Over 700,000 people in the UK are currently affected by dementia, with one in 20 people aged over 65 and one in five over 80 years old, and there is a great deal of interest in how it may be prevented or slowed. This book looks at the medical evidence available about ways to reduce the risk of dementia.
Chest pain can be terrifying. Many people hope that if they ignore it, it will go away. But angina must be taken seriously. This book answers the key questions for those worried about angina, such as: what should I do when I have chest pain; does it mean I'm going to have a heart attack; and, how do I tell if it's serious.
Gives a thorough update on the latest surgical techniques, medicines and self- help measures effective in reducing the discomfort of a hiatus hernia. Offers updated lifestyle advice for the overweight person.
We are all becoming more aware of high cholesterol problems and often only discover that we are at risk when having a general health check. In this book Dr Tom Smith describes in his easily accessible style the cause of high cholesterol, the associated problems, the complications and the risks involved if your high cholesterol goes untreated. Dr Smith details the treatments available together with possible side effects. He also gives information on diet and lifestyle changes which may be needed to help reduce your cholesterol levels and reduce the risks to your overall health.
Depression is a serious illness that needs serious attention -- just as much attention as cancer or heart disease. Treating people with depression is not just about prescribing pills, nor is it just about spending lots of time talking to them. Doctors have to do much more. Dr Tom Smith describes depression and explains why we get depressed, treating depression with drugs and other treatments. He also describes how to think through your depression, what you can do for yourself and how to change those negative thoughts. Mood changes when depressed, changing negative thinking, unhelpful extreme thinking, becoming more outward going and assertive together with sleep problems are all covered in this book.
Bronchitis and emphysema affect some three million people in the UK, and kill 30,000 people each year. The condition cannot be cured. However, further deterioration can be prevented, and this new edition brings us up to date with changes in treatment.
Set in the beautiful Scottish lowlands, these heart warming tales of life as a country doctor will touch everyone with their comic charm.
A diagnosis of diabetes can feel like a life sentence of poor health. Yet this is far from the case as the example of the Olympic champion and diabetic, Sir Steve Redgrave, has demonstrated. In this positive and optimistic book, Dr Tom Smith aims to help diabetics understand their condition and so achieve a high quality of life. He describes all aspects of the healthy lifestyle that every diabetes sufferer needs to follow, empowering them with a sense that they can shape their own future.
We still do not know the causes of either main form of colitis, but we are getting closer. We do know, however, a lot about the changes that occur in the bowel of people with colitis, and how to return them to normal. It should be only a matter of time before we know why these changes happen, as well as what has happened. Colitis simply means 'inflammation of the large bowel' (the colon). Doctors use the word in only two contexts, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, known collectively to doctors as 'inflammatory bowel disease'. People may also link irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease to colitis. It is often difficult to persuade people with irritable bowel syndrome that this is what they have, that it is not a true 'colitis' and they do not have something more serious, such as inflammatory bowel disease or cancer. Most of this book is devoted to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's, it would not be complete without chapters on how to distinguish these inflammatory bowel diseases from irritable bowel, diverticular disease and colon cancer, the symptoms of which can mimic those of colitis.