Minor Illness Information

Bridge of Allan Health Centre
Fountain Road
Bridge of Allan
Stirlingshire
FK9 4EU
Tel: 01786 833210

News:

Public Holidays

Our next public holiday is on Monday 06 September 2010. Please ensure that you have enough medication to last over this long weekend.

If you require urgent medical attention when the health centre is closed please telephone the out-of-hours medical service on 08454 24 24 24

Food Safety Week

Now that the weather is improving, lots of us are taking the opportunity to have barbecues and eat outside. Please be careful to avoid getting ill with food poisoning. The main dangers are not cooking meat properly and cross-contamination between cooked and raw food. You can find lots of advice including recipes to help prevent this type of illness at http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating /hyg/germwatch/2010

Announcements

01 Sep - 01 Oct
NHS Smokefree

Find out about all of the free NHS services available to support you as you go try to give up smoking.

01 Aug - 01 Oct
NHS Summer Health

Stay safe in the sun, including sunscreens, sunburn relief, heat exhaustion, eczema and moles. Summer holidays are great fun for children, but can bring risks. Find out more

01 Jul - 01 Oct
Change for Life

Would you like loads of tips and help to make changes for a healthier future? As part of Change4Life, you will receive tons of helpful information, recipes, tools, tips, and games for the kids.

BBC Health

More obesity ops 'will save cash'

Millions of pounds is lost in England by the failure of the NHS to provide more obesity operations, a study says.

Statins 'may cut arthritis risk'

Taking statins may reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, a study suggests.

Call for morning sickness action

More needs to be done to establish which are safe and effective ways to relieve morning sickness, experts say.

ME 'virus link' found in children

ME, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in children could be caused by a virus, scientists say.

UK radiotherapy 'lagging behind'

Too few UK cancer patients are receiving state-of-the-art radiotherapy care, experts from Cancer Research UK say.

Gaps persist in cancer survival

Despite significant improvements in cancer survival rates across England, regional differences remain, national statistics show.

'Genetic link' to breast cancer

Researchers have identified a series of genetic variations which may play a role in a common breast cancer.

Bipolar 'not linked to violence'

People with a mental illness are no more likely to be violent unless they abuse drugs or alcohol, a study suggests.

NHS in Wales faces £380m cutbacks

The Welsh NHS faces making £380m worth of cutbacks by April, with managers saying it is the biggest challenge they have faced in 20 years.

Diabetes drug advice 'not heeded'

A type two diabetes drug is still being prescribed in the UK two months after it was recommended for withdrawal, BBC Panorama learns.

Yahoo Health

US smoking rate still stuck at 1 in 5 adults (AP)

AP - U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

FDA cites claims on 2 green tea beverages (AP)

AP - Federal health regulators have issued warnings to the makers of Canada Dry ginger ale and Lipton tea for making unsubstantiated nutritional claims about their green tea-flavored beverages.

FDA relents from midodrine withdrawal plan (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have backed off a plan to remove a Shire PLC low blood-pressure treatment from the market after warning in August that the drug has not been proven effective.

Judge won't let stem cell money keep flowing (AP)

AP - A federal judge on Tuesday refused to lift his order blocking federal funding for some stem cell research, saying that a "parade of horribles" predicted by federal officials would not happen.

Japan confirms its first case of new superbug gene (AP)

AP - Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

Picking right blood pressure medicine challenging (AP)

AP - It's hard to predict which pills will best lower which patient's high blood pressure, but researchers are hunting ways to better personalize therapy — perhaps even using a blood test.

Lack of Sleep May Be Linked to Childhood Obesity (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Infants and preschoolers who don't get enough sleep at night are at increased risk for later childhood obesity, a new study suggests.

For Bonobo Males, Mom Is the Best Wingman (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - To most human males, the thought of your mother anywhere near your sex life is probably horrifying. Not so for the bonobo, one of our closest primate relatives. A new study confirms that hanging out with mom boosts male bonobos' chances of getting intimate with a fertile female.

Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 7, 2010 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com:

Autistic Toddlers Prefer to Gaze at Geometric Patterns: Study (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) -- When given the choice to gaze at geometric patterns or children dancing and playing, toddlers with autism spent more time looking at the patterns while typically developing toddlers preferred to look at other kids, a new study finds.

MedPage Today

Judge Won't Lift Block on Stem Cell Research Funding

(MedPage Today) -- Federal spending of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research will remain off-limits for now, a federal judge ruled, dealing yet another blow to the Obama administration's efforts to support such research.

Cigarette Smoke May Affect Fertility (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Smoking may provide an explanation for reduced fertility, results of two studies suggested.

