Jo Waters

When a surgeon checked Curtis Arnold-Harmer’s nose he saw such extensive damage to the lining that he asked the father-of-one if he had been a habitual cocaine user. Yet the truth was infinitely more mundane.
In fact the damage was down to the repeated use of nasal decongestants, which Curtis had first used to overcome the bunged-up sensation brought on by a cold.
Soon he was reaching for a spray several times a day as without it his nose would feel unbearably blocked – something that suddenl...

If you’ve been hesitating about having a shingles vaccine, new findings that it might reduce your risk of developing dementia by 20% may just swing it for you.
The latest study is based on the health records of 280,000 people aged 70 and over who received a shingles vaccine in Wales after it was introduced in 2013. The research, published in Nature, is being seen as the strongest evidence yet that the vaccine may be protective against dementia.
What is shingles?
Shingles is a painful rash cau...

Why are women still having to deal with undiagnosed gynaecological conditions, untreated maternal mental health issues, struggles in the workplace and unequal care? Journalist Jo Waters investigates.
Hailed as a landmark for improving women’s health, the Women’s Health Strategy for England (Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was launched by the former Conservative government in 2002 (DHSC, 2022). At the beginning of 2024, the then health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins made...

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Alexandra Heumber Perry—Global

4 min read

It is time to shift the paradigm on rare diseases

It’s time to make rare diseases a global health priority and ensure that people living with rare diseases are not left behind.

Jo Waters—Global

9 min read

Can high-cost gene therapies become affordable for all?

As new gene therapies offer hope for rare diseases, health systems work to balance innovation with sustainability.

Prasanna Shirol—India

4 min read

Designing a collaborative care syste...

For decades Pai Masendu believed she simply had ‘fat legs’ that were out of proportion to the rest of her body – but it wasn’t only their size that bothered her.
They also constantly ached and were prone to bruising, and no amount of dieting or exercise seemed to help.
One year she lost three stone, but she says, ‘while my collarbone stuck out and my face was thin, my legs and arms never lost any weight’.
‘People complimented me on my smaller waist and hourglass figure, but I’d have to buy cl...

A super-fit swimmer and lifeguard, Becky Bessell had long looked after herself and had no health problems until her mid-40s, when she started experiencing a cluster of seemingly minor problems, including itchy skin on her back and fatigue.
The GP put these down to perimenopause, prescribing an emollient to moisturise her skin, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
‘The HRT helped with my energy levels for a while, but the itching didn’t go away,’ recalls Becky.
‘Then, over the next few years...

For decades Pai Masendu believed she simply had 'fat legs' that were out of proportion to the rest of her body – but it wasn't only their size that bothered her.
They also constantly ached and were prone to bruising, and no amount of dieting or exercise seemed to help.
One year she lost three stone, but she says, 'while my collarbone stuck out and my face was thin, my legs and arms never lost any weight'.
'People complimented me on my smaller waist and hourglass figure, but I'd have to buy cl...

At the age of just 54, Geoff Pike was diagnosed with dementia, turning his family’s world upside down. ‘There were lots of tears, it was a nightmare for us,’ says his wife Helen, 59, a retired nurse and hospital manager.
The couple, from Gretton in Northamptonshire, were ‘at that stage of life where we had so many plans, including retiring early and travelling’, says Helen. ‘Suddenly everything changed.’
Geoff, now 61, a former national sales director for a private medical insurer, is one of ...

Institutions that don’t respond to sexual-assault allegations are failing to protect people who could be targeted in future, says Nicole Bedera.
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Lifting a hairdryer again after more than a year of breast cancer treatment, hairdresser Victoria Lock began to feel a heavy, dragging ache in her left arm.
She had been diagnosed with cancer in April 2022, after finding a lump in her left breast when she turned over in bed.
It was a stage two (early) tumour that had spread to the lymph nodes in her left armpit.
‘Chemotherapy, surgery to remove my left breast and the affected lymph nodes, breast reconstruction and then radiotherapy – all in t...

A super-fit swimmer and lifeguard, Becky Bessell had long looked after herself and had no health problems until her mid-40s, when she started experiencing a cluster of seemingly minor problems, including itchy skin on her back and fatigue.
The GP put these down to perimenopause, prescribing an emollient to moisturise her skin, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
‘The HRT helped with my energy levels for a while, but the itching didn’t go away,’ recalls Becky.
‘Then, over the next few years...

At just 45, Jules King says the painful, stiff muscles she experienced with her Parkinson's disease made her feel as if she were 'trapped in an 85-year-old's body'.
But she has now found some relief from an unusual source: saunas.
'I suffered from muscle spasms every single day and muscle rigidity, as well as slowness of movement,' says Jules, who has two grown-up children and lives in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. 'I'd previously been trying cold-water dipping and ice baths and got some shor...

The UK has an army of 5.8 million unpaid carers including one in three NHS employees. What’s being done to improve carers’ lives, and do the new moves go far enough? Journalist Jo Waters reports.
Unpaid carers contribute care to the value of £184.3 billion a year in the UK, according to latest figures from Carers UK and the Centre for Care (2024). Carers do so by looking after relatives or friends who are unable to look after themselves due to old age, ill health or because they’re disabled.
...

At just 45, Jules King says the painful, stiff muscles she experienced with her Parkinson's disease made her feel as if she were 'trapped in an 85-year-old's body'.
But she has now found some relief from an unusual source: saunas.
'I suffered from muscle spasms every single day and muscle rigidity, as well as slowness of movement,' says Jules, who has two grown-up children and lives in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. 'I'd previously been trying cold-water dipping and ice baths and got some shor...