I was recently sick and decided to look online to see if i could figure out what was wrong with me before going to the Doctors and went on the NHS Direct website as it has a tool which enables you to check your symptons  and get advice on how to treat your illness.

if you do not have access to the internet you can call 0845 4647 and speak to someone who can give you the same information.

You can also get advice on the recent Swine Flu virus that was spreading around the UK and other countries.

I think this is an excellent website and i urge other people to try it instead of going to a Doctor for little illnesses which enables them to look after the really sick people.

I have been trawling the internet for some tips on how to have a healthier life and i have listed below the ones i think can be easy to maintain.

1. Cut down on alcohol
2. Try and walk 10,000 steps per day
3. Swap junk food for healthy food
4. Quit smoking
5. Get to bed earlier and get more sleep
6. Get the kids active to make you more active
7. Swap fizzy pop to water as it is recommended you drink 3 liters a day

I am not sure about you but i think the above are all easy to start and also to carry on with.

Let me know how you get on…

In the news today they are still banging on about the over reaction of the government on swine flu. In most cases yes I agree it was a complete failure and misprediction on the government and health chiefs. It was classed as a global pandemic and predicted to kill thousands of people in its supposed second wave in winter. Now the hundreds of thousands of pounds the governments spent on the vaccine have now gone to waste, where the money could have been used on much more urgent things like the N.H.S or helping the poor folks out in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.

The first reports from Tuesdays earthquake disaster in the epicenter “Port-au-Prince” has been said to be apocalyptic with thousands left dead and hundreds made homeless. The survivors of Tuesday’s earthquake have said “things have become very desperate” with food and fresh drinking water running low. However there were was still some signs of hope as rescuers, after digging for hours managed to pull a live woman from the twisted ruins of a luxury hotel where she was staying at the time of the earthquake. Onlookers have said “it’s a miracle she is alive” after spending nearly a week without food or water trapped under the rubble. It has been estimated that the death toll has now reached a staggering twenty to thirty thousand, which may increase dramatically as more are found during the clean up process.

If you have had gastric problems like me, you will always wonder if the cause could be ulcers, luckily for me this was not the case, but there are many people who do have a long history of ulcers. A recent study has found that the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers has been linked to causing gastric cancer. However this is nothing to be conserved about as this is not 100% proven as no one really knows how gastric cancer is caused at present, just the bacterium has been found in gastric cancer. I would recommend though getting you checked out at the doctors just to be sure.

Proctor and Gamble have just announced that they are recalling their popular cold medicine vicks Dayquil because of its packaging.

The announced the recall on last Friday and has caused approximately 700,000 products to be sent back by the US consumer product safety commission.

The reason behind the recall is that the packaging is not child proof and poses a serious risk to minors

The product that has been recalled is the Dayquill Cold and Flu 24 count bonus packs liquicaps

The products affected were shipped to stores between September and December 2009 and there is no warning on the packaging that the product is not child proof so if in doubt return to where you bought it from for a full refund.

A Canadian study has revealed that 1 in 10 women suffer from an eating disorder which is proved to be very alarming and it also found out that 2.5 per cent of women use laxatives or use diuretics or vomit so that they can keep their figure.

None of the 1500 women that took part in the survey have been diagnosed with having a disorder, the average age is 35 years old and a lot were university graduates.

More than a quarter of them also admitted that they exercise loads to help lose weight and 13.7 per cent binge eat between 1-7 times a month.

Hospitals admissions are up 30 per cent with more people coming in for drunken related illness.

Also with the festive season well under way more and more people are enjoying that one too many drinks and finding themselves in hospital due to being drunk.

Worryingly it’s still a lot of under 18 that are admitted and the figures are still rising.

More and more authorities are calling on shops and the breweries to higher the price of drinks as its all too easy at the moment to buy them really cheap increasing the chances of people drinking excessive amounts.

During a recent poll the majority of MP are in favour that our doctors should be allowed to help a patient die and not be worried about being prosecuted.

Around 53 per cent of MPs said they would be in favour of assisted suicide but only if the patient was terminally ill, was in sound mind and also has made the request that he or she would like to die.

In 1997 when MPs voted for it around 75 per cent were against it just shows how people’s minds have changed and now they are looking at the opinions of the patient.

Student doctors are now going to be tested on their own knowledge of medicines before they will get the opportunity to graduate says the BPS (the british pharmacological society).  They have developed a assessment and build a website so that students can get all the help they need allowing them to write prescriptions correctly.

The reason behind this move is that the General Medical Council conducted a study and found out that doctors heavily relied on the pharmacists or the nurses to correct any mistakes and this happens to around ten per cent of them.

Simon Maxwell of the BPS said “Standards of prescribing in the NHS should and can be improved