Health

Dr Paul Middleton

Vital Amines

Millions of people take vital amines everyday – now we call them vitamins. The vitamin industry is worth billions of pounds and generally, if you eat a balanced diet, you do not need these extra pills. However, there are exceptions – and vitamin D is one of them. About 1 in 5 of British people are vitamin D defi cient. “But I get lots of sunshine” I hear you say and you’d be right – your skin is an amazing structure and it actually makes vitamin D in sunlight. But, if you are reading this, then you probably live in the UK and, unfortunately, at this latitude, the sun is only strong enough to help our skin do this from about May to October. That’s British weather for you!

so, what does vitamin D do? Surprisingly we are still our title today comes discovering what from the wonderfully vitamins actually named Dr Cazimir do. Our title today funk, who was a comes from the wonderfully

Polish biochemist, named Dr Funk, and fi rst described who was a Polish vitamins just over a biochemist, and century ago. fi rst described vitamins just over a century ago. We now know how important vitamin D is for bone growth and strength but it also seems to play a part in our immunity. Patients with low vitamin D levels seem to be more susceptible to severe covid infection, so much so that the Government is planning to send vitamin D supplements to vulnerable people. current NHs advice is for all of us to take a supplement, particularly during the winter months. International advice on how much to take varies, but in the UK, it is 10micrograms or 400iu (international units) per day. Shop around: the profi t margin on vitamins is high and you should not have to pay large sums for these pills. some people do make the mistake of thinking that if a little of something is good for you then lots of it is even better. taking too much of a vitamin can cause problems. Always follow the dosage advice.

HEALTH & WELLBEING

winter warmers

January and February are renowned for being the coldest months of the British winter, but apart from the hard frosts and beautiful clear skies or even snow, what else do we need to look out for?

Many people feel the effects of the winter with poor circulation, numb extremities and even chilblains. there are a few simple home herbal solutions for one to try.

To increase the circulation to the fi ngers and toes; warm it all up with spices such as Ginger, Chilli, Cayenne, fenugreek or Cinnamon. consuming more of these and even the humble black pepper on food can be a help, if used regularly. the likes of curry, chilli con carne, stir fry with ginger and garlic are all benefi cial. The hotter and spicier the better, although it is not a competition!

Add cinnamon to morning porridge or cereal for extra warmth (cinnamon helps with diabetes too).

Old fashioned mustard powder in hand or foot baths are still very useful, just add a good dessert spoon to the water, with some essential oils like Geranium, ginger, black pepper or Peppermint. Soak for 20 mins along with some Epsom salt and it may make a big difference to poor circulation in the extremities.

After this, a healing cream, such as calendula can be very soothing and healing, particularly on chilblains, which can become very painful. Apply up to three times daily for full effects

Vitamin e as a supplement can help too, this helps blood become less viscous, thus better able to travel down small vessels!

When there is snow on the ground or a hard frost, it is tempting to stay inside to avoid the hazards, such as slipping, but you must keep moving! exercise is most important to the circulation. Move your body: run up the stairs, Yoga, on the spot running, Pilates or a skipping rope, every bit will help you. try anything, every bit is a small help and it all adds up!

Pop in for more specifi c advice.

Louise Idoux MSc. MNIMH Member of the national Institute of Medical Herbalists, Oswestry Herbarium, tel 01691 656934

A Vulgar Disease

Coping with acne

Dr Paul Middleton

Harry’s Mum came into his bedroom. That was not usually a good sign. “It’s about your sister” she said. That wasn’t a good sign either. Harry and his 16 year old sister had what you might call a “love-hate” relationship – they loved to hate each other!

“she has some spots and is very sensitive about them” Mum continued “I don’t want you teasing her about them. You will probably get them too, and worse, so I want you to think about this a bit”. “Why has she got spots?” Harry asked. “It’s called acne”, she replied as she was leaving.

Harry googled acne. Its full name was Acne Vulgaris. “My sister has a vulgar disease”, he smiled. “I bet it’s one of those Greek things again”. Actually, it turned out the first bit was Greek and the second Latin, from the romans. Vulgaris meant common - so she was both common and vulgar – what a laugh he thought. Acne was Greek and seemed to mean mountain peak. “I must look out for my sister’s snow-capped spots”, he thought.

