Doctors performed more than 36,000 plastic surgery procedures in the UK in 2009. While the popularity of cosmetic surgery has declined a bit from its peak in the 1990s, it seems to be gaining steam once again. Last year's numbers were up seven percent over the previous year. Why is plastic surgery on the rise?

Like most countries in Europe, the UK has an ageing population. And what is plastic surgery but a desperate attempt to turn back the clock? Every popular procedure with the possible exception of breast augmentation is about trying to look younger. There are facelifts, eye jobs, chemical peels, brow lifts, collagen injections, and Botox.

The good news is that most of these procedures are quite safe. Yes, it is surgery and it is serious. But major complications are extremely rare. Most plastic surgeons perform thousands of procedures and never lose a patient. When it does happen, it is often the result of an overdose of anesthesia during a more invasive procedure like liposuction. (more...)

According to a recent UK study, one out of every three people over the age of 65 has a cataract. What is it? Age-related cataracts occur when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy and then opaque, often over a period of many years. At first, the vision may not be affected much at all. Blurriness is the most common incipient symptom. If left untreated, however, cataracts may lead to total blindness in one or both eyes.

What can patients do? If you have a cataract there are really only two choices: you can have surgery to have it removed or you can start taking medication. Most people opt for the former. Cataract surgery is one of the most common procedures in the UK. There were more than a quarter of a million successful surgeries in Britain just last year. But some older folks are terrified of going under the knife and they choose to investigate the other option.

Years ago, there really wasn't much out there. But a new drug called Can-C cataract eye drops has proven remarkably effective at treating age-related cataracts. The medicine contains a natural compound called N-Actylcarnosine, which is applied directly to the affected area. (more...)

As healthcare costs continue to rise, the National Health Service (NHS) has been forced to reduce the number of prescription drugs that they will cover. No longer will they pay for any medication that does not have a legitimate medical use. This has left millions of men in the UK scrambling to find an affordable alternative for drugs they have taken for years.

The two most popular prescription pills that the NHS will not pay for are Viagra and Propecia. As you may know, the first drug treats erectile dysfunction and the second is for male pattern baldness. Both drugs are extremely effective at treating both disorders, which is probably why they are so expensive. They actually work. Fortunately, there are generic medications and First Aid eye wash stations that work just as well as the originals.

What are generic drugs? They are really nothing more than inexpensive copies of more popular brand name drugs. They have all the same effects and side effects as the original, but they cost 50 to 70 percent less. Why are they so cheap? (more...)

People do tend to laugh at the range of medication I carry round with me, but it has stood me in good stead over the years and I often have to help friends and family out when they are ill or injure themselves.

I firmly believe that you should always carry the basic first aid essentials, tailored to your activities and general health. If you are an asthmatic, make sure that you always have a spare inhaler as well as throat lozenges and cold remedy in case you get a sore throat or cold as this can lead to an attack. If you play a sport such as tennis, there are also specialised kits such as tennis first aid kits or rugby first aid kits.

But how about the basics? Well, wherever I go I always take the following (but always be sure to follow the doctor's or pharmacist's advice when it comes to taking medicine!). I am especially careful about this when I travel abroad as it is not always easy to get to a chemist and ask for it in a foreign language! (more...)

Many people aspire to a career in medicine but are put off by the long years of training that they have to undertake in order to become a qualified doctor or nurse. However, although it can take up to eight years to become a registered doctor and up to four years to become a qualified nurse, your world is your oyster once you are qualified as it is such a worthwhile area to work in.

There are so many different fields within medicine and most people choose to specialise in one field or other. Apart from the general Practitioners, you have several areas that a doctor can work in such as Psychiatry, Podiatry, a Surgeon or a Psychologist.

You also have the related – but quite different - fields such as a dentist or a vet, so you could end up studying a laser dentistry guide or the insides of a horse! So one of the major decisions that you have to make is whether you wish to work with animals or humans and which part of the body or mind! (more...)

In the lab environment, as in the hospital, where safe storage of samples, specimens and medication is absolutely crucial, it is necessary that a good quality medical freezer or fridge be implemented. Medical cold storage devices come in several varieties, each one designed to fulfil a certain refrigeration function and, depending on what it is that needs storing, it's important to pick the correct one.

While domestic fridges and freezers are adequate in the household environment, they are not adequate in any medical or scientific research facility. Chiefly, this is because they simply don't get cold enough, but there are a few other functions that specially designed medical freezers and fridges have and ordinary ones don't.

To start with medical cold storage devices are infinitely more programmable than ordinary household appliances. While we can set our kitchen fridge to cold or icy, it is possible to tell a medical fridge precisely which temperature the user would like it to run at. This is because certain chemical and organic materials need to be stored at optimum temperature or they decay, disintegrate and generally go bad. (more...)