Many parents smoke inside the car and damage their child’s health

A new study that has been released online and due to appear in the December 2012 issue of ‘Pediatrics’ has revealed that parents will often carelessly expose their children to tobacco smoke in their cars. This is even happening when the parents are still adopting a ‘smoke-free’ policy inside the home.

In the study, researchers from MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) quizzed 795 parents who were smokers, regarding their car-smoking policy and behaviour. Specifically, investigators were trying to determine whether or not the parents actually left their children exposed to tobacco smoke inside the car.

The parents were interviewed upon leaving their child’s doctors’ office in one of 10 paediatric practices, spanning eight U.S. states. The results showed that 73% of parents acknowledged that there had been someone smoking inside their car within the previous three months.
There were 562 parents who had not bothered to adopt a ‘smoke-free’ policy for themselves or others inside the car, and almost half (48%) of this total admitted that they had smoked in the car when their child was present.

Many of the parents said they adhered to a strict no-smoking policy inside the home; however only 24% said that they also had a ‘strictly enforced’ smoke-free in their car.

In addition, some statistics attained from the interviews shows that there is definitely a lot more work to be done in regards to how paediatricians can play their part in encouraging parents to completely protect their children from cigarette smoke.

It was found that only approximately one-fifth of the parents claimed that the paediatric health care provider had bothered to ask them about their smoking status. Moreover, only 12% of parents reported that they have received advice to refrain from lighting-up inside their cars.
Emara Nabi-Burza, MBBS, MS, the study’s lead author, says those parents who smoke need to take more responsibility for protecting their children and recognise the huge negative impact that tobacco smoke can have on their child’s health.

Emara commented: “Workplaces, restaurants, homes and even bars are mostly smoke-free, but cars have been forgotten. Smoking in cars is not safe for motorists and non-smokers – especially children, who have no way to avoid tobacco smoke exposure in their parent’s car. Now that we know the magnitude of the problem, paediatricians and the public can act to help these children.”

Involuntary/secondhand smoking (SHS) such as the aforementioned example, is an incredibly understated subject that Medical Specialists believe the government and health authorities need to put more work into, in an attempt to reduce it. Babies and new-borns are a particularly major high-risk group when it comes to SHS. A mother who smokes during her pregnancy will leave the unborn baby with a decreased oxygen supply and the baby will have raised levels of carbon monoxide in their bloodstream.

Other problems that could therefore arise include the baby having a low birth weight, miscarriage, premature birth or sudden infant death syndrome; whereby babies of mothers who smoke are twice as likely to die from this compared to babies carried by a non-smoker. Children that are exposed to SHS, such as when their parents smoke in their cars, could be left with long-term suffering from persistent colds, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, and severe asthma. SHS can severely impact lung growth in children and can then cause them to cough, wheeze, and suffer with breathlessness.

If you are a parent and this article has concerned you, it is not too late to make some positive changes to your life to improve the health of both you and your children. For example, never allow smoke into your house. If you, a friend or family member wants to smoke, go outside to do it. Explain this policy to your guests when they enter your home and do not put out any ashtrays around the house. Also do not allow smoke into your car. If you or a passenger wishes to smoke, stop at a place where you or they can smoke outside of the vehicle.

For anyone who does smoke though and wishes to stop for good, whether a parent or not, allow Medical Specialists to help you with hugely effective smoking cessation treatment. Champix is a prescription medication that works out from as little as just £75.00 per pack, an incredibly small price when it comes to your long-term health and the health of those around you. Champix mimics the effect of nicotine on the body, reducing the urge to smoke and relieving withdrawal symptoms. It can also decrease the enjoyment you experience of smoking if you are still smoking whilst on the treatment.

Pepsi launch ‘fat blocking’ cola drink in Japan

A ‘special’ version of Pepsi’s cola drink has gone on sale today in Japan, with bold claims of weight loss and lowering ‘bad’ cholesterol coming from the soft drinks giant.
Funnily enough the drink will be named ‘Pepsi Special’, and will be distributed by Suntory International, who is hoping for a similar hit as the Japanese fat-busting drink Mets Cola, released by the beer company Kirin only a few months previously.

