Feelgood 02-12-2011

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Feelgood

Friday, December 2, 2011

Cracking point How best to manage our Christmas stress levels in the midst of recession: 8, 9

MANAGING WELL

Young man lives life to the full despite Crohn’s disease: 4, 5

PLANET WATCH

Have yourself an ecofriendly festive season: 11

TASTY READ

We select the top cookery books to gift to friends and family: 12

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2 News front Kate O’Reilly WHAT’S ON ■ OXFAMBOOKS OPENS: Novelist Kate Kerrigan will read from her new book City of Hope at 1.30pm today for the official opening of the Cork’s first Oxfambooks store at 18A French Church Street. The new charity shop will sell books, CDs and DVDs and to mark the opening there will also be family events tomorrow, including music from singer/songwriter and beatmaker Anto Yau, a puppet show, storytelling and balloon modelling.

■ CHRISTMAS JUMPER: Wondering what jumper Ryan will be wearing on the Toy Show tonight? Gift card specialist One4all is calling on people nationwide to don a festive jumper and be in with a chance to win €5,000 for their charity by uploading a festive jumper photo to the One4all Ireland Facebook page.

A host of charities, including Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Concern, Barnardos, Soul of Haiti and The Irish Cancer Society, have registered to participate in this year’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign which will run until December 19. Check out www.christmasjumperday.com for more information, fundraising tips or ideas on how to make your own Christmas jumper.

■ GUIDE DOGS: The headquarters of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is being turned into a Winter Wonderland for the Christmas season. The facility will be open for three weekends in a row, starting with a special Christmas Weekend on December 3 and 4.

Members of the public are invited to visit and take a tour of the kennels and meet the dogs and puppies who are being trained to become Guide Dogs or Assistance Dogs.

Santa will be visiting this Sunday at 1.30pm. Tickets cost €10 per child with special family rates available. The ticket price includes a gift and can be purchased on the day. Families can also buy their Christmas trees, enjoy a Christmas choir, face-painting and a puppet show. Last year the Guide Dogs’ Christmas campaign raised €300,000.

The headquarters on Model Farm Rd, Cork will be open from 10am to 6pm, with kennel tours until 4pm, each weekend. For further details visit www.guidedogs.ie or call 1850 506 300.

■ SING IT: The Sing for Simon at Café en Seine in Dawson St, will run again this December to support the Dublin Simon Community. The Bray Gospel Choir will perform from 4.15 to 6pm on Sunday, December 4, 11 and 18.Donate as you take a glass of mulled wine and mince pie, with all proceeds going directly to Simon.

No cover charge; www.cafeenseine.ie ■ ART WORKSHOP: Cork Environmental Forum are holding a free children’s art workshop at the Lifetime Lab tomorrow from 11 to 1pm, or 2 to 4pm.

Suitable for ages four and up, Jessica Mason will show the children how to create recycled decorations and gift wrapping. Places are limited, to register email bernadette@cef.ie Items for inclusion in this column can be sent to koreilly8@gmail.com

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Pneumonia victim George Michael is recovering in a €100,000 bed.

Irish sufferers will not be so lucky, writes Arlene Harris

Costly care R

ENOWNED for his catchy tunes and trademark stubble, pop singer George Michael will not be seen on stage for some time due to a severe bout of pneumonia.

Last week during his European tour he was rushed to hospital in Vienna where doctors are working around the clock to stabilise his condition.

Pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics, oxygen and a nebuliser to keep the airways open. But George Michael’s recovery is also being aided by a high-tech bed (the TriaDyne Preventa) which costs in excess of €100,000.

Complete with oxygen supply, a foam mattress which keeps the patient in the correct position and acts as a barrier to bacteria and a rotating system which helps to increase oxygenation of the blood, the futuristic bed offers the latest technology in the fight against this crippling condition.

Available in hospitals in Europe and Britain, there is nothing of this kind in public hospitals here. “Given the cuts made to the health system, there would be uproar if public money was spent on specialist beds,” says a HSE spokesperson.

John Connell, director of Atlantic Surgical (suppliers of an acute care bed range), says beds of George Michael’s calibre are few and far between in Ireland but are sometimes rented from the manufacturer to accommodate seriously ill patients.

“George Michael is in the Rolls Royce of

TOUGH TIME: George Michael who is in hospital suffering from pneumonia.

Picture: Chris Radburn/PA Wire

hospital beds,” he says. “The TriaDyne Preventa is a premium product which would normally be used for patients in above-critical conditions. But they are regularly used in hospitals across Britain and would be fairly standard in European private care.

“Most Irish hospitals would have some electrical beds which would be useful for someone suffering from pneumonia as they can be elevated to suit the patient’s needs.”

Dr Bernadette Carr is the medical director of VHI, she says the 48-year-old star has contracted a very serious illness which can affect people of all ages.

“While most cases respond well to treatment, the infection causes a lot of deaths here each year — particularly in elderly patients or those with serious

medical conditions.

He says pneumonia should never be left untreated and if anyone is showing the telltale signs they should seek medical advice immediately.

Symptoms of pneumonia include: ■ Persistent productive cough — often resulting in mucus which can be green, yellow or blood stained ■ Mild or high fever ■ Shortness of breath ■ Shaking chills ■ Excessive sweating and clammy skin ■ Loss of appetite ■ Fatigue ■ Chest pain ● For more information visit www.vhi.ie

HEALTH NOTES Christmas, and will make a 50c donation from each in-store gift-wrap and €1 for every new fan on their Facebook page until they hit 22,000. Carphone Warehouse is also hoping to break the current world record for the highest number of Christmas crackers pulled simultaneously. They are aiming to achieve 1,600 cracker pulls today at Hanover Quay, Grand Canal, Dublin 2 at 12.30pm. There will be treats available for anyone who takes part, and a Christmas carol sing-along.

HERBAL cannabis grown in Ireland has a higher potency than the imported variety, according to a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) study.

The research, carried out on behalf of the National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD), provides the first national baseline for measuring the potency of the drug (Full report at www.nacd.ie).

NACD Chairperson Dr Des Corrigan said: “Many of the plants being grown here are genetically selected to ensure they produce high levels of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) but they also lack a substance called CBD, which seems to protect the brain from the effects of THC, which can include psychosis.”

A nationwide screening campaign has found that six out of 10 Irish adults (58%) have higher than the recommended level of cholesterol, which can increase the likelihood of developing heart disease.

The Flora pro.activ survey also found that 53% of Irish men and 60% of Irish women were found to have higher than the recommended level of cholesterol.

As part of the survey, participants were asked if they considered themselves to be overweight and almost half (49%) believed that they were. Despite this, 55% of those tested rated their health as ‘satisfactory’ and 41% rated their health as ‘very good’. This

www.irishexaminer.com www.irishexaminer.com

A coffee morning will be held in Carrigaline Community Centre on December 5 and in Carmel’s Garden Centre, Kilworth on December 6 at 10.15am in aid of Cork Simon. For more details contact Mary Morrish, Cork Simon Community on 021-4929410.

RECORD PULL: Models Louise Johnston and Rosanna Purcell practice for a Guinness World Record attempt with a festive twist for the COPE Foundation’s Annual Church Gate highest number of simultaneous Christmas Collections are taking place this Saturday cracker pulls. Picture:: Marc O’Sullivan suggests a significant disconnect between perceived health and actual health. Only 4% of those tested rated their health as ‘not good’.

Carphone Warehouse hopes to raise over €10,000 for the Simon Community this

www.irishexaminer.com feelgood@examiner.ie

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

and Sunday. If you can spare just 15 minutes on either date, please contact Ann O’Mahoney on 021-4554121.

Carols By Candle Light for Concern will take place at the DeVere Hall, UCC, tonight from 6 to 9pm.

Tickets are €50 from the Concern Shop, 91 North Main Street, Cork, tel 021-4223923.

Editorial: 021 4802 292

Advertising: 021 4802 215

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In Profile

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THE SHAPE I'M IN

Keith Duffy

Family man

K

EITH Duffy is enjoying the part he’s playing in John B Keane’s Big Maggie at the Everyman Palace Theatre, Cork, this weekend.

The 37-year-old veteran of Boyzone and Coronation Street plays Teddy Heelin. “He’s a great character, great fun. He has a very important role in getting the story told,” Duffy says.

He is married to Lisa and dad to Jay, 15, and Mia, 11, who has autism. Keith has campaigned to improve services for children with the condition and is a patron of Irish Autism Action.

The family home is in north Co Dublin and it’s where Keith wants to be every Christmas. “I always take Christmas off and make sure we have a nice family time.”

But the man who has served as judge and presenter on RTÉ’s You’re A Star won’t be following up Christmas with any new-year resolutions. “Everybody puts things off but tomorrow never comes. If I want to do something — if I’m serious about it — I’ll do it today. When you put things off, you never know what’s around the corner,” he says. ● Big Maggie is at the Everyman Palace Theatre, from December 1 to 3. Book online at www.everymanpalace.com or phone 021-4501673.

What’s your favourite smell?

My wife wears a perfume by Chanel, which I love because I associate the smell with her.

What shape are you in?

I’m in much better shape than I had been for the past 10 years. I did the ironman in Galway this summer, so I did a lot of Olympic-style triathlon training through the year.

What trait do you least like in yourself?

None of us is perfect. Over the years, I’ve learned of traits that people like in me and don’t. When I was in my 20s, I thought I knew everything — then I got into my 30s and realised I didn’t know anything. I try to make sure I’m considerate of other people’s feelings and insecurities.

Do you have any health concerns?

I’m not aware of anything running in my family that I’d need to watch out for and I don’t seem to have any allergic reactions. I’ve spent a lot of time in hospital over the years. I did damage to the cruciate ligament in my knee and I’ve also broken my hand and had to have a steel plate put in.

What are your healthiest eating habits?

I believe in eating small portions of food very regularly — 200g of fish, chicken or steak with broccoli, cabbage, sweet potato and rice. That would be a favourite. I eat about six meals a day in such a way that I’m never hungry but never full. I believe if you get that balance right you’re body will always be the right weight for your height.

3

What would you change about your appearance?

I think our imperfections become part of our personality as we get older. Just recently, I had some work done on my front teeth. When I was about 12, I got triangles knocked out of them because of a car accident. Over the years, when I was in Boyzone and so on, those broken teeth became part of who I was. But they were starting to become loose and I was afraid I could probably lose what were healthy teeth. I got it done for health reasons rather than cosmetic.

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When did you last cry?

I had a few tears the other day, thinking of my friend, Stephen Gately, who passed away a few years ago. For me, in my life, it has been one of the most difficult things to understand and every now and then I get a wave of emotion at the thought that he is gone.

What trait do you least like in others?

I hate people who are selfish, mean, greedy.

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Do you pray?

I do. I pray to Our Lady quite a lot. If I’m training in the gym or in the sauna, I might say a decade of the rosary.

What would cheer up your day?

A typical day for me is usually spent away from my family. What would really cheer me up is if my wife showed up, wherever I was in the world, with the kids.

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What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

It depends on where I am. If I’m at home, we’d probably order in a Domino’s pizza with garlic bread and some chicken wings.

Do you sleep well?

I’m a very good sleeper. I try my best to live with a positive mental attitude. We all get stressed over stuff and it’s easy to say don’t worry about it. I just lie in bed and imagine my body is a lot heavier than it is and that it’s pulling me down into the mattress. I imagine this all through my body, from my toes up — by the time I get to my head, I’m pretty much asleep.

