Joanne Chiswell 'left to have miscarriage in West Midlands hospital corridor' | Mail Online

• Joanne Chiswell was in full view of other patients during four-hour trauma
  

• Her partner was forced to hold up blanket to give her some dignity

Traumatised: Joanne Chiswell said the experience had left her without any dignity

A mother was left on a trolley for four hours while she suffered a miscarriage in full view of the other patients, she revealed today.

Joanne Chiswell was bleeding profusely and dipping in and out of consciousness as she lost her baby in front of passers-by at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

Ms Chiswell, 29, from Erdington, West Midlands, said she and her partner Darren Mahon were left to fend for themselves due to staff shortages on Boxing Day.

She is now recovering after the miscarriage but said much of the night was a blur as she was losing huge amounts of blood.

Ms Chiswell said 'I don't remember a lot because I kept passing out from the blood loss. But what I do remember was terrible.'

'I remember being covered in blood and hoping they would move me to a bed and somewhere private.

'It was a horrible thing to have to experience.'

The couple dialled 999 on December 26 last year when Joanne, who was 11 weeks pregnant, started to miscarry.

Despite arriving at Good Hope A&E around 10am, paramedics were told there was no room for medics to accept the patient.

The mother-of-four was eventually taken to the Gynaecology Ward four hours later at 2pm.

Charity volunteer Darren, 36, said: 'Joanne was lying on a trolley, bleeding heavily, in the A&E corridor by the ambulance entrance and the two paramedics had to stay with us until they could officially hand over to a nurse.

'They were taking so long that eventually one of their managers came to the hospital to see what was going on.

'The nurses were so busy, they didn't even have time to help Joanne to the toilet. The paramedic went with her but she was losing so much blood that the loos had to be shut down after she had been.

'Other patients and staff were walking past us. In the end, I had to hold up a blanket with a paramedic to try and give Joanne some dignity.

'She was going through one of the most traumatic moments of her life but had no privacy, dignity or care in A&E.

'She was losing so much blood I thought I was going to lose Joanne as well as the baby. There was so few staff they were making us wait so a nurse could take two patients up to the ward at the same time.'

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Military-inspired medical centre brings battlefield techniques to NHS | Mail Online

• £20million military-inspired centre opens in Birmingham
  

A ground-breaking research centre that will bring medical techniques employed on the battlefield to NHS patients, has opened today.

The institute, the first of its type in the world, will allow military and civilian trauma surgeons and scientists to share expertise and research.

It is hoped that their work at the newly opened National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) for surgical reconstruction and microbiology, will boost survival rates of those suffering severe trauma in both civilian and military life.

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Mixed sex wards: 11,000 NHS patients placed in units in a month | Mail Online

Nearly half of all hospitals in England placed patients in mixed-sex wards in December, official figures revealed today.

NHS Trusts admitted that more than eleven thousand patients were placed in mixed sex wards last month without any justification.

The Department of Health data revealed that 92 per cent of the breaches took place in acute hospital trusts, which include centres that offer more specialised care.

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Want to boost your brain? Having a conversation is just as effective as memory drills | Mail Online

Struggling to remember names and faces as you get older? Try picking up the phone and speaking to someone.

Scientists found that holding a simple conversation could be just as effective as playing popular 'brain-training' games that have spawned a multi-million pound industry.

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Having a conversation is just as effective as memory drills | Mail Online

Struggling to remember names and faces as you get older? Try picking up the phone and speaking to someone.

Scientists found that holding a simple conversation could be just as effective as playing popular 'brain-training' games that have spawned a multi-million pound industry.

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Mixed sex wards: 11k NHS patients placed in units in 1 month | Mail Online

Nearly half of all hospitals in England placed patients in mixed-sex wards in December, official figures revealed today.

NHS Trusts admitted that more than eleven thousand patients were placed in mixed sex wards last month without any justification.

The Department of Health data revealed that 92 per cent of the breaches took place in acute hospital trusts, which include centres that offer more specialised care.

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Woman suffers stroke after amorous partner gives her a love bite | Mail Online

Doctors reported a woman developed a blood clot as a result of receiving a hickey. This then led to a stroke (posed by models)

It's well-known to anyone in a relationship that love can hurt - but one woman was left partially paralysed after a romantic encounter went wrong.

In the first reported case of its kind, the 44-year-old from New Zealand suffered a stroke after her amorous partner gave her a love bite.

She was driven to hospital in Auckland, New Zealand after she experienced loss of movement in her left arm after an amorous encounter.

Doctors suspected she had had a small stroke - but could not find any obvious cause.

