Knowing what to do for babies and toddlers when illness strikes is particularly difficult. An information evening for parents, entitled Understanding your Child's Health and Development, will take place tomorrow. Sponsored by Calpol, topics covered by the speakers - all doctors - will include childhood illnesses and when to call the doctor; first aid; and understanding your child's development. It will be held in Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, 7.30 p.m . 9 p.m. Admission free.
Scientists in Scotland have developed a "super egg" which may help to reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Part of the move towards "nutraceutical" (part nutrient, part pharmaceutical) foods, this egg includes vitamins and minerals (vitamin E, DHA, lutein and selenium) associated with a decreased risk of certain diseases. This designer egg, which is not genetically modified, may be on the supermarket shelves by next year. (BBC)
What do You Mean by Health? is the title of a public seminar sponsored by the Health Forum, a private institute set up to promote an empowering healthcare system. Speakers include Dr Bartley Sheehan, on Health in Ireland and Beyond, and Mary Pander, a specialist in Chinese medicine. It will be held at the Marine Hotel, Sutton on Saturday, April 24th, 10 a.m. 1 p.m. Cost £65, including lunch. Booking is essential; 01-2695814
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system, which strikes one in every 1,000 people and is twice as common in women as men. There is no known cause or cure. However, a pregnant doctor at the University of California may have found a treatment to slow the progression of MS. During the third trimester of pregnancy, the hormone estriol is at high levels and at this time, according to anecdotal evidence, pregnant women with MS show signs of improvement. Further testing will be carried out, although estriol is already used in Europe for hormone replacement therapy. (Ivanhoe)
Research into diabetes is to take place in St James's Hospital, Dublin. Sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, the research will focus on a test to determine the need for insulin in patients who develop diabetes in later life. Doctors believe this test will improve their ability to select the best treatment for diabetes sufferers and to prevent complications - which can include loss of vision, kidney damage, heart damage and circulation problems of the legs and feet.
Lymphoedema, or swelling in the tissues below the skin, is sometimes caused by treatment of cancer. The Irish Lymphoedema Support Network is holding an open day with guest speaker Jane Board, a nurse from St George's Hospital, London, who specialises in the treatment of lymphoedema. It will take place at noon on Saturday at the Irish Cancer Society, 5 Northumberland Road, Dublin 4. Non-members £5, members free. For more information, tel 01-6681855.
It is estimated one in 10 of the adult population suffers from tinnitus, which is a ringing, buzzing, or squeaking in the ear. Sufferers are increasingly turning to complimentary therapies, such as acupuncture and aromatherapy. The Irish Tinnitus Association is holding a meeting, Complementary therapies - Can they Help us Cope with Tinnitus?, on Saturday, 10.30 p.m.3 p.m. at the Prince of Wales Hotel, Church Street, Athlone. Admission is free. Phone 01 8723800, fax 01 8723816.
"Given the best nutrition, the greatest physician of all to do healing is . . . your own body," says Dr Joel Wallach, US author of Rare, Earth's Forbidden Cures and Let's Play Doctor. Dr Wallach will lecture on the benefits of minerals and vitamins, and on the nutritional supplement he has developed, tomorrow at the Royal Dublin Hotel, O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 (cost £5) and on Wednesday at White's Hotel, George's Street, Wexford (cost £3). Both lectures are from 7.30 p.m to 10 p.m.