Eczema (synonymous with atopic dermatitis and atopic eczema) affects about one in five preschool children, up to one in eight adolescents, and approximately 3% of adults. The constant itching caused by eczema frequently leads to sleep problems and other limitations in the lives of the patients and their families. A major problem that currently hinders […]
Category: Guest writers
Ryuki Kassai: Fukushima one month on
Ironically, the annual sakura (cherry flowers) season has just come to Fukushima when one month has passed since the first earthquake and tsunami hit us. Fukushima is famous for its sakura; we have the 1000-year-old Takizakura (cascade sakura), one of the three best cherry trees of Japan, and the Hanamiyama (cherry-blossom viewing hills) wholly covered […]
Muir Gray: Japan, a little good news
I have been to Japan on a number of occasions and learned a great deal from the people I have met there, and from what I have read. […]
Tiago Villanueva: National health services are a great thing, particularly in times of financial austerity
Looking at my country’s national health service which is chiefly funded by taxes, from a user’s rather than from a provider’s perspective (or better, from a passive rather than from an active perspective), gives me plenty of food for thought. A relative of mine was recently admitted to the local hospital in very serious condition. They had not […]
Jeremy Sare on drug sentencing
Most drug users are not addicted. Most suppliers of drugs are not dealers. These central truths about patterns of drug use in Britain are incompatible with the policies adopted by those in power who believe ever more muscular enforcement will somehow steer young people away from taking them. In drugs policy, there remains an unparalleled […]
Kailash Chand: No confidence in Andrew Lansley
With the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) no confidence vote in Andrew Lansley, it is generally accepted that it is no longer possible to have a rational debate on the reforms while Andrew Lansley is health secretary. He did not listen during the gestation time of the white paper for the proposed Bill on the […]
David Kerr: Twitterology
The NHS is in love with the airline industry. The idea of checklists before operations has really caught on, and increasingly ex-airline people are being placed in advisory roles for a variety of NHS organizations. Hospitals are especially envious of the ability of the airlines to develop and use technology that allows hundreds of random […]
David Colquhoun: The A to Z of the wellbeing industry: from angelic reiki to patient-centred care
Nobody could possibly be against wellbeing. It would be like opposing motherhood and apple pie. There is a whole spectrum of activities under the wellbeing banner, from the undoubtedly well-meaning patient-centred care at one end, to downright barmy new-age claptrap at the other end. The only question that really matters is, how much of it […]
Peter Labib and Jeremy Jordan: Conducting research in developing countries can be as challenging as climbing Everest
The elective is the highlight of a medical student’s time at medical school. As keen trekkers, we decided to conduct a project in Nepal on the effects of altitude on the hormone hepcidin. The project involved following trekkers ascending to Mount Everest base camp, collecting urine samples, freezing them, and then transporting them back to […]
Tiago Villanueva: Financial austerity and health in Portugal
Financial austerity in Europe has been a hot topic in the news lately. But the spotlight in Europe over the past few weeks has definitely been on a small and overlooked European country that is considered peripheral. Portugal, buried in debt, has just followed in the steps of Greece and Ireland by becoming the next country to […]