(^30) DAILY MIRROR MONDAY 26.08.2019
DM1ST
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DR MIRIAM STOPPARD
Helping to keep you fit and healthy
MINUTES ON...
Scars
What are they?
A scar is a mark, usually thick,
that’s left in the skin after a wound
or injury has healed.
How do scars form?
When the skin is wounded the body
produces more collagen as part of
the healing process to strengthen
the wound.
For a period of about three
months or longer, new collagen
continues to form and blood supply
increases, causing the scar to
become raised, lumpy and red.
Eventually some of the collagen
breaks down, the blood supply
reduces and, over a period of up to
two years, the scar gradually
becomes smoother, softer and
paler and may fade to just a
silver mark.
Where do scars form?
Certain areas of the body are more
at risk of scarring, such as the
chest, back, earlobe and the
shoulder. Scars that form on the
knees and shoulders can appear
stretched or widened as a result of
the healing process occurring over
movable joints.
Types of scars
■ Flat, pale scars Initially, they
may be red or dark and raised,
but will become paler and flatter
over time.
■ Hypertrophic scars Red, raised
scars that form along a wound and
can remain this way for years.
■ Keloid scars Caused by an
excess of scar tissue produced,
where the scar grows beyond the
boundaries of the original wound.
■ Pitted scars These have a
sunken appearance.
■ Contracture scars These are
caused by the skin shrinking and
tightening, usually after a burn,
which can restrict movement.
Treating scars
Scars are unlikely to disappear
completely. If you feel that your
scars are making you depressed
make sure you visit your GP. If
scarring is unsightly, treatment
options may include silicone gel
sheets, pressure dressings,
corticosteroid injections, cosmetic
camouflage (make-up) and surgery.
...how to decide on treatment
It’s hard for men with localised prostate cancer to choose between the
various treatment options. They need to consider not only the level of
aggressiveness of the tumour but also their own likely survival in the
absence of any tangible effects from the cancer. A new risk model,
developed and validated in a large number of patients, aims to provide
personal predictions to help men decide between conservative management
or more radical treatment.
What
men with
prostate
cancer need
to k now...
SELF
HELP
Q
I’m confused between
the advice to protect
your skin from sunshine
with sunblock and the
need to expose it to
sunshine to get
enough vitamin D.
A
Getting enough
vitamin D to
protect your bones
requires eating the
right food and getting
short bursts of daily
sunshine in the summer.
Vitamin D is found in a
number of foods including
oily fish, red meat, liver,
egg yolk, fortified
breakfast cereals and fat
spreads, so include as
many of them as possible
in your diet.
Most people’s skin will
make vitamin D in the
summer but a national
survey showed about one
in five people don’t have
healthy blood levels of
vitamin D.
Public Heath
England advises
that even someone
eating a balanced
diet would struggle to
get enough vitamin D so
sun exposure and
supplements are
recommended, particularly
during the winter when
the best advice is to take a
supplement of vitamin D of
10 micrograms a day –
sufficient to meet the
needs of 98% of people.
Ask Dr Miriam
[email protected]
@MiriamStoppard
SORRY BUT I CAN’T ANSWER LETTERS PERSONALLY
Stimulating the ear
could ease arthritis
KNOW YOUR BODY
Stapes
This is the smallest bone in
the body and it’s found in the
middle ear. It’s a tiny, stirrup-
shaped bone in a chain of three
small bones which conduct
sound vibrations from the eardrum
to the inner ear.
T
here’s a field of science that’s
based on knowledge of how the
brain works – focusing on
chemical targets within cells
themselves, and uses bioengineering
to tap into the brain to treat diseases
and injuries without using drugs. And
it’s having promising results, so it’s
worth a careful look.
Called bioelectronic medicine (yes,
it’s a mouthful), US scientists have
collaborated with researchers from the
University of Amsterdam on pilot
studies to see if a new kind of electrical
stimulation will help arthritis patients.
Their studies show that stimulation
of the external ear (the cymba concha)
improves symptoms in patients with
rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
This is a severe test of the
technology as RA is a complex and
serious, painful condition. One of the
great advantages of this treatment is
that it’s non-invasive.
RA, as the name implies, is a form of
arthritis but it’s much more than that.
It’s a chronic inflammatory disease,
which affects the whole body including
muscles, blood vessels and the blood.
It affects around 400,000 people in the
UK and mainly because of the pain,
swelling and stiffness of joints and its
waxing and waning nature, it’s often
difficult to treat.
A wide range of anti-inflammatory
drugs and powerful biological disease-
altering drugs are used but these
medications can result in worrying
side effects. Plus they may not work in
all RA patients.
Professor Sangeeta Chavan, of the
US Feinstein Institute, and her
colleague Meghan Addorisio, had the
idea to test the use of external nerve
stimulation to see if it would reduce
inflammation and lessen disease
severity. They did this in a pilot study
on RA patients. They found that bioe-
lectronic treatment was effective in
damping down the production of
inflammatory hormones such as
cytokines and proteins that create
inflammation, so reducing the joint
inflammation and swelling found in
patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Professor Chavan said: “Our primary
objective was to observe if a non-
invasive treatment using an external
device will be effective in improving
disease severity of rheumatoid
arthritis. We are pleased to observe
that this novel bioelectronic treatment
significantly reduces swelling and
inflammation associated with RA.”
Kevin Tracey, head of the Feinstein
Institute and co-author of the report,
added: “This clinical research suggests
that non-invasive stimulation could
suppress inflammation in rheumatoid
arthritis patients.”
Let’s hope this therapy is proven to
work in larger numbers of patients.
Bioelectronic
medicine is
non-invasive
The
cymba
concha
g
hea
v
e
die
How to fit exercise into
your everyday life
Set a time for physical activity and stick to it.
You’re more likely to find time to be active if you do
it at the same time and on the same days each
week.
■ Split activity up throughout the day – you can
achieve your target in bouts of 10 minutes or more.
■ Walk your children to and from school. This will
also help them develop a strong pattern of
physical activity.
■ Join a gym. Find a class or club that allows
children in or offers childcare during a workout.
■ Exercise during your lunch break. Your office
may have a gym, or you may have access to a
nearby swimming pool or squash courts.
■ Cycle or walk part, if not all, of your journey to
work each day. Simple changes can make a big
difference – such as getting off one bus
or tube stop before your destination.
jeff_l
(Jeff_L)
#1