FAST FOOD: Keith Duffy keeps in shape by eating frequent, small healthy meals throughout the day.

9 €39.9

Otherwise, how do you relax?

Because I’m away from home so much, it’s a pleasure to get home and chill out on the couch with the wife and kids watching TV. And the four of us watching The X-Factor on my bed — I love that.

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Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

It would have to be someone like Gordon Ramsay, or one of those TV chefs, so I wouldn’t have to cook.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

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Life’s challenges Alan Matthews thought his symptoms were stress related. After a holiday failed to offer relief, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Arlene Harris reports XH - V2

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IBD FACTS MORE than 15,000 people in Ireland have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

I thought I had a tummy bug M

OST students experience stress undertaking exams.

Allan Matthews was no different. When taking his final business management papers in 2005, he suffered severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, exhaustion and lack of appetite.

So when he left his college in Dundalk, the Louth man took a holiday to recover from the intense exam pressure and to restore his previous good health.

But instead of recovering under the Portuguese sun, his symptoms worsened. So, on his return, he visited his GP. “I began suffering from cramps and pain during my last few weeks in college and this continued during my holiday, where I was feeling ill and rushing to the toilet all the time,” he says. “I thought, at first, I had some sort of bug, but when I came home my mother persuaded me to go to the doctor and get it checked out, as I had lost a lot of weight.

“My GP was away at the time and a locum told me to take some herbal medicine and increase my fibre intake — but my symptoms got worse, to the point where I was passing blood when I went to the toilet. When my doctor returned, I went to see him and he sent me to A&E immediately.”

Allan, 28, was admitted and diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He was put on a course of medication and kept in hospital for three weeks. When he was discharged, he continued his life and thought he was cured — until another severe flare-up.

“After I had put on a bit of weight, I was allowed home, but although I was desperate to leave, it was probably way too early,” he says. “I was fine for a while and was eating and drinking as normal, when, one night, I got an horrendous pain. I spent practically the whole night

either on the toilet or being sick, and, the going to go down that road just yet — befollowing day, my father had to carry me cause you never know, there might even be a down to the car as I couldn’t walk. cure for me by that time.”

“Once I reached hospital, I was told that I This week, Dr Dawn Harper, of Channel had, in fact, got Crohn’s disease and would 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, launched new rebe operated on the next day — this was search into the impact IBD has on people’s probably a good thing as I had no time to lives. worry about the surgery, which involved reThe IMPACT survey was undertaken by moving part of my intestine.” the European Federation of Crohn’s and UlAfter the operation, Allan, who works as a cerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA). Supship agent in Dunported by Abbott, The dalk port, was laid Irish Society for Colitis up for a month, but & Crohn’s supplied the as soon as he began 120 Irish patients for to recover he started the survey. to piece his life toMore than 15,000 gether. people are officially suf“I was lucky to be fering from the condiliving at home when tion in Ireland, but that all of this happened figure is likely to be and my parents realhigher as embarrassly looked after me,” ment causes silent sufhe says. “It took me fering. a while to get back “There are two types on my feet, but of IBD — ulcerative since that time in colitis and Crohn’s dis2005 I haven’t spent ease — and they both another night in can have hugely negahospital. tive impacts, affecting DIAGNOSED EARLY: Allan Matthews, with his the emotional, work “I went back to dog Marilyn, says ‘I know that I have a work after four and social life of the condition which isn’t curable, but I can weeks — it helps sufferer. manage it quite well myself.’ Picture:Ciara Wilkinson. that I work in the “There are varying family business — degrees of severity and began taking the medication, which with IBD, but typically symptoms include, keeps me on the straight-and-narrow. I have a cramps, aches, pains, weight loss, extreme exroutine now, which involves taking tablets haustion and very frequent diarrhoea, which every day and visiting the Bon Secours hoscan be very distressing. It is a very debilitatpital in Dublin every eight weeks for iming disease and our research has shown that muno-suppressant treatment. And, in be48% of sufferers in Ireland find it difficult to tween those times, if I feel sick or know a cope with the condition. But, if detected and flare-up is coming on, I can take steroids. treated early, the results can be positive.

“I’m lucky that I was diagnosed early — I “So, while every stomach cramp isn’t going know that I have a condition which isn’t cur- to be the onset of IBD, anyone who is sufferable, but I can manage it quite well myself ing from severe pain or passing any blood at and have a wonderful wife, Doireann, who all should visit their GP. gives me so much support and never com“I know, sometimes, people are embarplains when I’m frantically worrying about rassed — but they shouldn’t be, because they finding a toilet. won’t be the first patient to present with a “It’s always in the back of my mind that bowel problem and they certainly won’t be somewhere down the line I might need to be the last.” fitted with a colostomy bag — but I’m not ● For more information visit www.iscc.ie.

■ It is most common in women between their teens and mid 30s but can happen to both sexes at any age.

■ Nothing can be done to prevent IBD. ■ Symptoms include diarrhoea, severe cramps, exhaustion, passing blood and weight loss.

■ Treatment includes surgery and lifelong medication.

■ 48% of Irish sufferers say it negatively impacts their life.

■ 77% have taken time off work due to the disease with 33% taking over 25 days’ sick leave per year.

■ Nine out of 10 people with IBD have been hospitalised in the past five years.

■ IBD should not be confused with irritable bowel syndrome which tends to be much milder.

HOME COMFORTS: Allan Mathews says he was lucky to be living at home after his IBS diagnosis as his parents really looked after him.

Picture: Ciara Wilkinson.

There are two types of IBD — ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease — and they both can have hugely negative impacts, affecting the emotional, work and social life of the sufferer — Dr Dawn Harper

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

Feelgood

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

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Life’s challenges Alan Matthews thought his symptoms were stress related. After a holiday failed to offer relief, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, Arlene Harris reports XH - V2

5

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IBD FACTS MORE than 15,000 people in Ireland have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

I thought I had a tummy bug M

OST students experience stress undertaking exams.

Allan Matthews was no different. When taking his final business management papers in 2005, he suffered severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, exhaustion and lack of appetite.

So when he left his college in Dundalk, the Louth man took a holiday to recover from the intense exam pressure and to restore his previous good health.

But instead of recovering under the Portuguese sun, his symptoms worsened. So, on his return, he visited his GP. “I began suffering from cramps and pain during my last few weeks in college and this continued during my holiday, where I was feeling ill and rushing to the toilet all the time,” he says. “I thought, at first, I had some sort of bug, but when I came home my mother persuaded me to go to the doctor and get it checked out, as I had lost a lot of weight.

“My GP was away at the time and a locum told me to take some herbal medicine and increase my fibre intake — but my symptoms got worse, to the point where I was passing blood when I went to the toilet. When my doctor returned, I went to see him and he sent me to A&E immediately.”

Allan, 28, was admitted and diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. He was put on a course of medication and kept in hospital for three weeks. When he was discharged, he continued his life and thought he was cured — until another severe flare-up.

“After I had put on a bit of weight, I was allowed home, but although I was desperate to leave, it was probably way too early,” he says. “I was fine for a while and was eating and drinking as normal, when, one night, I got an horrendous pain. I spent practically the whole night

either on the toilet or being sick, and, the going to go down that road just yet — befollowing day, my father had to carry me cause you never know, there might even be a down to the car as I couldn’t walk. cure for me by that time.”

“Once I reached hospital, I was told that I This week, Dr Dawn Harper, of Channel had, in fact, got Crohn’s disease and would 4’s Embarrassing Bodies, launched new rebe operated on the next day — this was search into the impact IBD has on people’s probably a good thing as I had no time to lives. worry about the surgery, which involved reThe IMPACT survey was undertaken by moving part of my intestine.” the European Federation of Crohn’s and UlAfter the operation, Allan, who works as a cerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA). Supship agent in Dunported by Abbott, The dalk port, was laid Irish Society for Colitis up for a month, but & Crohn’s supplied the as soon as he began 120 Irish patients for to recover he started the survey. to piece his life toMore than 15,000 gether. people are officially suf“I was lucky to be fering from the condiliving at home when tion in Ireland, but that all of this happened figure is likely to be and my parents realhigher as embarrassly looked after me,” ment causes silent sufhe says. “It took me fering. a while to get back “There are two types on my feet, but of IBD — ulcerative since that time in colitis and Crohn’s dis2005 I haven’t spent ease — and they both another night in can have hugely negahospital. tive impacts, affecting DIAGNOSED EARLY: Allan Matthews, with his the emotional, work “I went back to dog Marilyn, says ‘I know that I have a work after four and social life of the condition which isn’t curable, but I can weeks — it helps sufferer. manage it quite well myself.’ Picture:Ciara Wilkinson. that I work in the “There are varying family business — degrees of severity and began taking the medication, which with IBD, but typically symptoms include, keeps me on the straight-and-narrow. I have a cramps, aches, pains, weight loss, extreme exroutine now, which involves taking tablets haustion and very frequent diarrhoea, which every day and visiting the Bon Secours hoscan be very distressing. It is a very debilitatpital in Dublin every eight weeks for iming disease and our research has shown that muno-suppressant treatment. And, in be48% of sufferers in Ireland find it difficult to tween those times, if I feel sick or know a cope with the condition. But, if detected and flare-up is coming on, I can take steroids. treated early, the results can be positive.

“I’m lucky that I was diagnosed early — I “So, while every stomach cramp isn’t going know that I have a condition which isn’t cur- to be the onset of IBD, anyone who is sufferable, but I can manage it quite well myself ing from severe pain or passing any blood at and have a wonderful wife, Doireann, who all should visit their GP. gives me so much support and never com“I know, sometimes, people are embarplains when I’m frantically worrying about rassed — but they shouldn’t be, because they finding a toilet. won’t be the first patient to present with a “It’s always in the back of my mind that bowel problem and they certainly won’t be somewhere down the line I might need to be the last.” fitted with a colostomy bag — but I’m not ● For more information visit www.iscc.ie.

■ It is most common in women between their teens and mid 30s but can happen to both sexes at any age.

■ Nothing can be done to prevent IBD. ■ Symptoms include diarrhoea, severe cramps, exhaustion, passing blood and weight loss.

■ Treatment includes surgery and lifelong medication.

■ 48% of Irish sufferers say it negatively impacts their life.

■ 77% have taken time off work due to the disease with 33% taking over 25 days’ sick leave per year.

■ Nine out of 10 people with IBD have been hospitalised in the past five years.

■ IBD should not be confused with irritable bowel syndrome which tends to be much milder.

HOME COMFORTS: Allan Mathews says he was lucky to be living at home after his IBS diagnosis as his parents really looked after him.

Picture: Ciara Wilkinson.

There are two types of IBD — ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease — and they both can have hugely negative impacts, affecting the emotional, work and social life of the sufferer — Dr Dawn Harper

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

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Psychology

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Profit before people caused the economic crisis.

Good leadership must be informed by empathy

Heart of the matter Tony Humphreys “To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”

Confucius, 551 479BC.

W

HAT Confucius says applies as much today as it did thousands of years ago. Currently — and, indeed, for over three years now — the news has been dominated by the doom and gloom about the collapse of capitalism and the fiscal rectitude that is required to build economic stability.

The irony of it all is that many of the individuals who were responsible for the economic collapse are still in power — politically and economically — and there is no evidence to show that they ‘have put their hearts right’. Neither is there any evidence of accepting responsibility for the huge emotional and social debts owed to the masses of people saddled with economic uncertainty due to the unprecedented level of greed, avarice, depersonalisation, secretiveness, intimidation and profit-target mentality of economic activity.

