Quadruple rise in childhood obesity hospital admissions

Alarming NHS figures show that the number of children requiring hospital treatment for obesity-related conditions has increased more than four-fold in less than ten years.

The analysis, conducted by researchers at Imperial College London, comprised of a study of NHS hospital admission statistics for obesity between 2000 and 2009 in England and Wales. The research team, led by Dr Sonia Saxena, looked at statistics where either obesity the main cause for the admission or together with a condition that had worsened due to obesity.

They discovered a sharp rise in the number of five to 19-year-olds admitted to hospital with obesity related conditions, increasing from 872 to 3,806, with almost 21,000 patients aged five to 19 being treated for such problems in that period. Reporting their findings in the journal Public Library of Science ONE, the team also state that admissions were more common in girls than boys.

Girls accounted for 55% of the cases, as well as comprising of three-quarters of the patients who had underwent bariatric weight loss surgery, where the stomach is reduced in size. Also known as gastric surgery, bariatric operations carry a number of risks and can cost thousands of pounds for somebody who decides they do not want to join an ever-growing NHS waiting list for such operations – after meeting strict criteria of course.

Dr Sonia Saxena says: “This is one of the first studies to show health problems linked to obesity are affecting children. The figures are alarming. This is no longer a ticking obesity time bomb – it has exploded. It is no longer obese adults that should be the sole focus of our concerns. It’s clear that rising obesity levels are causing more medical problems in children. The burden of obesity is usually thought to have its serious consequences in adulthood, but we now see it manifesting earlier, in childhood.”

Tam Fry, a member of the National Obesity Forum and chairman of the Child Growth Foundation charity, added: “I’m not surprised by this leap, and I won’t be surprised if in five years we’re taking about another significant rise. When it comes to obesity we have taken our eyes off children to such an extent that they are now completely unmonitored and left to get on with it. The medical profession is not really paying too much attention to them. A lot of these young people are completely unaware that piling on the pounds will not only make them fat but give rise to these other conditions. We’ve got a substantial number of our children going into their secondary school life ill-equipped to know what the consequences of fatness and obesity are. We need a thorough reappraisal of the way we allow the food industry to get away with stuffing unhealthy levels of fat and sugar into their food. We need to ban fizzy drinks and sugar-laden drinks entirely. We need to take really radical steps.”

Obesity has long been connected to a wide range of serious health problems during childhood and increases the risk of developing conditions such as type-2 diabetes, asthma and can result in interrupted sleep due to breathing difficulties.

Government figures show that about 30% of children between the ages of 2 and 15 years old are classified as overweight and around a fifth are classified as obese. Worryingly, the number of overweight or obese children is expected to double by 2050.

Doctors and health experts have stressed the need for urgent government action to ease a nationwide obesity crisis, such as severely limiting access to junk food.

Professor Mitch Blair of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, commented: “The UK already has the highest rate of childhood obesity in western Europe, estimated to cost the NHS £4.2billion a year. This, coupled with these latest statistics, further emphasises the need for urgent action. The fast paced nature and rising cost of day-to-day living means parents are often left with little option but to feed their family quick and easy food which is often extremely unhealthy. This, and the fact children favour video games or watching television over playing outside, is a recipe for disaster. We need to look seriously at how fast food is marketed at children and consider banning junk food prior to the 9pm watershed, limiting the number of fast food outlets near schools and making sure children are taught the importance of a healthy, balanced diet.”

Crackdown on e-cigarettes: Stricter regulations announced

In three years’ time The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will begin to regulate e-cigarettes as medicines when new European-wide tobacco laws are due to be introduced.

The MHRA have confirmed from 2016, cigarette manufacturers will face much stricter regulations than previously, being forced to adhere to strict safety standards or risk their products being banned.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which can be highly addictive and may even cause heart problems.

However, there are no harmful chemicals that are contained in regular tobacco cigarettes such as carbon dioxide and tar. The decision, announced yesterday by the MHRA, will cover all products currently on the market that contain nicotine.

Along with smoking cessation medication such as Pfizer’s Champix, e-cigarettes have increased in popularity over recent years and there are an estimated 1.3million users just in the UK alone. The battery-powered devices are designed to resemble a real cigarette, but do not require any match or flame to be smoked.

Liquid nicotine is converted into a mist, or vapour, that the user inhales – simulating the process of smoking. As the devices emit a smoke-like water vapour, this has led to the term ‘vaping’ being commonly referred to for their use.

