“Google Gout”

Posted on June 19, 2012 by john graham

THIS POST CARRIES A GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING !  Do not take this blog too seriously.

        After my recent problems with my poorly foot ( See my blog “Best Foot Forward”  by clicking in the Archive on 10 June 2012 ) this is another foot note.

My very good friend Maureen, with no doubt  my best interests at heart (or should it be foot), suggested I might have  GOUT.   What a kind thought,  how nice of her to think of me at this painful time in my life

Now all I  know about gout is that it is something to do with port, cheese and old men.   I qualify on two counts.   So I turned to my other trusty friend, at a time of medical crisis. I Googled “gout”.    Self -diagnosis is a wonderful thing 🙂

48,000,000 results —– there must be a lot of gout about !  A veritable epidemic.  So I suppose I might well have caught it somewhere.

It is going to take a lifetime to read all there is to know about gout.   I may well have passed away of old age before I discover if I have it.   Still it will all come out at the inquest I imagine.     Another footnote.

Might as well start at the beginning with Number 1 on Google.

  STAMPOUTGOUT.CO.UK     a very informative site with everything you would wish to know about gout — then again I didn’t wish to know all about gout until Maureen mentioned it.

 The first advice it offers is ” Four steps to take” —- I guess that immediately wrong -foots 99% of sufferers straight away.

 So I give up on that and decide to do the Quiz instead.  Here are a few of the helpful things I learned :-

Gout is to do with excess Uric acid and the European recommended level is measured in Micro moles per litre  — there is a mole in my garden so maybe that is how you catch it ?

Only 1-2% of people have it in the UK, but there are 5 million  sufferers in the European Union — I have always said we should not go into Europe.  Cancel that holiday in France.

Next I looked on Wikipedia, that must be something to do with feet.  They say Gout is the “disease of Kings”  — That’s better.  I’d say that gout is a price worth paying to become royalty.  I wonder which country I will get.   Monaco would be quite good they only have a Prince at the moment, so there is room for me 🙂

The other thing I learned from Wikipedia is that gout is rarely found among eunuchs  —  mind that is a heck of a drastic remedy for curing gout 😦

I gave up on reading the other 76 pages of Google information, I was beginning to scare myself too much.  Self-diagnosis is a wonderful thing, but maybe I will just assume I have not got gout after all.   My foot is feeling better already.

                                 THANKS  MAUREEN

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“78 Charities Open Reply”

Posted on June 17, 2012 by john graham

This blog follows on from the previous post dated 12 June 2012.  Beneath is my open letter in reply to the charities :-

I understand the sentiments in your recent open letter to the Prime Minister, although I believe it is a message which is destined to fall on deaf ears in these austere times.  Now more than ever it is incumbent on the Voluntary Sector to independently find new ways forward in support of the elderly, which do not rely on Government funding.

Twenty Five years ago along with a group of other people, I founded the ExtraCare Charitable Trust.   Over time this organisation developed into building Retirement Villages and Housing Schemes for older people so they could live active independent lives, irrespective of health or wealth (half the apartments are for sale, half for rent).    As residents become frailer, support and/or nursing care is available to enable them to continue living in their own home.  I believe we helped develop a new model of housing and care which, although initially supported by Government funds, is now flourishing without significant State input.

I have recently retired and together with other retired founding directors of ExtraCare and a leading donor, we have set up a new Charity  –  The GrumbleSmiles Trust  –  with the intention of offering help and some financial support to Start-Up projects which similarly aim to offer innovative paths to new lives for older people.

I’m aware that your organisations are doing great things.  Is there a possibility that together we can introduce even more innovative ideas to better the future for older people?

If you think that The GrumbleSmiles Trust could help you develop a New Vision of Later Life for your particular client group, I would be interested in hearing any ideas which you think might be an example for others to follow.    Please write to me at The GrumbleSmiles Trust in the comments box below this blog.

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“78 Charities Open Letter”

Posted on June 14, 2012 by john graham

Just over a month ago a group of well known UK charities wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister about the Crisis of Care of the Elderly.  This is inevitably going to fall on deaf ears.   I have reprinted the letter in full below because it is addressing a very important subject :-

The Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA

4th May 2012

Dear Prime Minister,

Social care is in crisis – the system is chronically under funded and in urgent need of reform. Without this, too many older and disabled people will be left in desperate circumstances: struggling on alone, living in misery and fear.

