Measles in Liverpool: Call to 'get everyone fully vaccinated'
The Alder Hey case was the second death due to an acute measles infection in Great Britain this decade, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.No official details have been released either about the latest child's vaccination status or whether they were also being treated for other conditions.The Sunday Times reported the child was ill with measles and other health issues.Since June, Alder Hey said it had treated 17 children with measles.In Liverpool, the take-up rate for having both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine stands at about 74%, significantly lower than the 83% rate for England as a whole.To achieve herd immunity, the World Health Organization wants 95% of the population to be double-jabbed.Earlier this week, Liverpool's director of public health said he was very concerned about the spread of measles.In some areas of the city, Prof Matt Ashton said he believed vaccination rates were even lower, increasing fears of a major measles outbreak.His counterpart in Wirral, Dave Bradburn, confirmed on Tuesday that his borough had recorded a case of measles involving a young child.
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10,000 steps myth - should you be a stickler for recommended daily doses?
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Water (6-8 glasses a day) According to the NHS, the average grown-up should be drinking between six and eight glasses (1.5-2 litres) of water a day. However, maybe we don't need to cart our fancy flagons around with us as much as we thought. Prof Neil Turner, kidney specialist at the University of Edinburgh, says as humans we existed for thousands of years without knowing what a pint or a litre was."I mean, mice don't need flashing water bottles telling them how much to drink - why do we?" he says."Our bodies are set up to do things just right - we eat when we are hungry, we breathe when we need to breathe, and we drink when we are thirsty." it really that simple? According to Prof Turner, who has seen a lot of kidneys in his time, that rule applies to the vast majority of us. 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Sleep (7-9 hours a night) Moving on to sleep - the NHS recommends seven to nine hours a night for the average adult, and there's not much wriggle room to be had there. Prof Ama Johal, a specialist in sleep disorders, says sleep is vital; without it we are beginning to shave years off our lives."The evidence is there, there are huge bodies of research which show that the health benefits are multiple."A good night's sleep - that's at least seven hours of quality sleep - reduces the risk of obesity, diabetes, depression and finally, it lowers mortality rates."He points to a study which used 10,000 British civil servants - those that slept for fewer than five hours a night had an increased risk of early could we shave an hour off the minimum recommended - and settle for six hours a night?"No," Prof Johal says. "As soon as we lower the limit then there's a risk people will think it's ok to sleep for less time."Cat napping?"Unfortunately not," he says, "Our bodies have very different reactions to naps through the day, and eventually if we tried to make up the hours we were missing overnight by sleeping through the day, we would struggle to fall asleep at night."But all is not lost, nappers among us - there are studies that suggest a short snooze in the day can keep the brain youthful, and even compensate for poor or broken sleep the night Johal suggests that for those who struggle to get the recommended amount, try to target a few nights of good sleep a week, and just being "more aware that sleep is so important". Emily and Lucy are two avid walkers from Manchester. But alongside their love of walking, the two women share a less healthy trait: they struggle to nod off because of their they say the target of seven hours sleep a night is something they "are working towards". Exercise (150 mins a week) Emily and Lucy are, however, "definitely nailing it" when it comes to exercise. Through their group, Soft Girls who Hike, they have found a love of walking which has not only improved their mental health, they say, but connected them with many other don't try to meet all the healthy benchmarks on their radar, they explain, because "life just gets in the way". But they are doing 7,000 steps a day and taking long, low impact walks at the Chief Medical Officer recommends doing 150 minutes of exercise a week and two strength training sessions. Is that achievable for most?Dr Sinead Roberts, a sports nutritionist who trains elite athletes, is pragmatic in her approach. While moderate strength training and physical activity is vital for maintaining muscle mass, she says, as well as resistance to injuries and supporting our immune systems, you have to adapt the recommendations to fit with your life."Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise people," she says. "This phrase really does apply here."I have friends who do nothing - and that really does show, I say, 'You're walking like an 80-year-old!'"But if you are doing one strength session a week and some moderate exercise then that is definitely a good thing, just try and do more if you can."She uses an analogy of a highway - the more things we can do to stay healthy the wider the road, which, in turn means we can go off course sometimes without careering up a grassy verge."All those benchmarks are interlinked - you can't just do one healthy thing and ignore the rest. Equally you don't need to put so much pressure on yourself to achieve them all."This attitude chimes with Emily and Lucy, who say they happily "chip away" at some of the health benchmarks."For example, we might do five minutes of meditation [which is] better than nothing, but we wouldn't stress about not hitting the recommended goal." Mindfulness (10 mins a day) Through its Every Mind Matters campaign, the NHS recommends 10 minutes of mindfulness a day. 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Rather, find a way to incorporate a healthy outlook to diet, exercise and mental health into everyday sitting for some time writing this, I am going to sign off - there is another health benchmark I've just come across: limiting sitting down to less than eight hours a day. So, I had better get moving.
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4 hours ago
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Trans doctor altered notes after changing room row, tribunal told
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4 hours ago
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