Both drinks contain an indigestible form of the light carbohydrate dextrin; occasionally used as a fibre supplement. Dextrin inhibits the body’s ability to absorb fat while eating and also reduces the level of ‘blood triglycerides’ in your bloodstream and bad LDL cholesterol. If that wasn’t enough though, it also manages to help keep HDL, the good cholesterol.

These claims are based on a 2006 study by Japan’s National Institute of Health and Nutrition, conducted on rats that were fed dextrin. The study’s results went some way to showing that dextrin can help in reducing the absorption of fat in the body and also helping to bring down cholesterol levels.
Unfortunately no information has been released in regards to the drink’s sugar or corn-syrup content in the drink in comparison to the regular Pepsi drink  spokesman said it would have a ‘crisp refreshing and unique’ aftertaste.

Pepsi Special will have a unique look, being sold in a ‘luxury’ gold and black bottle with the Pepsi logo on the side of the bottle. The price will be initially set at 150Yen (£1.20), only slightly more than a typical 500ml bottle of regular Pepsi sold in the UK. However, there has been nothing said by either Pepsi or Suntory International regarding a European or U.S. release date.

One thing that is clear though is just who the drink could appeal to, going off the humorous advert that Pepsi have posted on their website. The ad depicts a young businessman who has to make a choice between a woman dressed in a pizza costume and another wearing a burger outfit. Basically it is claimed that the man will not have to discard either, as long as he drinks Pepsi Special. It would seem the soft drink giant is keen to appeal to young, health-conscious men who enjoy such drinks but are also worried about their weight, as well as possibly previous customers who have stopped buying soft drinks for health purposes.

The drink has been met with scepticism though by some people though. Sue Baic, a spokesperson from the British Dietetic Association, questioned just how effective the drink was in its fat-busting claims. She said: “I think this drink is unlikely to make much difference to how much fat you absorb. I can’t see any studies that show dextrin works in people. Even if it has an effect on rats that doesn’t mean it will translate into humans. I suggest a higher fibre diet with fruit, vegetables and whole grains would be a better way to fill you up and make you feel less hungry. Plus then you would get the benefits of all the vitamins and minerals as well.”

It is debatable just how ‘healthy’ though these types of drinks are due to the high volume of additives that are packed inside, many of which are disastrous for teeth. In addition, high sugar content will do nothing good for weight and in the long run can lead to health complications such as diabetes.
From Medical Specialists’ experience, and from contact with our thousands of patients, success comes firstly from factors such as lifestyle improvements such as a healthier diet and more exercise. Help can also be found from clinically proven treatments for obesity such as Xenical or XLS-Medical Fat Binder.

It may be also questionable whether or not a fizzy drink can have a genuine impact on your good and bad cholesterol levels. Luckily, for suitable patients, we can provide cholesterol-lowering statin medications Crestor (Rosuvastatin) and Lipitor (Atorvastatin). Along with diet, they lower ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL-C), increase ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL-C), and also slow the progression of atherosclerosis in adults with high cholesterol. We are pleased to inform our patients that we now also offer legal generic Atorvastatin, with prices from as little as just £11.25 per pack.

Contraceptive pills could avert the onset of dementia in later life

Young women who are taking the contraceptive pill could be prevented from developing memory problems and dementia in their later years claims a new U.S. study.

In particularly it is believed that the group of female hormones, oestrogen, are the key. Oestrogen is present in contraceptive pills such as Dianette, Marvelon and Yasmin and scientists say it is linked to a better memory as it stops arteries from hardening and therefore increases the supply of blood into the brain.

It has long been common knowledge that Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), (also containing oestrogen) can help stave off dementia. However, it is only now that a study has emerged that has analysed the possible benefits of contraceptive pills.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin decided to focus their investigations on 261 women who had conducted health surveys and were aged between 40 to 65.

The women had to perform memory tests such as naming as many words as possible about a particular subject as well as naming certain objects. What intrigued researchers was the fact that a lot of the woman who had been taking a contraceptive pill came out with better results than those women who had not. In addition, a correlation was established between length of time on the pill and a higher rate of scores the women managed to attain.

Researchers say that the oestrogen could also be promoting the growth of certain cells within both the brain and spinal cord in addition to maintaining blood flow to the brain.

The study, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, was led by researcher Kelly Egan, who said: “Our analysis indicated that hormonal contraceptive use may have a protective cognitive (memory) effect, even years after use is discontinued. This is especially true in subjects with a longer duration of use.”