But it is not just those who have, and had, leadership roles who need to examine their hearts. All of us who swam along with the tide of economic prosperity (in hindsight, an illusion) also need to question our own motives and to determine the extent of the emotional debt we may owe to ourselves and to our children.

Success addiction certainly drove many leaders, and others, to put work, status and size of salary before one’s life partner, children and work colleagues. In the financial arena, there was a blind recklessness with the livelihoods of investors and trust — that essential emotional backbone of progress — went out the door.

The other cornerstones of economic prosperity that disappeared were individualisation, respect, openness (transparency) and mature relationships. In brief, governments, banks, and the corporate world lost sight of people.

The establishment of mature emotional and social foundations for economic progress is going to take a long time and, sadly, it may never happen if those in power do not come into consciousness of the emotional baggage that crippled not only the country but their own mature individual progress.

While the country is in considerable financial debt and there are severe financial restrictions being put in place in order to pay off that debt, there is an equal need for an emotional and social rectitude to accompany the fiscal hairshirt that individuals are being expected to wear. The question is ‘how can this be shown’?

Certainly, balancing the books need to be done in a way that maintains a balancing of life, especially for those people who are on the fringes of society, for the elderly, for the huge numbers of people who are now unemployed and for the many who are struggling with mortgage arrears and negative equity.

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Balancing the books needs to be done in a way that maintains a balancing of life, especially for those people who are on the fringes of society, for the elderly, for the huge numbers now unemployed and for the many struggling with mortgage arrears and negative equity We cannot afford, through the coming budget, to generate further bitterness — a kindness of heart needs to invest each fiscal rectitude measure. We have seen that leaders who operate only from their heads do not even remotely make effective leaders. The reality is that mind without heart is not mind at all.

Economic prosperity will emerge much more quickly when it is driven by heart, love, respect, concern, individualisation, equality, fairness, justice and a spirit of ‘one for all, and all for one’ (clearly missing in Europe at the moment).

‘Putting our hearts right’ can only happen at an individual level and there is an urgent need for many leaders and managers to examine — and search in their hearts for — the humanity that is undoubtedly there, but, somehow, got buried under an avalanche of wanting to be ‘ahead’ of everybody else.

The tragedy is that those individuals who got buried by that landslide of greed and heartlessness lost sight, not only of the dignity of others, but also their own true self. Becoming conscious of, and dealing with, their inner core is at the heart of not only personal, but also professional effectiveness. The more acutely leaders are aware of this, the better they will be as leaders.

In the weeks coming up to Christmas, let us try to invest our relationships with the wisdom of Confucius and the timeless message of Christ’s birth and life echoed in the words of Kahlil Gibran: ‘We give little when we give of our possessions, when we give of ourselves, we truly give.’ ● Dr Tony Humphreys is a clinical psychologist, author, national and international speaker. His latest book ‘Leadership with Consciousness’ is relevant to this article.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

The

Feel Good Personals

ARTHRITIS IRELAND CORK BRANCH Stephen Timoney EFT Hypnotherapist will give an introduction to

FOR COST EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING

Emotional Freedom Techniques and Arthritis

Phone: LORI FRASER Tel. 021-4802265 Fax 021-4273846 lori.fraser@examiner.ie

Wed 7th December at 8pm Brú Columbanus Cardinal Way, Wilton.

All Welcome Tel: 086

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HEALTH&LIFESTYLE ADVERTISING Target more females in Munster and Cork than any other daily newspaper.

To reach them, advertise in ‘Feelgood’.

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Time-out treat

XH - V1

SPA WATCH

Food: Hotel food is notoriously unreliable, ranging from being (rarely) superbly good to (more frequently) mediocre and then (occasionally) way below par. I didn’t know what to expect from One Pery Square, but I was pleasantly surprised. Home-made scones and coffee was presented to us on arrival as our room wasn’t ready — this was a nice, homely touch. Dinner in the evening comprised of fresh, local ingredients cooked to perfection. I started with a goats’ cheese tartlet and followed with grilled hake served with a mussel ragout — both were delicious.

Breakfast the following morning was also a revelation. A good selection of fruits, muesli, yoghurt, breads, pastries and preserves (including fresh honeycomb) were available. And for those with a bigger appetite, a selection of cooked dishes, including smoked fish and various concoctions of egg were available on request.

Score: 9

Name: The Spa at No. 1 Pery Square, Limerick Telephone: 061-402402 Email: info@oneperysquare.com Internet: www.oneperysquare.com Spa treatment: Seaweed leaf wrap Cost: €120; length: 1 hour 30 minutes Review: Arlene Harris Treatment: Never before have I had such an intense and thoroughly complete treatment. Using natural organic products sourced on the west coast of Ireland, this Voya body wrap seemed to cover every angle. My therapist Jen, began with a dry body brush and then slathered on an organic gel. Next up was the organic seaweed leaf wrap topped by a heated blanket to give my skin time to absorb the nutritious and detoxifying agents in the seaweed. While this was taking place, I had a mini facial and head massage and although this was glorious, I did feel slightly claustrophobic in my cocoon. But when I mentioned my burgeoning panic, I was released early from the ‘mermaid’s purse’ and settled down to enjoy a deep tissue massage.

Score: 10 Staff: Every member of staff I encountered in One Pery Square were helpful and courteous — from the bar and restaurant staff to the therapists in the spa, particularly Jen

who despite being petite and quietly spoken, performed one of the most vigorous and thoroughly relaxing massages I have had in quite some time.

Score: 10 Hygiene: The thermal suite and spa area is small but compact and well cared for. Towels were routinely picked up and put away and everything seemed clean and well maintained.

Score: 10

Quality: The Spa is a little oasis of calm in the middle of Limerick city. Set in the basement of the hotel, space is restricted so the thermal suite doesn’t offer a huge range of options — a sauna, steam room, foot bathing area and relaxation room are all that can be accommodated — which only allows for short for pre-treatment relaxation period. But although small, the thermal suite and treatment rooms are tranquil and well-fitted out.

Score: 8

Accommodation: One Pery Square is a small, boutique hotel. The building has a long history, and although it isn’t chic and modern, the furnishings and bygone atmosphere is lovingly maintained. My room was overlooking the People’s Park and boasted some wonderful period features a gloriously comfortable sleigh bed with crisp cotton sheets and bundles of squishy pillows. Whilst modern facilities such as TV and power shower kept the accommodation up to date, I really missed the tea and coffee making facilities which have become standard nowadays. We were assured that hot drinks could be delivered to the room on request, but waiting for it to arrive is not the same, so I did without my early morning cuppa.

Score: 8 Total score: 54 out of 60

In the right hands

this is an aeroplane.

Spoon by spoon, we grow together.

Feelgood

7

For advice on weaning and for money off coupons, visit

spoonbyspoon.ie FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:30/11/2011Time:17:04:14Edition:02/12/2011FeelgoodXH0212Page:8

Zone:XH

8

Cover story

XH - V1

Christmas stress

9

Expectations of universal joy at Christmas are unrealistic. Life problems will intrude but can be minimised with planning and co-operation, says Helen O’Callaghan

How to avoid that jingle tangle

W

ITH just over three weeks until Christmas Day, how are you sleeping? Is your heart rate up?

Are you stressed at thoughts of a cash-strapped Santa? Are you anxious because you’re ‘doing Christmas’ this year so various relatives will descend on your home, some of whom, for their own safety, shouldn’t be under the same roof?

The good news is that scientists say it takes three weeks to make a new habit. So there’s time to reshape your approach to Christmas and reduce the pressures and expectations.

Beat the stress — not enough money It’s a cliché to say most families have reduced income and are experiencing difficulties accessing credit. “The pressure to meet commitments, as well as expectations of children and social expectations of family and friends, can place a heavy burden on families in the run-up to, and during, the Christmas period,” says Michael Culloty, spokesperson for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).

Culloty says the economic challenges are due to a systems failure and not to our own shortcomings. “At MABS, we’re finding people are seeing their current situation as a personal failure. It affects their view of themselves and their dealings with their family. It affects their confidence in their ability to manage. But if it hadn’t been for a systems failure, these people would have been at work and would have had sufficient funds for Christmas.”

■ Budget — in a vibrant economy, it was prudent to budget. Now, it’s crucial. “Putting a plan in place puts you back in control. Sit down with your family and talk in terms of what you need for Christmas and include a bit of what you want. Put a cap on what you can afford to spend on each other,” says Culloty.

“Older kids make bigger demands and should be put in the picture if the family’s financial situation has changed. If they can understand what has happened, they can begin to verbalise it in their own social sphere — it gives them a better place from which to withstand banter among peers about ‘what you got, what he got’.”

■ Agree with the wider network of family and friends on how to approach Christmas in straitened times. If you don’t have a plan, you’re going to be subject to pressures — ‘Mary gave me a costly present. I can’t just give her a token’.

■ Keep Christmas in perspective. Shops close for, at most, two days around Christmas and we all own a refrigerator, says Culloty. “In traditional times, when shops closed for long periods, people got in a big hamper.

There was a rationale for buying a lot of stuff. Now there isn’t.”

■ Be resourceful. Find recipes for leftover turkey and ham. Does a family member have a talent for art, craft, dress-making — maybe they could make simple, unique gifts. Can unused gifts be recycled?

Feelgood

The good news is that scientists say it takes three weeks to make a new habit.

So there is time to reshape your approach to Christmas and reduce the pressures and expectations

ALL IN A KNOT: With the countdown to Christmas now on, it’s all too easy to feel pressurised.

Picture: iStock

■ Above all, don’t borrow, says Culloty.

“Christmas can be a stark time for families on a tight budget. The temptation to say ‘yes’, for once, to demands can be intense — expensive borrowing might appear to be the only option.

But if you can’t afford to save before Christ-

mas, neither can you afford to borrow. You don’t want the ghost of Christmas spending to haunt you in the new year.”

Beat the stress — too many people around At Christmas, we do things we normally

wouldn’t, says Dr Patrick Ryan, director of clinical psychology at UL. “We have loads of people staying over. We cater for numbers we normally wouldn’t dream of. We entertain people in a confined space for long periods of time. We do this with a belief that if every-

thing doesn’t go right, nothing is right.” ple of days before Christmas the child gets Not only that, says Ryan, we also surround sick. He or she is dragged off to the doctor. It ourselves with people with whom we have disrupts the whole house. Everybody’s desperstrong emotional ties. “These emotional ties ately trying to get the child well for Christmas are manageable in norbecause ‘you can’t be sick mal circumstances, but, at Christmas’. in the pressure-cooker “And Christmas can be atmosphere created by a very sad time for those the expectation that who’ve been bereaved.

