The Irish Times - Health

I have learned to live with constant fatigue

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:04:39 GMT

Bébhinn Nic Liam, who suffers from endometriosis, sometimes called a hidden disease, talks to SYLVIA THOMPSON

In US health system, money is everything

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:04:39 GMT

Some 46 million Americans don’t get healthcare because they can’t afford to pay for it – will the government succeed in bringing in a more equitable system, asks DR CHARLES DALY

Humble garlic becomes hot topic of conversation

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:04:39 GMT

The healing powers of garlic are legendary. Now it seems that they have been given the seal of approval by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, writes SYLVIA THOMPSON

Debate puts shortages to bed

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:04:39 GMT

The controversial issue of bed capacity was hotly contested during the fifth of the series of Irish Times/Pfizer health debates

Fears emerge over weight-loss drug's links with kidney damage

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:05:17 GMT

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency has recommended the product information for the widely used weight-loss drug Alli be updated after kidney and pancreatic problems were reported in a number of patients using the drug.

Blessed with two careers

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

Siobhan O’Keeffe has answered the call of two vocations in her life, firstly to work as a nurse and now to join a religious order

Get right to the heart of private insurance

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

How expensive is it to access cardiac services in private and high-tech hospitals and which policies offer the best cover?

Suicide surrounded by culture of concealment

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

Statistics reveal that Ireland has the fourth highest under-25 suicide rates in the EU

Plan early to avoid tension at Christmas

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

THAT'S MEN:Separated parents shouldn’t leave it until the season itself to decide what will happen with the kids

Lifelines

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

Health news in brief

Nailing the presence of poor circulation

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

CHECK-UP:The capillary nail refill test can help in assessing dehydration

Cutting back on diabetes

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

Weight-loss surgery has the side effect of improving type 2 diabetes. Now doctors are discovering why

The juice that claims to be good for all ailments

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

DOES IT WORK?Noni juice and general health

The raw recruits

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:11 GMT

Proponents of a diet of raw and uncooked plant-based foods say it can help the body heal itself of the most feared illnesses – including cancer, writes Clodagh Mulvey

There's more to ultrasound than baby pictures

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

It can be use to detect all sorts of ailments in a non-invasive way

There's a limit to our patience in drink debate

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

HEART BEAT:The national pastime of talking solutions is no substitute for action

Hunger truly is the best sauce

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

Hunger triggers the appetite, and the better your appetite, the more you will enjoy what you eat and drink

Diabetes on the increase

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

Advances in insulin management have come about in the form of insulin pumps and FlexPens, but progress in the search for a cure is slow due to a lack of investment

Kids and marathons bring mortality to mind

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

Are kids as a road sign on the motorway to death? I’ll choose to ignore that one

To read on or not: it's for to you to decide

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

How do we arrive at the decisions, big and small, that we make in our daily lives?

Spoil the kids at your peril

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

Psychologist Aric Sigman makes no apologies for telling today’s parents how it really is. He believes they need to learn how to say no to their children

Bring them up green - and save cash

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

By taking simple measures such as using reusable nappies – which are cleaner (ecologically speaking) and cheaper than disposables – parents can help the planet, their pockets and their children

Restoring calmness to the cot

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

ASK THE EXPERT:How can we help our three children to overcome their fears of bedtime?

In Short

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

A round-up of health news in brief

Hiqa report reveals 'unacceptable practices'

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

A RECENT inspection into a HSE-run nursing home for elderly people in Co Dublin found a lack of safety procedures were putting residents’ lives at risk.

Ash calls for resources to tackle smuggling

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

Anti-smoking lobby says its main concern is the health impact of cheap tobacco

West Cork has own emergency SUV

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

THEIR DREAM is to have a flying doctor-type service for the sprawling terrain in which they live, but so far one small community has helped save 11 lives with a special accident and emergency vehicle.

Pensioner is 150,000th patient on NTPF list

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:10 GMT

A 84-YEAR-OLD pensioner from Co Offaly has become the 150,000th patient to be treated through the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

Out-of-hours service Shannondoc lost €66,000 last year

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:09 GMT

THE COMPANY that provides an “out-of-hours” doctors’ service in the midwest serving 275,000 people last year has posted an annual loss of €66,329.

€10m plan could help prevent operations being cancelled

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:09 GMT

A DUBLIN hospital with 30 acres to spare has suggested to the Health Service Executive (HSE) that a centre which would carry out elective operations for the entire eastern region could be built on its campus.

New drug may help to combat leukaemia

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:39:09 GMT

THE IRISH Cancer Society has welcomed the discovery by Irish clinical scientists of a powerful new drug that can kill leukaemia cells. The drug works better than those currently in use but also seems to leave healthy tissues untouched.

The minefield of political correctness

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

THAT'S MEN:I’ve been taken to task over my comments about gender issues in last week’s column, writesPADRAIG O'MORAIN

At the beating heart of the smart economy

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

The life sciences sector, which includes pharmaceutical and medical device makers, is one of the few shining lights in our ravaged economy, writesRONAN McGREEVY

Raising memories of an injury

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

CHECK-UP:Raised, red scars over the site of an injury could be caused by a condition known as hypertrophic, writesMARION KERR

The religious issue and parents' rights

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

The following are responses to an article inHealthpluswhich appeared last week, October 20th, in David Coleman’s Ask the Expert column in the Parenting section

Chanting your way to inner peace

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

The re-kindling of spirituality is the catalyst for Snatam Kaur’s Celebrate Peace Tour, which arrived in Ireland last week, writesLOUISE ROSEINGRAVE

Lack of GPs threatens Ireland's future health

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

MEDICAL MATTERS:I HAVE long felt this country has suffered by way of not having a health policy think tank like the King’s Fund in Britain. Such an independent body would serve a valuable purpose in evaluating healthcare trends and by “test-driving” health policies brought forward by political parties, writesMUIRIS HOUSTON

Rembering to listen to our inner selves

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

MIND MOVES:LATELY, I’VE been listening to the radio more than usual. In between prophesies of gloom and accusations of political corruption, a commercial for testosterone deficiency has kept cropping up, writesTONY BATES

It started on the 'Late Late Show' . . .

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

YOUR HEALTH:AS POPULAR legend has it, sex didn’t exist in Ireland untilThe Late, Late Showbegan airing in the early 1960s. But while it may have been something that was once kept firmly under wraps, it now seems to be everywhere, writesCHARLIE TAYLOR

Harbouring bigotries we like to deny

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

HEALTH PLUS:MOST PEOPLE like to construe themselves as free of racism, prejudice or other unacceptable intolerances. Yet research shows the extent to which, ever so unconsciously, people harbour bigotries that they would vehemently deny, writesMARIE MURRAY

Aching for a better public dental service

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

THE TELEVISION mounted on the ceiling is the big attraction – or, should I say, distraction. When five-year-old Oisín McNally eagerly clambers on to the dentist’s chair and lies back, he has the best view in the room of RTÉ’sThe Den.

Missing out on compliments of the season

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:00 GMT

HEART BEAT:I THINK my memory mirror is slanted to reflect the good times. Most people can suppress the recall of bad days and I am no exception, writesMAURICE NELIGAN

Securing his own future

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

GERHARD BRAND now lives quietly in west Clare after having spent most of his career working in prisons in South Africa, including Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was famously incarcerated.

Why men should engage with their GP

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

MEN'S HEALTH MATTERS:Men should talk about their urinary problems as there is help available

I'm so lucky a liver was found so soon

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

MY HEALTH EXPERIENCE:I THINK I can call January 7th, 2009, my second birthday, because life hasn’t been quite the same since. I suppose it all started for me back in October, 2007, when I was attending the diabetic centre at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, and the staff spotted something and referred me to the hepatology department.

Lifelines

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

A round-up of upcoming health events

Drumming up a lot of reaction

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

There was strong reaction to the approval of Prof Drumm’s €70,000 bonus

More to the mulberry than a nursery rhyme

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

DOES IT WORK?Mulberry leaves and diabetes

Stents at heart of the matter

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

CAST YOUR mind back to November 1989. If you are old enough to remember it, chances are the outstanding event is the fall of the Berlin Wall, writes CLAIRE O’CONNELL

Children are the losers when parents go to court to battle

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

THE ADVERSARIAL legal system is no use at all in reaching the best solution for children when their parents separate, according to psycho- therapist and author John Sharry.

Teens under pressure

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

THE HSE is reaching out to teenagers to urge them to reach out and “let someone know” if life is getting them down.

The joys of flying solo with the kids for a week

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

IT'S A DAD'S LIFE:MY MISSUS recently set up her own business. If she sells to the market anywhere near as well as she sells to me, we should be living in a gold-plated house soon, riding about in diamond-encrusted hovercrafts.