The system is a lottery – some of us will be lucky enough never to need care, but many of us will need support at some stage in our lives to carry out everyday tasks and could lose everything – our savings, our dignity, our independence. We agree with your comments in March that action is needed to reform a system which can currently leave people helpless, in the dark about their care and suffering massive losses as a result of care bills.

We see the devastating impact of years of failure to reform. The right care and support can enable older and disabled people to live independent and fulfilled lives – but we currently face a vicious circle where limited resources are focussed on only those with the very highest of needs. This only worsens the crisis in care as many older or disabled people are left without support – in quiet desperation, trying to cope alone, often ending up in hospital or crisis care. Families are paying the price too, as experienced staff are forced out of work to care for relatives, and many carers pushed to breaking point caring for loved ones.

There is widespread and increasing support for urgent reform – from across society and the political spectrum. That is why we are calling on you to take forward social care reform as your personal mission, your legacy to future generations. Without this leadership, we fear the fundamental and lasting change needed cannot be delivered.

We recognise that it is not an easy task, but it is achievable. The reports of the Dilnot Commission and the Law Commission have set out a roadmap for the funding structure and legal reforms that together will help to produce a fair and sustainable system. As the Government prepares to publish a White Paper on social care and progress report on funding, it is essential we bring together all those who can play a part in creating a better care system for the future and help to ensure this year marks a turning point for care.

We firmly believe that the care challenge we face requires all of us to pull together, and we stand ready to work with you to secure the changes we need. That is why we are calling on you to personally convene a care summit in advance of the White Paper, to bring together all parts of Government along with public service leaders, local government, charities, providers, community groups, unions and the business community. Whilst we know decisions, particularly on the funding of care, will be difficult; they must be made now – older and disabled people and their families cannot wait and will not accept delay or half-measures.

We want disabled and older people and their families to be able to live without fear of what tomorrow might bring. We are asking you as Prime Minister to show the vision and courage to make this a reality.

Signed by 78 UK Charities

I believe all of the 78 charities who signed the letter are aiming in the wrong direction and I will comment on this in my next blog.

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“Equity Release – Life Raft or Scandal?”

Posted on June 12, 2012 by john graham

For a long time now I have been advocating that older people will have to use the value built up in the house to secure themselves a better lifestyle in later life.   There is around £1 trillion locked up in housing wealth, which has accumulated as property prices have risen ahead of inflation over the last half century.   For many parents this was and still is seen as a legacy to leave to their children.

However, circumstances have changed significantly in the last fifty years :-

  • People are living much longer;
  • Their children are no longer children;
  • The new legacy beneficiaries are more like to be grandchildren – to pay for their education or give them a deposit for a house of their own.

However, other things have changed too :-

  • Because Grannie and Grandpa are living longer they may well need care in later life;
  • The Government cuts and poor quality elderly care in the NHS has removed the state funded safety net;
  • The taxman has gradually capped the value of large legacies with Inheritance Tax.

So retirement for homeowners is a time to review their assets and consider what financial options they have to support an extended later life.

Most people would like to stay were they are – certainly while their health is good.   In any event there are very few good alternatives, especially if they want to remain in their local area.

For some their “idealised” solution is a move to a bungalow, which gives them less space to look after and should release some money to supplement their pension.   This turns a blind eye to the prospect of their becoming frail, because it is virtually impossible to insure for that at reasonable cost.   So they hope it will never happen to them.

Most elderly people will develop some chronic health condition in later life, though luckily for the majority it will still allow them to live an independent life.  In the over 80 age group, one in five are likely to develop dementia, which brings problems for the carer as well as the sufferer.

So putting care to the back of their mind is the only easy short-term option.

Is there a life raft?

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“Best Foot Forward”

Posted on June 10, 2012 by john graham

I went for a short walk the other day and when I got back home, one of my feet was very sore.  The following day I could hardly walk at all.  Being a man I rested up all day on the sofa and had to be waited on hand and    foot.

Feeling a bit better the next day, we (the wife and I) ventured out in the car for a meeting we could not miss.   After only a few hours and a few steps, my left foot was feeling sore again.   So on the way back home we stopped off at a retail park and I hobbled into Boots.