Then they noticed a fading bruise on the right side of her neck - a love bite, also known as a hickey.

Underneaththe bruise they found the cause of the stroke - damage to a major artery, where a blood clot had formed after the suction of the love bite.

The clot had then travelled to the woman's heart, causing the stroke. She then noticed the problem while she was sitting watching television.

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Swine flu SAVED baby: Boy delivered early, doctors find knot in umbilical cord | Mail Online

An unborn baby's life was saved - because his mother caught swine flu.

Roman Whatmore was delivered five weeks early by emergency Caesarean after his mother Donna was placed in intensive care having contracted swine flu.

Doctors then discovered there was an double-knot in Roman's umbilical cord which would have killed him in the womb.

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Real-life horror: Video shows malaria parasite invade a blood cell and destroy it from within | Mail Online

A malaria parasite has been caught on camera for the first time breaking and entering human red bloods cell before savagely destroying them from the inside.

The Plasmodium parasite transmits malaria via the bite of infected mosquitoes. The infectious disease kills one million people every year and infects 400million.

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Legal plant-drug khat 'could lead to reckless and criminal behaviour' | Mail Online

Khat drug dealing in Ethiopia. The plant is legal in Britain but scientists have warned long-term use could lead to impulsive dangerous behaviour

Scientists have warned a legal plant-based drug that is popular among British students could lead to both reckless driving and criminal behaviour.

Khat is a leaf obtained from a plant native to East Africa, which has been banned across America, Canada and most of Europe but remains legal in Britain.

When chewed, it creates feelings of mild euphoria, increased energy and enhanced self-esteem. However, it also lowers inhibitions with potentially dangerous results, scientists say.

The drug is used by millions of people in Africa - about 60 per cent of the population of Somalia and 80 percent of Yemeni's used it regularly.

It has spread as 'ethnic communities' have migrated around the world, including to the UK.

The main ingredients of the plant are cathinone and cathine. Both are class C drugs in the UK, but the plant khat itself is not classified andcan be bought openly in shops.

Lead researcher Lorenza Colzato from Netherlands' Leiden University, said the spread of the drug was worrying.

'We can show that khat makes users more impulsive. It is associated with loss of self-control which may have dangerous consequences,' she said.

The cognitive psychologist added that long-term use of khat might even lead to reckless driving and criminal behaviour.

Researchers from the universities of Leiden, Amsterdam and Granada, launched a two-month research project looking at long-term khat users living in the Netherlands, where it is also legal.

Test subjects were asked to press a button as soon as a green arrow appeared on a screen. If the colour of the arrow turned red, they were not supposed to press any button.

'In terms of accuracy and speed of response with the green arrows, khat users performed as well as non-users, but they found it much harder to restrain themselves when the arrow turned red,' the team reported.

Ms Colzato said the project was the first research into the effects of long-term khat use on behaviour and cognitive functions.

They will now look at khat's effects on memory and multi-tasking skills.

Last year, psychiatrist Dr Eleni Palezido warned that khat can be a catalyst for mental health problems.

'When you stop taking khat all the dopamine (a chemical associated with feelings of pleasure in the brain) leaves your system, so people get depressed, they can get paranoid, hear voices and it can lead to a full blown psychotic state,' she said.

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Great-grandmother Ellen McDonald survives cancer FIVE times and celebrates 100th birthday | Mail Online

• Ms McDonald had both her breasts and gall bladder removed

• 'I'm a fighter', she tells priest giving her Last Rites in 1963

100 years young: Mrs McDonald said she felt good for her age

A remarkable pensioner who has beaten cancer FIVE times and even been read the  last rites has defied all expectation to reach her 100th birthday.

Ellen McDonald is still going strong despite enduring several operations - including one in 1963 where a priest was called as doctors thought she wouldn't survive.

The feisty great-grandmother from Leeds was born in 1911, the same year as the coronation  of King George V and when the first motor car was made in the UK.

Her health issues began when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in  the early 1950s and she had to have a double mastectomy.

She was diagnosed with cancer of the gall bladder a few years later - but she beat the disease by having her gall bladder removed as well as a further operation after the  cancer spread.

In 1963, Mrs McDonald was diagnosed with cancer of  the bowel and after the operation to remove the tumour it was thought that she wouldn't survive.

Mrs McDonald said: 'I've had it tough with the old cancer, five  times it has tried to take me in total but I've managed to fight it off.

'Ive had a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy from my fifth bout, I've had my  gall bladder removed and I survived bowel cancer.

