Jo Waters

HEALTH
It’s thought one million people in the UK have ‘essential tremor’, which causes shaky hands, and sometimes heads. Could a high-tech soundwave treatment provide help at last?
When Valerie Bryan’s hands started shaking so much she couldn’t eat without stabbing her lip with a fork, she knew it was finally time to see a doctor about her tremors.
‘I had to drink coffee and tea – and my gin and tonic – with a straw,’ says Valerie, 73, a retired music teacher from Ullapool, Scotland. ‘At home...

The painful skin condition is linked with non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and mental illness. Effective screening and treatments can improve outcomes, but costs remain a significant barrier.
Screening psoriasis patients for chronic conditions and access to new drugs can improve health outcomes, but cost remains a barrier. Photo: Andrey Popov
Psoriasis is a troubling skin condition that affects 60 million people globally. It causes itchy, crusty, raised ...

Are you an 'ALICE'? Experts sound the alarm over concerning financial trend
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EXCLUSIVEWhat I discovered about the real Taylor Swift when I visited her £40m home: The superfan invited into her house reveals the star's secret doors hidden in bookcases
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Trump lawyer Alina Habba rips into the fraud case as a 'complete waste of time and taxpayer money' as judge makes bombshell ruling over the $175 milli...

Dementia is the biggest health challenge facing the UK’s ageing population with 900,000 currently living with the disease and predicted to increase to 1.6 million by 2050. Now, for the first time, a new group of drugs called monoclonal antibodies have been shown to slow down the decline in thinking and memory in Alzheimer’s patients, the most common form of dementia.
Lecanemab has been approved by the US Federal Drug Administration and is available in the United States.
Lecanemab is under rev...

Asthma is the most common lung disease in the UK affecting 5.4 million people (one in 12 adults and one in 11 children).
The fact that it’s so common doesn’t mean the condition shouldn’t be taken seriously though, as 750,000 people are hospitalised due to asthma every year in the UK, and there are four deaths a day from asthma attacks.
Asthma symptoms can start in childhood when the immune system is still developing, or it can begin for the first time in adults, and the symptoms can come and ...

Survey after survey shows dementia is the disease we fear more than any other, even cancer – but there are simple steps we can take to protect ourselves, say experts.
This has been confirmed in a major study published today by Oxford University, which found that drinking less alcohol, reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes and avoiding traffic pollution are the most important factors in cutting your risk of dementia.
Dementia is characterised by a build-up in the brain of a protein called amyl...

After two major measles outbreaks in England led to the declaration of a national incident, journalist Jo Waters asks how this happened and how it can be speedily remedied.
Childhood vaccination rates have generally been falling for a decade in the UK (rates have varied between countries), but the consequences are only beginning to make headlines. Earlier this year, major measles outbreaks in Birmingham and London received widespread media coverage.
According to the latest figures, only 92.5%...

HEALTH
Saunas are enjoying a revival in the UK, and contrary to popular opinion, they can be good for heart health and blood pressure
Two men dressed in caveman-like sacking are performing an ancient ritual in front of me, swirling towels to direct hot air at my fellow sauna-goers in 90˚C heat. Steam rises as ice is heaped on hot stones, and the fragrance of pine swirls around against a soundtrack of howling wolves. Thankfully, no one is naked. Elaborate ceremonies like these are known as the...

Living with one kidney can cause anxiety, but the reassuring message is that the remaining kidney steps up and takes up the workload.
‘It’s perfectly feasible and in fact very common to live with one kidney without it causing any problems at all,’ says Professor Alan Salama, a consultant nephrologist at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
Reasons why you might have one kidney
There are three main reasons why you may have one kidney.
You are born with just one kidney
Renal agenesis, or...

HEALTH
Varicose veins are much more than simply a cosmetic problem. They cause swelling, aching and even ulcers and clots. Latest treatments are way better than traditional techniques, so why are they not more widely available?
Anita Taylor hated the sight of her ugly varicose veins, but it was the swelling, aching and throbbing in both legs that bothered her most. ‘There was constant aching and heaviness,’ says Anita, 65, who runs a dress agency shop in Farnham, Surrey. ‘My veins even affect...

The first baby born through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) was Louise Brown in 1978, when the term “test tube baby” was coined. Today one in seven couples may have difficulty conceiving and the numbers seeking treatment are rising. Around 55,000 patients had IVF or donor insemination in the UK in 2021, up from 53,000 in 2019. The average age of IVF patients is also rising, up to 36 in 2021.
“One of the most common reasons people are coming for IVF, and with increasing occurrence, is women start...

Bad breath, body odour, smelly feet, spots, boils and ‘moobs’ are just some of the conditions which, although they won’t kill you, can still get you down and affect your quality of life.
In our unique series on the health problems no one likes to talk about, we help you find the right remedies...
BAD BREATH
Bad breath, oral malodour, or halitosis is estimated to affect up to 40 per cent of us at some point. Mervyn Druian, a dental surgeon at the London Centre for Cosmetic Dentistry, says he r...

Phillippa Lee's symptoms, including chronic pain and fatigue, were trivialised and dismissed for more than 30 years before she was finally diagnosed with a degenerative genetic disease.
While an extreme example, Philippa's story is hardly unique: feeling that your physical symptoms are being downplayed by your doctor is common.
According to a poll by the think-tank Engage Britain, more than one in four people have experienced 'medical gaslighting'. Those affected describe being patronised, re...

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EXCLUSIVEHolly Willoughby will 'relaunch her career in America' once Dancing On Ice ends in March - following in the footsteps of Cat Deeley
Michael Jackson's youngest son Bigi, 21, who is best known as Blanket, is seen in rare photo with his cousins Randy, Donte, Royal and Jermajesty
Curvy influencer calls on airlines to make seats bigger because they can't accommodate her size
Love is in the air! Th...