E-cigarettes that are deemed fit for purpose and pass the new safety standards will then be available to obtain on prescription from the NHS as an aid for stopping smoking.

From 2016, smokers eager to quit will still be able to get their e-cigarettes over the counter in supermarkets and newsagents, however manufacturers will now have to apply for a licence beforehand and will be prohibited at advertising any products judged to be targeted at under-16s.
Currently there are chocolate and bubble-gum-flavoured products being sold, but by 2016 it is unlikely these would be licensed. Some argue those particular flavoured-products are merely a ‘gateway to smoking’ for youngsters, and risk helping them to smart smoking when otherwise they wouldn’t.

The debate regarding the pros and cons of e-cigarettes is one that will not go away anytime soon. Previously, health experts have voiced their opinions that millions of lives could be saved if smokers switched to e-cigarettes.

However, unlike regular cigarettes due to the smoking ban, the electronic devices are permitted to be smoked in public places such as bars, restaurants and public transport. There are those who believe this is ‘normalising’ something which is now generally viewed as unacceptable.

Speaking yesterday after the news was announced of the proposed regulations, Jeremy Mean, group manager of vigilance and risk management of medicines at the MHRA, said: “Reducing the harms of smoking to smokers and those around them is a key government health priority. Our research has shown that existing electronic cigarettes and other nicotine-containing products on the market are not good enough to meet this public health priority. Some NCPs (nicotine-containing products) are already licensed and the government’s decision to work towards medicines licensing for all these products is designed to deliver quality products that will support smokers to cut down and to quit. The decision announced today provides a framework that will enable good quality products to be widely available. It’s not about banning products that some people find useful, it’s about making sure that smokers have an effective alternative that they can rely on to meet their needs.”

Whether people can completely rely on e-cigarettes though remains to be seen. In the past experts have stated that users of the products cannot be guarantee of the purity of the nicotine contained inside them and MHRA research has discovered that amounts of nicotine can be ‘considerably different’ from the level printed on the label, casting doubt on exactly how useful the products are to those who are trying to cut down or stop smoking, a MHRA spokesman said.

The previously mentioned smoking cessation medication Champix is a drug which contains no nicotine and works by stimulating the nicotine receptors in the brain, thereby reducing craving and withdrawal symptoms you may experience when stopping smoking. In addition, Champix can also reduce the enjoyment of cigarettes if you do smoke when on the treatment. Champix is available today from Medically Specialists Pharmacy from as little as just £75.00 per pack, a small price to protect your long-term health.

Holiday sex could lead to an even bigger rise in STIs

As we enter summer and temperatures in the UK and especially in many other areas around the world begin to climb, thousands of holidaymakers will no doubt be venturing overseas to enjoy the sunshine.

However, within the carefree spirit that often accompanies holidays abroad, there is plenty of alcohol intake and a slightly reckless attitude in regards to safe sex and sexual health. The holiday season is always a notorious period for people aged between 18 to 30 to jet off abroad with friends and heavy drinking leads to less inhibitions, less regards for contraception and more casual sex.

This all means that there is a high risk of contracting any of a number of dangerous sexually transmitted infections (STIs).  Often people drink high quantities of alcohol on holiday and let their guard down to some degree, doing things then wouldn’t think of doing when at home – and this needs to stop.

It must be worth bearing in mind that in certain countries compared to others, STIs could be extremely common and obviously this puts you at even more at risk than you would be back at home.
Symptoms of STIs can include:
. Unusual discharge from your penis, vagina or anus.
. A pain or burning feeling when urinating.
. Itching, blisters, sores or lumps on or around the genitals.
. Pain when urinating.
. For women, bleeding between periods and/or after sex.

Many will experience symptoms of an STI around two weeks after they return from holiday but worryingly with one of the most prevalent STIs – chlamydia – most don’t know they have it due to no obvious symptoms. Approximately 50% of men and 70 to 80% of women will not experience any symptoms at all with the infection.

It is this week, and at the beginning of summer, that health officials have decided to release stark warnings about the increase of diagnoses of STIs; with new cases rising to almost half a million in England and perhaps unsurprisingly, the under-25s are guilty of the highest rates.

The new information has been released by Public Health England (PHE), who says that during 2012 there were 448,422 diagnoses – an increase of 5% from the previous year.