However his Mum was right: 9 out of 10 kids got it: more than 600 million people in the world. “Wow” he said out loud. “I’m definitely going to get this too”. the spots were also called comedones, which meant something like worms in the skin which did not sound good. somehow he was going to have the A to e of skin diseases: Acne, boils, comedones, Dermatitis and eczema”. I hope it doesn’t go all the way to Z”, he thought. then it talked about white heads, black heads, nodules, cysts, blind spots (could spots have eyes and see, he thought scarily) and a whole load of the usual medical gobbledegook words. Apparently, your skin made an oil called sebum (the internet told him how to say this: “see bum!” Who’d have thought that?) I bet it wasn’t the Greeks this time, he thought. Turns out it was the romans again – he’d been told the romans were a bit crude.

It wasn’t all bad though. Most kids got it mildly, most grew out of it by age 20 (although that seemed a lifetime away to Harry) and most could control it with simple treatments. Perhaps acne wasn’t too vulgar after all. Apparently he would need to wash his face twice a day with lukewarm water and the same soap he had for his eczema. His sister had long hair and used makeup – neither one of his problems. eating less sweets and chocolates might be though, he considered.

It turned out he was still a bit young to get acne yet. Boys got it usually after the age of 14 and girls a couple of years earlier. It could happen on your face and back and even your chest. some kids seemed to have fun squeezing the spots: you could even make them ping on the mirror it said! that was something to look forward to! then he discovered that doing that could leave permanent scars on your face so maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. His sister had been stressed about school, or the lack of it. Mum said she had some important exams this year. stress seemed to make acne worse. “Perhaps I could help?” he thought, surprising himself! He looked up treatments for acne: the chemist could help with various lotions and creams that usually worked and, if not, the GP had other treatments that seemed very effective too. “I’ll print this out and leave it in her room”.

At tea he sat opposite his sister. “Hi sis” he said. His mother instantly turned to look at him. “Mum told me you had some spots”. His mother glared at him. “I can hardly seem them – noone would ever notice”. His mother almost fainted. Perhaps it was more love than hate after all.

All eArs for new Venture

Kate Haining, a registered nurse working as an EnT specialist, recently set up her business, sister Kate, because it was apparent there was a need for ear care services within shropshire and the surrounding communities. With a lot of gP Practices unable to provide these services, Kate felt it was the right time to start the business.

With over 20 year’s experience working for the NHs, Kate has been working in the shropshire community and on hospital wards. this has seen her based in the eNt Department at the Oswestry Health centre, for the last five years.

Build-up of ear wax can cause numerous issues for people including risk of infection, loss of balance and loss of hearing. this can leave individuals feeling isolated. The services Kate provides are known as Micro Suction and Irrigation.

Micro suction is the most modern, advanced, safest, and pain-free form of ear wax removal. the procedure is carried out with a high-grade surgical microscope to illuminate the ear and magnify the canal and ear drum. ear Irrigation is where water pressure is controlled in order to remove ear wax depending on the amount of wax and the sensitivity of the patient.

Kate says, “Our primary aim is to get ear wax removed safely, with no risk of infection and for our clients to leave extremely happy with hearing restored and any discomfort removed. Our COVID-19 prevention measures also ensure that it will remain as safe as possible to continue to ease any discomfort for our clients. Our clientele ranges from teenagers all the way through to pensioners.”

With a clinic on the Measbury road Industrial Estate, sister Kate is also fully mobile providing services across shropshire and the surrounding areas.

For more information, visit www.sister-kate.co.uk, message via Facebook or Instagram pages. Call directly on 07793 145 437.

Ear Wax Trouble?

Sister Kate can help

sister Kate specialises in micro suction and irrigation treatments to help patients remove excessive ear wax that is causing a blockage that has resulted in hearing loss or is causing unpleasant feelings in the ear.

Ear Wax Irrigation Service

The cost for this procedure is £30.00*

Microsuction Ear Wax Service

The cost for this procedure is £60.00*

*please note that it is the same cost for one or both ears