Christmas should be brilIt’s, maybe, the first liant, such ties get very Christmas without Mamstrained.” my or Daddy and the Ryan says: wound opens again, yet ■ Decide what’s within everybody expects you to your capacity and rebe on top of things. This sources. How can you notion that everybody has break down the various to really enjoy themselves activities so they’re not at Christmas is unhealthy. all happening at the same And what about people time? who are facing the threat ■ Create plenty of physof their job being gone ical space so you’re not

by January, their house all in each other’s hair. being gone by June — “People tend to stay inthey’re not going to be doors for long periods sitting around at Christover Christmas. Encourmas, saying, ‘life is wonage them to go outside derful’,” he says. for a walk. And if you’re Barry says: Take the feeding people rich food pressure off. Accept that and alcohol, the capacity life is composed of highs for managing stress is reand lows. “It’s preferable duced, so you need even if we can create an atmomore space,” he says. sphere whereby people ■ Ensure everybody can enjoy Christmas, but helps with the Christmas there’s no law that says work. “If one or two do WRITE ON: Making a list can help you get we must be happy at it all, they get grumpy, Christmas. When you organised in the days coming up to which puts everybody in Christmas Day. Picture: IStock know people are going bad form. If everyone through a tough time, feels they’ve got ownership and responsibility don’t trot out a cliché ‘happy Christmas’ — it’s for the Christmas celebration, they’re more more empathetic to say, ‘look after yourself as likely to make it work,” Ryan says. best you can’.”

■ If ex-partners are involved, there must be clarity about when the children are seen, who Beat the stress — work insecurity picks them up and for how long. “Make sure Sophie Rowan, coaching psychologist at these plans are made well ahead and that the Pinpoint Career Specialists and author, says children know too — they don’t need to be that job insecurity is disempowering. To take left uncertain as to how Christmas will pan power back (this will allow you to enjoy out,” he says.

Christmas more), Rowan says get ready to have a constructive conversation with your Beat the stress — sky-high expectations employer in the new year.

We enter Christmas with the unwarranted Prepare for the conversation by taking time and inaccurate expectation that everybody will to write responses to the following: ‘What have a great time all the time. No wonder have I done really well in my job this year? stress builds. “Christmas occurs in the middle What have I contributed to my company? of our lives, which can be What have I really full of losses and griefs. Yet enjoyed doing? we have this expectation What work relathat we must be happy,” tionships have been says GP Harry Barry, divery positive?’ rector of Aware and author Think about how of Flagging Stress: Toxic you can add value Stress And How To Avoid in the future — It. what can you, and Real life intrudes, says your department, Barry — even when the do to create savings house is ablaze with or a new income Christmas lights and prestream? sents are stacked under the “If there are four tree. Children — particuemployees and two larly the under-fives — are are to be made reoften sick at this time of dundant, you’re GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Be prepared for life year. getting in the way of the festive spirit, such as providing really “Everybody’s getting strong evidence ready for Santa, and a cou- children falling ill, which often happens in you’re worth holdwinter. Picture: iStock

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

ing onto. And if you are made redundant, are all up to them, says Lisa O’Hara, relationyou’re better placed to manage the job market ships counsellor with www.relationshipsireand your job search as you’re more aware of land.com. “Anticipate together what needs to your skill set and how it translates to specific be done and plan for it. If you’re a woman, be work environments,” says Rowan, who warns specific with your man. If you need him to against the feed the kids on the evening temptation to of your Christmas party, ask blurt out your him to be home at 5pm — strategy at the rather than ‘early’. And be office Christmas respectful — if you agree to party. do something, do it. Your “Keep conpartner needs to know versations at this you’re reliable,” she says. event situation-appropriBeat the stress — not havate. Don’t bring ing enough energy: up grievances, According to studies, peocomplaints or ple — on average — gain concerns. The 2kg in the four-week office party is Christmas period, says conabout enjoysultant dietician Aveen BanFEELING DOWN: Many people are facing ment and getrealistic worries such as job insecurity, but try non. “That’s equivalent to an ting to know extra 600 calories per day or, and tackle this positively in the workplace to your colleagues keep some balance. Picture: iStock in food terms, a few drinks better,” Rowan or canapés at a party, or the says. take-away on the way home after a night out, or a fried breakfast the Beat the stress — too many demands morning after seasonal excesses,” Have you ordered the turkey, put your she says. child’s Christmas play in your diary, made a list To give your body the of all the presents you need to buy, rooted in right kind of fuel, she says: your wardrobe for something to wear to the ■ Eat a carbohydrate-rich office party? The Christmas season to-do list is breakfast to kick-start the endless, the demands enough to send your day. “Late nights can lead to stress levels off the radar. So how do we bring late mornings, which can cause it all within manerratic eating patterns. Afageable levels? ter a night’s sleep, our Stress managebody’s running on empty. ment consultant A good rule of thumb is to Therese Ryan eat within one hour of ris(website: www.reing. Start your day with a newalconsulhigh-fibre cereal and some tants.com) says: fruit or juice — this will ■ Draw up a boost blood sugars, making weekly you less likely to pick at pre-Christmas sugary foods later,” she plan. “It anchors says. your focus. Break ■ Eat immune-boosting it into a managefruit and vegetables, as well able, daily to-do as plenty of vitamin D-rich list. Allocate time foods. Nicknamed the sunfor each job and shine vitamin because we NO SPACE: We can put ourselves under stick to that needless pressure by entertaining or inviting absorb it from the sun betime-frame. tween March and October, too many people to stay. Picture: iStock Crossing out tasks our supplies can be low by as they get done will give a feeling of achieve- Christmas. Eat oily fish, eggs and fortified ment, while reassuring that you will be organ- milk containing vitamin D. ised by Christmas.

■ Keep hydrated — it’s important for overall Ryan says ask yourself what might help you energy levels and appetite. Aim for 1.5 to two better achieve the goals. “Ask your partner to litres of fluid a day and have a mix between mind the kids for a water, herbal teas, juice and the occasional tea day while you and coffee. Remember: too much caffeine can complete your cause anxiety. And while alcohol’s a depresshopping or sant, it does affect sleep quality. “Not getting take a day to good quality sleep will affect your mood and complete the energy levels next day,” says Bannon. to-dos, as opposed to putting yourself under constant, daily pressure,” she says.

■ Relationships can become strained if one partner feels the Christmas preparations

TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:30/11/2011Time:17:04:14Edition:02/12/2011FeelgoodXH0212Page:8

Zone:XH

8

Cover story

XH - V1

Christmas stress

9

Expectations of universal joy at Christmas are unrealistic. Life problems will intrude but can be minimised with planning and co-operation, says Helen O’Callaghan

How to avoid that jingle tangle

W

ITH just over three weeks until Christmas Day, how are you sleeping? Is your heart rate up?

Are you stressed at thoughts of a cash-strapped Santa? Are you anxious because you’re ‘doing Christmas’ this year so various relatives will descend on your home, some of whom, for their own safety, shouldn’t be under the same roof?

The good news is that scientists say it takes three weeks to make a new habit. So there’s time to reshape your approach to Christmas and reduce the pressures and expectations.

Beat the stress — not enough money It’s a cliché to say most families have reduced income and are experiencing difficulties accessing credit. “The pressure to meet commitments, as well as expectations of children and social expectations of family and friends, can place a heavy burden on families in the run-up to, and during, the Christmas period,” says Michael Culloty, spokesperson for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).

Culloty says the economic challenges are due to a systems failure and not to our own shortcomings. “At MABS, we’re finding people are seeing their current situation as a personal failure. It affects their view of themselves and their dealings with their family. It affects their confidence in their ability to manage. But if it hadn’t been for a systems failure, these people would have been at work and would have had sufficient funds for Christmas.”

■ Budget — in a vibrant economy, it was prudent to budget. Now, it’s crucial. “Putting a plan in place puts you back in control. Sit down with your family and talk in terms of what you need for Christmas and include a bit of what you want. Put a cap on what you can afford to spend on each other,” says Culloty.

“Older kids make bigger demands and should be put in the picture if the family’s financial situation has changed. If they can understand what has happened, they can begin to verbalise it in their own social sphere — it gives them a better place from which to withstand banter among peers about ‘what you got, what he got’.”

■ Agree with the wider network of family and friends on how to approach Christmas in straitened times. If you don’t have a plan, you’re going to be subject to pressures — ‘Mary gave me a costly present. I can’t just give her a token’.

■ Keep Christmas in perspective. Shops close for, at most, two days around Christmas and we all own a refrigerator, says Culloty. “In traditional times, when shops closed for long periods, people got in a big hamper.

There was a rationale for buying a lot of stuff. Now there isn’t.”

■ Be resourceful. Find recipes for leftover turkey and ham. Does a family member have a talent for art, craft, dress-making — maybe they could make simple, unique gifts. Can unused gifts be recycled?

Feelgood

The good news is that scientists say it takes three weeks to make a new habit.

So there is time to reshape your approach to Christmas and reduce the pressures and expectations

ALL IN A KNOT: With the countdown to Christmas now on, it’s all too easy to feel pressurised.

Picture: iStock

■ Above all, don’t borrow, says Culloty.

“Christmas can be a stark time for families on a tight budget. The temptation to say ‘yes’, for once, to demands can be intense — expensive borrowing might appear to be the only option.

But if you can’t afford to save before Christ-

mas, neither can you afford to borrow. You don’t want the ghost of Christmas spending to haunt you in the new year.”

Beat the stress — too many people around At Christmas, we do things we normally

wouldn’t, says Dr Patrick Ryan, director of clinical psychology at UL. “We have loads of people staying over. We cater for numbers we normally wouldn’t dream of. We entertain people in a confined space for long periods of time. We do this with a belief that if every-

thing doesn’t go right, nothing is right.” ple of days before Christmas the child gets Not only that, says Ryan, we also surround sick. He or she is dragged off to the doctor. It ourselves with people with whom we have disrupts the whole house. Everybody’s desperstrong emotional ties. “These emotional ties ately trying to get the child well for Christmas are manageable in norbecause ‘you can’t be sick mal circumstances, but, at Christmas’. in the pressure-cooker “And Christmas can be atmosphere created by a very sad time for those the expectation that who’ve been bereaved.

Christmas should be brilIt’s, maybe, the first liant, such ties get very Christmas without Mamstrained.” my or Daddy and the Ryan says: wound opens again, yet ■ Decide what’s within everybody expects you to your capacity and rebe on top of things. This sources. How can you notion that everybody has break down the various to really enjoy themselves activities so they’re not at Christmas is unhealthy. all happening at the same And what about people time? who are facing the threat ■ Create plenty of physof their job being gone ical space so you’re not

by January, their house all in each other’s hair. being gone by June — “People tend to stay inthey’re not going to be doors for long periods sitting around at Christover Christmas. Encourmas, saying, ‘life is wonage them to go outside derful’,” he says. for a walk. And if you’re Barry says: Take the feeding people rich food pressure off. Accept that and alcohol, the capacity life is composed of highs for managing stress is reand lows. “It’s preferable duced, so you need even if we can create an atmomore space,” he says. sphere whereby people ■ Ensure everybody can enjoy Christmas, but helps with the Christmas there’s no law that says work. “If one or two do WRITE ON: Making a list can help you get we must be happy at it all, they get grumpy, Christmas. When you organised in the days coming up to which puts everybody in Christmas Day. Picture: IStock know people are going bad form. If everyone through a tough time, feels they’ve got ownership and responsibility don’t trot out a cliché ‘happy Christmas’ — it’s for the Christmas celebration, they’re more more empathetic to say, ‘look after yourself as likely to make it work,” Ryan says. best you can’.”

■ If ex-partners are involved, there must be clarity about when the children are seen, who Beat the stress — work insecurity picks them up and for how long. “Make sure Sophie Rowan, coaching psychologist at these plans are made well ahead and that the Pinpoint Career Specialists and author, says children know too — they don’t need to be that job insecurity is disempowering. To take left uncertain as to how Christmas will pan power back (this will allow you to enjoy out,” he says.

