Warning for hay fever sufferers with predicted record pollen levels

From this week up to 28 April it is Allergy Awareness Week and unfortunately it is today we must report that hay fever sufferers could be in for a tough time in the coming months after it has emerged that the pollen count could rise prior to June and reach its highest levels in half a century.

The fact that the UK has experienced a much longer winter has resulted in a later onset for the spring season, with an early summer expected. These factors could help to increase pollen levels to a 50-year high affecting an estimated 16 million people around the UK who suffer with allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

Hay fever symptoms are induced by the inhalation of pollen particles and by pollen managing to get into the eyes. You can get hay fever from anywhere between early spring to late summer, depending on which particular pollen(s) you have an allergy to. The common pollens that prove problematic in early spring for hay fever suffers are those that emanate from trees such as the ash, oak, silver birch, and London plane.

Health experts state that this weekend saw the pollen count spiral from a reading of zero to high and predict further huge increases until June following a bitterly cold March and early April. It is thought England will be much worse off, but Scotland is also likely to experience a pollen ‘burst’ due to a cold March delaying the pollen season by a month. Because tree pollen levels are now set to surge and this ‘phenomenon’ of tree pollen will expectedly collide with grass pollen from late May.

Professor Roy Kennedy, of the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit, and one of Britain’s leading hay fever experts said: “The cold spring meant a late start for pollen with a pollen burst now in a condensed period. It means peak pollen levels early in the season – not later, as normal. The last year to see similarly early-season pollen peaks is probably in the 1960s following a cold spring such as March 1962 – or even earlier. Scotland will also see a condensed tree pollen season. Hay fever sufferers could be badly affected and need to be aware of this.”

The NHS has urged those who could be affected to use wraparound sunglasses, to have a shower after being outdoors and then change into clean clothes. Anybody who suffers from hay fever and other allergies are also commonly advised to try and remain indoors as much as possible during the period of high pollen counts and to check the latest pollen forecast with the Met Office.

For those unaware, the pollen count season is usually from March to August, although it can begin as early January and sometimes end as late as November.

The pollen season is segregated into three main areas:

. Tree pollen - late March to mid-May.
. Grass pollen - mid-May to July.
. Weed pollen - end of June to September.

Medical Specialists Pharmacy offer a wide range of medicines  to treat allergies such as hay fever including Loratadine – a non-drowsy antihistamine which can provide relief from the symptoms of hay fever and Nasonex nasal spray – a nasal corticosteroid spray for the relief of congestion, sneezing, itching and a runny nose. Prevalin is another nasal spray that lines the inside of your nose and actually deactivates the pollen, and finally there’s Alomide allergy eye drops that can bring relief from red, itchy, watery and puffy eyes if used regularly.

Actress Anna Friel receives backlash for her extreme dieting

Keen readers of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy news area are always kept up to the date regarding the UK’s obesity crisis and how scientists learn new information about what factors can impact weight. However, slightly different news is on the agenda today after the actress Anna Friel has been heavily criticised for setting a bad example to impressionable kids, after she spoke about the extreme methods she undergoes for anti-aging and preserving her slender figure.

The 36-year-old Rochdale-born star found fame in the early 1990s after appearing in the Merseyside-based soap Brookside and has since featured in numerous films such as the Goal! Series and 2011’s Limitless which also starred Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

During an interview with Grazia magazine, Friel says she adhered to the detoxing ‘master cleanse’ diet for a two month period. The strict regime controversially involves banishing all food and instead restricting yourself to liquids, with Friel’s diet consisting of surviving on 12 cups per day of a cocktail of maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water.

In addition to its purported weight loss benefits, Friel told Grazia magazine that she also uses the diet to improve the condition of her skin, saying: “I’ve been drinking it for two months and I feel so much better and my skin has really benefited. If you’re vain, as you get older you start thinking, ‘I’ve got to do everything I can to save my skin. I’ve tried everything.”

