We all have an image of someone choking, going puce, running around and gasping. That may be true for some people, but someone who has a complete blockage of their windpipe due to an obstruction, is likely to be silent and may struggle to get someone’s attention and alert them as to what it wrong. As […]
Rebecca Wallersteiner takes a look at a new exhibition – ‘Electricity: The spark of life’ at the Wellcome Collection from 23rd February. Light is as important as the food we eat and the water we drink. Today about 1.1 billion people around the world still lack access to electricity and therefore have no proper lighting […]
In my opinion, the days of big clunky hospitals filling thousands of beds will soon be a relic of the past. Digital technology, telemedicine and concierge services, where people can access personalised medical care, will be much more efficient as well as more comfortable for patients. Concierge services so do not have to be super […]
In the depths of winter, the long dark nights can often seem never-ending. For many of us, January is the perfect to take advantage of the longer nights by catching up on some sleep after the busy festive period. While we sleep, we expect our bodies to restore themselves, leaving us feeling more refreshed when […]
‘I welcome the current focus on acrylamide, a toxic chemical that is used by industry to create dyes and plastics but also occurs naturally in overcooked starchy food. This week, the Food Standards Agency published a report detailing how many common food products contain excessive amount of this chemical, including cereals, biscuits and crisps. They […]
Conference calling has been used by the business community for great effect for years, but it has also been helping women and men lose weight with excellent results. As a specialist Cognitive Behavioural Therapy counsellor working on the LighterLife 2U programme, I personally support around 100 women a week this way – not meeting in […]
Why is it better to be hormone-free? Many women are happy with hormonal contraception, but many women are also unhappy, experiencing side-effects or worried about long-term health risks. It’s important to provide effective, hormone-free alternatives to these women. I co-founded Natural Cycles, the fertility tracking app which has shown to be as effective as The Pill […]
Around 70 per cent of breast cancers are so-called ER positive, which means the cancer cells contain a receptor for the hormone oestrogen. It is this hormone that fuels the tumours. Patients with this type of cancer are offered one of two drugs after surgery to prevent the cancer coming back. One of these drugs, […]
Read More… from Why do some breast cancer drugs stop working?
You get to do the usual general surgical procedures, which is bowel surgery with its many variations. You get to deal with orthopaedic cases. And you get to deal with obstetric emergencies. For me, the latter was the least familiar. As general surgeons, we don’t get that much training in obstetrics and gynaecology anymore. I […]
Read More… from A Pleasant Surprise – Caesarean Section in the field
The greatest moment in my career (and maybe life) so far, was when we discovered the Higgs particle at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland during the summer of 2012.We had been working day and night and at weekends for a long time to get the analysis ready. A few of my colleagues and I had […]