Migraine and children:
An estimated 11 per cent of children suffer from migraines, which are the most common cause of severe recurrent headaches in children. "Migraine and children" is the theme of a public seminar at the Silver Springs Hotel in Cork City, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, which is being held as part of Migraine Action Week. Information stands will be in shopping centres at the Square, Tallaght, Douglas Court, Cork, and Eyre Square, Galway, from Thursday to Saturday. A helpline (1850-200378) is open from Monday to Friday between 10 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.
Bladder control:
More than 350,000 Irish people suffer from bladder-control problems. This figure includes one in three women and one in four men over 40. Symptoms include a frequent need to urinate, sudden urges to go to the toilet and leaking small amounts of urine with movements such as sneezing, coughing or lifting. A free leaflet is available from pharmacies, health centres, doctors' surgeries and physiotherapists. For more information, contact the continence-promotion unit of the Eastern Regional Health Board (01-6352775).
Post-natal incontinence:
Three months after childbirth, a third of women still experience urinary incontinence, yet simple treatments such as pelvic-floor exercises or bladder training are effective in about one in 10 women, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. At five, seven and nine months after delivery, nurses taught a study group to follow a daily intensive pelvic-floor exercise programme, with bladder training if necessary. A year after delivery, the women had significantly less urinary incontinence than women who had not been trained. Faecal incontinence was also less common, and the women were more likely to be performing pelvic-floor exercises. The benefit is greatest among those women whose initial symptoms were among the more severe.
Ageing well:
"Ageing well, ageing positively" is the title of a free public lecture at the education and research centre of St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin 4, tomorrow at 8 p.m. The importance of exercise as you age, safety and independence around the home, healthy eating and legal and financial issues will be addressed by a team of health-care professionals.
Daffodil Day raises £1.7m:
The Irish Cancer Society has announced that this year's Daffodil Day was the best ever, raising £1.7 million. The money goes to support home nurses, hospital cancer-liaison nurses and cancer-helpline nurses. Each year, 21,000 people develop cancer here. You can contact the society on 01-2310500, or see www.cancer.ie
Leeches and pain relief:
Leeches may yet return to favour as a treatment to relieve pain and inflammation, according to a pilot study of knee osteoarthritis. Four leeches were applied to the knees of 16 patients and left in place for 80 minutes. The treatment produced rapid relief after three days, with the greatest effects registered 24 hours after treatment. There were no side effects or infections, although patients described the initial bite as slightly painful. The researchers say there are plausible explanations for therapy's effectiveness, as leech saliva contains analgesic, anaesthetic and histamine-like compounds.
Sex and heart disease:
Having sex is a potential trigger for a heart attack in people with heart disease. But the risk is small, provided other regular forms of exercise are taken, according to a new study. The researchers calculated that, of those in the study group admitted to hospital for a first heart attack, those who had sex in the previous four days were twice as likely to have an attack an hour later as those who had not had sex. Alarming as this might sound, the researchers say that sex once a week poses only minimal risk, and that doctors should encourage heart patients not to abstain from sex for fear of triggering a heart attack.
Compiled by Muiris Houston and Sylvia Thompson
lifelines@irish-times.ie