You would think the foot care products would be nearer the door,  but oh no,  they are after the cosmetics,  after the nappies,  after the natural health care remedies  and after the acres and acres,  of shelves and shelves,  of boxes and boxes of pills,  and bottles and bottles of potions.   Then  f i n a l l y, near the check out, with a very, very, very sore foot by this time, are the foot care products.   Dozens of them – for toes,  toenails,  flat feet, bunions,  corns,  blisters,  skin exfoliation and   e v e n t u a l l y    HEELS.    I doubt that anybody ever reaches the far corner of a Boots store without having sore feet.   It must be a clever bit of contrived store design.

Having hopped past the entire range of Boots products, I am now down to the final twenty – it must be about time for an audience phone-in vote about which heel product to buy.

What to choose:-

? Advanced Footcare Intensive Foot Softener – No, surely I am not even passed the basic level and I must need harder feet not softer ones!

? Advanced Footcare Pressure Relief Insoles – No, it’s my HEEL

? Footcare Diamond Dusted Nailfile– No, wrong end of my foot.

? Flexitol Active Gel Heel Sleeves – maybe but why a sleeve on my FOOT ?

? Gel insoles – NAH!

? Soft Feet Kit – Don’t think so, anyway out of stock

I finally settle for “Scholl Ortha-heel Gel Heel Pain Relievers” – No short names in foot care – and only £22.99.

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“Food for Thought”

Posted on June 7, 2012 by john graham

The Daily Mail has to be applauded for its relentless, if half-hearted, campaign in pursuit of “Dignity for the Elderly”.  (Click on “Dignity be Damned” in the TAG CLOUD for earlier blogs on this subject).

It is a good story line, which must be of interest to the 1,000’s of Daily Mail elderly readers, but it must dismay them that so little has been achieved in spite of all the publicity.

To describe it as a campaign suggests that there is an underlying strategy to bring about change.   The call for dignity sounds laudable, but what really does it mean ?   When will we know when it has been achieved ?

Age UK at its “Later Life” conference earlier this year, also championed dignity as a major theme of their work in the coming months.

When elderly people are living in poverty, malnourished, dehydrated and cruelly cared for, dignity comes low down the list of their priorities.   Age UK and the Daily Mail are making themselves feel good as “Champions of the Elderly” but spectacularly missing the point.

So now we come to the latest example of the Daily Mail’s failure to build a constructive approach to deal with the plight of many of the poorest older people.   In three articles on successive pages of the same edition of the Daily Mail – Monday, 26th May 2012 – there are  1) a recurring problem;  2) a success story;  3) a solution;  all of which could be linked together to help thousands of older people in need.   The newspaper did not make the connection, so let me do it for them.

The first story by their Whitehall correspondent, was sensationally headlined “Soaring toll of elderly starving in their homes”.   The story is about the cutbacks in home care services for the elderly — meals on wheels now being charged for and reduction in domiciliary care hours.   82% of Local Authorities now limit services only to those who have “critical” or “substantial needs”.   The consequence of this is that while Social Services have saved £84 million from their care bill, the NHS is now facing a 42% rise in admissions for malnutrition since 2007.  These are staggeringly large figures but they only warrant a small article about untold suffering.   But let’s not call it “loss of dignity”, it is cruel NEGLECT!

The second article was given much more prominence in a three page story on the successful growth of Tesco into the world’s second most profitable retailer.  Last year they made £3 billion profit.  Interestingly one billion items were home deliveries.    Something which I will come back to – but the Daily Mail made no connection between these two stories about food.

The third story – just a few paragraphs tucked away – was about a new range of ready meals which can be stored at room temperature and last for up to 18 months.  Guess what? they are being sold by Tesco.

Now if the Editor of the Daily Mail reads his own paper and does some joined-up thinking, he could really make a difference to the estimated one million elderly who are malnourished.  Why not harness the power of the press to create a good news story.  Encourage, cajole, persuade and/or shame Tesco to use some of their profits for a nationwide corporate social responsibility programme.

With the help of Age UK, get each of Tesco’s quarter of a million employees to identify four elderly people in need and then at a discounted cost provide them with 18 months’ supply of ready meals using their home delivery service.

Then at least no elderly person in this advanced country of ours need go hungry.  Tesco would enhance their reputation as good corporate citizens rather than commercial profiteers and the Daily Mail and Age UK would be able to say they had achieved something for the elderly as opposed to just talking endlessly about dignity.

