TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Vital Signs: Prognosis: Numbers Rise in a Diabetes Forecast The number of those with the disease is expected to double, and costs will rise as patients live longer, a new analysis said. feeds.nytimes.com |
Doctor, doctor: Needle phobia and handwriting problems How can I overcome my lifelong fear of needles? And is my declining handwriting a warning sign? Dr Tom Smith answers your medical questionsSince my teens, I have had severe needle phobia that has widened to feeling faint at gory scenes at the cinema or when conversations take a bloody turn. I've tried hypnotherapy, but it didn't help. Is cognitive behavioural therapy a potential solution?It may be, though that said, I have often found a rational and calm conversation with patients such as yourself can help a lot. Behavioural therapy takes time, and needs to be with someone very familiar with the technique; sometimes, a session with a GP and nurse can go a long way to easing fears such as yours. There are other ways we can help, too, such as applying a local anaesthetic to the site of the injection so you don't feel it, or ensuring you look away when we take blood. It is really a matter of getting over your fear just the once, and from then on it will become much easier to deal with. As for gory scenes at the cinema, I'm with you on that one.I'm 31, very healthy and happy, but in the last eight years my handwriting has gone from excellent to being barely able to wield a pen. I have to think very hard to remember what letters come next, and I struggle to keep them in a straight line, even when writing my name on a library card. It hurts to write for a long time. My typing is a lot faster than most, although not as perfectly correct as it once was. Is there something wrong with my head or with my hands?Probably not. The clue is that you say that your typing is a lot faster than most. Maybe now you are just writing faster than you did in the past, and you can't maintain good writing if you are going at top speed. Try to write a piece slowly, as you did when you were younger, and if you can reproduce that, you are fine. However, if you really can't properly control your hand and fingers at a slower speed, you do need to see your doctor for a check on your coordination and fine muscle control. You didn't mention whether or not your writing has become smaller, as well as untidy. If it has, then you should seek help, because that can indicate early Parkinson's disease. However, that's very rare in someone as young as you are.• Got a medical question for Dr Tom Smith? Email doctordoctor@guardian.co.ukHealth & wellbeingParkinson's diseaseMedical researchDr Tom Smithguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
First Jesus-era house discovered in Nazareth NAZARETH, Israel (AP) -- Just in time for Christmas, archaeologists on Monday unveiled what may have been the home of one of Jesus' childhood neighbors. The humble dwelling is the first dating to the era of Jesus to be discovered in Nazareth, then a hamlet of around 50 impoverished Jewish families where Jesus spent his boyhood.... hosted.ap.org |
Google postpones mobile phone launch in China Google on Tuesday postponed the planned launch of its mobile phone in China amid a dispute with the government over Internet censorship and e-mail hacking that the search giant says may force it to leave the country. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
UN panel chief won't quit for Himalayan melt error NEW DELHI (AP) -- The head of a panel of United Nations climate scientists said Saturday he would not resign despite a recent admission that a panel report warning Himalayan glaciers could be gone by 2035 was hundreds of years off.... hosted.ap.org |