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Warning over triathlon death rate

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

It is one of the fastest-growing Olympic sports and one of the most gruelling. But a series of deaths among competitors in the triathlon has raised concerns about whether the physical demands of the race are too great.

'Thalidomiders': still fighting for justice

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

If you have ever taken a headache remedy, swallowed an antibiotic, sucked on an asthma inhaler, been injected with a cancer medicine or taken any drug developed in the last half century, you owe a debt to Nick Dobrik and the thousands like him who paid, in some cases with their lives, for your safety.

Manuka honey is the bees knees

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Manuka honey is a sticky golden indulgence that doesn't just taste delicious on your toast, it can also boost your health. Originally produced in New Zealand, Britain's first Mauka maker, Tregothnan, based in Cornwall, is now offering pots of its honey for £55 a jar. Manufactured in special beehives costing £5000 each, the Manuka commands a high price because it possesses proven medicinal qualities – as well as being a treat for those with a sweet tooth.

Is this woman a bad mother, or just honest?

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

What makes a good mother in this day and age? Is it the ability to raise exceptional children while juggling a high-powered career, churning out immaculately frosted cupcakes while looking both thin and perfectly turned out?

Jeremy Laurance: Social services cannot recruit because of the Baby P effect

Mon, 25 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Last week was a grim one in the annals of child protection. On the same day that Baby P's abusers were sentenced following one of the grossest professional failures in recent memory, the controversial paediatrician David Southall, who pioneered covert video surveillance to detect child abuse, learnt that his career was over. His appeal to the High Court against a decision by the General Medical Council to strike him off the register was dismissed.

Four more with swine flu

Mon, 25 May 2009 14:40:03 GMT

Four more people were confirmed with the swine flu virus today, taking the total number in the UK to 137, health officials said.

Virginia Ironside: Next week's dilemma

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:47 GMT

Dear Virginia,

For the last six years I've been having a very happy affair with a divorced German man. Despite the distance we see each other every couple of months, and he's met my children, family and friends, and they get on brilliantly. But he has a daughter of 25, and he always makes excuses when I say I want to meet her. I haven't met any of his family or friends. He's resistent to getting married and I'm starting to feel like a mistress, kept in the back of a cupboard. Do you think I should end it?

Best Wishes, Zara

Skin-cancer diagnoses hit record high

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The number of people diagnosed each year with the deadliest form of skin cancer has topped 10,000, figures showed today.

Media and publishing staff are worst binge-drinkers

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

People working in media, publishing and entertainment sectors are the heaviest drinkers, according to the Department of Health. They consume an average of 44 units a week, almost twice the recommended maximum amount of three-to-four units a day for men, and two-to-three for women.

'Legal highs' crackdown is doomed to failure, say experts

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Dealers of recreational drugs will barely be affected by the Home Office's crackdown on "legal highs" because manufacturers have already developed alternative substances that will escape prohibition.

Virginia Ironside’s Dilemmas: My eighty year old mother has bouts of paranoia

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Dear Virginia,

Every few days I look in on my mother, who is, at 80, quite frail, but fiercely independent. Recently she's been getting bouts of complete paranoia. She is convinced the neighbours are spying on her through holes they've bored in the walls. The other day she refused to let me in, accusing me of stealing from her purse. She won't talk to me on the phone and has been spreading rumours that I've hit her. Her doctor has tried to get a nurse to see her, but she just slams the door in her face. Is there anything I can do?

Yours sincerely, Angie

NHS 'loses' thousands of medical records

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The personal medical records of tens of thousands of people have been lost by the NHS in a series of grave data security leaks. Between January and April this year, 140 security breaches were reported within the NHS – more than the total number from inside central Government and all local authorities combined.

Life Support: How to be patient

Sun, 24 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Have you got a problem?

As with so many demons, the first step to conquering impatience is to admit that you've got a problem. There's a big difference between getting a bit restless in a traffic jam, and cursing the selfish bugger who has thrown themselves in front of your Tube train on the way to work. If you are guilty of the latter, then it is time to get some perspective.

UK swine flu toll is really 30,000, says leading scientist

Sat, 23 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Thirty thousand people in Britain are likely to have been already infected by swine flu, one of the country's leading authorities has told The Independent on Sunday. This would mean that the virus is 300 times more widespread than the Health Protection Agency (HPA) admits.

Five more cases of swine flu confirmed

Fri, 22 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Five new cases of swine flu were confirmed yesterday, taking the UK total to 117, health officials said. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said the new cases were two adults from London, two adults from the South-east and a child from the West Midlands.

First British sextuplets born for 26 years

Fri, 22 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

A woman has given birth to six babies at a hospital in Northern Ireland, equalling a British record set 26 years ago.

Abortion rate falls for the first time in six years

Thu, 21 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Figures published yesterday by the Department of Health showed a surprising reduction in the number of abortions carried out in England and Wales – the first such fall since 2003.

Girl, 8, has ovarian cancer

Thu, 21 May 2009 09:33:37 GMT

An eight-year-old girl was undergoing treatment today for ovarian cancer - a disease which normally affects much older women.

Hepatitis victims lose battle for extra cash

Wed, 20 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Haemophiliacs who contracted HIV from infected blood will see payments they receive from the Government double but those infected with hepatitis C will get no extra cash, ministers have announced.

'One in ten men on brink of alcoholism,' says report

Wed, 20 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

A quarter of the adult population is drinking at levels that are hazardous to their health, a report says today.

Cyclotherapy: Road to Ventoux - Messing with my head

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:51:09 GMT

I'm thinking a lot about the Ventoux. It's almost a full-time activity. I have a variety of images in my head. The Ventoux from a distance. The Ventoux close up. The climb up through the trees. The exposed, rocky upper section. I don’t think about the top very much. That would seem premature.

Cyclotherapy: Road to Ventoux - Messing with my head

Wed, 20 May 2009 11:51:09 GMT

Too much cola 'leads to muscle and heart problems'

Wed, 20 May 2009 10:55:56 GMT

Experts have issued a warning against drinking large quantities of cola, saying it could lead to muscle problems, an irregular heartbeat and bone weakness.

Anorexia vs. extreme surgery

Wed, 20 May 2009 10:14:50 GMT

Huge rise in Chlamydia cases among under-16s

Tue, 19 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The extent of sexually transmitted diseases among children under 16 is revealed for the first time in figures issued by the Government yesterday.