Food not Dignity

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“Happy Hundreds”

Posted on June 5, 2012 by john graham

It is easier to find grumbles than smiles.  More of the headlines about getting old tend to be negative.  Issues about ill-health, limited finances and isolation dominate many discussions about ageing.

With this mood music, how long will it be before we talk ourselves into early graves?  Some research from America suggests there is a way of turning grumbles into smiles.

 The Institute for Ageing research in New York studied the attitudes of people who lived to 100 in an ethnic group of Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe.  They found that they were cheerful, sociable and conscientious.  They had a positive attitude to life and a large social network.

The researchers were tending toward the conclusion that there may be some genetic reason behind this.  I think the explanation could be simpler and more obvious than that.

The people had a strong sense of community and a good social network, in which they could feel safe and secure.  Many of these things are taken from older people in Western societies as families are evermore geographically dispersed and society becomes more fragmented.

Perhaps that is why retirement communities work well – they offer safety and security, as well as a new social network.  It is also important to maintain links with family and friends in the local community, which is why retirement villages should be built in urban locations, not in some isolated rural idyll.

Hopefully a research study in thirty years’ time will find new communities full of smiles, living till they reach the ……………

Happy Hundreds

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“Kill or Cure”

Posted on June 3, 2012 by john graham

It is hard to keep up with all the medical advice on the pills and potions you should or should not take these days.  My last two blogs have talked about just two such cases.  (Click on PILLS in the TAG CLOUD).

Now here is another example – the sunshine vitamin – Vitamin D.  Most of us get enough of this just by being out and about in the sun or even when it is cloudy.  I took an interest in this because it is a possible factor in the development of MS.  For a while I took a daily Vitamin D tablet as a supplement, especially during the winter.  Then I read some more research that suggested I was taking the wrong type of Vitamin D, so I gave up altogether.

More recent research from the University of Copenhagen, suggests that high levels of Vitamin D as well as low levels, can both increase the risk of death.  According to the researchers it is important to get the Nanomol levels of Vitamin D in your blood correct.  Unfortunately I don’t know what a Nanomol is, so I think I will stick to sunbathing and leave out the pills.

There again, the UK Health Supplement Information Service, which sounds like an independent, totally unbiased organisation 🙂 says other research contradicts this view and people with higher levels of Vitamin D had lower mortality rates.

It won’t be long before all older people need a PHD in medicine to understand the advice they are given about pills.

Confusing, isn’t it!

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“Start Taking the Pills”

Posted on May 31, 2012 by john graham

Only just having passed on advice about stopping taking one lot of pills, (see previous blog or click on PILLS in the TAG CLOUD), now 5 minutes later comes advice, not from me, but in the Lancet no less. 

EVERYONE OVER 50 should start taking Statins according to researchers.  These drugs reduce levels of cholesterol and therefore lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

At the moment Statins are only available on prescription and are generally used for those with a significant risk of a heart attack in the next 10 years.  Basically they are given to patients with high cholesterol after they have had a heart attack or a stroke.  It is called “the locking the stable door” approach to health prevention!

That said, over 8 million people in the UK already take Statins which must either mean a lot of us have high cholesterol, or they are good go-away tablets for GPs to use for reducing the queues of older people in their surgeries.  61 million prescriptions were issued for Statins in England last year! It might be a good idea if instead of peppermints on the tables of company board rooms, they put bowls of Statin tablets.  🙂

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“Stop Taking the Pills”

Posted on May 29, 2012 by john graham

Taking pills seems to become a daily task for older people.  If doctors won’t prescribe them, we will go out and buy them for ourselves.

I have written a lot about the exploits of Pilly Galore whose experience and expectation of GPs are typical of many older people.  (Click on PILLS in the TAG CLOUD to see earlier posts).

A whole industry has grown up around vitamin and mineral supplements, and every high street now has a “Natural Health Care” shop.  The advice on what to take seems to be as much based on advertising as it is on medical evidence.  What you take depends on what worries you have about your health.

One example is calcium supplements which many older women take as a precaution against osteoporosis.  Additional calcium is recommended by the Food Standards Agency, who suggest ensuring you get 700 milligrams a day.  The problem is that it is impossible to judge how much calcium you consume routinely in milk, cheese and green leafy vegetables.  So a pill is the quick and easy solution.

Now for the downside:-

Research from the University of Auckland found that those who took calcium supplements had an 86% increased risk of a heart attack.

OOPS!

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