It is not specified from the interviewer or Friel herself if she has been adhering to the diet for a sustained period of two months, but one would assume this is unlikely bearing in mind that on the master cleanse diet you are confined to a mere 600 calories a day. This could be viewed as almost starvation though when considering that many health experts state that for an average woman to maintain her weight, she needs to consume 2000 calories a day – although this does depend on the woman’s age and how much physical activity she is engaging in.

However, Sioned Quirke, of the British Dietetic Association, has criticised the diet, branding it ‘extreme and unnecessary’. The dietician commented: “From a nutritional point of view, you are lacking in all the essential nutrients which your body requires on a daily basis to function. How could you possibly feel better if you are depriving yourself of everything that your body needs to survive? If you are lacking in these nutrients for a matter of days, let alone weeks, your body will suffer. It’s a myth that what you eat affects your skin. We have a liver and it’s very good at its job. So any detoxing that needs to be done is done by the liver.”

Quirke, 31, doubted Friel’s claims of sticking to the diet for two months, adding: “I can’t imagine anyone surviving on it for longer than a week, let alone two months, so you’ve got to take what she says with a pinch of salt.”

The ‘master cleanse’ has also been tried by numerous other celebrities for weight loss such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé and Naomi Campbell. However, this diet is one of only a few things that Friel is trying in her quest for eternal youth. The actress is also undergoing ‘vampire facials’, a technique also recently used by Kim Kardashian, whereby blood plasma is taken from the body and then injected into the face.

Friel says: “Vampire facials involve taking two vials of blood from your arm and reinjecting it back into your skin. It’s meant to help your skin heal itself and boosts collagen. It makes my skin really glowy and tight again. And I always have a Cryoderm treatment before a red carpet. “People say I look really good afterwards [following a Cryoderm treatment]. I also do the old-fashioned method at home, where I fill my sink with ice cubes and hold them on my face for a minute. I felt sick recently because I found one or two grey hairs and I read that curry leaves help to maintain your hair colour, so I mix them with hot water and drink it as a tea. I’m always searching for pure, natural skin products and Trilogy is great for that too, their Everything Balm is fantastic.”

Of course, expensive Cryoderm treatments are not the only way to try and achieve younger-looking skin and there are other anti-wrinkle treatments available out there! Luckily Medical Specialists Pharmacy has such treatments and some of which work to combat adult acne too. Visit the anti-wrinkle page for a detailed look at the different products we offer to decide which is most suitable for you.

Pharmacist caught selling fake Viagra and Cialis

It seems a week cannot pass by without somebody being arrested or sentenced due to their illegal activity dealing with counterfeit medication. However, the guilty party this time is perhaps a surprising one.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office, a pharmacist operating in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., has been arrested and accused of illegally purchasing counterfeit Viagra and Cialis from China and subsequently dispensing the fake pills at his pharmacy to unsuspecting men.

Viagra and Cialis, together with Levitra, are three hugely popular medications to treat erectile dysfunction (also known as male impotence). Unfortunately for those who are duped into buying them, counterfeits such as the ones being offloaded by this particular pharmacist, have been previously known to contain either little or too much as the medication’s active ingredient which can prove lethal if somebody has any underlying health problems.

Moreover, Counterfeit drugs are often produced in disgusting, unsanitary warehouses too and some counterfeits have previously contained anything from blue paint (perhaps to mimic Pfizer Viagra’s blue colour), to brick dust, or even rat poison!

The pharmacist in question is 36-year-old Michael Markiewicz, owner of Chicago’s ‘Belmont Pharmacy’.  Despite the fact the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation suspended Markiewicz’ pharmacist license and withdrew Belmont Pharmacy’s license in November 2012, federal prosecutors have stated it is still operating as a nutrition and herb retailer.

Preceding the revoking of his pharmacist license, Markiewicz obtained three separate shipments of fake Viagra tablets from the most notorious country in the world for counterfeit drug activity; China, via the internet. One of these particular deliveries also included counterfeit Cialis. Investigators determined that he was offering the fake drugs in his pharmacy from December 2010 through to August 2012. Shipments contained a ‘gift pen’, according to the customs declaration, with the drugs concealed in unmarked clear plastic bags under the pen.

