Whelehans Health Blog

Where did it all go wrong? The war on fat   How the war on fat began. Let’s start at the beginning… in the 1940s Dr Ancel Keys, who was a prominent physiologist in the US proposed his “Diet-Heart Hypothesis”. In 1956 he tested his hypothesis using epidemiological data from 7 countries aptly named the “Seven Countries Study”. From this data it was concluded that diets high in saturated fat lead to a significant increased risk of coronary heart disease. Ancel Keyes, being a charismatic man combined with the need for policy makers to have concrete and simple answers to...

                                                                            “Healthy gums, beautiful smile” European Gum Health Day; Gum Health Day seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of periodontal health not only to overall health but also to aesthetics, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Bleeding gums, bad breath, sensitive teeth, gum recession, loose teeth are all common signs of gum disease or periodontitis. The main cause of these symptoms is poor oral hygiene, infrequent or incorrected tooth brushing and lack of cleaning in between your teeth to remove the bacteria (Plaque) and stagnant food build up. When you suffer from gum disease, an inflammatory response is triggered in...

Don’t let recurrent UTI’s rule your life D- Mannose - A natural way to help you beat UTI misery now available at Whelehans Pharmacy Urinary tract infections are more commonly known as UTIs. Infections of the urinary tract are extremely common in Ireland and account for a large proportion of doctor visits per year. UTI’s are much more prevalent in women than men, with up to 50% of women developing at least one during their lifetime. 20-30% experience recurrent UTI’s (2 in 6 months or more than 3 a year). This is, in the main, down to the different physiology...

Intermittent Self Catheterisation   Intermittent Self Catheterisation is passing a small tube, called a catheter, into the bladder, to allow the urine to flow out of the bladder. The catheter, which is soaked in normal cold tap water for 30 seconds to activate the special coating, is easy to use, and does not cause any damage to your bladder or urethra, even if this is performed over a long period of time.   Why do I have to perform ISC? The reasons why your bladder cannot empty properly, and you may have to perform ISC are: The result of an...

Screen children routinely for Head Lice   Pharmacist Eamonn Brady of Whelehans Pharmacies urges parents to screen children routinely for head lice every week when they return to school. Eamonn advises early detection reduces the spread of the infection within schools and helps reduce the scale of the outbreaks, which can be distressing for children, parents and teachers. Eamonn explains while prevention products like tea tree may reduce risk of headlice, there is no way of 100% guaranteeing a child will not get head lice; the earlier their presence on the head is detected, the easier it is to get...