'After one operation I woke and the surgeon told me that the operation was over but wasn't sure if I would pull through because those procedures weren't as common back then.

'I can remember a priest was in the room standing over me and he was reading  passages from the Bible and there was somebody else there who was crying.

'I scrubbed floors on my hands and knees for a shilling an hour for 26 years, hard work keeps you going I think.'

'But I told them I am a fighter and I managed to pull through. I made it  through because of my fighting spirit and the skill of the surgeons who performed the operations to remove the areas where the cancer had struck.

'Chemotherapy has obviously kept it at bay as well. But apart from those scares  half-a-century ago I am in good health.'

The former war-time crane driver lives in sheltered accommodation now after losing her husband Jim 18 years ago.

She keeps active and regularly attends an over-55s club and says that it is  plain old hard work that has kept her going plus the occasional glass of wine.

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Memories: Mrs McDonald on her wedding day to her husband Jim on 2 September, 1933. Jim died 18 years ago weeks before their diamond anniversary

She said: 'My advice for a longer life would be to work hard to keep your body active. I scrubbed floors on my hands and knees for a shilling an hour for 26 years, hard work keeps you going I think.

'I still do a bit of shopping and like to get out. I do the dusting, I look  after my own meals and do the washing up at the sink. I have a bit of help with  the heavy stuff though.

'It is nice to live this long but to be honest the spring in my step went a couple of years ago. I think when I was about 96 I felt different but I still feel good for my age.

'I don't think there is a secret to a long life its just fate, but I know more and more people are living to 100. My cousin is 107.'

The centenarian spent most of her working life working at Leeds infirmary where she worked as a supervisor.

She said: 'I was scrubbing floors and steps, no mops, no vacuum cleaners - just  elbow grease.'

Mrs McDonald married husband Jim in 1933 and they spent a happy life together raising  their five sons and became great-grandparents of six and grandparents of eight.

Sadly Jim died just three weeks before the couple could celebrate their diamond  wedding anniversary.

She said: 'I only have three sons left, Gerard, Adrian and Laurie. Poor Laurie  has diabetes and has had to have two of his legs removed.'

Her son Adrian, 54 added: 'My mum is great for her age and she is in good health apart from the cancer scares .'

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Fitness fanatic goes from size 10 to 18 in weeks after pituitary gland tumour | Mail Online

• 26-year-old finally diagnosed after five years of tests

Fitness fanatic Kathryn Weir's life turned into a 'living hell' when her weight mysteriously shot up, making her so fat she was ashamed to leave the house.

The sporty 26-year-old, who enjoyed 90-minute sessions in the gym, ballooned from a trim size 10 to a size 18 in the space of a few weeks.

Doctors were baffled when Kathryn Weir, from Widnes, Cheshire, suddenly began to gain weight around her stomach for no apparent reason.

Her face became bloated and swollen and she began to grow dark hairs on her chest and back.

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Mother's bone marrow could cure her unborn baby of genetic diseases | Mail Online

The new technique could cure babies of genetic diseases before they are born

A 'miracle' stem cell cure that treats potentially deadly blood diseases in babies while they are still in the womb has been developed by scientists.

In tests, researchers took bone marrow cells from a pregnant mother and injected them into the developing foetus.

The donor cells were accepted by the foetus's growing immune system without the need for any drugs.

The experiment - carried out on animals - is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully transplant a mother's stem cells into her offspring before birth.

The technique could one day be used to treat a range of genetic diseases which affect thousands of Britons - including sickle cell anaemia or 'bubble boy disease', the immune system disorder that leaves babies vulnerable to normally harmless infections.

Dr Tippi MacKenzie, who led the study at the University of California, San Francisco, said: 'This research is really exciting because it offers us a straightforward, elegant solution that makes foetal stem cell transplantation a reachable goal.

'We now, for the first time, have a viable strategy for treating congenital stem cell disorders before birth.'

Stem cell transplants into unborn babies have long been a Holy Grail for doctors. It involves taking healthy cells from the bone marrow of a donor and injecting them into an unborn baby using ultrasound-guided injections.

If successful, the implanted cells replenish the baby's supply of blood-forming cells.

Many genetic diseases can be diagnosed in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors say developing babies are ideal candidates for transplants because the risk of rejection is low and because they are less likely to need long term drugs to suppress their immune systems.

However, most past attempts to transplant blood stem cells into a child in the womb have failed.

The new study - which appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation - found that a mother's immune response prevents foetuses from accepting donor blood stem cells.

Up to 10 per cent of the foetus' blood cells came from the mother, it showed.

