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Free for you
Computer and Health
By Dr Rob Hicks
Never before have there been so many different ways to get health information and advice. Turn on the TV, turn on the radio, turn on the computer, open a newspaper or magazine and you're bound to find health stories and articles.
Whether they're offering advice about how to live a healthy lifestyle, or whether it's someone reminding you to have your blood pressure checked, it seems that everyone is concerned about your health.
But this is health advice being thrown at you - sometimes it can feel as though it's being shoved down your throat, at times when you may not necessarily need it. So how can you get help when you need it, where is the best place to get it, and who is the best person to ask?
Help from your GP
Traditionally most people would answer 'the general practitioner,' or GP. The GP was always the person we turned to when we needed help - and this is still often the case.
However, nowadays the GP who helps you may not be the GP you are registered with. It may be another doctor in the practice or if, for example, your own GP is away on holiday, he or she may have arranged for another doctor (a locum) to fill in during the daytime.
When you need advice out-of-hours, that is overnight and on weekends, it's more and more likely that another doctor will be on the end of the phone. Some doctors have always taken it in turns to look after each other's patients on a local rota.
More recently, larger groups of doctors have formed GP co-operatives ('co-ops') across the UK to provide advice to patients over the phone and to visit them at home if necessary. These doctors are still working within the NHS, many have their own practices, and they sign-up to work shifts covering the out-of-hours periods.
Of course it's not only from GPs that you can get medical advice over the phone or in your own, far from it. You can get this from nurses too.
NHS Direct
Telephone: 0845 4647
Web: nhsdirect.nhs.uk
One of the most recent developments in England is the introduction of NHS Direct, the 24-hour nurse-led health advice line. NHS Direct not only provides medical advice over the telephone when you need it but it also provides information about health matters such as where your nearest pharmacy is and what their opening hours are.
In the future, NHS Direct may play an even greater role, for example, if you wish to book an appointment with your GP then you may ring NHS Direct to do this - and not your doctor's surgery. Scotland has a similar service called NHS 24.
Your practice nurse
Everyday practice nurses offer telephone advice to their patients. For example, maybe a woman has forgotten to take one of her contraceptive pills and wants to know what she should do, perhaps a baby or child isn't feeling very well after having an immunisation and the mum or dad is concerned. It might be that a person is travelling and wants to know what travel vaccinations they need. The practice nurse is able to answer many health-related questions and offer lifestyle advice too.
Many nurses will visit patients at home when they are unable to come to the surgery to be seen. Sometimes this will be the practice nurse, other times this will be the district or community nurse.
Someone who has just had an operation may need their dressing changed, someone who has developed a leg ulcer will need this dressing regularly throughout the week. The district nurse may visit someone to help administer their medication, their insulin injections or eye drops, for example.
Other health professionals
In some areas, physiotherapists and occupational therapists may visit people at home, as might the local pharmacist if he or she provides a medication home delivery service.
Midwives may visit people at home if someone has requested to have a home birth, and they'll often visit new mums and babies in the first 10 days after baby is born. After that it's the health visitor, another trained nurse, who will regularly visit at home.
Health visitors are responsible for children until they reach the age of 5 and are a fantastic source of help and advice, particularly for new mums and dads when the arrival of a little one can be quite daunting. Whether it's problems with feeding or sleeping, or advice on clothing and bathing, health visitors can invariably help parents to successfully overcome any problems.
For those people suffering with mental health problems, a psychiatrist may visit them at home - as will the community psychiatric nurse or CPN.
Probably the most rapidly growing source of health information and advice is the Internet. Most UK charities, associations, and other organisations have recognised the potential of the Web, and have developed their own websites to provide information. Find out more in our WebWise Health feature...
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Headaches at work :: triggers of a headache at work, preventing headaches, making your work environment comfortable and stress-free
Headaches are such a common health problem that its not surprising that they often occur while people are at work. But there may be very specific reasons, related to the job or the working environment, why some people particularly suffer from headaches while they are trying to do their job.
Headaches can be hugely disruptive to work. More than 18 million working days are lost each year because of migraines, for example. This particularly debilitating type of headache can cause intense symptoms lasting up to 3 days and which are often so severe that concentration and co-ordination becomes very difficult and it is simply impossible to carry on working. In severe cases headaches can interfere with promotion and career prospects. Employers may worry that the person simply isn't up to the stresses of the job while those people with frequent headaches fear that they are letting down their colleagues because they insist on regular breaks or other conditions to avoid triggering a headache.
What triggers headaches at work? All types of headaches, especially tension or stress related headaches and migraine, are common in the workplace, probably because many similar trigger factors may be involved (see Box below). In some types of headache, especially migraine, a number of trigger factors may add up until a threshold is passed and a headache results.
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) :: What is RSI, protect yourself, identifying RSI
As many of us spend more and more time in front of computers, the chances of developing repetitive strain injury (RSI) increase. For some people, the pain of RSI is so great that it prevents them from working at all. However, it doesn't develop overnight, so by always remembering that prevention is better than a cure, problems can often be avoided in the first place.
Occupational overuse syndrome, work-related upper limb injury, and isometric contraction myopathy, are all phrases used to describe what is more commonly known as RSI.
Overuse of the muscles of the hands, wrists, arms, or shoulders on a repeated, and usually, daily basis, causes injury to these muscles. This results in inflammation that is never really given a chance to recover, since these everyday harmful activities invariably continue.
Sick building syndrome (SBS)
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is the term used to describe a situation in which occupants of a building experience symptoms of ill-health that seem to be linked to spending time in a building - but where no specific cause can be identified.
Those experiencing symptoms of ill health may be in a particular part of the building or the problem may be spread throughout.
What are the symptoms of SBS? Some of the symptoms associated with sbs are: headaches, eye, nose or throat irritation, skin irritation, coughs, dizziness, nausea - and fatigue. The symptoms rapidly improve after leaving the building.
Insomnia & shift work :: shift work throws out your body clock
Disruption of sleep is a huge problem for people who work shifts, especially shifts on short rotation such as yours.
Shift work throws out your body clock
The fatigue and loss of sleep that you can experience with night work are a result of putting your body clock out of sync. It's very similar to jet lag.
Humans don't feel tired because they have been awake and active for several hours. In fact, if someone stays up all night, they feel increasingly fatigued until a peak at 5am - and then fatigue decreases until the next evening.
Work station ergonomics :: incorrect working posture can result in musculoskeletal disorders
Incorrect working posture can result in musculoskeletal disorders affecting the neck, back, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands and fingers.
If you are currently experiencing any discomfort whilst working at your desk you should seek advice from your health and safety representative, DSE assessor or GP.
Are you sitting comfortably? A properly adjusted chair will reduce the strain that you put on your back. You should be able to alter the height, back position and tilt of your chair. Try and ensure that your knees are level with your hips.
Make sure your back is supported. In order to prevent back injury, you should be sitting up straight while at your desk. If your chair isn't providing enough back support, try using a rolled up towel or cushion until you find a position which is comfortable for you - then adjust the chair accordingly.