Their study did not go into looking at the causes and risk factors for dementia however, or how it can be treated.

Dementia is a term given to a collection of related conditions that are connected to the on-going, gradual decline of the brain and changes to its structure, Memory, thinking, speech, understanding and judgement can all be severely impacted when someone is suffering from dementia, and the sufferer will almost always require some form of help from family and friends, in particularly in relation to decision making.

There are currently 570,000 people living with dementia just in England. Over the next 30 years it is predicted that this number is going to double. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, where there is a progressive loss of brain cells. There is no definitive cause of Alzheimer’s but it is believed to be due to a number of things such as lifestyle factors that are contributing to vascular disease, a family history of the condition and also has been linked to severe head injuries.
Unfortunately there are no medical cures for dementia and the condition will gradually worsen over time. However, if you or a family member has been diagnosed with dementia, The NHS, social services and voluntary organisations are able to give advice and offer any necessary support to help you and your family.

Certain signs of aging could be a predictor for heart disease

A person’s risk of heart disease could be estimated by examining signs of aging such as hair loss or bags around the eyes, claim researchers in from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. They say such things can be used to determine the true biological age of a person as well as simply a numerical age.

The researchers say that if you have three to four signs of aging such as a receding hairline, baldness (particularly around the crown), earlobe crease or yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid, then you could have a 57% increased risk of a heart attack and a 39% increased risk of heart disease.
They further state that deposits of cholesterol beneath the skin named ‘xanthelasmata’ are one of the biggest signs that can predict the risk for both a heart attack and heart disease. These deposits usually appear as slightly yellow or skin-coloured lumps on the hands or ankles, and are an early sign of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).

If you are unfamiliar with this term, it is a genetic defect that affects roughly 1 in every 500 of the population and causes them immediately from birth to be lacking in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, which get rid of cholesterol from our blood. Because these people have high cholesterol from the moment they are born, they are at great risk from vascular diseases and hardening of the arteries, much earlier than normal. For anybody unfortunately who has FH, usually the most effective treatment is through statin therapy (e.g. Lipitor or Crestor). These medications decrease the production of LDL cholesterol by the liver, which in turn decreases LDL cholesterol blood levels by around 50%. There are around 120,000 sufferers in the UK and only 15% actually know they have the condition. Medical Specialists would advise everybody to visit their doctor who is able to perform a simple cholesterol check. If your cholesterol is abnormally high then they can suggest ways to best manage this, such as through statin medication.

For the recent study analysing heart risks, the Danish researchers looked at 10,885 people over 40 years of age. It was noted that 7,537 had fronto-parietal baldness - where the hairline is receding at the temples. Furthermore, 3,938 were suffering with crown top baldness. In addition, they also found that 3,405 had earlobe creases and 678 people had fatty deposits around their eyes.

A follow-up period was then carried out, spanning an incredible 35 years. The researchers, led by Professor Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, found that 3,401 people had developed heart disease and 1,708 had suffered from a heart attack.

In the study – presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012 – researchers explained how the quantity of greying hair, presence of wrinkles, the type and severity of baldness, and presence of earlobe crease and eyelid deposits were linked to a possible increased risk of heart problems.

Professor Tybjaerg-Hansen, said: “Checking these visible aging signs should be a routine part of every doctor’s physical examination. The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biological age, not chronological age, and are independent of chronological age.”

Warnings issued after ‘high risk’ patients are not going for their flu jab

We are fast approaching the winter season in the UK as autumn is coming to a close. You may have already noticed this though by the rapidly dropping temperatures, the need to use the ice scraper on your car windscreen and it is now getting darker much earlier in the evenings. The wintery chill will unfortunately also bring with it a high number of colds and flu outbreaks across Britain. The common cold can be dealt with simple enough and will be gone within a week usually but the flu can be more serious and even prove fatal at times.

However many of the population who are deemed as ‘high risk’ are not receiving the flu jab despite many the warnings that health officials give around this time each year.  Department of Health (DOH) figures worryingly show that many people who are at risk of becoming seriously ill from flu complications, have yet to receive the flu vaccination.