When the researchers transplanted stem cells from the mother, the foetus accepted them.

'As long as the transplanted stem cells are matched to the mother, it does not seem to matter if they are matched to the fetus,' said co-author Dr Amar Nijagal.

'Transplanting stem cells harvested from the mother makes sense because the mother and her developing fetus are pre-wired to tolerate each other.'

The researchers now plan to see if the transplanted stem cells work in babies.

Bubble boy disease, or severe combined immune deficiency, is one of the most severe disorders of the immune system.

Babies born with Scid lack vital immune system cells in their blood. Unless they get a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, most will die before their second birthday.

Some forms of Scid run in families. The condition can be diagnosed from a DNA sample from an unborn baby. Around 30 babies are born with Scid each year.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder which leads to faulty red blood cells. Symptoms include anaemia, gallstones, jaundice and organ damage.

Around 6,000 adults and children in the UK have the disease, which is most common in people of African and Caribbean descent.

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Lactose intolerant: Why a stomach bug could mean you never eat dairy again | Mail Online

Diet worries: Abbie Wigley became lactose intolerant when she was nine

When Abbie Wigley and her friends came down with upset tummies after a barbecue, it was blamed on undercooked chicken.

Yet while the others had recovered within 48 hours, two weeks later she was still­suffering with diarrhoea, bloating and ­crippling stomach cramps.

Abbie, then aged nine, was taken to the GP, who­suggested that what started as food ­poisoning had developed into something else, possibly an allergy.

Under the GP’s instruction she gave up wheat for a week, but her symptoms remained. Then she was asked to cut out milk.

‘As soon I stopped having any milk, my symptoms stopped really abruptly—within 24 hours. It was amazing,’ she says.

Abbie, who is now 24, had become lactose intolerant.

Many people presume this is just something you are born with and around 15 per cent of the population are lactose intolerant from birth, often due to their genes.

However, tens of thousands— possibly more (as often the condition is not diagnosed)— become lactose intolerant every year following an illness.

It can develop from a long-term gut­complaint such as Crohn’s disease or­colitis or, as Abbie discovered, as a result of a ­simple stomach bug, explains Professor John ­Mayberry, a gastroenterologist at ­University Hospitals Of Leicester.

Lactose is the form of sugar found in milk. Normally it is broken down by the enzyme lactase, which is produced in the mucus lining of the small intestine.

However, during a stomach infection the bacteria making you sick attack the lining of the stomach and cause the villi— tiny finger-like projections which slow the­passage of food allowing nutrients to be absorbed— to wither, says Dr Trisha McNair, a community doctor who works at the Milford Hospital in Surrey.

‘This damage to the villi in the small intestine means the amount of lactase produced drops dramatically. Lactose is not broken down properly and goes into the large intestine (the colon), where it­ferments and produces a lot of gas which causes bloating, cramping and diarrhoea.

‘I work with the elderly and many of them become lactose intolerant after a stomach infection. They are especially vulnerable because­people tend to produce less lactase the older they get anyway.’

Many sufferers are likely to think their symptoms are the result of a chronic condition such as Crohn’s disease (inflammation of the bowel), coeliac disease (where the body’s own immune system attacks the gut lining) or ulcerative colitis (another form of inflammatory bowel disease).

‘It is hard to predict who will become lactose intolerant after a stomach bug— it is a bit of a­lottery,’ says Professor Mayberry.‘A group of friends or a family might go abroad, for example, and they might all get a stomach bug, but only one or maybe two will become lactose intolerant afterwards.

 

More...

• Organic milk has 'more healthy fats' than traditional variety
• Put down your knife and fork: Why eating a big breakfast DOESN'T help you to diet

‘The problem is that in the vast majority of cases they won’t realise that their symptoms, such as bloating or wind or urgent diarrhoea, are due to lactose intolerance.

‘They might put it down to stress or something like irritable bowel syndrome. Actually, it is the milk in the tea and the cheese sandwich they ate at lunchtime.’

The amounts needed to trigger a reaction in a lactose intolerant person are tiny, so it can be hard for people to realise that it’s­lactose that’s making them ill.

‘The amount varies, but normally it’s around 5g— about the amount found in milk for two cups of tea,’ says Professor Mayberry.

‘However, around 50 per cent of the lactose in our diet comes from hidden sources— it’s commonly used as a whitener and a sweetener by the food industry.

‘So someone might have a cup of tea and a slice of shop-bought cake and then suffer from diarrhoea, but they won’t think to blame lactose.’

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Three in four mothers-to-be miss out on flu jab | Mail Online

Almost three-quarters of pregnant women have not been vaccinated against swine flu, the Health Secretary has admitted.

