It is not sensationalist to describe hepatitis C as a hidden epidemic, according to one Irish specialist. Mainstream medicine has not found a cure for the liver disease transmitted by blood-to-blood contact, but many sufferers report a reduction of symptoms when using Chinese medicinal herbs. A leading practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, John Tindall, will be in Dublin to lead a Liver Wellness Programme, on how acupuncture, herbs, qi gong and essential oils can be used to treat hepatitis C, on July 4th, from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Blessed Sacrament church hall, Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 1. Cost £10 waged/£5 unwaged. The Dublin hepatitis C support group, Hepcats, meet at 3 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at the same venue.
Driving 1,000 miles in a tractor is not everyone's idea of fun, but two volunteers are doing just that this week. The first Round Ireland Tractor Drive (using a specially imported tractor and sponsored by John Deere Tractors) is taking place over 10 days in support of the charity Cerebral Palsy Ireland, with all money raised in each county going to the Cerebral Palsy branch in that county. It ends in Woodlands House Hotel, Adare, Co Limerick with an American barbecue, 3-6 p.m. next Sunday (cost £10). For details, tel: 061-301686, fax: 061-302394.
The risk of developing polio following use of the live oral vaccine is one case in every 2.4 million. Those who may be affected are the vaccinated children and others who come into contact with the faeces of these children. With the success of the international polio eradication efforts, this risk of contamination is now greater than the risk of a polio epidemic. In the US, it has been agreed that from next year, the live polio vaccine will no longer be used, and children will be vaccinated with the injected, inactivated form of the polio virus vaccine. In Ireland, the live vaccine is still used. --(Reuters)
A new booklet, Motherhood, Midwives and the New Millennium, is to be published next year. It aims to create a greater awareness of the role of the midwife and to make it easier for midwives and mothers to contact each other. Midwives in Ireland who would like to be included in the booklet should contact the author, midwife Maris Keane-Egan. Write to Auburn, Old Stillorgan Road, Stillorgan, Co Dublin or tel: 01-2882802, fax: 01-2882653.
Reducing your salt intake could save your life, according to a report by the UK Committee on Medical Aspects. It concluded that cutting salt intake by one-third could save more than 30,000 lives each year in the UK. It is estimated processed foods contribute three-quarters of the salt in the average diet, and the food and drink industry in Britain has announced a review of the use of salt in manufactured foods. Sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, and there is increasing concern that a high salt intake is linked to asthma, osteoporosis and kidney disease. --(BBC)
Casualty doctors could be causing unwanted pregnancies, according to research published in the Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine. Antibiotics interfere with the action of the contraceptive pill, yet the researchers found the majority of casualty doctors who prescribe antibiotics do not advise women on the pill of the risk. The official advice to women taking the pill is to take extra contraceptive precautions while taking the antibiotics and for seven days afterwards.