the West Midlands Combined Authority to support schemes related to active travel, improve public transport infrastructure, and manage demand in the city centre. 'Projects funded by Clean Air Zone revenues include a trial of hydrogen buses, upgrades to the University railway station and new stations on the Camp Hill line, as well as a number of projects within the Cross-City Bus scheme, the expansion of the Car Free School Streets programme, and development of the next phase of the Birmingham Cycle Revolution. Community grants for projects delivering against our priorities have also been provided through the Environment and Transport Neighbourhoods Fund (ETNF). 'Our work towards our clean air objectives continues with the recent launch of a consultation into the renewal of the city's Smoke Control Order, offering greater powers of enforcement against those who breach guidelines. This is just the latest step in our journey, which will not stop until we have achieved our objective of clean air for all residents.' Have you been affected by this. We would like to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing us on
Washington Post
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Grin and ‘Bare' it: At this nudist resort, everyone has skin in the game
PAW PAW, West Virginia — The time was 2 p.m., the sun was scorching and a retiree named Dewey Butts III was reveling in his version of heaven: a swimming pool crowded with dozens of men and women — every last one of them naked, himself included. Here at the Avalon Resort, a self-styled 'clothing-optional' retreat two hours west of D.C., the dress code requires no type of dress (or shirt or pants) at all.
Daily Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
Aussie pensioner left to rot in squalid public housing nightmare
A 73-year-old man was left to rot in a mould-ridden public housing unit in Sydney's swanky eastern suburbs, with black mould crawling across the walls and carpets like something out of a horror flick. The retiree, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been living in his Coogee home since 2016, according to Yahoo News, after suffering a stroke. But within a year, the mould started its insidious takeover, and his mate and carer, Grace Thomas, has been battling the clueless housing authority ever since. After a promising start in 2018 – with the resident whisked away to temporary digs while they supposedly tackled the mould – the problem just kept coming back, bigger and uglier than before. MORE NEWS 'Plywood caskets': Outrage over bizarre $1025 rental Aussie man locked in $100k battle with council Where Aus tenants pay the most It was only when the man's electricity was cut off again, due to 'water in the walls', that Ms Thomas went nuclear on the housing authority. 'There was mould everywhere… it grew insurmountable,' she told Yahoo News. 'He actually placed tarps on the floor and then little rugs on the top, so that he could step out without feeling the squelch underneath his feet whenever he went to get out of bed. 'He was broken, and had given up.' MORE NEWS: Inside Australia's haunting mall mystery Supplied images show the horrifying extent of the black mould infestation – growing in the man's carpet, bathroom, kitchen, furniture, and even on his front door. In October last year, an independent report from a mould specialist at BlueBay Group confirmed what was already glaringly obvious: 'the current environment is not safe for human living'. Finally, after a hygienist report, the retiree was moved to temporary accommodation by Homes NSW, where he remains today. In a statement to Yahoo News, Home NSW recognised that the condition of the tenant's home had not met acceptable standards. The government department is now looking to relocate the resident to 'a more suitable, ground-floor property in the local area' and confirmed he will stay in temporary accommodation until his new unit is ready. Remaining units in the Coogee complex will also be inspected for mould. 'Homes NSW is committed to providing safe, well-maintained homes that meet tenants' needs,' a government spokesperson said. How can I prevent mould from growing in my home? Although mould can be found almost anywhere, it needs moisture and nutrients to grow. The following actions can help prevent mould growth by reducing dampness in the home. – Maintain proper ventilation: Turn on exhaust fans, particularly when bathing, showering, cooking, doing laundry and drying clothes. Open windows when weather permits, to improve cross ventilation. – Reduce humidity – Limit the use of humidifiers. – Limit the number of fish tanks and indoor plants. – Limit use of unflued gas heaters – Control moisture and dampness: Repair all water leaks and plumbing problems, for example, burst water pipes, leaking roof or blocked rain gutter. If water enters your home, completely clean and dry water-damaged carpets and building materials. Discard material that cannot be cleaned and dried completely. What are possible health problems from contact with mould? Health effects of mould exposure include a runny or blocked nose, irritation of the eyes and skin, and sometimes wheezing. For people with asthma, inhaling mould spores may cause an asthma attack. Very rarely, people may develop a severe mould infection, usually in the lungs – however, it is important to see a doctor if mould related health problems are suspected.
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I REVERSED my dementia with simple lifestyle tweaks... and without harsh treatments: Here's how
When Judy Benjamin started forgetting her own phone number she knew something was wrong. The retiree from Norfolk, Virginia, was concerned she was displaying signs of Alzheimer's, which she was all too familiar with as her mother and several uncles suffered from the memory-robbing disease. Your browser does not support iframes.
Malay Mail
21-06-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
‘Really traumatised': 65-year-old injured by collapsing concrete in Singapore HDB flat
SINGAPORE, June 21 — A 65-year-old retiree was reportedly hospitalised after spalling concrete from the ceiling of his Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat collapsed at about 4.30am on Thursday. According to a report in The Straits Times, Mohamad Hashim Arshad sustained injuries to his head, shoulder and knee — requiring more than 10 stitches. 'While he was sitting on the toilet bowl, the ceiling suddenly collapsed without any warning, and the concrete fell on him,' his daughter, 34-year-old Siti Nurhashikin, was quoted as saying. She reportedly said her father was left 'really traumatised' by the incident. Mohamad Hashim was said to have multiple health conditions and to be on blood-thinning medication. He was reportedly discharged from hospital yesterday evening.