The federal indictment announced yesterday said that Markiewicz, of Norridge, Cook County, Illinois has been charged with eight counts of violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs or goods using a counterfeit mark and three counts of smuggling in a 15-count indictment returned on Wednesday by a federal grand jury.

Although it is unclear at this time exactly how severe Markiewicz’ punishment will be, in the U.S. here are some punishments associated with counterfeit medicines: Trafficking counterfeit drugs carries maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $2 million (about £1.3 million) fine, trafficking counterfeit goods using a counterfeit mark can carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $2 million fine, smuggling carries a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 (about £163,000) fine and finally violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act carries a maximum of three years and a $250,000 fine.

We can assure you of peace and mind when obtaining medicines from Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Patient health and welfare has always been at the core of our business practice. Established in 1994 and becoming the UK’s first legal online clinic in 2001, we are fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and also a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

However, we also understand that the internet is plagued with illegal so-called ‘pharmacies’ that offer ‘discounted’ medication. They are cheap for a reason – they are not the genuine article! To help you distinguish the illegal websites from those genuine ones belonging to fully-registered pharmacies such as Medical Specialists, here are some key points to be aware of:

. Long delivery times of up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it arrives to you.
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what you could expect, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not offer any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, company address, pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.
. If the website does not require patients to submit a detailed medical history or answer a doctor’s consultation, this is suspicious.

Bird flu identified at a Suffolk Bernard Matthews poultry farm

All movements in or out of a Bernard Matthews poultry has been immediately halted following the discovery of a strain of bird flu, leaving thousands of chickens and turkeys at risk of being culled.

Government officials demanded the lockdown on the premises in Suffolk as a precautionary measure despite Environment agency Defra stating that the outbreak did not involve either the H5 or H7 strains – potentially deadly when contracted by humans.

A Defra spokesman said: “We are awaiting further laboratory test results from an ongoing investigation into suspect avian disease at a premises in the South East. The premises remains under restriction pending further results. Public Health England are aware and are ready to take the necessary action pending further test results.”

Bernard Matthews released a statement via a spokesman, saying: “Bernard Matthews can confirm that Defra have undertaken tests for avian influenza on one of its farms following notification by the company after some birds showed signs of ill health over the weekend. The tests have detected the presence of an avian influenza virus, but Defra have confirmed it is not the highly pathogenic types H5 or H7. As a precaution, the farm remains currently under movement restrictions but these are expected to be lifted in the next few days. Bernard Matthews’ other operations continue to run as normal.”

Employees at the Suffolk Bernard Matthews farm are already familiar with avian (bird) flu outbreaks after the infamous 2007 outbreak of the H5N1 strain which proved disastrous for the company. Around 160,000 turkeys had to be slaughtered to stop a crisis that threatened to spiral out of control with 320 workers given anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu to protect them from flu and 130 workers were made redundant following the company losing £20 million in lost sales and other costs.

At the time, experts claimed that they believed the outbreak started after contaminated meat was imported from Hungary to the company’s processing plant next to the farm. This time however, workers at the Suffolk farm are almost certain that the government restrictions will be lifted in the next few days as there is no evidence of the H5 or H7 strain being present.

The restrictions in Suffolk occur after the deadly outbreak of a new bird flu strain known as H7N9 in China. So far, 17 deaths have occurred from the 82 people known to have contracted a virus that is still causing confusion for health experts as it is unclear if some of those affected actually came into contact with poultry and as of yet, there is no current evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission but worryingly, Zeng Guang, chief scientist in charge of epidemiology at the China Disease Prevention and Control Centre (CDPCC), has claimed that around 40% of human victims seem to have no apparent history of poultry exposure.

Of the 17 deaths, 11 have occurred in China’s commercial capital; Shanghai. In addition, tens of thousands of chickens have had to be slaughtered. In total, the Chinese H7N9 bird flu outbreak has caused their poultry industry to record losses in excess of $1.6 billion (£1.05 billion).