Bedding down in one room

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

ASK THE EXPERT: Q We have three children – a girl who is five, a boy who is three and a new baby who is four months old. Our baby sleeps in our room, but we would like to move her into her own room soon.

HSE criticised over dental service

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:41 GMT

THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) has been severely criticised for its failure to manage its own public dental service that provides free dental care for children, people with disabilities and older people in care. The criticisms are contained in a new report on the service.

Dentists reject 'fraudulent claims'

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

THE HSE and the Irish Dental Association (IDA) have strongly rejected reports that in excess of 10 per cent of the €85 million budget spent on a dental scheme may be paid to dentists making fraudulent and inappropriate claims.

In short

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

A roundup of today's other health news in brief

Negligence claims due to misdiagosis

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

MORE THAN half the medical negligence claims settled against hospitals arising out of treatment in their emergency departments are diagnosis related, many of them brought as a result of a failure by junior doctors to identify injuries, usually fractures.

Tribute CD to raise funds for heart disease

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

MUSICIAN NICK Kelly lost his father, former Attorney General and Fine Gael TD John Kelly, more than 18 years ago to a sudden heart attack.

Tallaght hospital chief executive resigns

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

THE CHIEF executive of Dublin’s Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Incorporating the National Children’s Hospital Tallaght Hospital, has handed in his resignation.

North-South approach could make island safer for children

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

THE IRISH Government should work closely with the Northern Ireland Office to map out current differences in child protection legislation with a view to seeing where it’s feasible to harmonise policies and approaches on an all-island basis, a conference on child protection has heard.

Pregnancy alert for diabetics

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

WOMEN WITH type I diabetes should avoid pregnancy until their sugar levels are under control. That’s according to the author of a new study showing that for women with type I diabetes, poor control of sugar levels during pregnancy is linked with an increased risk of heart anomalies in the developing baby.

State must pay more in nursing homes row

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:40 GMT

HUNDREDS OF older people or their families who were illegally charged for public nursing home beds have successfully appealed the size of the awards given to them.

What is cholesterol and why is it so important?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

MEN'S HEALTH MATTERS:The build-up of fat in the arteries is one of the leading killers in the western world, writesTHOMAS LYNCH

Driving rural lifeline off the road

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

Reports last week that the Rural Transport Programme has been given a reprieve in the revised Programme for Government are greatly exaggerated, say campaigners.Marese McDonaghinvestigates

Rising status does little to stem abuse

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

THAT'S MEN:Despite women appearing to be more powerful, domestic abuse is still a huge problem for many, writesPADRAIG O'MORAIN

Slipping into some spinal disc problems

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

CHECK UP:Is there a difference between a slipped disc and a herniated disc? asksMARION KERR

Education = health

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

The relationship between education and health has not been investigated to any great extent in this State, but studies carried out in other countries show a clear correlation between average education and health/life expectancy, writesDON RYAN

The art of good health

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

A recent conference revealed a genuine openness to the role of arts in healthcare settings, writesSYLVIA THOMPSON

All aboard for quality time with the family

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

As the recession deepens, and the winter nights draw in, parents are re-discovering the traditional board game which offers a cheap and fun form of family entertainment, writesAILIN QUINLAN

Learning to be happy without piles of money

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

HEALTH PLUS:The experience of changed financial circumstances can be positive for many families – if they take the right approach, writesMARIE MURRAY

On a special Crusade for the children

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

A group of marathon runners has raised the funds needed to set up a clinic for special needs children in their area – with remarkable results, writesGORDON DEEGAN

The new me is a bit of a drip with nancy boy legs

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

IT'S A DAD'S LIFE:I don’t believe in maintaining anything, neither my overworked legs nor my cheeky children, writesADAM BROPHY

Please, can I make my first Communion?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

ASK THE EXPERT:Non-believing parents with a daughter in a Catholic school are finding it difficult to instil their beliefs in their child, writesDAVID COLEMAN

Battle of sexes has no place in medicine

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

MEDICAL MATTERS:Being a good doctor is what counts – not whether you’re male or female, writesMUIRIS HOUSTON

A bonus of contention

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:48:11 GMT

The approval of a €70,000 bonus to Prof Brendan Drumm in the current climate has provoked sharp criticism, given the HSE’s dire financial circumstances, writesCAROLINE MADDEN