Where's your prostate?

Last week, I started writing a blog on prostate cancer.  As it’s November, and because most of us know and care for men who have a prostate, I thought the timing was good.  I had no idea how many paths this would take me down, from learning why my grandmother told me “you must eat cream with your strawberries,” to my memories of working in New Zealand and the forgotten brazil nut.

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WHY CONSIDER PRIVATE STI SCREENING NOW?

The Covid-19 pandemic has locked down sexual activity to a great extent. That means now is an important window of opportunity to get tested for sexually transmitted infections, according to health professionals quoted in a recent BBC report. In short, the drop in sexual encounters with new partners during the lockdown period means that testing and treatment could lead to very significant reductions in the spread of STIs.

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Joint injections during the COVID pandemic

Due to the current pandemic with COVID-19 the guidance from the British society of Rheumatology states clearly that a steroid joint injection should only be considered when the benefit outweighs the risk. The most common reason is severe debilitating pain that does not respond to medication or rubs, interferes with sleep and is getting worse despite other treatments.

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Melasma: not just a skin condition of pregnancy

Melasma occurs because melanin, the normal pigment found in the deeper level of the skin (the epidermis), travels to the top layer of the skin, known as the Dermis. If a skin biopsy is taken it will show that melanin is present in the top dermal layer. It is not clear why this happens, but hormones from the pituitary gland can stimulate the process in certain conditions, pregnancy being one of them.

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