Author Archives: Elen Samuel

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About Elen Samuel

I am a doctor, now retired from active practice. I still love reading and writing about medicine, and particularly about how we treat our bodies like we do. What works, what doesn't, why we prefer to do something rather than nothing, why we can't hang on till things get better on their own (as they usually do), and why we get so worried about our health. Apart from that I play the violin in many groups, and I like walking and cycling, and travel.

So who really gets really sick with Coronavirus?

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Elen Samuel

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 | Leave a comment

Why did I become a doctor?

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Elen Samuel

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The real meaning of Coronavirus

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Elen Samuel

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 , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is the patient really ill?

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Elen Samuel

A question that often occurred to me when I was a GP was – Is this patient really ill? Some people obviously weren’t because they came about something else – for general advice for instance. But of the ones who … Continue reading →

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Managing addiction to drugs – my experiences over the years.

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Elen Samuel

Addiction is unfortunately part of the human condition. It is due to the reward system hard wired into our brains, giving us the feeling of pleasure, which is essential to keep us functioning. Emotions, reproductive drive and the instinct to … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiction, drugs, Health Policy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Lessons from Orkney.

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Elen Samuel

Like many other people, I read a huge amount of stuff on environmental matters every day, such as on the climate disaster-in-the-making, overconsumption, pollution of the environment by plastic and other man-made materials, extinction of animals and insects, and, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Archeology, Food, Global warming, Populaion growth, science | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Politics, Health and Devolution.

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Elen Samuel

I don’t usually discussed politics at all in my blog, unless absolutely essential to make a point. However, politics is now intruding on almost every aspect of our lives, all over the world. In the UK, Brexit is affecting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Delivery, Health Policy, Medicine, Private health care, science | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our children’s future

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Elen Samuel

Global warming and population growth. The Anthropocene. This is the official name for the epoch we are now living in and it means “the age of humans”. It is named this because we humans are causing global change everywhere that … Continue reading →

Posted in Global warming, Health Policy, Populaion growth, Sir David Attenborough | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sexism in Science

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Elen Samuel

There is currently a bit of a storm in scientific circles about sexism in science.  Again. An article in New Scientist recently highlighted yet another male scientist who thinks that women can’t or shouldn’t do science – in this case … Continue reading →

Posted in Medicine, science | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is the Savannah hypothesis of human evolution really, really dead?

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Elen Samuel

Yes, I am back on anthropology rather than medicine. Remember this theory? Man evolved in Africa from a chimp like ancestor which lived in trees, about 6 million years ago (mya). For some reason (climate change perhaps?) he came down … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, aquatic Ape Hypothesis, Elaine Morgan, language, Paleontology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment