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Author Archives: Elen Samuel
Hot flushes make the news again.
Reading articles in the press recently about the shortage of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) gave me a sense of déjà vu. Yes, I’ve seen this all before. Apparently some oestrogen patches have been in short supply since some manufacturers … Continue reading
Misogyny and contraception
Misogyny is defined as “hatred or contempt for women and girls” and is, and probably always was, widespread. In 1275 a tract was written by one Jean Le Fevre, all about the wickedness of women. And it seems his belief … Continue reading
Vaccine Hesitancy and Anti-vaxxers.
As a doctor, I can’t understand anti-vaxxers, certainly not the vociferous sort who campaign aganist vaccination outside schools, or just refuse without giving a reason. Vaccinations have always been an incredible scientific advance. In the 1960’s, I was so relieved … Continue reading
Covid-19, Immune systems and Neanderthals.
Why are some groups of people, in families, in localities, from specific geographical areas, or races, more susceptible to Covid-19? This is a huge questions for health services to answer, as they see the disease concentrating in certain areas and … Continue reading
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Tagged BAME, Covid-19. Sars-CoV-2, DNA, Immune system, infections, lifestyle, Neanderthals
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Long life, Pandemics and Populations
Do you want to live a longer life in good health? I have myself written quite a few articles on ageing (such as “Age doesn’t come by itself”) in this blog, so when I read about this on a popular … Continue reading
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Covid-19 – lockdowns go on and on. What should we do?
The decision to impose a second lockdown in England is polarising people to a much greater extent than it did in March, as it seems obvious that this virus is not going away and we are going to have to … Continue reading
Posted in Coronavirus, Health Delivery, Health Management, Health Policy, hospital beds, old age
Tagged Covid-19, economy, Lockdown, mortality
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Coronavirus – Covid-sars-19 – the long view.
First the good news. The pandemic will end sometime, because they always do. There are three ways in which it could end. Firstly, with a vaccine or a really effective treatment for the severe cases. This is the best case … Continue reading
Posted in Coronavirus, Food, Health Delivery, healthy food, Medicine, pandemic
Tagged Africa, BAME, diabetes, farming, hypertension, obesity, vaccine, virus
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So who really gets really sick with Coronavirus?
It is still very early days of this new life for all of us. There are such a lot of changes – home working, loads of leisure time to fill, catching up with friends we have neglected due to busy … Continue reading
Posted in Health Delivery, Health Policy, hospital beds, Medicine, science
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Why did I become a doctor?
As the coronavirus rages about us, for many of us it is a time of contemplation. For one thing, we all have time to think, and the fact that some of us may shortly be facing the fight of our … Continue reading
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The real meaning of Coronavirus
Well, we are in a mess. We have an ordinary sort of virus (whose closest relative is the common cold), which mostly causes a severe flu, from which most people recover without any complications. Admittedly it has a death rate … Continue reading
Posted in Coronavirus, Health Delivery, Health Management, hospital beds, Medicine, old age
Tagged Coronavirus, Covid-19, intensive care, nursing homes, pandemic, the elderly, ventilators, virus
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Elen Samuel, doctor and writer 