Health & Medical Advice and Information - UK Medical Health

The explosion in online casinos, poker rooms and betting facilities means that more and more people are exposed to the temptation of gambling. There is an ever increasing risk of more people experiencing the physical, emotional and mental health problems associated with compulsive gambling. These can include heart disease, alcohol and substance abuse, depression and other mental health issues.

The nature of the Internet means that online gambling is attractive to individuals who might seek anonymous, absorbing, solitary online entertainment. This can readily become an obsessive activity that will lead people to spend more time and more money than they can afford. This can lead to some people hiding the extent of their gambling activities from their families, their friends and even denying the extent of their problem to themselves.

If you are an online gambler, or if you have been considering having a little dabble, here are a few suggestions to help you avoid the misery of gambling addiction:

1) Limit the amount of time spent gambling online and stick to your limit! Occasionally it will be very tempting to extend the time spent gambling. Don’t do it! It is very easy to lose track of time when gambling online so set some sort of alarm to remind you to stick to your time limit;

2) Only deposit an amount of money that you can genuinely afford to lose. Don’t gamble with the rent money, the mortgage money, your grocery money or any other essential. Gamble only with your gambling money, this being money that you can genuinely afford to lose;

3) Be realistic and expect to lose occasionally. People don’t gamble to lose, they gamble to win. But not everybody can win all of the time so be pragmatic and don’t get too despondent if you lose. If you have constrained your bets to what you can afford to lose then it should not be too painful an experience when you do. Don’t go chasing your losses as this will almost inevitably lead to more money down the drain;

4) Take advantage of facilities provided by the more reputable online casinos and poker rooms that allow you to set your gambling session time limits and constrain the amount of cash that you spend;

5) Play for entertainment and enjoyment and not as a means to make money. The real winners in online gambling are the casino and poker room operators. In the gambling industry the regular punter is often referred to as a ‘mug’. Don’t be one;

6) Be honest with yourself by keeping a record of how much time and money you are spending online. If you find yourself spending increasing amounts of time in the online casinos and poker rooms you may be headed for gambling addiction, or you may already be addicted!

As well as following these basic steps you can minimise your losses by choosing your online casino or poker room carefully. Many have all sorts of offers and prize draws intended to entice new gamblers to use their facilities. If poker is your game then you would be foolish not to take advantage of online poker rakeback which will give you a small percentage of the commission taken on each pot. So choose a reputable online gambling site that provides time and financial constraints to help you to avoid the misery of gambling addiction. And good luck at the tables!

The waiting list for hearing aids has been the subject of quite a lot of talk recently, and patients in Sussex are no stranger to long waiting lists, having to wait 6 months to be seen for a hearing test, on the NHS after figures were revealed by the Government last week.

West Sussex residents are experiencing the longest waiting times, on average 27 weeks, with East Sussex having to wait over 24 weeks – a far cry from the national average of 11 weeks, a West Sussex PCT spokeswoman blamed the waiting times on a national shortage of audiologists.

With hearing problems having such a negative effect on way of life, these waiting times are worrying, however these are in contrast with the waiting time of a year ago which were as long as 3 years.

The Sussex Audiology Centre offer independent hearing aid services throughout Sussex and offer the care and service that is required for such an important issue. Sussex Audiology Centre’s audiology team is made up of experts with years of experience who are well placed to offer you a fantastic level of service, without the extensive wait experienced with Sussex PCT’s.

It’s a well known fact that if a man gets a cold then they are likely to suffer a whole lot more than a woman suffering from the same ailment. The condition is called a ‘man cold’ and is recognised as a serious complaint that can result in the man taking up residence in front of the TV with a large box of tissues within easy reach, watching sports and avoiding any form of exertion, particularly if it relates to gardening or housework.

Given that men can have a tendency to exaggerate the symptoms of minor complaints like common colds you may think that doctors surgeries would be packed with malingering males crying over their minor ailments. The truth is that whilst many men (myself included) will tend to exaggerate the symptoms of minor complaints in order to elicit sympathy and cups of tea from their partners men will also ignore the signs of potentially serious men’s health problems and go to great lengths in order to avoid visiting the doctor. Why do men do this? Here are a few of the most common reasons:

1) Denial
Many men employ denial in order to avoid acknowledging factors like their stressful and unhealthy lifestyle. They simply keep doing what they have always done, eating too much, drinking too much, smoking, not getting enough exercise and working too much. They don’t acknowledge that these choices and the lifestyles that they lead are responsible for their health problems.

2) Self Delusion
Many men will rationalise their reasons not to visit the doctor by deluding themselves with inaccuracies such as the poor state of the health service or that it takes too long or is too costly to visit the doctor. Typically men can delude themselves that the problem being experienced is not really very serious and that if it is ignored it will go away.

3) Men aren’t conditioned to routinely visit the doctors.
It has been pointed out that differences exist in the routine of healthcare provision that is established for boys and girls. The differences in these routines lead women to recognise the preventative benefits of visits to a healthcare professional, but not men.

4) Embarrassment
Many men simply find it hard to discuss intimate physical or emotional issues. Men are simply not used to sharing personal information even with close friends and family and are therefore even more unlikely to disclose personal details or concerns with a doctor.

5) Only Visit the Doctor if the problem is Serious
Many men feel that they should only be going to see the doctor if they have a serious medical condition. Most young men tend to think that doctors and surgeries are there to deal with medical emergencies and don’t recognise the benefits of advice for preventatitive healthcare.

Men need to recognise that visiting a doctor is not a sign of weakness and that regular health checks can save lives. Mens health can be seriously and adversely affected by the busy, pressurised and stressful lifestyles led by many men today. Men need to acknowledge that it is not a sign of weakness to seek regular health checks and to take healthcare advice seriously.