February - 2022

The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

Not getting enough sleep can lead to a vicious circle of over-eating and further sleep deprivation, but it may be possible to create a virtuous circle - where healthy eating actually improves your sleep. Tania Whalen finds it impossible to get enough sleep between her shifts, working early mornings and nights as a fire brigade dispatcher in Melbourne, Australia. So to help her power through a long night of answering emergency calls and sending out crews she would often take s

Vegetables alone not enough to reduce heart risk, study finds

Vegetables may be good for you, but eating a lot of them is unlikely to reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, a large UK study suggests. What else we eat, how much exercise we do and where and how we live may have more of an impact, the researchers say. But they emphasise that a balanced diet helps reduce the risk of many diseases, including some cancers. Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day is recommended by health advisers, including the N

Tongue-tie: Mums and babies 'let down' by poor services

Tongue-tie is a condition which affects about 10% of newborn babies in the UK, but parents say they can face major struggles for services and support. It occurs when the strip of skin connecting the tongue and the floor of the mouth is shorter than usual, and can affect feeding, although not always. Two mums have told the BBC of their problems trying to feed their newborn babies with the condition. "Excruciating, unbearable, helpless." This is how mother-of-two Clare Sinton d

Call 999 with early heart attack symptoms, NHS says

Thousands more lives could be saved if people knew how to spot the early signs of a heart attack, the NHS has said. Doctors want people to be more aware of common early symptoms such as sweating and tightness in the chest - and to call 999 if they experience them. It comes after a poll found fewer than half of people knew to dial 999 for some of the more vague signs. There are more than 80,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks each year in England. The overall survival ra

Blood pressure warning over long-term paracetamol use

People with high blood pressure who take paracetamol on prescription could be increasing their risk of heart attacks and strokes, a study suggests. Doctors should think about the risks and benefits to patients taking it over many months, the University of Edinburgh researchers say. Taking the painkiller for headaches and fevers is safe, they stress. Other experts say research in more people over a longer timeframe is needed to confirm the findings. Paracetamol is widely used

UK's four most common cancer types – the signs and symptoms to be aware of

One in two people will develop some type of cancer during their lifetime. While this can feel scary, it also gives us an incentive to pay more attention to possible symptoms of the disease, to help catch anything early, and hopefully have a better outcome if we are diagnosed. Of course, there are hundreds of different types of cancer, making it hard to be aware of each one, but having a basic understanding of the four most common types in the UK – breast, lung, prostate and b

NHS offers ‘world’s most expensive drug’ to children with rare genetic disease

A life-saving treatment said to be the most expensive drug in the world is being rolled out by the NHS for babies and young children suffering from a rare and fatal genetic disease. The gene therapy treatment, known by its brand name Libmeldy, is used to treat metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), which causes severe damage to a child’s nervous system and organs, and results in a life expectancy of between five and eight years. The single-dose treatment has a reported list pric

Plans to sell vaginal HRT tablets over the counter

Vaginal oestrogen tablets - a type of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - could be available in chemists depending on the outcome of a consultation. Under the proposals, women would be able to get them without a prescription instead of going to see their GP. HRT is used to treat menopause symptoms - and 150,000 women have prescriptions. Doctors caution that pharmacists and women need to be well informed on the choice of treatments available. The UK medicines regulator, the MH

Measles warning for children as jab rate falls in England

More than one in 10 school entry-age children in England are at risk of measles because they have not had their vaccine jabs, data reveals. Coverage for the two doses of MMR that helps protect five-year-olds against measles, mumps and rubella is currently at 85.5%. That is the lowest for a decade, and well below the 95% target recommended to stop a resurgence of measles. Measles is highly contagious, more than Covid, and can cause serious illness. Nine in every 10 people can