Andrew Lansley said although the number of expectant mothers who have received the seasonal flu injection had almost doubled compared to last winter, more than 70 per cent remain unprotected.

Critics say the axing of the annual flu jab advertising campaign left mothers-to-be confused about whether they qualified for protection on the NHS.

What now? Critics say the axing of the annual flu jab advertising campaign left mothers-to-be confused about whether they qualified for protection on the NHS

Awareness is increasing, but many surgeries are running out of jabs and pharmacies are refusing to give it to pregnant women.

Official figures show just 27 per cent of pregnant women have been vaccinated, compared to more than 40 per cent of asthmatics and other under-65s at risk of severe illness. More than 70 per cent of pensioners have opted for the jab.

Changes to the immune system make pregnant women more likely to catch swine flu and to suffer pneumonia and other complications. Their unborn baby is also at risk.

The decision to add pregnant women to the‘at-risk’ groups entitled to an NHS vaccination was made early last year, but was notmade the focus of an advertising campaign.

Labour health spokesman John Healey said in a letter to Mr Lansley that there was public confusion over who the at-risk groups were and who was entitled to a free jab.

He asked why the Health Secretary didn’t ensure more effort was made early to reassure pregnant women the vaccine was safe and important, and why he axed the autumn advertising campaign.

Frances Day-Stirk, of the Royal College of Midwives, said it seemed women were not made aware of the jab’s benefits early enough.

Mr Lansley said the decision on who to vaccinate was made by scientific advisers independently of ministers and that a mass advertising campaign on swine flu vaccination would have been‘wastefully focused’ on the entire population, when only certain groups were eligible for a free jab.

He added:‘GPs have been inviting those in at-risk groups to receive the flu vaccine since October and the lack of an advertising campaign this year has had no discernible impact on the uptake of flu vaccine.’

A Department of Health spokesman said:‘At every stage, we have been guided by the advice of independent experts.’

Flu has claimed 112 lives this winter, with swine flu blamed for most. Senior doctors have warned that the NHS is in‘gridlock’.

John Heyworth, of the College of Emergency Medicine, said:‘We have seen A&Es overwhelmed, with people queuing on trolleys and long delays even for those admitted to intensive care.’

The Health Department spokesman said the NHS was better prepared than ever to deal with flu and that the number of intensive care beds taken up by flu patients was falling.

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'I hope you don't mind me saying,' said my cameraman. 'But your eyes have turned yellow...' | Mail Online

TV presenter Nigel Farrell tells how a bizarre exchange led to him being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

It had been a gruelling couple of weeks filming, yomping through the ice and snow with heavy cameras and tripod in one of the remotest places in Britain  -  Barra, one of the most southerly islands of the Outer Hebrides, 60 miles off the wild north-west coast of Scotland. 

We'd been shooting for a BBC documentary series called Island Parish, and now my cameraman Aidan and I were sitting in the tiny airport terminal beside the sandy beach where the planes land from Glasgow, heading home to London for a few days' break. 

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Consultants 'cash in': How overtime let NHS specialists earn£100,000 on top of basic salary | Mail Online

Hospital consultants are charging£100,000 a year for overtime, research has revealed.

They include surgeons at one trust who were paid£1,000 for just four hours of extra work.

This was at a time when the same trust - Mid-Staffordshire - was hit by a care scandal and standards were so poor it was said thirsty patients were forced to drink from flower vases. The consultants even threatened to‘down tools’ when managers tried to cut the payments.

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Swine flu: Deaths double to 112 as parents of victim, 3, want all children to get vaccine | Mail Online

• Devastated parents call on Government to offer flu vaccine to all children

Flu has now claimed 112 lives since October - more than double the number reported last week, the Government said today.

Out of these95 had the swine flu strain andthe majority of those who died were under 65 years old.

It comes after the parents of Lana Ameen, 3, released a picture of their dying daughter to try and convince ministers to offer the vaccine to all children.

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Woman diagnosed with Parkinson's after noticing symptoms while playing Wii Fit | Mail Online

A mother-of-two has revealed how she discovered she had Parkinson's disease by playing on a Nintendo Wii game.

Julie Wilks, 54, only found out she had the degenerative disorder after noticing that she was leaning heavily to one side when she was standing on a Balance Board while playing the popular Wii Fit computer game.

But despite being diagnosed with the syndrome last year - six months after playing on the game at Christmas 2009 - Julie has bravely vowed to live life to the full and has set up a website to help others who are suffering from the same disease.

