Is It a Spider Bite? Probably Not

-Researchers Say Spider Bites Are Overdiagnosed, yet Underappreciated

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

July 13, 2011 -- Spider bites aren't as common as most people and most doctors think, according to a new analysis.

The drugs weren't Schapelle Corby's - woman claims

CONVICTED drug smuggler Schapelle Corby's family don't want to get their hopes up over apparent new evidence claiming the Gold Coast beautician may have been set up.
Her sister Mercedes Corby said the family are being cautious over claims by a woman known only as "Sue" who recently came forward to reveal that Schapelle could have been set up.

Too many men 'unconcerned' about weight health risks

Too many men are failing to recognise the health risks of being overweight, according to Men's Health Forum chief executive Peter Baker.

He says that by not acting to tackle the problem, the NHS is making "a rod for its own back".

Women face a lot of cultural pressure to be slim. This is largely not because of health concerns and can sometimes have quite tragic consequences.

When taking pills can be better than talking

Talking therapies are often cited as the best way of helping people with mental health problems.

But Richard Gray, a professor of nursing research, says sometimes pills are the answer.

Sitting in a village hall with 50 other people listening to a Powerpoint presentation about coping with stress is probably not what you have in mind when you think about receiving a talking treatment.

Why business should be involved in public health

The government's decision to involve major food producers of goods ranging from fruit juice and cereal to crisps and chocolate, in public health planning has come under fire from health campaigners.

But in this week's Scrubbing Up column, Richard Evans, head of PepsiCo in the UK argues it's better for them to be "at the table".

Children are at risk of getting rickets, says doctor

We are all aware of the dangers of too much sun, especially for children. But has the safe sun message inadvertently created vitamin D deficiencies, resulting in a resurgence in rickets?

In this week's Scrubbing Up, orthopaedic expert Dr Joe Reed - who is based at Southampton Hospital - says the Department of Health needs to do more to make parents and doctors more aware of the dangers of not enough sun.

Why we need a 'nudge' in the right direction

Whether or not we opt for "healthy" choices is largely down to our environment according to the LSE's Professor Paul Dolan. In this week's Scrubbing Up, he says government does have a role in "nudging" us in the right direction.

Did you have a couple of beers too many again at the weekend? Did you skip the gym again last night? Did you buy and then devour that giant size chocolate bar on special offer for a quid?

'Westminster must lead way on car smoking ban'

On Wednesday, Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North is due to table a Ten Minute Rule Bill proposing that smoking be banned in private vehicles when there are children present.

The children in Mr Cunningham's constituency are, like many across the country, at high risk from the dangers of passive smoking, with Stockton North ranking fifteenth in the UK according to British Lung Foundation research.

School sun care policy 'must change'

Should schools be insisting that teachers and dinner-ladies supervise the application of sunscreen on pupils before they go out to play? Similar policies are in place in nurseries and pre-schools, but there is often no such provision in primary and secondary schools, despite good evidence that sunburn in childhood can lead to skin cancer in later life.

We all need a little bit of sunshine in our lives. It not only boosts our wellbeing but also helps our body to make vitamin D.
But too much sun is damaging, and children are particularly vulnerable to over-exposure.
For example, more than 80% of exposure to the sun occurs during childhood.

HIV medicines 'boost prevention'

HIV drugs can be used to boost protection against HIV as well as treating symptoms after infection, research suggests.

Two studies in Africa add weight to previous data showing drugs used to treat HIV can reduce infection risk when taken daily.
The World Health Organization said the studies could have "enormous impact" in preventing HIV transmission.
The findings were revealed in the run-up to an AIDS conference in Rome.
"This is a major scientific breakthrough which re-confirms the essential role that antiretroviral medicine has to play in the AIDS response," said Michel Sidibé, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Binge drinking 'can damage memory skills' in teen girls

Teenagers - especially girls - who binge drink could be damaging the part of their brain which controls memory and spatial awareness, say Californian researchers.

Young women's brains are particularly vulnerable to harm from alcohol because they develop earlier than men's.
Tests on 95 adolescents aged 16 to 19 were carried out by researchers at several US universities.
The study is published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Smoking during pregnancy 'raises birth defect risk'

Women who smoke while pregnant should be aware that they are increasing the chance their baby will be born malformed, say experts.

The risk for having a baby with missing or deformed limbs or a cleft lip is over 25% higher for smokers, data show.
Along with higher risks of miscarriage and low birth weight, it is another good reason to encourage women to quit, say University College London doctors.
In England and Wales 17% of women smoke during pregnancy.
And among under 20s the figure is 45%.

Asthma link to premature births

Women with poorly-managed asthma have a higher chance of giving birth early or having a small baby, a review of evidence suggests.

Experts in Australia and the US also found a link with other complications, including pre-eclampsia.
They say women with asthma should be monitored at least monthly during their pregnancy.
An asthma charity said mums-to-be should also eat a balanced diet and not smoke.
The researchers looked at asthma studies involving more than a million pregnant women published between 1975 and 2009.
They found women with asthma gave birth to babies weighing on average 93g (0.2lb) less than the babies of mothers without asthma.

Diesel fume particles 'could raise heart attack risks'

Chemical particles in diesel exhaust fumes could increase the risk of heart attacks, new research has suggested.

Edinburgh University scientists found minuscule particles produced by burning diesel can increase the chance of blood clots forming in arteries.

Spinal cord repair restores independent breathing

The ability to breathe has been restored to mice with spinal cord injuries, in what US researchers describe as a medical first.

