Healthwise

Monday, 27 March 2023

Covid spring booster to be available for at-risk groups - side effects

Elderly people in care homes can now receive their Covid spring booster vaccination.

16:37, Mon, Mar 27, 2023 | UPDATED: 16:40, Mon, Mar 27, 2023

People who have a weakened immune system will be invited for a spring Covid booster (Image: Getty)

As of Monday, March 27, care home residents in Scotland are eligible for the latest Covid jab top-up. Following advice given by The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), people aged 75 and over will be eligible from April 11. As for individuals over the age of five, who have a weakened immune system, they will be able to have the Covid booster jab from April 24.

Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: "We know that people in high-priority groups are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

"So I welcome the start of the spring rollout, which will offer an additional dose to those who are most vulnerable, boosting their protection."

Mr Yousaf added: "Prioritising those most at risk has been our approach from the outset and vaccination has been our most effective tool against COVID-19.

"However, the degree of protection offered does fade over time, which is why booster vaccination is needed.

The Covid booster might make you feel tired

The Covid booster might make you feel tired (Image: Getty)

"I continue to encourage everyone to receive the doses they are eligible for as and when they become available."

Eligible adults in England will also be able to have the latest Covid jab between April and June.

Those at the highest risk of severe disease from Covid will be the first to recieve their invitation from the NHS.

"If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you will be called for vaccination during the campaign," the NHS adds.

Eligible adults:

Aged 75 and older
Residents in care homes
People with weakened immune systems.

NHS Scotland states: "A variety of coronavirus vaccines are available."

Meanwhile, NHS England clarifies: "You will be given a booster dose of a vaccine made by Pfizer, Moderna or Sanofi and approved in the UK."

The NHS adds: "These vaccines have been updated since the original vaccines and target different COVID-19 variants."

Care home residents in Scotland are now eligible for their Covid spring booster

Care home residents in Scotland are now eligible for their Covid spring booster (Image: Getty)

Myoclonus seen in up to 75% of patients with ‘early-onset’ Alzheimer’s

The updated vaccines give "slightly higher levels of antibody" protection against the Omicron Covid strain.

As with any type of vaccine, there can be side effects, with the most common being:

Having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection – this tends to be worst around one to two days after the vaccine
Feeling tired
Headache
General aches or mild flu-like symptoms.

Side effects from the vaccines "normally last less than a week", but if symptoms seem to be worsening, you can call NHS 111 or text or phone 18001 111.

People are advised to seek urgent medical advice if they experience any of the following post-vaccination:

Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Feelings of having a fast-beating, fluttering or pounding heart.

Those who feel unwell on the day they have been scheduled to be vaccinated should rearrange the appointment.

While the Covid boosters reduce the risk of becoming severely ill from the virus, they do not prevent a person from catching the illness.

NHS Coronavirus Vaccine

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1751493/coronavirus-covid-spring-booster-side-effects

Sunday, 26 March 2023

Rectal ozone therapy - Gwyneth Paltrow wellness trend

Do NOT copy Gwyneth Paltrow and blow gas up your butt: Doctors warn against Goop founder's latest wellness hack — rectal ozone therapy

Ozone therapy claims to boost immunity, kill off bacteria and improve blood flow
Doctors warn that the evidence backing up efficacy is 'controversial at best'
Ms Paltrow favors some odd wellness hacks in addition to rectal ozone therapy

By CASSIDY MORRISON SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

UPDATED: 18:41 BST, 26 March 2023

Doctors have weighed in on Gwyneth Paltrow's ‘pretty weird’ new wellness trend that involves shooting gas up her rectum.

They warn that there is no robust scientific evidence pointing to the treatment's benefits and warned that it could even be toxic to the body.

Dr Stuart Fischer, an emergency medicine physician in New York told DailyMail.com that the evidence backing up rectal ozone therapy was 'controversial at best' and 'the mode and the route are extremely questionable.'

The unproven and clinically untested therapy consists of chemically generating ozone (O3) with the help of an oxygen tank and a small generator that will set you back about $1,500.

