Inside Health Folgen

Dr Mark Porter goes on a weekly quest to demystify the health issues that perplex us.Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation, discusses with Mark new research that suggests that giving heart attack victims drugs to ease their chest pain could hamper the heart's ability to heal itself. The standard approach to appendicitis is to remove the inflamed organ. But a new review argues that antibiotics could be an alternative to surgery in some cases. Dileep Lobo, Professor of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Nottingham, explains his team's findings. GP Margaret McCartney is on her soapbox about sick notes, following regulatory pressure from Europe that could allow people who fall ill on holiday getting compensatory time off work.Dr Kamran Abbasi, Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, looks into the evidence that the change from sick notes to fit notes two years ago has had an impact on people returning to work. Mark visits the pathology laboratories at St Thomas' Hospital in London to find out from Senior Biomedical Scientist Diane Murley how blood is analysed. And Dr Andrew Moore from the Pain Research Unit at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford talks about which over the counter painkillers are likely to work best for acute pain. Producer: Deborah Cohen.

Should prescriptions be free for everyone? They already are in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland - so why aren't they in England? The BMA says the current list of exemptions is unfair and outdated - but there are no government plans to scrap the charges for the 10% of people who have to pay for them. And as the vaccination campaign for young girls against the virus which causes cervical cancer and genital warts gains momentum - are boys losing out? Uptake of the vaccine among teenage girls in the UK is high - but there are no plans to extend the programme to boys - despite plans to do so in Australia and the United States. There are confusing statistics surrounding the debate over the use of bicycle helmets for both adults and children. Some research points to helmets encouraging car drivers to give cyclists less space in traffic. Up to a third of children in another study said wearing a helmet would put them off cycling in the first place - bad news for parents concerned about childhood obesity. GP Margaret McCartney uses her own risk analysis to work out how to keep herself safe and fit. Producer: Paula McGrath.

Aspirin is over 100 years old, but doctors still can't agree whether the benefits of taking it to prevent heart conditions or cancer outweigh the risks.Dr Mark Porter investigates. And - you've worked flat out to get on holiday, then come down with a stinking cold - is there any science behind why so many of us get sick on vacation. Plus ADHD - not in children, but ADULTS - why is it so hard for grown-ups to get a diagnosis. Producer: Erika Wright.