Health & Wellbeing

Inability to balance on one leg ‘raises risk of dying’

The inability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds after the age of 50 could indicate an early death is on the horizon, new research suggests.

More than half of young women depressed during pandemic: ‘We’re unsure of what long-lasting impacts will be’

More than half of women in their early 20s were depressed due to the pandemic causing significant disruption to their lives, according to a new study.

Feeling more in control of your life can result in improved dental health, research finds

Sugar is bad for teeth, but researchers have found resignation to one’s fate can also be dentally detrimental.

Premium

Ask Allison: I love my husband but he won’t stop talking — it’s driving me mad. Please help!

Allison Keating answers your queries about life & relationships

Premium

Anxiety, racism and being transgender – three Irish teens on the issues affecting their lives

While Transition Year may give teens a little breathing space between Junior Cert and Leaving Cert, there’s no doubt many students are putting their time to good use.

Ask the doctor: How can I clear my toddler's recurrent conjunctivitis for once and for all?

Question: For almost three months on and off, my two-and-a-half-year-old keeps getting conjunctivitis. It was going around her creche back in late February, and sure enough, she picked it up there. She has been prescribed three different antibiotic eye drops which seem to clear it up after about a week, but another week or so after that it seems to come back. I’ve been very careful to wash her bed linen every day and wash her toys as much as possible. How can I get rid of this once and for all?

Premium

Addiction recovery: ‘I think everyone suffers from the inner critic – it’s just part of the human condition’

Bernard West was first diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2017 when he was age 42. “I’m an ex intravenous drug user (IVDU). I would have been in recovery, and I relapsed and was living on the streets. I was using crack cocaine.” Bernard used a contaminated syringe. “Where I was in my life at that stage, I didn’t really care, you know? I was using drugs to die. I just didn’t care, and I took the needle off my friend.”

Premium

Are you feeling exhausted and burnt out? Try spending some time in solitude

The idea of being alone — properly alone, with no social media and only one’s thoughts for company — is so alien we often consider it a form of punishment. Toddlers are sent to the naughty step, prisoners to the segregation unit.

Premium

‘PCOS is associated with so many health issues – but there’s nobody joining the dots’

‘It was a lightbulb moment,” says Nitu Bajekal. A senior NHS consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and a women’s health expert with over 35 years of clinical experience, she had been wanting to write a book about women’s health for a long time, she says — fibroids, menopause, endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), all of it.

Survey reveals Ukrainian refugees’ challenges with life in Ireland so far

Issues around the banking and taxation system, language barriers, public transport, and shared accommodation have all been expressed by Ukrainians who fled to Ireland after the Russian invasion.

Ask the doctor: My hay fever symptoms have gone through the roof after stopping my antihistamine. Is it withdrawal?

Q: I have been taking an antihistamine since before the summer and stopped a few days ago. I am really suffering from itchy sore skin and other allergy-like symptoms. My friend said it was withdrawal from the antihistamine. Is this true? Should I start taking them again and wean off slowly?

Premium

Suffering from seasonal allergies? Experts share their top products to keep hay fever at bay

Suffering with itchy eyes, a runny nose or constant sneezing? You’re not alone — pollen season is well underway, making the walks and outdoor gatherings that were formerly the highlights of lockdown living a nuisance. As the country continues to open up, it’s increasingly important to get allergies under control, though experts note it is crucial to first understand what kind of allergy you have.

Premium

Ask Allison: I have a great life, a good job and a fiancée I love — so why do I feel unfulfilled?

Allison Keating answers your queries about life & relationships

Premium

Men’s Health: ‘It’s easy to ignore a health problem and hope it will go away – but that is no way forward’

More than 13,100 men and 11,600 women are diagnosed with invasive cancer each year in Ireland, but women are more likely to seek medical advice sooner than their male counterparts.

Ask the doctor: Should my granddaughter have her adenoids removed?

Question: My three-year-old granddaughter lives in another European country and has been sick a lot lately. The doctor there has suggested that she have her adenoids removed but my son is against it as he wants more information before they get it done and there is a bit of a language barrier. She is sick a lot with viruses but aren’t all kids? Why would a child have their adenoids out, what is the impact of it and should he go ahead or wait until she grows out of whatever it is?

Premium

Skin cancer: ‘It would often start as a patch of dry skin or a little bump – but unlike other blemishes, these wouldn’t go away’

With over 13,000 new cases diagnosed each year in Ireland, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in this country and the National Cancer Registry of Ireland expects the current figures to double in the next two decades.