Christmas more), Rowan says get ready to have a constructive conversation with your Beat the stress — sky-high expectations employer in the new year.

We enter Christmas with the unwarranted Prepare for the conversation by taking time and inaccurate expectation that everybody will to write responses to the following: ‘What have a great time all the time. No wonder have I done really well in my job this year? stress builds. “Christmas occurs in the middle What have I contributed to my company? of our lives, which can be What have I really full of losses and griefs. Yet enjoyed doing? we have this expectation What work relathat we must be happy,” tionships have been says GP Harry Barry, divery positive?’ rector of Aware and author Think about how of Flagging Stress: Toxic you can add value Stress And How To Avoid in the future — It. what can you, and Real life intrudes, says your department, Barry — even when the do to create savings house is ablaze with or a new income Christmas lights and prestream? sents are stacked under the “If there are four tree. Children — particuemployees and two larly the under-fives — are are to be made reoften sick at this time of dundant, you’re GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Be prepared for life year. getting in the way of the festive spirit, such as providing really “Everybody’s getting strong evidence ready for Santa, and a cou- children falling ill, which often happens in you’re worth holdwinter. Picture: iStock

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

ing onto. And if you are made redundant, are all up to them, says Lisa O’Hara, relationyou’re better placed to manage the job market ships counsellor with www.relationshipsireand your job search as you’re more aware of land.com. “Anticipate together what needs to your skill set and how it translates to specific be done and plan for it. If you’re a woman, be work environments,” says Rowan, who warns specific with your man. If you need him to against the feed the kids on the evening temptation to of your Christmas party, ask blurt out your him to be home at 5pm — strategy at the rather than ‘early’. And be office Christmas respectful — if you agree to party. do something, do it. Your “Keep conpartner needs to know versations at this you’re reliable,” she says. event situation-appropriBeat the stress — not havate. Don’t bring ing enough energy: up grievances, According to studies, peocomplaints or ple — on average — gain concerns. The 2kg in the four-week office party is Christmas period, says conabout enjoysultant dietician Aveen BanFEELING DOWN: Many people are facing ment and getrealistic worries such as job insecurity, but try non. “That’s equivalent to an ting to know extra 600 calories per day or, and tackle this positively in the workplace to your colleagues keep some balance. Picture: iStock in food terms, a few drinks better,” Rowan or canapés at a party, or the says. take-away on the way home after a night out, or a fried breakfast the Beat the stress — too many demands morning after seasonal excesses,” Have you ordered the turkey, put your she says. child’s Christmas play in your diary, made a list To give your body the of all the presents you need to buy, rooted in right kind of fuel, she says: your wardrobe for something to wear to the ■ Eat a carbohydrate-rich office party? The Christmas season to-do list is breakfast to kick-start the endless, the demands enough to send your day. “Late nights can lead to stress levels off the radar. So how do we bring late mornings, which can cause it all within manerratic eating patterns. Afageable levels? ter a night’s sleep, our Stress managebody’s running on empty. ment consultant A good rule of thumb is to Therese Ryan eat within one hour of ris(website: www.reing. Start your day with a newalconsulhigh-fibre cereal and some tants.com) says: fruit or juice — this will ■ Draw up a boost blood sugars, making weekly you less likely to pick at pre-Christmas sugary foods later,” she plan. “It anchors says. your focus. Break ■ Eat immune-boosting it into a managefruit and vegetables, as well able, daily to-do as plenty of vitamin D-rich list. Allocate time foods. Nicknamed the sunfor each job and shine vitamin because we NO SPACE: We can put ourselves under stick to that needless pressure by entertaining or inviting absorb it from the sun betime-frame. tween March and October, too many people to stay. Picture: iStock Crossing out tasks our supplies can be low by as they get done will give a feeling of achieve- Christmas. Eat oily fish, eggs and fortified ment, while reassuring that you will be organ- milk containing vitamin D. ised by Christmas.

■ Keep hydrated — it’s important for overall Ryan says ask yourself what might help you energy levels and appetite. Aim for 1.5 to two better achieve the goals. “Ask your partner to litres of fluid a day and have a mix between mind the kids for a water, herbal teas, juice and the occasional tea day while you and coffee. Remember: too much caffeine can complete your cause anxiety. And while alcohol’s a depresshopping or sant, it does affect sleep quality. “Not getting take a day to good quality sleep will affect your mood and complete the energy levels next day,” says Bannon. to-dos, as opposed to putting yourself under constant, daily pressure,” she says.

■ Relationships can become strained if one partner feels the Christmas preparations

Zone:XH

10 Medical matters

Q

Dr Julius Parker is a GP with HSF Health Plan’s free 24 GP advice line.

For more information visit www.hsf.ie or lo-call 1890 473 473 If you have a question about your health email it to feelgood@examiner.ie or send a letter to: Feelgood Irish Examiner City Quarter Lapps Quay Cork

XH - V1

I blush easily. It’s embarrassing and I have no confidence because of it. What might help?

A. As you say, this can be embarrassing, and although some people blush easily there can be an underlying medical reason.

One common condition is rosacea. This is often overlooked as an explanation and it’s more common in women. Rosacea can develop slowly, sometimes over several years.

To begin with it causes flushing on the forehead, cheeks, and sometimes on the neck. This can be triggered by stressful or embarrassing situations. Other common triggers are alcohol, exercise, spicy foods like curries, and warm environments, for example when cooking.

Although, to start with, the background redness disappears completely, gradually it becomes more persistent. Small papules, like little spots, can develop over the face and tiny broken veins can appear.

Rosacea is usually straight-forward to treat in its early stages. Antibiotic gels or courses of oral antibiotics, such as Lymecycline, are usually effective, although some flushing can still occur and so avoiding known triggers remains important.

There are other possible causes of flushing.

Medications, such as oral steroids, or calcium channel blockers (used to treat raised blood pressure), can trigger facial redness. There are also a number of very rare medical conditions in which flushing occurs, although other symptoms, such as severe diarrhoea, will also be present.

Finally, flushing easily and feeling embarrassed is more likely to occur if you lack self-confidence. This can become a vicious circle, so it may be that tackling this could be part of the solution.

I would suggest the first thing you do is make an appointment with your GP and find out whether you might have rosacea. If you do, this can certainly be improved and you can take matters from there.

Q. My three-year-old has recently been diagnosed with molluscum contagiosum.

How long will this last? Is it infectious?

Can he go swimming?

A. This is a common childhood viral infection and usually doesn’t cause significant symptoms. Sometimes the spots can be mildly itchy, but most children have less than 20 scattered over their body. Each spot lasts for

NEWS UPDATE

TERAPROOF:User:margaretjenningsDate:30/11/2011Time:15:53:14Edition:02/12/2011FeelgoodXH0212Page:10

VERY young children may be getting too much liquid painkiller paracetamol, warn experts.

The advice to parents comes after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) in Britain revised its recommendations saying that with the “very wide age bands, younger children may have received a dose of paracetamol that was higher than necessary”.

Now the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has said the dosing recommendations for such medicines — sold under the brand names of Calpol and Disprol — will be changed to make it easier for parents to know how much paracetamol to give their children.

The IMB said it expected to have all information on children’s liquid paracetamol medicines sold in Ireland updated

BE CAREFUL: There is growing concern over the dosage of liquid paracetamol given to kids. Picture: iStock and completed early next year.

The MHRA has divided doses of liquid paracetamol for children into more detailed brackets with a specific dose for each, and is advising that children aged 12 months to two years should get 5ml four times a day, half the previous dose.

Current official guid-

approximately six to 12 weeks and will get better on its own. Normally, they disappear without trace, but occasionally you may be able to see a tiny patch of lighter skin or pit mark. The virus can spread to new areas of the skin, so as old spots are healing new ones may form. It can take up to 12 to 18 months before the infection fully goes away.

If your son is otherwise completely fit and well, most doctors do not recommend any treatment. Trying to treat the spots can be painful and is unnecessary. Molluscum is infectious, probably for as long as there are active lesions, but most adults and older children are immune to molluscum infections because they have already had it. Infections can be so mild that you (or your parents) may not remember or notice that you or your older children have had it in the past.

ance in Ireland is that children from one to six can be given up to 10ml of liquid paracetamol four times a day to reduce fever and pain.

This guideline is no longer considered to be adequate — reflecting the huge difference in weight and bodily development of a baby at 12 months and a six-year-old child.

Normally, no restrictions are suggested, so although you should explain that your son has molluscum, he can go to nursery and shouldn’t stop activities such as swimming. You can reduce the risk of infection by avoiding sharing towels, flannels or clothing with others and keeping affected areas covered by clothing, if this is possible.

You should also avoid contact with people whose immune system is weakened, for example patients having chemotherapy for cancer.

If your son has eczema, you may find the molluscum spots cluster over these areas. This can cause more severe symptoms of discomfort and itching, and scratching may trigger a skin infection. If this occurs, you should see your GP. Hopefully, your son will have very few or no symptoms, and he should be able to carry on without restricting his activities.

NOTE: The information contained in Dr Julius Parker’s column is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first

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Catherine Shanahan MUM’S WORLD Feelgood

ALVANISING a child into action when he or she has no passion for whatever it is you’re suggesting is like trying to make headway in a rocking chair. Going through the motions will not get you far when resistance is par for the course.

You can expound every morning on the virtues of porridge but Coco Pops will always come out tops because no child cares about the benefits of a slow burning complex carbohydrate.

And you can try to get them to dress in their Sunday best for that one-off special event — a Holy Communion, a Confirmation, a graduation — but in the end, no amount of persuasion will get them into the glad rags you have chosen when they would rather look like a chav.

Or you can sign them up for classes and encourage them to develop hobbies that you hope will keep them off street corners, but unless they’ve an interest themselves, that hard-earned cash you’ve just parted with is better spent on yourself.

And you can spend years of your life trying to coax them to do homework using any number of arguments: that passing exams can be essential for a good career and a decent future; or as a means to earning the kind of money required to

buy all the gadgets denied them during their childhood because you knew that spending their days on a Game Boy was not the way to achieve a good Leaving Cert; or simply to give them the confidence that only a reasonable education can bring. In the end, however, all your efforts will amount to a hill of beans unless the child itself is keen.

Better all around to preserve your energy for the time when the ingrates have flown the nest and you can finally resume doing what you once did best, that is looking after yourself.

It can be hard to spark interest when constantly competing for your child’s attention against any number of diversions, not least among their peers. This particular grouping can challenge the most robust state of parental mental health. However, you may have no choice but to go with the flow and hope that your child eventually becomes disaffected with what you see as a very unsavoury element.

The bottom line is trying to get a child to comply against their will is an exercise in stress that may or may not pay off — in other words, you could give your best years to trying to flog a dead horse. My advice is to invest in yourself and hope instead that some day your child will surprise you by acknowledging the fact that you had their best interests at heart.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

You can expound every morning on the virtues of porridge but Coco Pops will always come out tops because no child cares about the benefits of a slow burning complex carbohydrate

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The environment

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As the festive season brings paper wrapping, trees, drink and food containers in its trail, Áilín Quinlan looks at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint

Our expanding waste C

HRISTMAS is coming and boy do we celebrate — mountains of wrapping paper, zillions of electric lights and enough packaging to wrap a small planet. It comes as no surprise, then, that our carbon footprint shoots into orbit at this time of year.

