For a long time, traditional herbal medicines were available throughout Europe without any proper quality control and regulation. Concerns about patient safety lead to the publication of the Traditional Herbal Medicinal and Herbal Products directive in 2004 which came into force in 2011. This means that no herbal remedy medicine can be legally sold throughout the EU unless it has […]
Various shots of 1940s glamour girls in swimsuits and high heels using exercise machines in a gym. The machines are “the latest mechanised units” of the kind that massage away lumps and bumps (supposedly) on legs, tummies and bottoms. Great footage for showing exercising machines and typical 1940s swimsuits and hairstyles. Fast swing music on […]
Sarah is about to start her first assignment for MSF, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She blogs about why she decided to sign up, how she’s been preparing, and one very important question… This time a year ago I was an NHS general practitioner in Banbury. In two weeks time I will probably be […]
Rebecca Wallersteiner takes a look at the 19th century’s greatest prison and nursing reformer Elizabeth Fry – the sober face on our fivers. Only three things frightened Elizabeth Fry, writes Averil Douglas Opperman in her timely and well-researched biography: ‘the sea, darkness and death.’ Drawing on Fry’s family archive, her diaries, personal letters and an […]
Read More… from While it is yet Day: The Story of Elizabeth Fry
Going back to work after the summer vacations can be hard enough, but if you’re a shift worker the stress of going back to work may sound even more daunting. Shift work means working outside of the 9 am to 6 pm routine hours, and in some cases throughout the night. Research reports that shift […]
Bedlam: The Asylum and Beyond at the Wellcome Collection Rebecca Wallersteiner explores ‘Bedlam’ and the rise and fall of the asylum, a new exhibition opening at the Wellcome Collection on 15th September From 15th September, the Wellcome Collection, in London, will open its doors to Bedlam: the asylum and beyond an exhibition tracing the rise […]
Rebecca Wallersteiner takes a look at the 19th century’s greatest, visionary army doctor who was hiding a secret – he was a woman dressing as a man. Drawing on a decade of research in archives all over the world, including previously unknown material, Dr Michael du Preez, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons […]
Whatever hours you keep, and how many times you cross time zones, you can’t change your physiology. You are always going to be a 24-hour person, running on a precisely calibrated body clock which dictates when you feel sleepy, aroused, hungry, cooler and warmer. Although the sleep-wake cycle is the most obvious circadian rhythm, endocrine […]
Rebecca Wallersteiner reviews ‘Fighting Fit’ a new World War II Medical History Book, by medical historian Laura Dawes – which explores how the nation’s health improved during England’s darkest hours At the beginning of the Second World War, medical experts predicted epidemics of physical and mental illness on the home front. Rationing would decimate the […]
Read More… from Fighting Fit: The Wartime Battle for Britain’s Health
How would you respond to an interview request from the BBC Radio Four flagship breakfast programme Today – especially if it concerned a potentially contentious issue? The idea of being in a media controversy may alarm you, but controversy is usually more of an opportunity than a threat for the well prepared interviewee. Sidestepping controversy […]