Chlamydia was the most common infection at 46%, new gonorrhoea diagnoses have risen to 21%, and health officials are alarmed by the rises.

Lisa Power, policy director for the Terrence Higgins Trust, a sexual health charity, said: “Everyone knows about STIs but still think it won’t happen to them. We’ve learned to associate being unwell with having symptoms, and if people don’t have symptoms, they think they are fine. Then 20 years down the line, a woman with chlamydia might find her tubes are blocked, or someone with syphilis might end up with dementia. What we are worried about is that sexual health has been handed to the local authorities and we’ve already seen cutbacks.”

If you believe you may have contracted an STI, it is vital you see your GP or visit a sexual health clinic to get tested as soon as possible and if the infection isn’t treated, this could lead to more serious health problems such as infertility.

Alternatively, Medically Specialists Pharmacy offer the Clamelle chlamydia test kit for just £24.85 which can be used in the privacy and comfort of your own home to prevent an embarrassing visit to your GP or GUM clinic and there is no need to take any time off work.

Once ordered, we will post the test kit to you, which you can use to check yourself. Take a quick urine sample and post the sample to the laboratory in the envelope provided, and the result is posted or emailed back to you by the laboratory a few days later.

Or, if you have been confirmed as having this or gonorrhoea, the antibiotic Azithromycin can prevent the spread of the bacteria so that your body’s natural defences can fight back and remove the infection from your system. We also have the medication Valtrex working out as costing just £3.50 per tablet, which helps to slow the spread of the herpes virus.

Sweating too much? It may not be due to the weather…

Although the weather seems to have now momentarily returned to the ‘norm’ for the UK, last week saw Britain blessed with unfamiliar scorching-hot weather and certain areas such as Hampshire, experienced temperatures of around 25C.

Obviously with glorious sunshine comes sweating – aka perspiration. Sweating is basically our body’s built-in cooling system and occurs when the temperature rises. Heat activates the sweat glands within our skin, which then release fluids (sweat). After this evaporates, your body will have cooled-down and a more comfortable internal temperature is restored.

However, excessive and seemingly unnecessary sweating – especially when it is not a particularly hot day – can raise a red flag for certain health problems and is something that should not be casually ignored.

Here are some of the factors that could be causing excessive sweating:

Hypoglycaemia

This is when the blood has a usually low level of sugar (glucose) in the blood – dropping below about 4 millimoles per litre (mmol). Although often a condition mainly associated with diabetes, non-diabetics may experience an imbalance in sugar levels after delaying or missing meals, in addition to fasting, or exercising on an insufficient food intake. If the brain does not receive enough glucose then symptoms of hypoglycaemia can begin, which include: headache, migraine, nausea, sweating, confusion, faintness, and hypothermia. A prolonged glucose tolerance test can be carried out to find out if you are hypoglycaemic; this measures your body’s ability to process sugar.

Medication

If you are taking medication and also experience excessive sweating, the two may actually be linked. One of the most common culprits in this regards is antidepressants as they can raise levels of stress hormones such as noradrenaline, resulting in more perspiration – commonly at night. Other medications known to cause sweating are iron tablets, antibiotics, blood pressure medications and cold and flu remedies containing pseudo-ephedrine. An often overlooked drug also responsible for increased sweating is nicotine. When you smoke, the nicotine you inhale causes the body to emit a chemical called acetylcholine, which stimulates your sweat glands.

Thyroid problems

Persistent sweating could be an indicator you have an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). This basically means your thyroid gland is generating too much thyroid hormone. This increases the rate of the body’s metabolism, resulting in symptoms such as tremors (shaking), weight loss, feeling tired, muscle weakness, thinning of hair and anxiety. In addition, when too much thyroid hormone is produced, the sweat glands are stimulated and more sweat is emitted than usual.

Pregnancy and menopause

Women have to deal with a multitude of sweating episodes whilst still in their reproductive period. Pregnant women may feel extra-hot due to a rise in hormone levels, blood flow and metabolism.
During the menopause, women’s oestrogen levels decrease which impacts the body’s internal temperature gauge. Sweating however combats these hot flushes. On the plus side, pregnancy sweat is likely to be odourless and women can alleviate the problem to some degree by wearing light, breathable fabrics, remain cool by having a refreshing shower or bath, and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

So how much is ‘too much’ with regards to sweat? Well, it can differ from person-to-person, and can depend on the type of activities a person is generally involved in. For example, a highly active individual such as a labourer or gym enthusiast would be expected to sweat large amounts. Whereas office workers in a climate-controlled building would usually be expected to sweat very little and for somebody who sweats whilst remaining sat calmly at their desk could be deemed to be have hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).