Calls to screen men in their 40s for prostate cancer

Swedish researchers argue that men aged in their mid-to-late 40s should be offered a screening test for prostate cancer as this could detect almost half of potentially deadly cases of the disease, providing them with a chance to have necessary treatment before the cancer can develop.

However, the effectiveness of the screening process in question – prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing – has been widely open to debate for several years as the test cannot determine between slow-growing and fast-growing cancer, can cause needless worry and medical tests with a false positive result and has been known to occasionally miss the cancer and provide a false sense of reassurance.

The test can be done at your own GP surgery and involves measuring the level of the protein PSA in your blood. PSA is produced by the prostate gland. Some of the PSA manages to travel into the blood, with levels varying depending on prostate health and age. Currently there are no NHS routine screening programmes for prostate cancer in the UK but Men over the age of 50 are able to have a free PSA test on the NHS if they choose.

The results of which are published in the British Medical Journal, Professor Hans Lilia and colleagues from Lund University in Sweden, working together with researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S., found that if this screening was offered to men aged between 45 and 49, it could potentially spot prostate cancer in almost half of cases.

Their claim emanated from a thorough analysis of a study that was conducted between 1974 and 1984, comprising of 21,277 Swedish men aged between 27 and 52. At the beginning of the study period, every man had donated a blood sample and researchers went back to these samples to conduct PSA tests.

The PSA readings were compared against which men went on to develop prostate cancer, who survived and of what age each death occurred. It was calculated 1,369 of the men had prostate cancer; 241 being at an advanced stage and 162 men died.

With these figures being considered in great detail, they came to the conclusion screening under the age of 45 found very few cancers, screening after the age of 50 generally would be too late an age, whereas 44% of the deadlier cancers were detected through screening that was carried out between the ages of 45 and 49.

In their report, the researchers state: “At least half of all men can be identified as being at low risk and probably need no more than three PSA tests in a lifetime. This is likely to reduce the risk of over-diagnosis while still enabling early cancer detection among those most likely to gain from early diagnosis.”

Dr Anne Mackie, director of NHS screening programmes at Public Health England, says the organisation is considering the findings of the study, adding: “We are currently in the process of a scheduled review for a screening programme for prostate cancer and will make a recommendation towards the end of 2013.”

Woman sheds 17st in one year, stunning those who used to bully her

A young mother of two from Chatham, Kent, has without doubt left her high school bullies eating their words, after losing an incredible 17 stone in just one year.

Student Emma Burton, 22, at one time tipped the scales at a massive 27 stone and was a size 32 dress. Emma was even forced to wear custom-made uniform during her school years which further fuelled the cruel taunts from bullies.

She says: “I was verbally and physically bullied for years, all the way through secondary school,’ she added. ‘The whole school had a nickname for me. I was known as “The Burtonator” – because everyone said I was built like the Terminator. I was enormous. I had a specially made man’s blazer, as my mum couldn’t buy one big enough for me. It was a 50-inch chest, the same size as a bodybuilder. But since I’ve lost weight, I’ve seen some of the girls who made my life hell and they didn’t even recognise me. It was the best feeling in the world to go over and introduce myself. Their jaws hit the floor when they realised who I was.”

Despite the satisfaction of being able to flaunt her enviable new figure to her past tormentors, Miss Burton says the primary factor that inspired her weight loss was simply for her children; Liam, three, and Jennifer, 15 months. Seeing pictures of herself holding Liam following his birth also spurred her on as she was horrified at how she looked in the photos, saying she wanted to ‘rip them up’.

Emma could finally begin her mission to shed the pounds after Jennifer’s arrival and she subsequently adopted a strict weight loss plan that restricted her to consuming soups and shakes for a period of time, prior to the slow and measured integration of ‘real’ food back into her diet.

Now a music student at the University of Kent, Emma has completely revamped her previously unhealthy food choices such as pizzas and crisps, and instead enjoys chicken salads and grilled meat. In addition, a staggering eight cans of fizzy drink Vimto per-day has now been replaced by the often-recommended intake of eight glasses of water per-day.

