From the Doctor’s Surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
Do allergies and asthma mean that prevent you from spending time around animals? In the UK, pets follow dust as the second largest cause of allergy within the home. Any animal with fur can be the cause of an allergic reaction but the worst offenders are cats and dogs. It doesn’t matter if you have previously had a pet and were not allergic to it before, pet allergies can develop at any time.
Couldn’t be fur-ther from the truth
It often surprises people that pet …

From the doctor’s surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
The five-a-day fruit and vegetable rule should be upped to 10 if people want to drastically reduce the risk of serious health conditions such as stroke and heart disease, according to researchers from Imperial College London.
However, there are other ways to eat yourself healthy. Here are my top ten tips.

Eat your greens: the NHS recommends that one third of the food you eat should be fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are an important source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.
Five a day: …

Cardiovascular disease costs the UK £19 billion a year – 46% in healthcare costs, 34% from lost productivity and 20% in family carers.  So, what is it?
Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, is a medical term for conditions which affect the blood vessels and heart.  The four main types of CVD are:
Aortic disease:  this can cause weakening, tearing and life-threatening bleeding in the main blood vessel in the body.
Coronary heart disease (CHD): CHD occurs when the blood flow to the heart is reduced, increasing strain on the heart and leading to angina, …

In a backlash against the trend of being constantly logged on to the internet, 65% of people would like to take time away from the internet.
In today’s world, almost everyone has a digital footprint – 88% of the population uses the internet, and 99% of adults aged between 16 and 24 years are recent internet users[1]. However there has been a retaliation against the almost constant use of smartphones and digital devices. Cartridgesave has looked at the trend of “digital detoxing”, and discovered that 65% of people have admitted that …

From the GP’s surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
We all strive for happiness but it can be hard to find. Magazines, adverts, social media, friends, family – all have different ideas about how to achieve happiness. Feeling happy is important for both your mental and physical health, but what will really make you happier?
In the past few years, scientists have found that although our genes and circumstances play a part in affecting how we feel, a large proportion of our happiness comes from the things we do. Here are my top …

Have you wondered about all the different vitamins Bs, what they do, and why there are so many of them? In this article Dr Alex Phelan explains.
There are eight different vitamins in the B vitamin group and all support vital functions in the human body:  Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (folic acid) and vitamin B12. These vitamins are integral to keeping our skin, eyes and nervous system working. They also help us to release energy from the food we eat. Vitamin B6, …

Diabetes is one of the most common long-term health conditions in the UK, and it can require people to use regular medication alongside changes to their diet and lifestyle. Here’s what you need to know…
Diabetes is a serious life-long health condition that occurs when there is too much glucose – or blood sugar – in the blood stream. It is a result of the body being unable to process glucose properly.
If your blood sugar is consistently too high, it can increase the risk of a number of potentially serious health …

This week we march into March, which is National Bed Month.
That doesn’t mean that you have a free pass to stay in bed for the whole month! But it does give us a good opportunity to talk about the importance of sleep.
Sleep is a big part of our lives – we spend approximately one third of our day asleep.
Sleep plays a vital role in our health and wellbeing. Without good quality sleep we cannot function properly and are at increased risk of:

Obesity – sleep affects hormones in the body, raising …

Baby charity Group B Strep Support is urging pregnant women to make sure they’re aware of group B Strep (GBS or Strep B), and the risk it can pose to their baby.
Group B Strep is the UK’s most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing sepsis and pneumonia, and of meningitis in babies under 3 months. Carried normally by one in every four women, the group B Strep bacteria can pass from a pregnant woman to her baby around birth with potentially devastating consequences for the baby.
On average …

From the GP’s surgery, by Alexandra Phelan
 The weather is still freezing and your fingers have turned white and they feel numb or painful.  That’s just the cold, right? Or could it be Raynaud’s? Statistically the coldest month of the year in the UK, February is also Raynaud’s Awareness Month.
Known as Raynaud’s phenomenon, syndrome, disease or simply ‘Raynaud’s’, it is a relatively unknown condition that causes the small blood vessels in our extremities to temporarily spasm and block the flow of blood.
Sufferers usually experience Raynaud’s in their fingers, but can also get it …