Costs associated with hospital stays 'cause stress'

One in three people feel stressed about the extra costs incurred by hospital stays, a survey has found.

Cash plan provider Medicash polled 400 Britons, all of whom had recently been in hospital or attended as an outpatient on a regular basis.

The average patient said they had lost out to the tune of £50, with this money typically going towards hospital car parking charges, TV cards, food, travel expenses and medication.

In addition, those who were employed at the time of their hospitalisation lost £190, on average, during their hospital stay.

The survey also revealed that half of patients who felt stressed about the extra costs while in hospital were concerned that this could hinder their recovery.

Sue Weir, chief executive of Medicash, said: 'The survey demonstrates that the true cost of being ill is far higher than people realise and people are being affected by stress which can severely impact on their recovery.

'When you add up the costs of parking charges, TV cards, food and travel, the financial burden for many people is considerable and people who haven't been able to budget in advance can be hit hard.'

Government drugs policy 'doomed to failure', says think-tank

The coalition government's proposals for treating drug addicts are 'doomed to failure', a think-tank has said.

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) says that, despite being well-intentioned, plans to introduce Payment by Results trials are unlikely to succeed.

Under the proposals, treatment providers who succeed in improving the health and employment prospects of patients would be rewarded.

But Kathy Gyngell, leading drugs analyst at the CPS, says the Payment by Results scheme will only work if rehabilitation is based on abstinence.

How to be happier

In 2011, the Office for National Statistics started to measure how happy we are. This follows Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to assess the 'general wellbeing (GWB)' of Britons.

Is this all airy-fairy stuff or could it be important?

Back in 2000, NetDoctor ran a happiness survey. Happiness was not such a 'hot topic' then. But even so, the survey attracted huge amounts of publicity. And I'm convinced that the reason for this was because everyone wants to be happy.

Eleven years later, various scientific studies have emerged to tell us that happy people live longer, are less prone to heart disease, are less stressed and are more likely to form satisfying relationships.

Depression due to the recession

Women are almost twice as likely to developdepressive disorders over a lifetime. But with the recession and changing dynamics at work and home, this is set to change.

With a study in the US claiming that recession depression is rising among males, we talk to the experts about how losing your job can affect your mental health and what to do about it.

While it's a well established fact that women have always been at higher risk for depression, a psychiatrist leading a study on depression at Emory University, US, claims this statistic is changing.

Large numbers of men have come forward with symptoms of depression related to employment or marital conflict – issues that the recession has brought to a head.

Rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation of organs

Since rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease, its inflammation can affect organs and areas of the body other than the joints. Examples of other areas that may be affected include:

• Sjogren's syndrome is inflammation of the glands of the eyes and mouth and causes dryness of these areas.
• Rheumatoid inflammation of the lung lining (pleuritis) causes chest pain with deep breathing or coughing.
• Tissue inflammation surrounding the heart, called pericarditis, can cause chest pain that typically changes in intensity when lying down or leaning forward.
• Rheumatoid disease can reduce the number of red blood cells (anemia) and white blood cells.
• Decreased white cells can be associated with an enlarged spleen (Felty's syndrome) and can increase the risk of infections.
• Firm lumps under the skin (rheumatoid nodules) can occur around the elbows and fingers where there is frequent pressure.
• A rare and serious complication is blood-vessel inflammation (vasculitis). Vasculitis can impair blood supply to tissues and lead to tissue death. This is most often initially visible as tiny black areas around the nail beds or as leg ulcers.

What are the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis? (cont.)

In rheumatoid arthritis, multiple joints are usually inflamed in a symmetrical pattern (both sides of the body affected). The small joints of both the hands and wrists are often involved. Simple tasks of daily living, such as turning door knobs and opening jars can become difficult during flares. The small joints of the feet are also commonly involved. Chronic inflammation can cause damage to body tissues, cartilage, and bone. This leads to a loss of cartilage and erosion and weakness of the bones as well as the muscles, resulting in joint deformity, destruction, and loss of function.

Remission, relapse, and flares

The symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis come and go, depending on the degree of tissue inflammation. When body tissues are inflamed, the disease is active. When tissue inflammation subsides, the disease is inactive (in remission). Remissions can occur spontaneously or with treatment and can last weeks, months, or years. During remissions, symptoms of the disease disappear and patients generally feel well. When the disease becomes active again (relapse), symptoms return. The return of disease activity and symptoms is called a flare. The course of rheumatoid arthritis varies from patient to patient, and periods of flares and remissions are typical.

The Three Stages of Pregnancy (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Trimester)

Pregnancy is measured in trimesters from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) and normally lasts about 40 weeks from conception to the birth of a baby. This time is roughly divided into 3 periods: the first trimester, second trimester and third trimester.
The first trimester is measured from conception to about the 12th week of pregnancy; the second trimester, from about 13 to 27 weeks of pregnancy; and the third trimester, from about 28 weeks of pregnancy until birth. Let's see what happens with you and your baby during each of the three stages.

Topical: Herbal Creams

Herbal creams containing a variety of ingredients, such as gingko biloba, sweet clover, and evening primrose oil, claim to reduce cellulite, perhaps by affecting circulation. But there aren't any scientific studies to back that up. In fact, one study of 32 anti-cellulite creams contained more than 260 different chemical ingredients. About one-quarter of those ingredients are known to cause allergic reactions in some people.

Treatment: Weight Loss

If cellulite is caused by fatty deposits, it makes sense that losing weight would be a good strategy. In fact, in a small 2006 study, the appearance of cellulite improved for 17 women enrolled in medically supervised weight loss programs. (The average weight loss was 30 pounds.) However, for nine women, the cellulite actually appeared to worsen, especially if the skin was looser after they lost weight.

Myth: Tanning Can Hide Cellulite

Tanning may make the cellulite less obvious, but when the tan fades, the cellulite might look even worse. That's because frequent exposure to UV rays can damage the skin, making it thinner and less resilient, according to the International Academy of Cosmetic Dermatology.

How Is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Diagnosed?

The diagnosis of RMSF is usually made clinically when a patient's history of their problem includes a fever and a rash (usually on the wrists and ankles first, then to the palms and soles of the feet) that occurs a few days after a tick bite. Treatment should not be delayed while waiting for a definitive diagnosis as the disease may advance rapidly. A laboratory test is done in some patients with a presumptive diagnosis of RMSF. It is a biopsy of the skin rash stained specifically to show R. rickettsii in the patient's cells. Another test involves a direct immunofluoresence staining ofR. rickettsii in skin-tissue samples; such tests can confirm the diagnosis in about 70% of cases and, in some laboratories, can be done the same day the specimen is collected.

How Do People Get Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?

The organism that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. The American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) are the primary arthropods (vectors) which transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever bacteria in the United States. The brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus has also been implicated as a vector, as well as the tick Amblyomma cajennense in countries south of the United States.

What Is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is the most severe tick-borne rickettsial illness in the United States. This disease is caused by infection with the bacterial organism Rickettsia rickettsii. RMSF was first diagnosed in 1896 in Idaho and was first named "black measles" but then was termed Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In 1906, Howard Ricketts showed that ticks were vectors (carriers) and in 1909 showed evidence that bacteria (later named after him) caused the disease.