As many people have varying ‘sweat needs’, doctors sometimes have difficulty in determining what constitutes as ‘too much sweating’. However, if you believe you are sweating far too much than you should be, Medical Specialists Pharmacy advise you speak to your doctor in case there is an underlying heath condition behind the problem.

This Morning presenter Matt Johnson hasn’t let asthma beat him

Welsh Daytime TV presenter Matt Johnson has highlighted the seriousness of asthma and the importance of using asthma medicine after speaking to Wales Online, describing how he almost collapsed ‘in the middle of nowhere’ whilst out running.

“I had to stop because my chest was so, so tight,” Matt revealed. “I was halfway through my run, in the middle of nowhere and I really panicked. The more I panicked, the more it got worse. In the end I managed to calm down a bit and eventually it got better.”

However, it is not only physical exertion that triggers the 30-year-olds asthma symptoms; the handsome presenter from Caerphilly even admits that he sometimes struggles when on screen to millions around the UK.

Recently, a comical comment from fellow presenter Eamonn Holmes particularly left the Welshman gasping for air. Matt commented: “Weirdly, when I laugh really hard I get a very tight chest. The other day Eamonn Holmes made me laugh on the This Morning set because I tried to get him to join a nudist beach club and he gave me a very good reason why he shouldn’t. I laughed out loud and my chest got very tight.”

Interestingly, and a subject Medical Specialists Pharmacy have previously touched upon, Matt used to be almost embarrassed to get out his inhalers to use and says the condition was ‘uncool’ in school. His experience whilst out running and without his medication has left him taking his condition a lot more seriously however.

He says: “I can happily take my inhaler anywhere in front of anyone and always have a puff before a live broadcast just in case. I keep on top of my asthma now because the thought of having a severe attack is terrifying.”

Asthma is a long-term respiratory disorder, where the air passages within the lungs unexpectedly become inflamed, narrowed, and swollen. This then prevents airflow into and out of the lungs. Attacks occur often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress.

It is thought that there are 5.4 million people in the UK currently receiving treatment for asthma. This equates to 8.8% of the total population (62 million estimated in 2010). In addition, it affects a staggering 300 million people worldwide.

From this total, there are a huge number of celebrity figures who have asthma and in recent times, many have spoken out about their experiences battling the condition in order to raise awareness.  In February, Olympic hero Laura Trott gave a detailed account on her asthma and there are many other celebrities with asthma such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Paula Radcliffe, Bradley Wiggins and Rebecca Adlington. All of these famous faces did not let asthma overcome them, and with proper management of their symptoms and making sure to use their inhalers, all achieved their goals without letting asthma hold them back.

You don’t need to take our word for it though, Matt continued: “When I grew up asthma always seemed like something that was a geeky, uncool thing to have. So if me running around the place shows people that I’ve got asthma but life goes on, then that’s wonderful. I remember at school people thought it was an uncool thing to have. Some kids suffer with it really badly but it’s not much fun to have it made into a joke. Some people are so disabled by their asthma, physically but mentally. Many people think, oh I can’t take part in exercise – I’ve got asthma. But you only have to look at someone like Bradley Wiggins or Laura Trott who have asthma but went onto win Olympic gold medals at London 2012. When you think of people with asthma like me from daytime TV, world class athletes and someone like One Direction’s Harry Styles , who was seen taking his pump at the side of the stage and then carrying on with a huge concert, then surely that’s inspirational enough.”

The presenter is due to host charity Asthma UK’s ‘Breathtaking Ball’ in London on Friday to raise awareness and funds for asthma.

Wayne Rooney undergoes a ‘top-up’ hair transplant

Almost two years to the day since he underwent his first hair transplant, 27-year-old Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has had a second, ‘top-up’ procedure at the same private London Harley Street Hair Clinic that he first visited in 2011.

The technique performed to combat Rooney’s baldness two years ago was Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), an excruciatingly long operation that involves the surgeon extracting thousands of hair follicles from an area where they are in abundance – usually the back of the head – and then re-planting them into the areas where they are most needed.