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Down's syndrome blood check could end invasive test | Mail Online

The new test is highly accurate as it tests the mother's DNA to predict if the baby will have Down's syndrome (pictured posed by models)

A blood test to check for Down’s syndrome could almost eliminate the need for invasive procedures, says a study today.

The highly accurate test looks at the DNA of the pregnant woman to predict whether she is carrying a baby with the syndrome.

People with Down’s have three copies of chromosome number 21 rather than the usual two.

Current testing on the NHS combines a blood test to check levels of some proteins and hormones with a scan to measure the space between the spine and the nape of the baby’s neck.

Babies with Down’s syndrome tend to have more fluid collecting in the neck than those developing normally.

The‘false positive’ rate of these tests is around 5 per cent, meaning one in 20 will be told they are carrying a Down’s baby when they are not.

These pregnant women are then offered the option of further, invasive tests including amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, which have about a 1 per cent risk of miscarriage.

If these women were given the DNA blood test instead, almost all invasive procedures could be avoided, according to experts from Hong Kong, writing in the British Medical Journal. 

They said:‘If we took into consideration the results of the sequencing test, trisomy 21 (Down’s) could be ruled out in 98 per cent of those pregnancies.This would leave just 0.1 per cent of all pregnant women needing referrals for amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling.’

The experts used DNA technology to test blood samples from 753 high-risk pregnant women in Hong Kong, the UK and the Netherlands. Some 86 were found to be carrying a foetus with Down’s syndrome.

The test was highly accurate in detecting Down’s and did not miss any cases. The test, which is not yet available on a large-scale, is more expensive than conventional testing.

The number of babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome has risen sharply in the past 20 or more years– largely due to women delaying motherhood, other research has shown.

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Four hours of TV a day raises heart risk (even if you¿re fit) | Mail Online

Watching TV or playing computer games for long periods damages your heart, regardless of how much you exercise, say scientists.

The risk of heart disease as well as premature death from any cause soared for those spending more than four hours a day glued to a screen, it was claimed.

Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis of University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health said:‘Our analysis suggests that two or more hours of screen time each day may place someone at greater risk for a cardiac event.’

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Women 'more likely to carry gene linked to multiple sclerosis' Oxford University study reveals | Mail Online

Women with multiple sclerosis are more likely to carry a gene linked to the illness than men who have the condition, a study has shown.

The research, which analysed the DNA of more than 7,000 people, also found women were more likely to pass on the gene to female relatives.

Experts said the results helped explain why MS currently affects twice as many women as men.

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Got the FLU but can't reach your doctor? Here's ALL you need to know | Mail Online

Nearly all of those who died from the flu had not been immunised

Severe cases of flu are crippling the NHS with an estimated 800 intensive care beds being occupied by sufferers.

Chances are that you or a member of your family have suffered from it, or will do, but you may feel frustrated if you cannot get through to your doctor and need guidance.

Here are all the facts you need to know, starting with the latest statistics from the Health Protection Agency, the national disease surveillance organisation.

• The highest rates of flu have been among those aged one to four.

• The second-highest rates are among those aged between 15 and 44.

• Most fatalities have been aged between five and 65.

• More than a third of deaths have not been in high-risk groups.

• Nearlyall of those who died had not been immunised. Here we guide you throughthe different types of flu, how to avoid it, and how to deal with the symptoms if you do catch it.

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Dioxin scandal: Contaminated eggs from German farms have reached Britain | Mail Online

Fourteen tons of contaminated liquid egg that originated from German farms has been exported to the UK, health chiefs have warned today.

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency, today told the MailOnline that the egg had been used in some food products but could not confirm if these have made it to shop shelves.

Germany has closed more than 4,700 farms after poultry feed was found to be contaminated by toxic dioxins.

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Dog helper Sandie aids disabled owner by doing household chores | Mail Online

Four-year-old Sandie has proved she really is a girl's best friend - by learning to do all of her owner's housework.

The four-year-old pooch does all of owner Sue Line's shopping and washing - and can even pay for her groceries.

The Terrier-cross accompanies Ms Line, who is paralysed from the waist down, to the supermarket - putting all of her shopping in a bag, which she then carries around in her mouth.

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Green tea 'can fight off dementia and could guard against cancer' | Mail Online

Green tea could protect the brain against Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, say scientists.

The drink, which originated in ancient China, may also play a vital role in guarding against cancer, their study suggests.

Scientists at Newcastle University set out to discover whether the protective properties of the tea– previously shown to be present in the freshly brewed form– are still active once it has been digested.