Some patients with damaged spinal cords need ventilators as they are unable to breathe on their own.
A report in the journal Nature showed a nerve graft, coupled with a protein, could restore breathing.
Human trials could begin soon, which the charity Spinal Research said could be "potentially life-changing".
Damage at the top of the spinal cord, around the neck, can interrupt messages to the diaphragm - a layer of muscle involved in breathing.

Health charity says four in 10 people will get cancer

Rising cancer rates mean four in 10 people in the UK get the disease at some point in their lives, a health charity says.

Macmillan Cancer Support says the figure has risen significantly in the past decade.
The charity says the rise poses a "massive challenge" for the NHS.
Ministers in England say they are working to improve cancer survival rates and the quality of life after diagnosis and treatment.
Macmillan Cancer Support says a decade ago about a third of people, or 33%, developed cancer at some point in their lives. The charity says that figure has risen to more than 40%.
The estimates are drawn from projections published two years ago in the British Journal of Cancer, which concluded that at the end of 2008 there were two million cancer survivors in the UK and that the figure was rising every year.
Macmillan also looked at recent cancer incidence and mortality statistics for the UK, indicating that 310,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2008.
About 157,000 people died from the disease, and 89,000 who had been diagnosed with cancer died from other causes, making a total of 246,000 who died "with" cancer.
The charity says this accounted for 42% of total deaths in the UK - which stood at 580,000.
Macmillan says the increase is partly down to an ageing population - older people are more likely to develop cancer. It says lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, and improved diagnosis have also contributed to the rise.
'Massive challenge'

Continue reading the main story

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We have a massive challenge ahead if we are to keep up with the relentless toll cancer takes on people's health, and the NHS must rise to it”

End Quote Ciaran Devane Macmillan Cancer Support

The chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, Ciaran Devane, said the calculations had important implications for the health service.

"It is really alarming that the number of people who will get cancer is now well past one in three and that there are so many more people with cancer today than even 10 years ago," he said.
"There are currently two million people living with cancer in the UK and that number is doubling to four million over the next 20 years. Yet no-one thinks the country can afford to double its spending on cancer. We've therefore got to become twice as effective in how we spend that money."
The charity says there is growing evidence of the long-term health problems many cancer patients are experiencing long after initial diagnosis and treatment. It says there is a need for more services to help people stay well at home, rather than waiting until they require emergency hospital treatment.
Major issue
The Care Services Minister for England, Paul Burstow, said it was absolutely right for Macmillan to raise this as a major issue.
"We agree with Macmillan. That's why we are working to deliver more personalised care and more help to keep people well in their own homes. We are investing more than £750m over four years to improve cancer outcomes," he said.
The chair of the Royal College of GPs, Dr Clare Gerada, said the figures highlighted the increasing impact of cancer on many people's lives.
"What is clear from this study is that cancer survival is not the whole picture. All healthcare professionals have a duty to see that patients receive the best possible care, and aftercare, following a diagnosis of cancer, and to ensure their patients are not just living, but living well," she said.

UK 'has too many hospital births'

Maternity services across the UK need a radical rethink, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says.

It wants the number of hospital units cut to ensure 24-hour access to care from senior doctors and says more midwife-led units are needed for women with low-risk pregnancies.
The National Childbirth Trust welcomed the report but says the proposals do not go far enough.
NHS managers said maternity care desperately needed to be reorganised.
'Serious complications' Too many babies are born in traditional hospital units, says the college, which also warns the current system is neither acceptable nor sustainable in its report on maternity care.
RCOG president Anthony Falconer told the BBC that most out-of-hours care was being provided by junior doctors.

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You need the right person, as senior person, there immediately”

End Quote Dr Tony Falconer Royal College Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

The college estimates there are about 1,000 too few consultants to provide adequate round-the-clock cover for hospital units.

Dr Falconer said: "There is no doubt if you look at the worst scenario of serious complications, you need the right person, a senior person, there immediately."
Previous attempts to re-organise maternity care around a smaller number of hospital units have proved controversial, but Dr Falconer said if women could be convinced of the greater safety they would be prepared to travel to have their babies.
The need for change would be largely in cities or large towns, because in rural areas it might be more important to support smaller units.
The report estimates that across the UK there are 56 units with fewer than 2,500 deliveries of babies a year.
In order to take the pressure off busy hospitals, the college is also calling for an increase in the number of midwife-led units.
'Joined-up care' Midwives have welcomed the report, saying it could improve the experience for about a third of women who have straightforward deliveries.
The proposals for maternity are part of a wider vision of delivering all women's gynaecology and obstetrics care in networks, similar to the model which has helped improve cancer treatments in England.
The National Childbirth Trust said the idea of having a network to provide joined-up care for women was one it could support but it would prefer care during pregnancy and maternity to be concentrated in one NHS organisation in each area.
The NHS confederation, which speaks for managers, described maternity care as a classic example of a service which desperately needed to be reorganised.
Chief executive Mike Farrar said politicians needed to be prepared to speak up for change.
"Where the case for change is clear, politicians should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with managers and clinicians to provide confidence to their constituents that quality and care will improve as a consequence of this change."
That has not always been the case, with two ministers in the last Labour government campaigning against the closure of units in Greater Manchester.
Hundreds of people turned out to a rally to oppose the closure of maternity services in Salford last autumn. After a review under the coalition, the NHS is pressing ahead with plans to reduce the number of units across the area from 12 to eight.
Although Scotland has reorganised some of its maternity services, there are likely to be pressures for change elsewhere in the UK.
In North Wales maternity care across three hospitals is expected to change after an initial review recently concluded improvement was needed.