Each household is expected to munch its way through two kilos of chocolate, swallow 60 litres of soft drinks and down 42 litres of alcohol this festive season.

Per household, this celebratory feasting alone means we’ll use about 750 grams of wrapping paper and 19.5 kilos of cardboard and paper packaging.

As a nation, that means we consume enough wine to fill almost six Olympic-sized swimming pools and enough beer to fill over 155,000 baths, while gobbling over 3,300 tonnes of chocolate.

According to Repak, the packaging recycling scheme, we will use more than 1,100 tonnes of wrapping paper, enough to gift wrap the Spire in Dublin over 10 times.

In all we’re expected to empty 90 million bottles and 75 million cans in our celebratory quest — and let’s not forget the estimated 8.5 million mince pies, the nearly one and a half million tins of biscuits, the million or so selection boxes and all the other countless little luxuries that help us get into the Christmas spirit and add even more to the garbage mountain.

Overall, Christmas brings a 30% increase in the volume of packaging produced at Christmas time in this country — which, including cans, bottles, boxes and wrapping, equates to enough packaging to fill 2.5 million green bins.

Recycling this towering mountain of garbage could avoid the release of 40,000 tonnes of carbon — the equivalent of taking 22,000 cars off the road.

So how to be good — without taking the ‘ho ho ho’ out of Christmas? Darrell Crowe of Repak has some simple and effective tips for dealing with all that wrapping paper, all that unused food, those faulty Christmas lights, the broken decorations and the tree: ■ Fold your used wrapping paper before recycling to save space in your recycle bin — crumpling the paper into balls uses up more space ■ Plan meals carefully to avoid generating excess spoiled food. Use left-overs, share the excess with neighbours or friends.

Prevention is better than cure says Crowe: “More than one-third of the food we buy generally ends up wasted during the year and that is worse at Christmas. Buy wisely and don’t over-purchase,” he says.

We are often oblivious to the extent of the food waste they create. “I think people can be quite shocked if you were to show them the amount of food that they are throwing out,” says Crowe.

■ Recycle food waste by separating in a compost bin or household food waste bin, he suggests, but don’t put cooked foods in regular household compost bins.

Feelgood

Recycling Hints & Tips ■ FOLD used wrapping paper before recycling to save space in your recycle bin.

■ Recycle your Christmas tree at one of the many designated Christmas-tree recycling centres around the country.

■ Check opening hours and locations with your local authority, or use the recycling facility search on www.recyclemore.ie.

■ Purchase food and plan meals carefully to avoid generating lots of excess spoilt food.

■ Recycle any old or broken electrical items in your local recycling centres, or return them to an electrical shop when you are purchasing new ones.

■ Donate old or unwanted clothes to your local charity shop.

■ Trade unwanted presents on www.dublinwaste.ie.

■ Donate old toys to a children’s charity or local school.

■ Recycle old mobile phones by giving them to one of the many local charities like the Jack and Jill foundation.

■ Old or broken electric Christmas lights can be disposed of at local recycling centres or returned to an electrical shop when purchasing new ones.

■ Broken or damaged decorations can be recycled if, for instance, they are metal or paper. However, if they are a mix of materials, they must go into the general waste bin.

■ If you have a real Christmas tree you can recycle it at one of the many designated Christmas tree recycling centres around the country. Check with your local authority or get full details of Green Christmas recycling centres, their opening hours, local contractor collection information and Christmas tree recycling drop off points at www.recyclemore.ie But there’s more to Christmas waste than cans, tins and paper, cardboard and glass packaging — battery and waste electrical and electronic equipment collects are usually up by about 25% in January, according to WEEE Ireland, the Irish compliance scheme for electrical and battery recycling.

“Batteries contain potentially harmful chemicals and heavy metals, and can cause damage to the environment if not recycled properly,” says a spokesperson for the organisation.

It is estimated that if each person in Ireland were to bring just one battery back for recycling to their retailer, even without purchasing new ones, or to their local recycling centre, 100 tonnes would be diverted from Ireland’s landfill.

PRESENT TIME: In Ireland we will use more than ● To find your local civic amenity site please 1,100 tonnes of log on to www.recyclefree.ie; electrical waste wrapping paper, and batteries can also be recycled for free at enough to gift participating retailers. wrap the Spire in Dublin over 10 times. Picture: iStock

As a nation at Christmas we consume enough wine to fill almost six Olympic-sized swimming pools and enough beer to fill over 155,000 baths, while gobbling over 3,300 tonnes of chocolate FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

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Christmas gifts

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Festive booking cotti, poppy seed squares with chocolate tips, green tea cookies and sesame crisps. A book for beginners and great for making last-minute foodie gifts.

Roz Crowley

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OOK books make great value gifts. They look good, feel good and provide endless entertainment while reading and using. Christmastime always brings a good crop of cookbooks and I’ve picked nine of the best, experimenting with some of the recipes along the way. I hope what follows will guide you through what’s on the shelves for different ages and levels of ability.

1. Easy Meals Rachel Allen. Published by Collins £25.This hardback is Rachel Allen’s eighth cookbook and continues to show this popular television chef ’s ability to make recipes look easy and inexpensive.

Over 180 recipes are divided into dishes which can be made from storecupboard ingredients, in one pot, those that don’t have to be cooked at all, and another has side dishes, breads and scones.

Recipes are easy, with some twists on traditional recipes. Chicken is cooked with rice and chorizo, mussels with Thai flavouring, bread and butter pudding is made with croissants and chocolate.

A good book for beginners and for those who enjoy cooking without long preparation. The television series continues on RTE 1 8.30pm Thursdays.

2. The Family Meal — Home Cooking with Ferran Adria. Published by Phaidon hardback €24.95. This good value hardback comes from a chef with one of the best reputations in the world. His imaginative cooking inspired all sorts of foams and interesting flavour and texture combinations in restaurants, not all of them succeeding as well as his.

The layout of the book is creative, with step-by-step photographs with speech bubbles laid on top of them. Divided into 31 menus, ingredients are listed and divided into what needs to be bought fresh, used from the cupboard, the fridge and taken from the freezer. There is plenty of help for kitchen organisation with a half hourly countdown of what needs to be done to produce each menu. Two hours is all you will need for most menus.

The overall feel is Spanish (his former restaurant elBulli is in Catalonia) — the Turkey Catalan Style uses drumsticks with pitted prunes, red onions, tomatoes and pine nuts. The sauce could be good for cooked leftovers. Lettuce hearts are grilled and served with a mint vinaigrette — good for a Christmas starter if we can find fresh mint.

The recipes will appeal to those who appreciate full flavours. It is ideal for those who lack confidence in their ability to turn out a

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WE HELP SANTA CHOOSE FROM WHAT’S NEW ON THE SHELVES well-balanced, interesting meal.

3. Denis Cotter for the Love of Food. Published by Harper Collins £20. Café Paradiso in Cork is a legend in its own lifetime attracting vegetarians and even omnivores to see what Denis Cotter can do with organically grown vegetables. He nurtures them as he does his suppliers. His style is precise and even complex if we make all the accompaniments, so not for those in a rush.

Cotter encourages us to experiment and use an ancient wheat grain Farro to make a dish similar to Risotto which he calls Farrotto. It uses parsnips with the grain and finishes it, as we might expect, with grated hard cheese, but also an orange and lemon flavoured butter which can be used with meat and fish dishes.

Cotter has developed a style of his own and his followers will be happy with this. Not for beginners, but those who enjoy gathering ingredients to make special dishes.

4. Mastering the Art of French Cooking Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck. Published by Penguin €15.99 This is what many people don’t like in a cookbook — it has no photographs. But what it lacks in colour is made up for in the explanations of terms, equipment, introductions to recipes that American Julia Child chose to include in the 1961 original edition. Portrayed

by Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, she is joined in the book by Beck and Bertholle with whom she opened a cookery school in Paris, L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes. Recipes are

classics such as chicken liver mousse and vanilla soufflé. None are unnecessarily fussy, but expect some to take time in their preparation.

This is real, old-fashioned French cuisine.

It’s a bit like a concise Larousse Gastronomique with lessons and good explanations on every page. For the dedicated foodie who likes to take a cookery book to bed and study.

5. Step by Step Baking. Caroline Bretherton. Published by Dorling Kindersley £25.

In large format, this hardback has lots to offer the beginner baker. I like the rhubarb ginger meringue cake and there are recipes for mini Pavlovas and a mocha coffee one, too.

It comes with plenty of clear instructions along with photographs for lots of recipes, including a seeded rye bread, pizza and variations of Italian breads. For Christmas starters there are prawn and guacamole tortilla stacks and American pancakes with blueberries for Christmas morning. A good one for budding home bakers.

6. Cookiepedia Stacy Adimando. Published

by Quirk €15.85. Home baking is all the rage with college students who have friends in for tea and bikkies. This book has plenty of ideas for them and anyone who enjoys baking treats. A hardback with inner spiral binding, there are some colour photographs and fun drawings in a lively, youthful layout.

Recipes likely to appeal are triple chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies, caramel nut bars, salt and pepper cookies. More nutritious are fig bars, almond bis-

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

7. From Season to Season A Year in Recipes.

Sophie Dahl. Published

by Harper Collins £20. This hardback has plenty of appetising photographs, including some of the author looking happy in her house and garden. The text requires us to know and like the author, so for some it might be a bit overloaded with personal memoirs. The recipes are versions of many we know already and, as Dahl is vegetarian, the meat-free recipes work best. Try the layered vegetables topped with Taleggio cheese and a tofu lasagne. It’s nearly worth the price of the book to see chef Rowley Leigh of London’s le Café Anglais giving his recipe for Parmesan custard with anchovy toast. It’s a terrific one I took from his website. Dahl’s Panettone bread and butter pudding could be perfect for the festive season and is foolproof. For beginners plus.

8. Jamie’s Great Britain Jamie Oliver. Published

by Michael Joseph/Penguin £30. As many Irish chefs do, Jamie Oliver appreciates the best of what his country has to offer and we can replicate his recipes easily. For Christmas time Sour Cranberry Bakewell tart is a good way to use up leftover cranberry sauce. The frangipane base has nutritious hazelnuts and walnuts with a nice kick of lemon and orange. I particularly liked his mashed potato dish with Jerusalem artichokes (available now) which is seasoned with bay oil and he gives easy instructions to make that too. Another mash dish has crispy breadcrumbs and fennel added — a nice one with leftover turkey.

Jamie has always appealed to male cooks and this one will not disappoint. His television series airs on Tuesdays 9pm Channel 4 9. Christmas with Gordon. Gordon Ramsay. Published by Quadrille £15. This good value hardback comes from someone whose f words I never liked but really didn’t worry about. I know people who worked with him who say his kitchens are a pleasure, running like a well-oiled machine. This book endeared itself to me with a double-page spread of a pink piano with glasses of wine on top. Roll on the festive season.

For seasonal canapés the pumpkin tartlets, dates stuffed with pistachio marzipan and Stilton gougeres are a good idea. There is help for timing the Christmas turkey dinner and his idea with Brussels sprouts is to cook them with pancetta and chestnuts. Beef Wellington and sea bass are other menu options done in stages. Dried cranberries added to mincemeat is an idea I will use. A useful and well illustrated book for Christmas.

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Male Male health health 13

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It’s good to talk J

UST before Christmas 2007, Raymond Scott, 35, woke up to find he couldn’t see out of his right eye. “My optician sent me to my GP who referred me to hospital,” says Scott, who works as a cleaning manager in Dublin.