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Like millions, my father was terrified of needles - it cost him his life | Mail Online

Fears: Frank must have known he was ill but refused to have tests

My father Frank had had a phobia of needles since a visit to the­dentist aged ten. He’d gone to have a tooth taken out and found the painkilling injection so traumatic that he’d fainted.

From that moment, Dad’s fear of needles was fixed and he refused to go back to the dentist— ever.

And his phobia grew, becoming a deep-rooted aversion to any kind of medical help which left him terrified of doctors and hospitals, too.

As children we’d tease him.‘Dad’s too scared to go to the dentist,’ we’d joke, as we were dragged off to the surgery

by Mum.

But it wasn’t until my daughter’s birth six years ago that I realised Dad’s phobia was really serious.

My labour had been traumatic and afterwards I needed a blood transfusion. Dad arrived at the hospital, armed with Mum’s Victoria sandwich cake, and sat with me, bravely ignoring the needle pumping blood into my hand.

Then I started to feel unwell and the nurse said the needle needed be reinserted.

Dad, usually so calm, became more and more panic-stricken, and by the time the doctor came he was pacing up and down the ward, sweating and visibly distressed.

I was shocked, but little imagined this phobia would have a far worse consequence.

A few years earlier I’d started to notice that Dad was going to the loo more often. Every time we visited a restaurant, he always seemed to be in there.

As a journalist writing health stories every day, I knew his need to urinate regularly might be a sign of prostate cancer or could simply be or a harmless enlarged prostate (an age-related condition where the gland simply grows).

I tried to talk to my father about it, but he dismissed my concerns. Mum, my sister Joanne and my father’s sister Margaret also pleaded with him to have a blood test, but he didn’t want to listen. 

 

More...

• New 'liquid biopsy' blood test can detect ONE cancerous cell in a BILLION

Dad was one of the most gentle, kind and patient men I’ve known. He was a devout Catholic, a headteacher who played the local church organ and loved his family. But he was also intensely private and could be stubborn.

So we stopped mentioning it and, as his symptoms didn’t seem to get any worse, we told ourselves it was probably just an enlarged prostate.

'A traumatic experience in childhood canoften be the trigger and, if ignored, develop into a fundamentalmedical phobia'

What none of us— even Mum— realised was Dad was actually getting up to go to the bathroom six times a night, and he’d become an expert at hiding this problem at home.

Looking back, I can see that this highly intelligent man probably knew he was ill, but his phobia stopped him from admitting it and asking for help. In July 2008, his symptoms suddenly worsened. It started as a bad back but soon became so­agonising he was unable to lie down.

After many nights without sleep my mother Frances and brother Michael were so­distressed they insisted on taking Dad to the doctor.

The GP wanted to give him a blood test to measure his­levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA)— a key indicator of prostate cancer. Dad was naturally anxious and scared, but Mum said she wouldn’t leave the surgery until he had the test, so he agreed.

A normal reading for a man in his 60s is around four. Dad’s was more than 700. It was one of the highest the surgery had ever seen. Dad didn’t have a benign enlarged prostate. He had prostate cancer, and he had probably had it for years.

But his phobia of needles and medical treatment meant it had been detected late. His needle phobia is far from an uncommon problem. 

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Sun, sea and skin cancer - why over-65s are facing a melanoma epidemic | Mail Online

Regretting being a sun-lover: Tiny De Vries developed skin cancer in her leg

As a young woman in 1969, Tiny De Vries was keen to make the most of the­sudden boom in bargain holidays in the sun.

‘I can still remember the first time I went on a package holiday,’ says the 60-year-old businesswoman and author from Bath.

‘I was 19 and took an all-inclusive trip to southern Spain. Until then, like most­people, I’d only holidayed around the UK and this felt so­incredibly exotic. I used to spend every afternoon on the beach.’

It was to be the first of many similar holidays and gave her a taste for the sunshine life that ultimately led to Tiny and her partner Martyn buying their own property in­Portugal 12 years ago.

‘Ever since that first trip abroad, I­continued taking package holidays to Spain for two or three weeks a year,’ says Tiny.‘I just loved the­convenience, warm weather and, of course, getting a tan.’

Tiny’s memories are idyllic, but fast-forward to today and she is still­reeling from the shock of discovering that, as a result of all that sun-worshipping, she developed malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer on her left leg.

Tiny is one of a generation of people blighted by skin cancer from package holidays.

A recent study by Cancer Research UK shows the mortality rate from skin cancer in the over-65s is three times as high as it was 30 years ago, and that the incidence of malignant melanoma in that age group has risen by five times.

