Health & Wellbeing

With a pollution and sandstorm cloud coming over the UK, people are questioning what this means for people, families and their health. The young and the elderly are the most vulnerable and those that already suffer from allergies and asthma should take extra care.

Cyclists are being warned that they are at 10 times more risk of injury after drinking alcohol versus being sober. Statistics show that cyclists who are impaired by alcohol are more likely to hurt themselves in a fall, are less likely to wear a helmet and are much more likely than sober cyclists to be severely injured or killed with a significant link shown between alcohol use and head injury.

More than 270 cyclists took to their bikes to raise vital funds for Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s ‘Ride the Reservoir’ challenge. On Sunday 20^th March, cyclists of all abilities took part in the Hospice fundraising challenge winding their way around the West Midlands and Worcestershire lanes. Starting at the King Edward VI Five Ways School in Birmingham, participants could opt for a 60km or 14km route both passing the reservoir.

Whilst young women today enjoy more freedoms and equality in both their careers and relationships than previous generations, new research reveals they are more lacking in confidence and self-esteem compared to older women when they were the same age.

Plans to expand the capacity of the Centre for Clinical Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham have been announced and Cure Leukaemia is calling on all corporate and community supporters to unite and help raise the £3million to establish the Birmingham Institute of Haematology (BIH).

As the nation prepares to Spring Clean, a new study has revealed that we are a nation of clean freaks cleaning our home on average three times a week. However, we need to be a nation of clean geeks as our lack of understanding about how to clean effectively is allowing deadly bacteria to thrive in the home. Over two in five people admitted to using just an air freshener to clean and almost half rely on pushing dirt around with a broom.

Staff and customers at Birmingham’s leading designer of clothing and accessories, Fat Face, are pulling out the stops to support the city’s John Taylor Hospice. The store team has already presented the hospice with a total of £906.61 and is aiming to increase this amount by taking part in a series of challenges. The initial donation was raised as part of a company-wide initiative to support local good causes to mark November’s Black Friday weekend.

Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Roadshow had a busy few days in Solihull’s Touchwood Shopping centre last week as the Dementia Community Indoor Stand had a presence in the shopping centre where it attracted a great deal of interest. The aim of the Roadshow was to raise awareness about dementia and provide support for those with queries. The prominent location of the Stand in the shopping centre means that it will have been seen by hundreds of people in Solihull and triggered many conversations about dementia. 

A growing number of Brummies are signing-up for a FREE health MOT that can identify the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. But thousands of men across the city who are eligible for an NHS Health Check  are still missing out, with figures showing women are more likely to accept the offer. Around 90,000 Brummies have attended an NHS Health Check in the last three years.

Heart surgery can be a daunting prospect, but a new website launched by Bupa and The Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery (SCTS) is designed to give peace of mind, with interviews with experts and people who have been through surgery themselves. The online hub has been developed for patients, families and carers and is relevant for all types of heart surgery, with videos of a surgeon, cardiothoracic nurse and patient following surgery all the way through from the first appointment to recovery.

In the average lifetime, we spend on average 24 years tucked-up in bed – often not getting a good night’s sleep. Yet Birmingham residents have admitted to putting more thought into new clothes, holidays, TVs, washing machines and even sofas than what they bed down on.

Patients and staff are helping to raise awareness of the “brilliant” care at Birmingham’s John Taylor Hospice by starring in posters across the city. Five people who the hospice cares for, their families and members of staff appear in a new  advertising campaign which launches Birmingham-wide this week. Day hospice visitor Cat Mackrill is among the models and says she was delighted to be asked to take part in the project.

Haringey residents who are over 65 have been urged to visit the gym for free. Older residents can use are able to use gyms (at Park Road, Tottenham Green and Broadwater Farm) for free in Haringey on weekdays between 9am-5pm. Free gym access is one of a number of initiatives that Haringey Council has Introduced to make Haringey a healthier place and increase the number of older residents involved in leisure activities.

New research has revealed that in the past year 32% of smokers in the West Midlands used an e-cigarette in an attempt to quit smoking. The Smoking Toolkit Study from University College London has also revealed that in 2015 the number of smokers in England who used an e-cigarette in an attempt to quit smoking has reached more than 1 million.

Adults in Wolverhampton – particularly those in middle age – are being encouraged to take control of their health in order to enjoy significant benefits, both now and in later life. The City of Wolverhampton Council is supporting the new One You campaign launched by Public Health England which seeks to help people avoid illness caused by modern day life.

As a new meningitis vaccination programme for infants continues, parents are being urged to know how to spot symptoms of the disease. The NHS MenB vaccination programme for infants was introduced last September, and will mean that by 2017 all children under the age of two in the UK will have been offered the vaccine. The vaccine is currently available for free to children born from 1 May 2015 onwards, with the first dose administered from two months of age.