MRI scans, x-rays and a lumbar puncture followed before he was diagnosed in April 2008 with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Almost out of the blue, Scott became one of over 7,000 people and families living with MS across Ireland. MS is a progressive neurological condition that can affect a person’s health, lifestyle and relationships.

“I was relieved I had a diagnosis, because on and off since 2001, I had a numbness in my right leg and wondered about it,” Scott explains.

Always an upbeat person, Scott decided to remain positive about his diagnosis. “I was the same person as before — you have to deal with it, you can have good days and bad days. Yes, you have to make changes, but it’s about going to work, going on holidays, going out. It’s also about being open about MS, not hiding your feelings because that can lead to depression.”

That openness is no easy task for a man who grew up with a stutter and, recently, he went one step further. He has set up a group

OPEN APPROACH Raymond Scott has formed a support group for people between the ages of 18 and 35 who have MS.

Deirdre O'Flynn MOSTLY MEN for 18-35-year-olds with MS through MS Ireland. It’s a meet-up group for chats and outings with people who have MS. The road hasn’t been easy for Scott. His sight returned, but eight months after diagnosis, he had a major relapse. “I’d had back pain and suddenly, I lost the power to walk and had to be hospitalised. I had to get myself out of bed after three days lying there and get into a wheelchair and go to physio every day myself. It was upsetting but I had the inner strength to come back from that.”

Scott is speaking to highlight new research that shows 54% of patients with MS are very or extremely affected by decreased mobility in terms of their quality of life. MS Ireland has launched a campaign, Mobility Matters in MS, supported by a new website www.mobilitymattersinms.ie, which provides advice

Picture: Maura Hickey

and encouragement to people with MS on how to maintain and increase their mobility.

Mobility is also a key issue for patients staying in work. Among those surveyed, as many respondents were unemployed (22%) as those

Keeping an eye out for Type 2 diabetes

Funding available for male support groups

YOU mightn’t link your optician with diabetes, but regular eye examinations are a useful means of reducing the risk of blindness in people who may have Type 2 diabetes but are unaware of it.

At present, there are over 190,000 people in Ireland living with diabetes.

The condition can lead to devastating complications, including blindness, if not diagnosed in time or managed effec-

THE Irish Men’s Sheds Association has secured funding from the Ireland Funds to support the start-up of Community Men’s Sheds.

Men’s Sheds are groups where men work and chat ‘shoulder to shoulder’ under the umbrella of the Irish Men’s Shed Association.

A sum of €5,000 is available to support the start-up of new Sheds in rural areas of populations of 3,000 or less. Applications will

TAKE 1

tively. People with Type 2 diabetes can remain undiagnosed for up to 10 years.

“It is vital that people with diabetes are diagnosed as soon as possible to help reduce their risk of developing complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and blindness,” says Kieran O’Leary, CEO at Diabetes Ireland.

For more information about diabetes, visit www.diabetes.ie.

4

STORY TIME: Nine cubes, 54 images, 10m combinations, infinite stories… Rory’s Story Cubes, a game of nine dice with images designed to inspire storytelling sparked the imagination of Christmas shoppers last year and won ‘best game’ in the Toy Shop UK Independent Toy Awards. This year, there’s a new set from creator Rory O’Connor. Rory’s Story Cubes: Voyages inspires grander tales of adventure and can be played on its own or with other sets.

Rory’s Story Cubes: Voyages, age 6+, €11.99, is available from Waterstones, Art & Hobby, Pinocchio’s Cork and toy and book stores or www.storycubes.com.

Feelgood

in full-time employment. Walking impairment also greatly affects patients’ work or study, with 48% saying they were extremely affected by their loss of employment or academic position.

DId you know...

be considered for amounts up to a maximum of €1,000.

The closing date for applications to The Irish Men’s Shed Association is Friday, December 16, 2011 at 5pm. Late applications will not be considered.

Click on menssheds.ie for information, to see if your group is eligible to apply, and to download an application form.

The NRXN3 gene can cause impulsive inclination towards alcohol or drugs in men (Source: University of Nebraska, US)

● For all enquiries, call 086-8046748 or email info@menssheds.ie.

Toys for Christmas gifts

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ON THE FARM: Brushwood Toys make a lovely range of authentic toy farm buildings and stables, including a milking parlour with a sunken pit, vacuum flasks, clusters and pipes, feed troughs, metal parlour rails and gates and a bulk tank. Available in Ireland through online toyshop Mimitoys, which stocks wooden and creative toys. Herringbone milking parlour, €99.95; My First Farm Playset, €84.95, all age 3+; tractors, animals and machinery available separately from www.mimitoys.ie, or call 1890-520025.

December 21 is the last day for orders.

3

BAKE IT: Following last year’s success with their cupcake jigsaw, Gosling Games have launched the next recipe puzzle in their Make It! Bake It! series — Car Cookies.

The Clonakilty company has put a spin on the popularity of baking and this year’s puzzle will appeal to little Masterchefs. Make the two puzzles and reveal the recipe for baking racing-car-shaped cookies using the enclosed cookie cutter.

Make It! Bake It! Car Cookies, age 6+ is priced at €14.99; www. goslinggames.ie.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

4

FIRST BIKE: This little Puky LRM balance bike will get any child gliding on two wheels. It’s available in red, ocean blue and pink.

Balance bikes are pedal-less and suitable for toddlers. Later, on a pedal bike, they won’t need stabilisers. Balance bikes are popular in Europe and two mums in Co Meath set up Balancebikes.ie in 2010 to supply German-made metal balance bikes here.

The Puky LRM, age 2+, is €75 from www.balancebikes.ie or call Cath on 087-9220071, with next-day delivery up to December 19.

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14

Beauty

A high price tag is no indication of quality. The best moisturiser is the one that suits your individual skin

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The news on...

Know your type

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LOVELY LIPSTICKS EVERYONE has their weakness — mine is fancy lipsticks. I practically swoon when I come face to face with Tom Ford Lip Color, and now YSL has thrown a super-fancy lipstick into the mix that most definitely has me reaching for the smelling salts.

Rouge Pur Couture Golden Lustre, €31, is encased in rich gold packaging, which makes it feel even more luxurious. It comes in 13 shades that are subtly shot through with yellow, white and pink gold pearls. Sexy.

Take three...

Emily O’Sullivan

I

EYE PRIMERS

LOST my moisturiser a while back. It was only for one night but it wasn’t very pleasant. My skin felt so dry and tight that I nearly ended up putting Vaseline on it. Thankfully, I didn’t. Instead, I tried to forget about it and go to bed, but in the morning I don’t mind saying that my skin looked tired, slightly drawn and definitely papery.

Say what you will about beauty products, I’d find it very hard to go without slathering some form of moisturiser on my face twice a day. And yet, despite the fact that it’s the one product that most women (and now men) use on a reasonably regular basis, it’s also one that many of us find very hard to get right.

I can’t tell you the amount of times women SKIN DEEP: An unsuitable moisturiser can be damaging, so it’s important to know your skin have asked me to recommend my best ever type.

Picture: iStock moisturiser. And it’s impossible to do. I can recommend brands that I think do some great products, but when it comes down to pretty much asking for trouble. One way of skin will be dry in some places, oily in others the best moisturiser, it depends on the best determining your skin type is to go to a sa(the T-zone for example); oily will be genermoisturiser for your specific skin type. And lon. A good therapist will be able to quickly ally oily all over; while if you have normal that can be a lot harder to determine. skin you probably won’t notice any visible The first thing is not to be fooled by price. determine your skin type, and will tell you what it needs. The other way of doing this is characteristics — your skin will look ‘normal’ There are phenomenally expensive creams self-diagnosis. in fact. out there, but I’ve never found them to be The second is harder to get right, but you Of course, it doesn’t just end there because any much better than the cheaper ones. A your skin type could be determined by a skin friend of mine used a top brand, then she de- are basically looking for characteristics of different skin types including dry, combination, condition: it could be sensitive, dehydrated or veloped acne. She was 25 at the time, and acne and redness prone. In this case, you’d most probably the cream was far, far too rich oily and normal. The best way of working out your skin type is, if you can bear it, to go need a more specific cream. for her skin.

Look to brands such as La Roche Posay for So, instead of throwing money at the prob- to bed without moisturiser on and see how your skin looks and feels in the morning. more targeted skincare — they deliver lem, it’s worth spending some time finding To put it simply: dry skin will be high-performance skincare without the flashy out what your skin type is. Use the wrong dull-looking and papery with feathery little packaging or the flashier price tag. Your skin moisturiser on your skin type, and you’re wrinkles (if you are a bit older); combination will thank you for it.

Eye primers come in all shapes and sizes and fit all budgets. You don’t have to spend a fortune, but if you want one to do more than just keep your shadow in place, then prepare to shell out a bit.

MAC Prep + Prime Vibrancy Eye, €29. I went through a stage of using this religiously before a big night out — and it worked. You just need to make sure that you leave about five minutes between applying it and dabbing on your eyeshadow. It has a little light pinky peachy glow that’s supposed to light up your eyes, although if you’re putting on dark black eyeliner, and charcoal eyeshadow then that’s not going to be much use to you.

ELF Eye Primer, €3.50 at eyeslipsface.co.uk. Eye primers don’t need to be expensive, and they don’t need to be particularly fancy, as this one from ELF shows. There are no gimmicks, no messing about — it just sets a good base for your eyeshadow. End of.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, €19.50. Housed within a ‘genie in a bottle’ type container, Urban Decay’s Primer Potion was one of the first and is still one of the best.

It’s remains a bestseller for UB and claims to give 24 hours of crease-free colour, should you be inclined to need it for that long.

STUFF WE LIKE What’s out there for different skin types?

Sensitive: La Roche Posay Hydreane Moisturising Cream for Sensitive Skin, €14.50. La Roche Posay excel at doing products for skin that suffers from specific conditions. This paraben-free moisturiser is for normal to combination sensitive skin (it’s welcome, as most sensitive skin creams are for dry to sensitive skin), and is made using thermal spring water.

Combination: Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser Normal/Combination Skin, €20.50. Liz Earle does a great line in moisturisers and it’s one of my favourite

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skincare brands. This is a great one for combo skins with borage oil, beta-carotene and vitamin E. Dry: Nuxe Reve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream, €27. If you have dry skin, then this one will soothe your complexion the minute you apply it.

It’s incredibly rich, without being greasy and is cooling and very comforting on the skin. It smells divine, feels divine and gives you a perfect glow in the morning.

Dehydrated: Estée Lauder Hydrationist Moisture Creme, €44. There are subtle differences

between dry and dehydrated skin, but they can be important to note if you’re trying to work out what your skin type is. Dry skin is lacking in oil; dehydrated skin is lacking in water. So how do you tell? Well, if your skin is dehydrated, it will have lots of little papery fine lines, it’ll also feel very tight after washing. You need to use creams with lots of natural humectants that hold the water in.

Oily: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream, €27. If you have oily skin, the last thing you want to put on is something that feels oily, which is why this number from Kiehl’s is so good at its job. A gel-cream, rather

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

than a cream, it is non-greasy and works at keeping essential moisture locked in, while also keeping oil at bay. Plus, it’s paraben-free, fragrance-free and colourant-free, which makes it good for skin with slight sensitivities, too.