When her daughter Jennifer had reached the age of one, Emma had slimmed down to a much healthier weight of 10st 9lb, and was delighted at now being able to fit into a size 10 dress.

She comments: “I’ve been hugely overweight my whole life and never in a million years did I think I’d be able to go clothes shopping in a normal shop, let alone buy a size 10. I lost weight so quickly, and once it started coming off it was easy to keep going. I used to be so embarrassed to be seen by other people, I’d avoid going out. I did all my shopping online. Now, I love going shopping – especially for new clothes. I love being able to take my baby out for long strolls in her pram and not be out of breath. My family and friends even struggle to recognise me in a crowd sometimes.”

Perhaps upon seeing how amazing Emma looked, it appeared her school bullies were remorseful and she found it in her heart to forgive them, adding: “They couldn’t apologise enough for how they treated me. But I lost the weight for me and my children, not for them.”

Smoking ban leads to annual 5% drop in asthma hospital emergencies

An annual 5% drop in hospital admissions for asthma patients in England requiring treatment could be attributed to the introduction of the 2007 smoking ban, which made it illegal to smoke in all enclosed public places such as restaurants, nightclubs, bars and shopping centres.

The 5% drop basically means that there are around 1900 fewer asthma-related admissions every year, say the authors of a new study who looked at the number of emergency asthma admissions for adults aged 16 and above in England between the duration of April 1997 and December 2010. Affecting roughly 5.9% of the population, the prevalence of asthma in England stands at one of the largest in the world.

For the study, published in the journal Thorax, Researchers based at the University of Bath discovered that there were a total of 502,000 ‘emergency’ hospital visits due to asthma in this time frame. Unsurprisingly, with cold weather being a trigger for symptoms to flare up, more admissions were evident throughout winter months compared to the summer; however numbers of admissions vastly differed depending on the area of the country.

Researchers took into account factors such as varying seasonal temperatures, differences in population size, and long-term patterns in regards to the prevalence of asthma. After considering all of the aforementioned factors, they discovered that emergency admissions for adults with asthma decreased by 4.9% during each of the first three years after the 2007 smoking ban, with a similar percentage decline in all geographical regions of England.

Dr Michelle Sims, author of the paper, said the benefits of the anti-smoking legislation were clear to see, commenting: “Secondhand smoke exposure has significant adverse health effects on the adult respiratory system with current evidence suggesting that it contributes to the onset and exacerbation of asthma. There is already evidence that smoke free legislation in England is associated with reductions in second hand smoke exposure among non-smoking adults and fewer emergency hospital admissions for heart attacks and childhood asthma. Our findings show that these health benefits extend to adult asthma.”

Emily Humphreys, head of policy and public affairs at the charity Asthma UK, said: “Eight out of 10 people with asthma tell us that other people’s smoke makes their asthma worse. That’s why we campaigned for the smoke-free laws and are delighted to see evidence of the benefits these are having on the millions of people with asthma in England. By taking action to reduce asthma triggers, we can prevent asthma attacks that can lead to hospitalisation and even death. However, more still needs to be done to prevent attacks, which kill three people each day in the UK.”

This new study is interesting and certainly highlights how cigarette smoke and asthma can be strongly connected. The findings follow that of a separate study which Medical Specialists Pharmacy reported back in January. Conducted by a team at Imperial College London, that particular study looked at admission rates spanning back to April 2002 and found an incredible 12% decline in childhood asthma hospital admissions during the first 12 months after the ban. This was calculated by taking into account a predicted 2.2% rise annually – and a decline continued in subsequent years with 3.4% fall per year for the next two years.

Asthma is a serious condition that is only worsened by exposure to cigarette smoke. Medical Specialists Pharmacy advise you to immediately quit smoking if you or a loved one also suffers from asthma, and we are able to help you achieve this with the aid of the smoking cessation medication Champix.

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. The medication equates to just £75.00 per pack – inexpensive compared to an estimated £2,555 you can save each year by quitting smoking!

Alternatively, visit the ‘Asthma and Allergies’ area of the Medical Specialists website for a full list of all the preventer and reliever inhalers we provide for suitable patients.