Adult Smoking Hits Plateau

(MedPage Today) -- One in five U.S. adults continues to smoke tobacco -- a percentage that hasn't budged since 2005 -- suggesting that more aggressive efforts are needed to reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths, the CDC said.

Pandemic H1N1 Similar to Seasonal Strains (CME/CE, with video)

(MedPage Today) -- In general, the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus did not cause more serious disease than other recent influenza A strains, researchers found.

Nevirapine Reuse Possible in Exposed Children With HIV (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In most HIV-infected children being exposed at birth to nevirapine (Viramune) doesn't rule out using the drug again later, researchers reported.

PCV-7 Vaccine May Promote Serotype 19A Infection (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Infants receiving a three-dose regimen of heptavalent PCV-7 pneumococcal vaccine were more likely than unvaccinated controls to pick up a nonvaccine pneumococcal strain associated with invasive infection and antibiotic resistance, researchers said.

More Human Trials Needed for HIV Vaccine Hunt

(MedPage Today) -- HIV vaccine researchers are calling for more and better human trials as part of the quest for ways to block transmission of the virus.

Patients Expect More from PCI than It Delivers (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Cardiologists fully understand the limits of percutaneous coronary interventions -- but their patients are often overly optimistic about the benefits of PCI, a new survey revealed.

Splint Matches Cast for Kids' Wrist Fractures (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- In children with wrist fractures, a splint works as well as a cast, researchers reported.

Behcet's Takes Higher Toll in Men (CME/CE)

(MedPage Today) -- Men with Behçet's disease are much more likely than women to die of this chronic multisystem vasculitis, a large French study found.

Cold and Flu

Back Pain

Diarrhoea

First Aid

Cold or Flu

Resources

Colds & Flu
A factsheet on the causes, symptoms, treatment & prevention of colds & the flu

NHS Choices - is it the common cold or the flu?
Colds and flu can share some of the same symptoms (sneezing, coughing, sore throat) but are caused by different viruses, and flu can be much more serious. Find out more.

Seasonal Flu Vaccination

Influenza – flu – is a highly infectious and potentially serious illness caused by influenza viruses. Each year the make-up of the seasonal flu vaccine is designed to protect against the influenza viruses that the World Heal flujabs th Organization decide are most likely to be circulating in the coming winter.

Regular immunisation (vaccination) is given free of charge to the following at-risk people, to protect them from seasonal flu:

people aged 65 or over,
people with a serious medical condition
people living in a residential or nursing home
the main carers for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer becomes ill
healthcare or social care professionals directly involved in patient care, and
those who work in close contact with poultry, such as chickens.

Resources

For more information on flu immunisation, including background information on the vaccine and how you can get the jab, see Seasonal flu jab.

There is a full guide on the NHS immunisation website or you can download the pdf guide here

HPA - Season Flu Guide

RCGP - The battle against flus and colds

Seasonal Flu guide

These links all come from trusted resources but if you are unsure about these or any other medical matters please contact your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

Back Pain

Resources

Back Pain
Factsheet on the causes, symptoms, treatment & prevention of back pain.

NHS Choices
NHS information on back pain

These links all come from trusted resources but if you are unsure about these or any other medical matters please contact your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

Diarrhoea

Acute diarrhoea is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection and affects almost everyone from time to time.

NHS Choices
Symptoms, causes, treatment and information

Patient UK
Acute Diarrhoea in Adults

These links all come from trusted resources but if you are unsure about these or any other medical matters please contact your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

First Aid - MP3 Downloads

To save them on your computer, right-click on any of the links below and then click 'Save Target As..." . Click on any of the links below to play the audio files:

Burns - Explains the immediate treatment for burns and scalds.

Fits - How to deal with fits (convulsions/seizures) in adults and young children.

Wounds - Immediate actions for wounds, bleeding, and bleeding associated with fractures.

Unconscious patient who is breathing - How to deal with an unrousable patient who IS breathing (includes recovery position)

CPR for adults - Adults who have collapsed, unrousable and NOT breathing.

CPR for babies - Babies who are unrousable and NOT breathing.

Collapsed patient in detail - Explains the complete scenario including checks for breathing, circulation, etc.

These files have been prepared by Sussex Ambulance Service and comply with European Resuscitation Council Guidelines.

British Red Cross - how to treat burns & scalds

Resources

Burns & Scalds
Factsheet on the type of burn, treatment & recovery

NHS Choices
NHS information on burns

Practice Information

For quick medical advice online or on the telephone contact NHS 24

Announcements

BBC Health

Yahoo Health

MedPage Today

Cold or Flu

Resources

Seasonal Flu Vaccination

Resources

Back Pain

Resources

Diarrhoea

First Aid - MP3 Downloads

British Red Cross - how to treat burns & scalds

Resources

Other Links

Practice Information