Pick Me Up! – 30 May 2019

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Followme@DrJasonMcKeown

Shewon’tsleep

Q

Mydaughtersuffers

fromextreme

claustrophobiaand

won’tsleepinthedark.

WhatcanI dotohelp?

Karen,Manchester

A

It’scommonforpeople

withclaustrophobia

toexperienceanxiety

whentheyareinconfined,

darkspaces.Sometimesthis

canleadtoa panicattack.It

is estimatedaround 10 per

centof peopleexperiencethis

withintheirlifetime.

A low-level night light can

oftenrelaxchildrenenoughto

letthemsleep.If thisdoesn’t

help,speaktoyourGPand

discussoptions,perhapsa

behaviouraltherapist.

Is it timefor

thechange?

Q

I’mturning 50

thisyear– does

thismeanI’ll

beginthemenopause?

Paula,Newcastle

A

Themenopauseis

a completelynatural

process that happens

Disclaimer:

Medical

advice

provided is for interest only and should never be substituted for seeing a doctor or seeking medical advice. If you have specific medical concerns please seek advice from a qualified medical professional.

mostcommonlybetweenthe

agesof 45and55.Symptoms

canincludehotflushesand

feelinglow.SpeaktoyourGP

togeta betterideaof whatto

expectandforpeaceof mind.

If thesymptomsare

verysevere,yourGPmight

recommendhormone

replacementtherapy(HRT).

Cervical-cancer

vaccine

Q

I wanttoencourage

mydaughtertoget

theHPVvaccine.

Whatageis best?

Hannah,Nottingham

A

TheHPVvaccinationis

administeredastwo

injectionsat leastsix

monthsapart,forgirlsaged

12-13.Theycangetthevaccine

freeontheNHSuntilthey’re

18 andit’simportanttohave

bothdoses.It helpsprotect

againstcervicalcancer,the

mostcommoncancerin

women aged 35 and under.

1

Holdanicepackto

theinjuryregularly

forshortperiodsinthe

firstfewdaystobring

downanyswelling.

2

Restand

avoidstress.

3

tAkeparacetamolto

relievepainbutdo

notuseibuprofenor

aspirinastheycould

causetheinjurytobleed.

4

HAvesomeone

staywithyoufor

thefirst 24 hours.

5

doNot...gobackto

workuntilyoufeel

better,driveuntilyou

havefullyrecovered,

playsportsforaround

threeweeks,takedrugs

ordrinkalcoholuntil

youfeelbetter.And

don’t take sleeping pills.

seekmediCAl

AtteNtioNstRAigHt

AwAYiF...youarefinding

it hardtostayawake,

havea seizure,have

problemswithvision,

balanceorspeech,have

bleedingornumbness,

orclearfluidcomes

from your ears or nose.

How

to...

treata

minor

headinjury

at home

Foradvice,contactusviaoneofthemethodsbelow.Lettersand

emailsareselectedrandomlyforpublication.sorry,DrmcKeown

can’treplypersonally.wrIteto:pickmeUp!, 161 marsh wall,

London e14 9ap.emaIL:[email protected]

instant

appointment

WithDoctorJason

McKeown,specialistin

weight loss & brain health