Meet Sam, a gorgeous Hawke’s Bay 9 year old boy full of life. You may have seen his story, unfortunately Sam has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. Sam needs treatment at Starship Hospital for the next 3 years. What is worse is that Sam’s Dad, Derek, has undergone treatment for male breast cancer in 1995 and 2009 and his Mum, Helen, was also diagnosed and fought breast cancer 2½ years ago. Sam has 2 siblings who have had most of their childhood memories linked in some way to cancer.
Cold sores may not be a serious health condition but are painful, annoying, and often embarrassing for those who get them. First exposure to the virus is often in childhood, normally appearing on/near the lip. The virus lies dormant until later in life when triggered to become active and cause cold sores to appear.
Cystitis or a urinary tract infection (UTI) occurs when bacteria travel along the urethra and stick to the bladder wall. We look at new treatments available through your Pharmacist.
Diabetes has been dubbed the next “health catastrophe” in Western countries. It is set to be a massive problem for many people as well as health systems. Thankfully, there are simple lifestyle changes that can be made to prevent and manage it and many people diagnosed with Diabetes will make healthier choices. What happens in our bodies in Diabetes? Our bodies need glucose for energy. An organ called the pancreas produces the hormone insulin which acts like a metabolic traffic cop, allowing glucose into cells where it's burnt as energy. Too much food means a traffic jam of glucose in the blood, and combined with insufficient exercise, the effect of insulin is overpowered. Instead of being a vital food source, glucose...
Digestion is the body’s way of taking food, breaking it down into small molecules that can be absorbed into the body and excreting the waste. The nervous system starts digestion by getting the body ready for food when we think about, and see, food. Chewing and saliva start to break food down in the mouth before going into the stomach via the oesophagus.
