• The child is at increased risk of  suffering low self-esteem, of becoming withdrawn; having strong feelings of shame and failure; be embarrassed; can affect performance at school.
• Bedwetting can have a significant negative impact on the child’s emotional and social development.
• There is an increased financial burden to family – purchasing nappies; mattress covers; bedclothes.
• There is increased distress to family members – disrupted sleep; continuous washing of clothes and bedclothes.

Blocked Ears

As the atmospheric pressure falls when your aircraft takes off, the outside pressure changes faster than inside the ear or sinus. That's why it's natural for the ears to pop.

If you're travelling with a baby or small children, the hole leading into their ear is so tiny, pressure can take extra time to equalise. Pain and dizziness can be the result. This is also the case if you have allergies.

What to do:

• Chew gum, yawn and swallow often. Try pinching the nostrils and exhaling without opening your mouth. If you have a cold or allergy, take a decongestant before jetting off. This thins out the lining of the throat and allows air to flow and pressure to equalise. For babies, try giving a dummy or bottle on take-off and landing.

• That it is hugely under diagnosed.  The allergy to the protein Gluten in wheat, barley, oats and rye may be causing symptoms which are constantly missed when your see your doctor.  You may even feel like a ‘heart sink’ patient ... the doctors heart sinks  every time you visit because you get nowhere!
• The only way to diagnose it, is to have a Coeliac blood screen and if those result show changes, your doctor will need to refer you to have a colonoscopy, that’s the  where a telescope is passed down to your small intestine and it allows the examination of the lining of the small bowel and takes a biopsy which goes to the pathologist.
• The treatment and the only treatment is a Gluten Free Diet. It’s not a bit of a gluten Free diet - It’s a full on and an absolute diet. Now, it’s becoming easier and easier to do because more and more gluten free foods are becoming available.
• The other key message which came out is that the gluten is an addition to so many foods: foods like Soy sauce, where you would least expect it to be and having a list of those is a great idea.

Over 7 million of us are either overweight or obese and that’s a real problem. It means a huge number of us are at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and all the severe unhealthy consequences which happen when we lose control of blood glucose and slide into chaotic metabolism. Those of us with the tendency to whack on weight do so because we have evolved a gene which we developed over many generations that allowed us to survive famine.

Dr John provides more information in the causes and treatment of diabetes.

Substantial under-treatment of older people after stroke

A study published on bmj.com recently has reported that older people are less likely to receive drug treatment after a stroke compared to younger people, despite the fact that treatment is equally effective.

Stroke is the second most common cause of death after coronary heart disease in developed countries and 80% of cases occur in people over 64 years of age. The study states that there is also some indication that women may be less likely to receive treatment than men, but surprisingly patients’ social and economic circumstances are not linked to differences in treatment.

It found no justification for the under-treatment of older people because older people are at least as likely to benefit from treatment as younger people, say the authors.

Dr John provides more detail on this study and provides a link for those wishing to read the full report in the British Medical Journal.