They are more at risk of skin cancer than any other age group.

Experts are blaming the popularity of cheap package holidays to­countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece, which boomed in the Seventies, when the pensioners of today were in their 20s and 30s.

It is only in the past decade that the public’s attitude to the sun has shifted and we have begun to cover up or use sunscreens. As Tiny recalls:‘Back then, there was no thought of sun­protection. I actually used to slather myself in tanning oil, even though it meant I burned fairly badly. I would go brown eventually. That was what everyone did at the time.’

‘In the Seventies, package­holidays suddenly became ­accessible for the first time,’ says Caroline Cerny, SunSmart­manager at Cancer Research UK.

‘A change in the­culture of tanning including the explosion of cheap holidays and the ­introduction of sunbeds means we’re seeing alarming rates of melanoma for an entire age group.

‘We are seeing a generational shift in rates of skin cancer, with this age group five times more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer than their parents’­generation would have been.’

 

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• Like millions, my father was terrified of needles - it cost him his life

Tiny has undergone two­operations to remove the cancer, leaving a hole the size of a tennis ball in her left leg, and still has to have check-ups every three months to ensure the cancer hasn’t returned.

Though she has been given the all-clear, she is aware that if the c­ancer were to return and spread, there is only a 29 per cent chance she will survive five years.

When Tiny spotted an unusual mark on her leg in­February 2009, the last thing she thought it would be was ­malignant melanoma.‘One morning, I noticed a cluster of veins around the size of a 10p piece inside my left leg just above the ankle bone,’ she says.

‘Over the next few days, it started to bother me, mainly because it was unsightly.

‘It didn’t hurt and nothing­suggested it could be ­cancerous. I’m aware of keeping an eye out for changes in moles, but I thought it was just a blood blister.’

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Swine flu kills animal trainer on Harry Potter films | Mail Online

'Extremely popular': Caroline Lois Benoist was 26

An animal trainer who worked on the Harry Potter films has become the latest swine flu victim.

Caroline Lois Benoist, 26, died on the Christmas weekend, only days after being sent home from her job at a film studio when she complained of feeling unwell

Writing to friends on her Facebook page on December 17, her final posting read:‘Loving being back home even if I do feel like death warmed up!’. She died just over a week later.

From the home they shared in Hemel Hempstead her French boyfriend Guillaume Grange confirmed that doctors believe‘fit and healthy’ Miss Benoist was a victim of swine flu.‘She was sent home from work feeling unwell. She died last weekend. I am finding it all very difficult,’ he said.

‘She was a lovely, fit healthy girl. She had no health problems. There was nothing wrong with her.’

Posting on Facebook, he wrote:‘Thank you everybody for all this support. This {sic} messages warm up my heart. Goodbye Caroline, I will love you for ever!!!!’.

Originally from Guernsey, Miss Benoist had worked for Birds& Animals UK, which provides animal talent for films and TV, for the past seven years.

 

More...

• Schools put on swine flu alert: As Christmas holidays end, doctors warn of a 'children's epidemic'

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The price I paid caring for my alcoholic mum from the age of ten | Mail Online

Stacey Cuddy became a full-time carer to her mother Mary when she was ten

Most girls her age would have been gossiping between lessons about clothes, make-up and their latest teenage crushes.

Yet for Stacey Cuddy, from the age of ten, school and friends became an afterthought, fitted in with the demands of washing, dressing and feeding her alcoholic mother, Mary.

When her father Michael, now 63, walked out of the family home unable to cope with the violence resulting from Mary's alcohol abuse, Stacey became a full-time carer overnight.

'My dad wanted me to go with him but I knew that if I left, my mum would die with no one to look after her. She needed me,' says Stacey, now 19.

Stacey was one of a growing army  -  estimated to be one million  -  of young people in the UK under the age of 18 caring fora parent and, in some cases, younger siblings as well.

To highlight these carers' plight, Stacey, who is the subject of an ITV Tonight documentary, met Children's Minister Sarah Teather asking her how the Government could help these children.

Stacey says: 'Iknow people who've been carers since the age of five. You're doing yourbest to be an adult and not only shop, cook and clean, but also be there for your parent to lean on emotionally.'

Mary, now 52, began drinking when Stacey was four.

'My mum would pick me up from school and she would seem fine,' says Stacey. 'My dad, who was a manager at a locksmith's, would always be at home waiting and he'd make sure everything was done in the house and that there was a meal waiting.

'But my mum became more and more aggressive towards him. By the time I was ten, he left. I was angry but I never resented him.'

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