Ms Paltrow acknowledges that rectal ozone therapy sounds outlandish but added that it has been ‘very helpful’ without saying for what

A series of IV ozone treatments in a flashy Southern California or New York City clinic might set you back about $1,200. While people can go to a clinic for rectal ozone therapy, many choose to do them at home because after the initial costs of procuring a generator, tubing, and an oxygen tank, each treatment is cheap to free.

The generated ozone collects in a bag that attaches to silicone tubing which, when fixed with a catheter and inserted about three inches into the rectum, shoots ozone into the body.

Even Ms Paltrow, who is no stranger to wacky wellness trends, acknowledges that it sounds outlandish but added that it has been ‘very helpful’ - without saying for what.

Adherents claim the therapy reduces inflammation and bacteria, encourages cell regeneration and promotes anti-aging, improves the immune system, and even wards off heart attacks.

But the evidence to support its efficacy and safety is ‘limited’ and ‘low-quality’, according to the Cleveland Clinic and medical experts are far from convinced.

When approached for comment, doctors at Johns Hopkins Medicine were unwilling to comment, as was Ms Paltrow’s own doctor, Dr Will Cole.

Worth it? Benefits of rectal ozone therapy are said to be reduced pain/inflammation, increased energy, improved metabolism/circulation, stimulated immune system, detoxification, anti-aging, and fighting bacterial/viral infections. The science does not conclusively back that up

Ozone is a highly unstable substance that can damage the lungs when inhaled. It’s part of what forms the low-lying smog that blankets some major cities.

The Food and Drug Administration, the arbiter of safe medical devices, calls ozone a ‘toxic gas with no known useful medical application in specific, adjunctive, or preventive therapy.’

Dr Stuart Fischer, who has studied alternative medicines including ozone therapy, told DailyMail.com that instead of buying into wellness trends like the one Ms Paltrow favors, he takes dietary supplements such as antioxidants to slow down cell aging, something ozone therapy purports to do.

‘That's what I would say works, this is relatively well researched, whereas ozone’s benefit is controversial at best,’ Dr Fischer said.

He added: ‘There may be some unknown side effects or unknown benefits. The efficacy, and the mode or the route are extremely questionable.’

This is one of many wellness 'hacks' celebrated by Ms Paltrow that has dubious scientific backing.

A self-styled health guru, Ms Paltrow has a huge following with more than two million unique visitors to her site Goop every month.

She has become well-known for peddling odd wellness advice and peculiar products, such as jade eggs to insert in the vagina to allegedly modulate hormone levels.

She is also a fan of such alternative interventions as coffee enemas, vaginal steaming, and being intentionally stung by bees ‘to get rid of inflammation and scarring.’

Bizarre celeb health 'hacks' like Gwyneth Paltrow being stung by BEES

Gwyneth Paltrow believes bee stings — dubbed the organic alterative to Botox — actually get rid of inflammation and scaring, leaving skin looking radiant.

Medical professionals are not buying into the fads, though.

Ozone (O3) is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms. Breathing in medical-grade ozone, even in small doses, is dangerous.

Short-term inhalation of just a small amount of ozone can cause severe and sometimes permanent damage to the lungs and respiratory system and worsened asthma symptoms.

Rectal ozone therapy circumvents the risks that come with inhalation, at least in the best-case scenario, by going directly via silicone tubing and catheter into the body.

Oxygen (O2) is fed into an ozone generator which uses a chemical reaction to break down O2 molecules and reform them into ozone (O3). Silicone tubing carries that new ozone gas into the rectum via a catheter.

The treatment takes about 10 minutes and can be done a few times per week.

Users and alternative medicine specialists say that opting for the rectal delivery route helps combat issues like chronic hepatitis and chronic colitis among a wide range of other conditions.

But the rectal route can cause cramping, bloating, and fatigue.

A 2005 report on the subject from the Ministry of Health Malaysia considered ozone therapy’s use for HIV and other infectious diseases, a cardiac disease marked by reduced blood flow to the heart, infertility and obstetrical issues, orthopedic disorders, skin disorders, and cancers.