Normal: Nivea Pure & Natural Soothing Day Cream for Normal/Combination Skin, €6.99. A simple but effective moisturiser, this is a great day-to-day product that quietly gets on with its work, without too much of a fanfare. It works really well as a day cream for normal skin types.

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Natural health

Q Megan Sheppard Do you have a question for Megan Sheppard?

Email it to feelgood@examiner.ie or send a letter to Feelgood Irish Examiner City Quarter Lapps Quay Cork

I AM going on holiday in a few weeks time to New Zealand, with my sister-in-law. We are both in our 60s.

Would you have any advice to give us about coping with the very long journeys involved? I have travel stockings, but wonder should I use support tights which would be tailored to my size? My travel companion says her legs always swell when she is on a flight — what can she do about this? We will be travelling for 12 hours and 10 hours respectively with just a small break between the flights.

A. The travel stockings are a great start, as is the plan to be seated in the aisle so that you are able to walk about the aeroplane during the journey. I would also make sure that you remove your shoes as soon as you are comfortably seated so that you are able to flex and roll your feet and ankles freely. When I fly long haul, I spend most of my seated time doing this simple exercise and it makes a big difference.

The other important factor in terms of swelling and jet lag is what you choose to eat and drink during the flight. I suggest you specify the fruit platter option, and bring your own additional fresh fruit (and non-sweet fruits such as cucumber, capsicum/bell peppers, tomatoes, etc.) on the flight with you. You won’t be able to bring these into NZ, so bring only as much as you will need (and a little extra just in case of unexpected delays).

While aeroplane food options have improved drastically in the last 20 years, it is still incredibly hard work for our digestive system to cope with given the long time we spend sitting relatively still combined with the lack of fresh air. Fresh, raw foods are very light work for our organs, which helps with circulation, digestion, and sleep. They are also hydrating, which is a big plus. Speaking of which, it is best to choose water only as your beverage during the flight.

To specifically address the swelling issue, use a Swiss formulation called Zinopin, which has been designed to assist in the prevention of DVT (deep vein thrombosis), swollen ankles, and travel sickness. Zinopin is a specific combination of ginger and pycnogenol which works by promoting enhanced circulation in the extremities and is ideal for any flights which are longer than 2 hours.

Ginger is well known as a natural remedy to increase circulation, aid digestion, and ease stiff joints. It also prevents blood cells from sticking or clumping together.

Pycnogenol is an extract from the French Maritime Pine Tree, which has been scientifi-

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psoriasis in her scalp. Could you recommended a shampoo and treatment? I have been using Cocois ointment but cannot see any improvement.

A. Psoriasis is caused by a defect in the skin which causes cells to multiply 1,000 times faster than normal skin.

These extra cells then build up, causing the silvery scaling associated with this condition. In more than half of all cases the problem is inherited.

Cocois ointment is a coal tar-based preparation often prescribed to help remove the scaling associated with psoriasis. It is pretty strong stuff, and can further exacerbate the condition in some individuals, causing follicle inflammation and skin irritation.

A gentle organic shampoo which has no synthetic fragrances, essential oils, parabens, SLS/SLES, or petrochemicals is ideal. If you haven’t yet invested in a shower filter, then put this at the top of your wish list. Skin conditions such as acne, eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis where the skin is irritated and broken means that the skin is even more permeable to toxins delivered via tap water. Chlorine can destroy hair and skin proteins, so a shower filter will help to reduce dry Picture: Getty images and itchy scalp conditions.

There is an external cream I recommend to help inhibit the abnormal skin growth and reduce the itching and flaking. Themba is a herbal cream which utilises the powerful properties of Kigelia africana (also called the ‘sausage’ tree, due to the shape of the fruit). Made by The Little Herbal Company, it is available from Health Matters (8 Grafton Street, Dublin; 01-671 0166). Apply the cream each morning and evening.

Changing your daughter’s diet to avoid certain foods, such as the gluten cally proven to protect the vascular system. in wheat, and being vigilant about the prodYou and your companion will need to take ucts she uses externally will also help. Taking one capsule the day before departure, two nettle tea, and a milk thistle and dandelion capsules one hour before your flight departs, brew will help to support the elimination orand one capsule daily for the two days folgans. lowing your arrival — remember to take the Vitamins A and zinc have been found lackcapsules with food. ing in sufferers. Fish oil capsules, or a serving Zinopin Long-Haul comes in a pack of of oily fish twice weekly will provide the viten capsules, and you can expect to pay tamins and essential fatty acids that her skin around £15 (€16.60)for a packet. It is availneeds to help normalise cell production. able at selected pharmacies and health stores, ■ Freedom in Health supply two types of but can be difficult to source in Ireland. If shower filters — the first can be fitted beyou are unable to find it locally, then I sugtween the hose and handle of your existing gest that you order it online through Victoset-up, and there is a model for high pressure ria Health (www.victoriahealth.com; 00 44 systems and one for low. The second is a 1733-709100). separate handle unit, where the filtering mechanism is in the handle. The shower fil● See panel below for further tips ters cost €86.97 each, and the filter handle costs €46.99 from http://freedominhealth.ie Q. My daughter has some thick patches of (021-458 0990).

In terms of swelling and jet lag what you eat and drink during the flight is so important. I suggest you bring your own fresh fruit

■ NOTE: The information contained above is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a doctor first.

Megan puts the spotlight on:

I

F you are travelling to far flung destinations this holiday season it pays to prepare more than just a well packed suitcase and travel insurance.

The best place on the plane to get a few discreet stretches in is the space next to the loos. When you get there, bend from the hips into a forward bend pose (uttanasana) so that you are hanging over your legs with arms freely suspended. This helps to clear your mind and brings about a sense of calm and wellbeing.

Of course, we can’t all hang about the lavatories doing yoga stretches, so here are a couple of yoga-based moves that you can do without leaving your seat:

Feelgood

1. Raised Hands Interlock your fingers and raise your hands above your head while inhaling deeply through your nose. Stretch your upper body and arms as tall as possible and hold for five to 10 breaths.

During exhalation, make sure that you relax your shoulders, dropping them down (keeping your arms stretched skywards all the while).

Relax your arms in your lap once more on an exhale.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011

Yoga on your flight 2. Folded Arms This posture should help you to release tension in the shoulder and neck area — one of the most common complaints during a long-haul flight. Extend your right arm forwards at shoulder height, then extend your left arm so that the crook of your elbow is underneath the right elbow.

Bend your elbows, bringing your arms towards your body, and grasp your hands together.

Lift your arms upwards on an inhale, and drop your shoulders and elbows down on an exhale (keeping the arms up

throughout). Do this for five to 10 breaths, and then repeat, beginning with the left arm.

Holiday travel tip: Make sure that you pack some practical and comfortable walking shoes — 40% of women admit to packing too many pairs of shoes for their trip. Two or three pairs should be plenty, and will lighten your load. If you are stuck in transit, the last thing you need is to be hauling around heavy suitcases and backpacks full of shoes. If you are going somewhere sunny this Christmas, you can always buy a light pair of sandals or flip flops when you get there and leave them in a local charity bin before you depart.

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The Hair Clinic, Cork: 15 years of experience and expertise

Confidence restored!

“I am amazed at the results and my confidence has been restored. I can honestly say it was the best thing I have ever done!”

Before

After 6 Months

After 12 Months

RECENT studies show that Hairloss is a topic close to the hearts of up to 40% of Irish people. It affects both male and female alike and can be extremely upsetting, irrespective of the age or sex of the sufferer.

When 24-year-old Corkman Tomas Horgan noticed his hair was getting thiner his confidence hit rock bottom. “I hated it” said Tomas. “I became very conscious about my hair and I started wearing a baseball cap whenever I was in company, my confidence was very low, especially around women, I felt they were looking at my hair.”

It was at this point that Tomas started to research on the internet about various treatments to combat hairloss. “Both my father and grandfather were bald and I read that thinning hair leading to baldness was heriditary so I knew I had to do something.”

Tomas discovered, after hours of trawling through various websites, that hair transplant surgery only replaced hair

follicles that had already died, it did not prevent further hairloss. “It was during this research that I read about a laser treatment pioneered in the US that has gained full FDA which can stimulate hair growth and thicken hair, but ONLY if the Hair Root is still alive, it CANNOT grow hair if the root is dead, so I knew it was important to do something as soon as possible, before it was too late.”

“I found a company in Cork, one of only a handful in Ireland to offer this treatment. I went for a free consultation to find out more at their clinic just off Patrick’s Bridge. I was told that as I had lost some roots already and that my hair was never going to be as thick as it once was but treatment would help stop any further hairloss and thicken the hair that I did have.”

“I am amazed at the results and my confidence has been restored. I can honestly say it was the best thing I have ever done!”

Bouncing back from hair loss “I found that it was clinically proven to stop hair loss in 94% of patients after six months of treatment and was suitable for both men and women, it was also totally pain-free with no side-effects.”

WHEN 61-year-old Kerry grandmother-of-six Vivien O’Sullivan noticed that her hair was falling out more than normal she assumed that it was due to stress caused by a recent family bereavement.

“I noticed it mainly when I washed it, the plughole in the shower used to clog up with hair,” said Vivien. “I started to really worry though when I woke up one morning and noticed several hairs on the pillow, I have always had really thick hair and my hair was definitely starting to thin out.

“I was so worried about it that I went to see my GP,” says Vivien. “He said it could be a lack of iron in my diet so I started taking iron tablets. “Over the next six months I took lots of different supplements, as well as iron tablets, but the thinning seemed to be getting worse.”

Vivien went back to see her GP who this time advised her that she should seek advice from a hair loss specialist.

Vivien visited several hair loss specialists and was advised by one clinic that her best option was a wig and by another that FUE transplant surgery was her best option.

“I didn’t like the sound of either option to be honest,” says Vivien. “I was worried and unhappy with my hair loss but I didn’t feel as though it had deteriorated enough to wear a hairpiece! I basically just wanted to stop it from falling out and thicken it up.”

Vivien considered the option of surgery but again decided this was too radical and extreme.

“The most important thing to me was to stop it from falling out and to hopefully thicken it up,” said Vivien. “I was told that

surgery would replace the hairs that had been lost but would not stop any further hair loss, I was at a total loss as to know what to do.

“Then one day my husband called to say he was reading an article in the newspaper about a laser that can help to stop hair loss and to thicken existing thin hair without the need for any surgery, I researched into it on the internet and I found that it was clinically proven to stop hair loss in 94% of patients after six months of treatment and was suitable for both men and women, it was also totally painfree with no side-effects.

“I then found there was a clinic in Cork offering this treatment, so I contacted them and went for a free consultation, I discovered I was suffering from a condition called CTE (Chronic Telogen Effluvium). I was told

this causes excessive thinning down the centre of the scalp and affects the hair’s growth cycles. It can also lead to androgenic alopecia, which can cause the hairs to get thinner and thinner until they stop growing altogether.”

Vivien was informed that surgery was inappropriate as she was still losing hair, and was also unnecessary as she still had the majority of her hair which could be saved and thickened using a combination of laser treatment and medication.

“I completed my course of treatment just over nine months ago and I can’t believe the difference in my hair. It has stopped falling out and it has thickened up massively. I am delighted. I would recommend anyone who is worried about thinning hair to do something about it before it’s too late!”

Vivien O’Sullivan.

No 2 Camden Place, St Patricks Bridge, Cork t: (021) 4552424

OPENING TIMES: Monday to Friday 8am-9.30pm Please log on to www.thehairclinichlcc.com Feelgood

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011