Health

THE A, B AND C OF hepatitisHE by Katrina Welch You might have heard of the viral infection hepatitis before, but did you know that there are at least five different types of this disease? Though each one has a different cause, each type results in the inflammation of the liver. With vaccination, the spread of some of these types of hepatitis can be prevented. Hepatitis B and hepatitis

Dear Doc, What is the purpose of pressure stockings? What do they really do? - Clara Dear Clara, Compression stockings work by applying constant pressure to your lower limbs, that is your leg and thigh area, to help the return of blood to the heart. Individuals who would benefit from using these stockings are those with what is often called “poor circulation;” the correct medical term

Dear Doc, Sometimes in my sleep when I am turning, I feel my leg cramping up. At these times I will just try to relax and breathe deeply, and slowly flex the muscles until I feel relief. Once the cramp happened in my toes and at the bottom of my feet, and it felt like my foot was being folded in half so my big toe would touch my little toe. What is the cause of this kind of cramping, or any kind

Dear Doc, I read somewhere recently that you shouldn’t cream the bottom of your feet, or soak them in water because the soaking would make the bottom of the feet soft. Then I also saw don’t cream between the toes. So, which is it? And if between your toes are white and you can’t cream them, how is that treated? - Vincent Dear Vincent, It is good to apply moisturiser to the bottom of your

Dear Doc, Why does my nose run even though I don’t have a cold or allergies? - Ms. Frank Dear Ms. Frank, Liquid running from the nose is what we medically term rhinorrhea. As you stated, the usual causes are the cold or “allergies”, the latter is correctly termed allergic rhinitis. It is not uncommon to not have “allergies” as a child, but it can be a problem in an adult due to overexposure

How many of us have ever heard of Myasthenia Gravis? Well, this month of June is dedicated to Myasthenia Gravis (MG) which is “ a chronic neuromuscular disease which derives its name from the Latin and Greek words meaning “grave muscle weakness”.The disease is characterised by abnormal weakness of voluntary muscles (those controlled by will). This weakness increases with activity