Premium

‘Publicly we’ll condemn victim-blaming, but privately we will advise our friends and daughters to get a taxi rather than walk home’

“Sex must be taken seriously. Men and women are different. Some desires are bad. Consent is not enough. Violence is not love. Loveless sex is not empowering. People are not products. Marriage is good. Listen to your mother.”

Premium

Living with Tourette’s: ‘It is just an extra bit of pizazz. You have got to step into that light and be proud of yourself’

Scrolling through makeup artist James Mac Inerney’s Instagram feed, all I can see is mind-blowing talent. His page resembles a portfolio of extraordinary makeup artistry, and with his 290,000 followers, and TV credits such as Netflix’s Glow Up, you’d be fooled into thinking that he has had a pretty seamless rise to where he is today in his prolific career. What you might not know about James is that in recent years he made the courageous decision to share his story of living with Tourette’s.

Premium

‘Learning a new skill isn’t easy and it’s a humbling experience but along with the tide, my confidence rises’

It’s a sunny spring Saturday afternoon when I rock up at Coliemore Harbour for my first open-water sea-swimming lesson. The wind is whipping at the waves beyond the thick stone walls in Dalkey Sound, but the water is tranquil in the sheltered harbour down the slipway. The air temperature is around 12C, but the water is still a nippy nine-ish degrees, and I’m nervous.

Family of Joan Brady collect her 40th Mini Marathon medal

It was an emotional day for the family of Ladies Mini-Marathon veteran Joan Brady as they collected her 40th medal at the event on Sunday.

In pictures: Women's Mini Marathon 2022

More than 20,000 women hit the streets of Dublin for this year's marathon, the 40th anniversary of the event.

Running marathons could age men over 40 by a decade

Running marathons could age men by as much as a decade, research suggests.

It’s a kind of magic: why the Vhi Women's Mini Marathon is so special

In 1980 the starting pistol was fired at the inaugural Dublin Marathon. In 1983 – the same year Glenroe hit our TV screens and Bonnie Tyler’s power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart topped the charts – Dublin Marathon founder Frank Slevin and other like-minded athletics enthusiasts put together a women-only event – the first Women’s Mini Marathon (WMM).

Premium

‘My daughter Brianna’s death left me in a fog but support from Rosabel’s Rooms helped me breathe and grieve’

The death of a child is the most difficult experience any parent can face. It is the loss of their child and the loss of the dreams and hopes that they held for them. Sadly, many families have had to face into this, the cruellest of losses. But what they might not expect to have to navigate is financial uncertainty and the mental strain that comes with that in addition to their grief.

Premium

Five signs of heart trouble that you should never ignore

Cardiovascular disease is among the leading causes of death and disability in Ireland, but there are common symptoms to detect and treat it.

Premium

Zoe Holohan's diary: “Once again, I’ve entered that ‘let’s see how this medical plan goes’ phase – and once again it’s a precarious process”

As I gripped my stomach in pain before rushing yet again to the bathroom for another urgent purge, my friend asked once more in her most concerned voice, “do you think this could be all down to stress?” Well, it was a fair comment. It had certainly been a tricky few weeks, as well she knew. Though my response to her query was somewhat muffled, given my predicament.

Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon: ‘There’s nothing like this uplifting atmosphere’

In all the colours of the rainbow and in the names of almost every charity in the land, they came together in solidarity to celebrate 40 years of the Women’s Mini Marathon.

Premium

Ask Allison: I love my friends but I hate going out at night. My friend says it’s selfish to avoid socialising – is she right?

Allison Keating answers your queries about life & relationships

Ask the doctor: What does having ‘elevated red blood cells’ mean and what can I do about it?

Question: I recently had full bloods done and my doctor said they were all within the normal range, but that my red blood cells were a lot higher than the last time I had them done a couple of years ago. I am a woman in my late 40s. He suggested that I return to have them redone in six months. What does elevated red blood cells mean and how can I go about lowering them?

Premium

COPD: ‘I had lost the will to live but the surgery has given me my independence back’

Since the onset of Covid-19, we are all more than aware of chest infections. But while we may have all experienced coughs and breathing issues of varying severity, it is estimated that at least 400,000 people in Ireland live with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) — and almost half of that figure have moderate or severe symptoms.