Various reports had suggested Rooney paid anywhere between an incredible £15,000 – £30,000 amount for his initial hair transplant, following endless jibes from teammates about his premature balding. At the time, he stated: “Just to confirm to all my followers I have had a hair transplant. I was going bald at 25 why not. I’m delighted with the result.” Rooney had previously touched upon the subject of his hair loss in his autobiography. He said he looked at himself in the mirror and thought: “Bloody hell, you’re going bald and you’re only a young lad.”

Rooney has been pictured numerous times in recent months with seemingly much thinner, wispier hair, calling into question the long-term effectiveness of such expensive hair transplants – often costing up to tens of thousands of pounds. Just last month at an England training base, onlookers were shocked to see his hair thickness had diminished considerably and his scalp was clearly visible.

However, Clinic director Nadeem Uddin Khan delivered the news of Rooney’s second hair restoration operation, which lasted nine hours, saying: “He visited us for pre-planned second-stage treatment of his successful transplant. This was scheduled when he began in 2011. It’s standard.” A separate source told The Sun newspaper: “It was very successful. He’s as pleased as punch with the results and can’t wait to unveil his new look.”

The pre-planned top-up transplant could not have come at a better time for Rooney after hair loss expert Dr Asim Shahmalak spoke last month about thinning areas appearing on the footballer’s head and even advised another transplant before baldness strikes again.

Dr Shahmalak, a hair transplant surgeon on Channel 4′s Embarrassing Bodies, had seen recent pictures of Rooney and commented: “It’s very clear from the pictures that Wayne has kept hold of the hair from his first transplant at the front of his head. But he has continued to lose his hair further back on his head and on his crown. It has given him two noticeable bald patches. The best way to remedy this is with a second hair transplant. He also needs to start using the drug Propecia, which footballers can take quite legally without failing any drug tests…”

Visit the Men’s Health or Women’s Health area of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website to find out more information on how to obtain hair loss treatments such as the previously mentioned Propecia, and other popular products such as those featured on television – Regaine and Alpecin caffeine shampoo.

‘Viagra for women’ may be available in 2016

In just three years’ time, it could be that men are not the only sex who get a helping hand in the bedroom, as Dutch scientists are developing two new drugs to cure the loss of a woman’s desire, one of which is a testosterone-based therapy to heighten pleasure.

The revolutionary new drugs Lybrido and Lybridos, or ‘Female Viagra’ as they are being nicknamed, are being developed by Dutch and US firm Emotional Brain, who claim either could be on bedside cabinets across the world by 2016, being used to boost a woman’s sexual desire and increase feelings of satisfaction in the bedroom.

Currently, men hugely benefit through medicines such as Viagra, Cialis or Levitra for impotence, in addition to Priligy and Stud 100 spray for premature ejaculation. Women’s bedroom issues are often overlooked and ignored, but not for much longer!

The creators Emotional Brain were founded in 2001 primarily to pioneer innovative health care. A lot of their work is targeted at researching women’s sexual health. The twelve years following, many experts have tried to find causes for Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) and targeted therapy to treat the problem.

Unfortunately, previous treatments have been found relatively ineffective as female libido is commonly linked to psychological issues and not merely physical factors.

Emotional Brain believes they may have created something to beat the problem through two-in-one pills that will target both the body and brain.

The pills will be sized smaller than a typical aspirin and Lybrido will be comprised of a Viagra-like drug coated in a testosterone and will have a minty taste. Both components may be weak to combat low libido separately, but the testosterone-coating that melts in the mouth followed by a delayed-release of the Viagra-type substance.

Lyrbridos however will have its Viagra-like molecule replaced buspirone; an anti-anxiety medication that increases levels of the hormone serotonin. Unlike Viagra, Lybridos targets brain areas associated with sexual desire, encouraging the brain to realign with intimacy.

U.S. trials have finished involving more than 200 women have recently been completed, and Emotional Brain founder Adriaan Tuiten states the results from both drugs are ‘very, very promising’.
Dr Tuiten was prompted to research into female emotions after having his heart broken by an ex-girlfriend whilst he was in his 20s. It is his belief that the treatments will be a massive hit especially amongst women who have been married for many years and for whom sex may have lost the appeal and become stale over time.

Dr Tuiten says up to 43% of women experience a low sex drive at some point in their lives and has alleviated fears that the new drugs wills turn women into sex-crazed nymphomaniacs, stating that the treatments will work at simply increasing low-libido to more ‘normal’ levels.