The vaccine is available without charge to those deemed at risk to provide protection against catching flu and developing serious complication such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Some of the eligible groups of people include anyone over 65 years of age or over, if you have a certain medical condition such as asthma or diabetes, are pregnant or if you are the carer for somebody who may be at risk if you yourself fall ill.

Information released by the DOH though shows that an increasing number of pensioners and those with medical conditions are not bothering to get the vaccine. In England alone there are approximately 4,700 deaths every year that are attributed to flu and those who are in the ‘high risk’ groups are shockingly around 11 times more likely to die from it in comparison to somebody not deemed at risk.

Figures show that at the end of last week 48.9% of patients aged 65 or over in England had received the flu jab. However, in the same week in 2011, the take-up for the vaccine was 54.8%. A similar trend has been seen in patients with health conditions such as asthma, whereby 28.7% of patients had received the vaccine by 28 October and at the same point last year the figure stood at 32.2%.

Health officials are now urging those at high risk to get themselves to their GP for a vaccination and there has been a website set-up called ‘Winterwatch’, which will go live in the next few weeks and will aim to provide up-to-date winter-related health information.

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, warned: “Cold weather can be hazardous for our health – particularly for older people and those with respiratory illnesses. Each year, the cold weather is responsible for an increase in deaths and thousands of cases of flu, falls, heart attacks and strokes. In past years, these extra pressures have cost the NHS £42 million in emergency admissions alone. As winter approaches, we should all be on our guard against health problems – by taking simple steps and looking after our older friends and family we can keep warm and well.”

Adding to Mr Hunt’s comments was public health minister Anna Soubry, who said: “We have taken the decision this year to run a flu campaign because too many people in at-risk groups have not come forward for the jab yet, although local campaigns have been running for the past month. Our campaign aims to encourage people who are most at risk from flu, who have put it off or who don’t think it is important, to get the vaccine.”

People should bear in mind that it can take around ten days for the vaccine to provide protection against flu following the jab. If you are unsure whether you need the vaccine or wondering if you are able to receive a free vaccine, you can contact NHS Inform on 0800 22 44 88 for more information.

Disregarding digestive problems may lead to anaemia and osteoporosis

Are you one of the 12 million Brits who are suffering with the common traits of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Bloating, trapped wind and diarrhoea are a few of the digestive complaints associated with IBS. However, if you do not believe you have IBS or have not been formally diagnosed with the gut condition, you should still not ignore these digestive problems that could be occurring on a regular basis as they may be a warning sign that something more serious is wrong.

The concern has emanated as a result of a study carried out by a2 Milk UK, a company who have released a specialised kind of milk across supermarkets such as Morrison’s and major Tesco stores in the UK. Normal cow’s milk contains various types of proteins and one of these is called ‘caseins’. The main types of the beta-casein fraction are a2 and a1, and the a1 protein has been linked to various symptoms similar to what a person would suffer with IBS. The a2 Milk however is extracted from certain British dairy cows, unique in the fact that they simply produce milk comprising of just the a2 protein.

The a2 Milk UK survey found that an incredible 84% of women will experience some degree of digestive pain or discomfort after they consume a particular food. Of this total, 46% claimed they simply self-medicated for short term relief from symptoms and 35% said they do nothing at all about their problems.

Amongst the reasons for deciding to take no action about gut complaints, women said they felt embarrassment about going to visit their doctor to discuss the issues they were experiencing, and others said that they felt the symptoms were not severe enough to seek help and treatment from a GP.
Unfortunately, choosing to neglect these symptoms over a period of time could prove damaging for someone’s health in the long term and result in the digestive system becoming inflamed.  The inflammation means that there could be difficulty for the digestive system to successfully take in nutrients from other foods, not just the problematic ones.

GMTV’s ‘Health Editor’ Dr Hilary Jones, reflected on the findings of the survey and he said: “When people’s bodies are not digesting crucial nutrients found in many foods – as is the case with symptoms such as diarrhoea and bloating – the risk of certain illnesses dramatically increases. While it may be tempting to self-medicate or hope the problem will go away, sufferers are not getting to the root of the problem.”

Dr Jones was interested in the fact that 28% of the women who were polled said that discomfort occurred after eating dairy. He added: “This issue is particularly key with dairy and milk intolerance as there are a range of reactions that people can have to milk. It’s not as simple as lactose intolerant or not. All too often people soldier on or cut milk out entirely when there are alternative options available. If in any doubt, talk to your GP – we aren’t scary I promise!”

