I wouldn't normally
recommend a commercial website, but as a family we
found this one very useful. If
you don't have the time or inclination to go to a
diet club such as Weight Watchers, you could use this
site instead. There
is a joining fee which includes 10 weeks diets. Your diet can be
personalised to you, for example any foods you don't
like can be missed out, and you can choose between
home cooking and convenience food. There are a wide
range of different types of diet and it even prints
out your weekly shopping list. It couldn't be
easier.
The only
reservation I have is about the Atkins diet, as I am
not sure about the long term safety of this one.
www.edietsuk.co.uk
Best treatments
If you are puzzled by the conflicting advice
you seem to hear about the treatments doctors use, this site is for you. You
can find out about the different types of research used to decide if a
treatment works. You can also find out the risks of a treatment, test or
operation. Especially interesting is the interactive section on understanding
ways of measuring risk.
www.besttreatments.co.uk
electronic Medicines Compendium
This site can be useful if you are trying to find out more about your
medication. It contains two types of information, SPCs ( Summaries of Product
Characteristics) and PILs ( Patient Information Leaflets).
The PIL should come with your medication, but if you haven't got one you
can download a copy from this site. SPC's are more technical and are intended
for health professionals, but you may be interested.
You can use the Quick Search box at the top of the page to find your
medication either by it's generic name or it's brand name. You may find a long
list of products if you put in the generic name. This is because many
different companies make the same generic drug, though sometimes in slightly
different forms, such as slow release forms. As always, if you have a question
about your medication ask our dispenser or one of the doctors.
http://www.emc.medicines.org.uk/
The Advice Guide
Citizen's Advice Bureau's website is a
comprehensive collection of advice on the kind of issues that CAB can discuss
in face to face consultations at their centres. The A-Z index covers
everything from abortion to young people, (there's nothing under
"Z"!)
www.adviceguide.org.uk
Connexions
You may have heard this site advertised on
the radio. It is an information database for young people that can help with
almost any issue you could name. Health, relationships, careers and housing
are just some of the areas covered. See for yourself.
connexions-direct.com
SunSmart
The incidence of skin cancer in Britain is
doubling every 10 years. SunSmart is a
government sponsored campaign  to
increase awareness of ways of protecting you and your family against skin
cancer, find out more on their website
You can also find out more about keeping safe
in the sun on our site on Enjoy the Sun
This site has been greatly improved since I last looked at it a couple of
years ago.  The A-Z of heart health answers almost
any question you could think of regarding your heart, and it avoids using
medical jargon. If medical words are used they are explained.
If the women among you think heart disease is only a man's problem, have a
look at the special section
for women. This section alone is a mine of useful information. You can
take the lifestyle quiz to see what you can do to reduce your risks of heart
problems, and find out lots more about heart disease in women.
Play the virtual fridge
game . You get to pick items of food from a virtual fridge, and if they
are healthy enough, you are rewarded with the recipe for a healthy meal.
Because it's only a virtual fridge, you haven't wasted any money if you get it
wrong!
www.bhf.org.uk
If you are a mother to be and you are 35 or more you may have
special worries about your pregnancy.
This site addresses those issues, with advice on many aspects
of pregnancy for the older mum to be.
It has a forum where you can post questions or concerns, or
help others with your own experiences. The section on screening tests is very
helpful, and the real life stories are a touching insight into the lives of
women who have had to deal with making difficult decisions over pregnancy.
www.mothers35plus.co.uk
Family Planning Association
A nicely designed site that looks good, is easy to navigate and loads
quickly.
You can find out about the 13 methods of contraception and there is a
useful family
planning clinic finder (enter your post code to find the nearest clinic).
Sex education is discussed, so if you are a parent or teacher and want help
with approaching this sensitive subject here is useful advice.
Last but not least there is a section on sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs), including how to avoid them, recognize them and where to get help.
Eight of the 25 different types are described (yes, there really are 25
different types!).
www.fpa.org.uk
Patient UK
Patient UK contains the same patient information leaflets that we have on
our computer system at the surgery. We print them out to give to people to
read more about their condition when they get home. You can now print them off
from this website as well. You can also find anatomical diagrams that go with
the leaflets. Unfortunately they are not all labelled, normally we do that
when we are explaining the anatomy to you in the surgery.
There are some commercial aspects to this site, it lists books about
various illnesses (linked to Amazon) and medical advice on line (for a fee).
Despite the commercial slant this is a useful site to add to your list of
favourites.
www.patient.co.uk
UNICEF
20th November is Universal Children's Day which is organized by the United
Nations. UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund and works world wide to
improve the health and care of children.
The problems faced by children in poorer countries are very different to
those faced by our children.
 800,000 African children are infected with HIV every year.
Southern Africa is facing an unprecedented disaster where not only are they
facing the ravages of drought and starvation but also a devastating epidemic
of AIDs.
UNICEF have asked the world for $27 million for their relief program and so
far have received $5 million. $27 million is less than the cost of one jet
fighter. If this saddens you visit this site and find out about UNICEF's work.
www.unicef.org
Youreable was founded by Joe Rajko, a charity worker from Leeds, after
winning the Channel 4 eMillionaire show in July 2000.
I love the name of this site for disabled people, which reflects it's aim,
which is to provide the information about products and services that
will help to increase opportunities.
It is easy to navigate and packed with information. The forums are
excellent, so if you can't find what you are looking for, post a question here
and someone will probably know the answer. For example, a question posted
yesterday was asking about hang-gliding for someone with MS.
Go for it!
www.youreable.com
Fit for travel
If you are going abroad for your holiday this summer, make sure you are
aware of any precautions you need to take to protect your health.
This site is provided by the NHS in Scotland, and as well as providing
useful general advice on how to stay healthy abroad, it has the latest news on
disease outbreaks.
The section for special travellers advises anyone from the pregnant or
elderly, to those going on expeditions.
If it's Dengue fever or DVTs, motion sickness or mountain sickness, you can
find out about it on fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk
Our nurses will of course always be happy to advise you, so don't forget to
arrange to see them well in advance of any foreign trip.
Men's Health Week was 10 - 16 of June 2002
Why do men need a special week to themselves? Find out
more by visiting malehealth.co.uk
This is a site devoted to men's health. Men find it particularly difficult
to seek help for themselves when they become ill, (find out why in our own
section on men's health) yet they don't
live as long as women.
Most men spend far more time looking after their cars than their own
health. Visit this site to find out how to maintain your body and why you need
an MOT.
PS. We do free health checks. Just ask to see the nurse for your MOT
BBC First Aid Action
"It only takes 3-4 minutes for a blocked airway to kill someone, but it
can take more than 8 minutes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene"
This is one of many good reasons why everyone, (including you), should
learn some basic first aid. If you haven't got time to go on a course this BBC
website is a highly recommended alternative.
It is interactive with reconstructions of real life situations using the
latest computer graphics. Test yourself to see how you would cope in an
emergency. What's more, if you get it wrong this time, nobody dies!
BBC First Aid
Action
Teenage Health Freak
Teenagers may often have concerns about their bodies which
they find too difficult to discuss with adults. This website deals with many
issues, some common such as spots, and some sensitive, such as puberty
and contraception. It has proven very popular and had over 5 million
"hits". This site comes highly recommended for teenagers and their
parents and teachers.
www.teenagehealthfreak.org
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