How would you like to be really fit? … “Fit for what?” you may ask. Physical fitness may mean different things to different people. To the doctor, it may mean freedom from disease. To the weight lifter, it may mean muscle mass. To a football player, it may mean the ability to play 100 minutes [...]

I think many people believe that the ‘experts’ weigh up such a balance on their behalf. You might imagine that the treatment your practitioner recommends is based on a careful assessment, considering all aspects of each possible treatment as well as your personal, social and psychological situation and needs. That is far from the truth. [...]

The fact that there are so many different types of cancer is one reason why there is no treatment which cures all types of cancer. There is a second reason. Cancer cells are not different enough from our normal cells. After all, they are actually part of us, they are cells which belong to our [...]

A new generation of doctors has grown up, unskilled in difficult forceps deliveries, but knowledgeable and skilled in caesarean section. Naturally, when complications arise, this is the procedure they will use and also teach. Previously, a caesarean section was done in the “classical” manner. The incision in the uterus or womb was straight up and [...]

The threat of the client’s disempowerment in the helping process can be moderated by sharing the decision-making and risk-taking with the client. This is readily achieved through the process of informed consent. The latin roots of consent, con sentire, mean to feel with. Consent is about mutual understanding. You need to understand how the client [...]

1. An amount of food containing 50 grams of carbohydrate is given to a volunteer to eat. For example, to test boiled spaghetti, the volunteer would be given 200 grams of spaghetti which supplies 50 grams of carbohydrate (we work this out from food composition tables)—50 grams of carbohydrate is equivalent to 3 tablespoons of [...]

There was a time when folks lived far from towns and doctors were few and far between. Often, in the depths of winter, isolation was made absolute by deep snow or raging floods. Sickness did not conveniently or kindly delay its visitation until these obstacles had passed. Rather, it seemed to prefer to wait until [...]

The margin of the pupil, pars iridica retinae, in its dilatation, colour, shape and plasticity, is a reflection of the central nervous system. One which is of delicate appearance, of reddish-brown colour and with a uniform edge, is to be regarded as normal. To enumerate the varieties of individual form and colour is beyond the [...]

The second drug used at St Thomas’ is called bromocryptine. It isn’t very satisfactory as a treatment for the miseries, because although it can help some women with breast discomfort it doesn’t do much for mood swings, or have any effect on increased weight or the bloat. And the side effects can be pretty unpleasant [...]

As well as having to cope with pre-menstrual tension you may also have illnesses for which you will almost certainly already be under the care of a GP. For if you suffer from asthma, say, or from epilepsy, and can see from the chart that your attacks are linked to an approaching period, it may [...]