Health experts there concluded: ‘Current data on the usage of ozone therapy as therapeutic options for various health conditions lacks sufficient safety and therapeutic advantage over available conventional therapeutic modalities.’

And the Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Cancer pointed out that there is ‘very limited’ or ‘no rigorous evidence’ supporting ozone therapy’s anti-cancer claims, such as improving survival or quality of life for cancer patients.

Dr. Kaveh Hoda, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist based in San Francisco, California chimed in online: ‘Gastroenterologist here: Not that you would but please don’t get “rectal ozone therapy.” Also, don’t put coffee in your butts either.’

Dr Hoda added: ‘Gweneth Paltrow might be one of the leading causes of people putting inappropriate things in their butts.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11896333/Gwyneth-Paltrow-truth-rectal-ozone-therapy.html

Monday, 20 March 2023

Drinking coffee could help you to lose weight and lower risk of diabetes: Study

A high blood caffeine level might curb the amount of body fat a person carries and their risk of type 2 diabetes, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

Monday, 20 Mar 2023

In light of their findings, the potential role of calorie-free caffeinated drinks for lowering the risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes is probably now worth exploring, say the researchers.

Previously published research indicates that drinking three to five cups of coffee daily – a rich source of caffeine – is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular (heart) disease, note the researchers.

An average cup of coffee contains around 70-150 milligrammes of caffeine.

Stronger scientific evidence has emerged to support the benefits of coffee in helping to reduce weight and the risk of type 2 diabetes. — AFP

But most of the published research to date have been observational studies, which can’t reliably establish causal effects, because of the other potentially-influential factors involved, point out the researchers.

What’s more, it’s difficult to disentangle any specific effects of caffeine from the other compounds included in caffeinated drinks and foods, they add.

To try and overcome these issues, the researchers used Mendelian randomisation to find out what effect higher blood caffeine levels have on body fat and the long-term risks of type 2 diabetes and major cardiovascular diseases.

The latter diseases included coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure and irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).

Mendelian randomisation is a technique that uses genetic variants as proxies for a particular risk factor – in this case, caffeine levels in blood – to obtain genetic evidence in support of a particular outcome.

In this study, those outcomes were weight (as measured through body mass index, or BMI) and type 2 diabetes risk.

The researchers looked at the role of two common genetic variants of the CYP1A2 and AHR genes in nearly 10,000 people of predominantly European ancestry, who were taking part in six long-term studies.

The CYP1A2 and AHR genes are associated with the speed of caffeine metabolism in the body.

People who carry genetic variants associated with slower caffeine metabolism drink, on average, less coffee, yet have higher levels of caffeine in their blood, compared to people who metabolise it quickly.

Do note that your coffee has to be calorie-free, so no added sugar or creamer allowed. — Marco Verch/Flickr

The results of the analysis showed that higher genetically-predicted blood caffeine levels were associated with lower weight (BMI) and body fat.

Higher genetically-predicted blood caffeine levels were also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers then used Mendelian randomisation to further explore the extent to which any effect of caffeine on type 2 diabetes risk might principally be driven by the concurrent weight loss.

The results showed that weight loss drove nearly half (43%) of the effect of caffeine on type 2 diabetes risk.

No strong associations emerged between genetically-predicted blood caffeine levels and the risk of any of the studied cardiovascular disease outcomes.

The researchers acknowledge various limitations to their findings, including the use of only two genetic variants and the inclusion of only people of European ancestry.

But caffeine is known to boost metabolism, increase fat burning and reduce appetite, they explain.

And a daily intake of 100mg has been estimated to increase energy expenditure by around 100 calories a day, which could consequently lower the risk of developing obesity.

“Our Mendelian randomisation finding suggests that caffeine might, at least in part, explain the inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes,” write the researchers.

“Randomised controlled trials are warranted to assess whether non-caloric, caffeine-containing beverages might play a role in reducing the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes,” they conclude.