Melanie Bibby, a2 Milk UK’s Nutrition Manager, added her opinions on the tricky subject of digestive discomfort. She said: “You really shouldn’t be getting any digestive discomfort after eating. But people think that it’s just the norm, especially if it’s been not quite right for a long time – they forget that it’s not how it should be. She advises that sufferers should monitor their problems from the use of a food diary, and also use a process of ‘trial and error’ with suspect foods. She continues: “But it’s very difficult to work out what you’re intolerant to. Many people have a problem with dairy but it’s hard to tell if you’re reacting to the lactose or to the milk proteins. Most people are intolerant to a particular protein found in milk called a1. Or you can react to the lactose. If it’s the lactose, switching to soya milk can help but if it’s the a1 protein, it won’t make any difference as soya contains similar proteins. A2 milk is normal milk, but it comes from dairy cows that naturally don’t produce the a1 protein; instead their milk contains a2, which is much better tolerated. I want people to know that there might be an alternative to cutting out dairy for them, because of course that can mean you miss out on very important nutrients too.”

Stomach troubles are a common complaint amongst Brits, including former Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon who recently spoke out on her own struggles.

If you do have IBS, why not browse around the ‘stomach and bowel’ area of the Medical Specialists website.  We offer an ever-growing range of effective medications such as Mebeverine and Buscopan IBS relief. In addition, the medication Lansoprazole can help with acid reflux problems that cause heartburn and complications with swallowing. All of these medicines are available right now at low prices, in addition to the new wonder treatment for IBS – Symprove. If you have not heard about the miracle that is Symprove then you need to get clued up about it immediately! We have even ran two separate features on this highly effective probiotic drink and now offer the 500ml mango and passion fruit flavour of Symprove, which can be purchased today from the Medical Specialists chemist shop, priced just £19.93.

A nasal spray dubbed the ‘Female Viagra’ is being trialled

The words ‘nasal spray’ and ‘sexy’ are rarely, if ever, used together in the same sentence. However, things could change in the future if clinical trials are successful for what could be a female equivalent of the male erectile dysfunction medication Viagra.

In fact if you are one of the many frustrated women around the World who is suffering from Female Orgasmic Disorder (FOD), today could be your lucky day! Medical Specialists Pharmacy are pleased to be the bearer of good news for the estimated 5 – 10% of women who suffer from this underestimated condition, and thus never experience any type of orgasm through any kind of sexual activity. The condition is also known as ‘anorgasmia’ and is defined by the American Psychological Association’s diagnostic manual as: “Persistent or recurrent delay in, or absence of, orgasm following a normal excitement phase.”

The new female drug in development is a testosterone gel named ‘Tefina’ that gets absorbed into the body via a droplet-sized dose sprayed into the nose. Although the absorption would take merely minutes, it could then be several hours before the effects kick-in for the woman so this delay would have to be considered, and Tefina would not be ideal for any spur-of-the-moment love making.

Without even taking into account the thousands of male patients that Medical Specialists have helped with erectile dysfunction problems, Viagra is estimated to generate around a staggering $2 billion annually in the U.S. alone as the reluctance to seek help is finally being banished. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to predict that Tefina could be a huge hit too and generate lots of money.

Australian researchers based at Melbourne’s Monash University are now attempting to recruit approximately 100 female volunteers between the ages of 18 and 49 so they can begin trials of the drug.

Dr. Fiona Jane of Melbourne’s Monash University, spoke out on the need for such a treatment for women. She said: “Female sexual dysfunction is a real thing and we think up to 43 percent of women suffer some form of sexual dysfunction. A lot of people have thought that drumming up the idea of a female ‘Viagra’ is just for pharmaceutical companies. In fact, there is a huge need for women to have their sexual dysfunction addressed.”

Clinical trials are now set to begin in Australia, Canada and the U.S., supported by Trimel Biopharma, who is developing the drug. The spray would be strictly only be available on prescription but it could be another three to five years unfortunately before it becomes available in pharmacies.  In the meantime keep checking the Medical Specialists website to stay updated on this and other similar products that may become available in the near future.