If your daughter came home and told you she was dating a boy who had a skinhead haircut and lots of tattoos, one of which was a picture of Jack the Ripper, the masked murderer from London in the 19th century, what do you think you would say? No chance!
Health
Health concerns
Quite Prickly
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
Adding to Axel’s last article, we just received our new drugs formulary and very reassuringly the pharmaceutical industry has made big strides in improving your health by adding 2,500 new medications over the course of the last four years. That is more than one a day, so a daily trip to your pharmacy should become part of your routine to check what is on offer.
But this month’s subject is an old one, however in a new light: childhood vaccinations.
I Don’t Want…
by Nicola Westby •
When a Spanish chap told me that he is married to his sister, I thought it must be my Spanish letting me down once again, as it has done many times.
Real News is Scarce…
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
Many new medicines are released and approved and marketed every year. Most of them are pseudo-innovations that are not any better than the ones already available.
What’s Your Problem?
by Nicola Westby •
At the beginning of May it was my friends 40th Birthday and her husband decided to surprise her with a party. When he called me in February to invite me along and explain his plan, I leapt at the opportunity of spending a weekend in Bournemouth with my best friend and a group of great people with whom I knew I would laugh plenty and party hard. A weekend of pure self-indulgence: girly chats, meals out and fantastic shopping.
To Rwanda and Back
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
What sort of charity needs a HIV-positive, black, rape victim in the centre of Africa, having to care for herself and her children?
Competitiveness in the Family
by Nicola Westby •
The question is; should a parent actively encourage their children to be competitive?
I read an article recently that said for Donald Trump’s children family holidays were a very competitive affair. His son, Eric, recalls that when skiing in Aspen, his father was so keen to beat his children in races that he would push them over or hold them back with a ski pole. Imagine a grown man pushing over a 10 -year old to win a race!
Watch Your Step!
by Axel E. Thieke G.P. •
When obstacles on the ground are viewed through the lower segment of multi-focal glasses, vision can be blurred and depth perception can be impaired. This phenomenon presumably explains the observation that older adults who wear multi-focal glasses are at elevated risk of tripping.
Is 60 The New 40?
by Nicola Westby •
At my 11-year-old son’s birthday party this weekend, I had a conversation with a couple of mums about age; our own personal definitions of being old and more to the point, whether we are old!
Do No Harm
by Wolfgang K Piller MD •
Sometimes I feel embarrassed when I get the big pharma-bible out to check the list of side effects of a particular medication. But what else can you do, if a patient arrives puffing and panting and the specialists already reassured him, that there is nothing wrong with him?