Health
ADVICE FROM OUR WOMAN’S WEEKLY DOCTOR
DR GILL IS UNABLE TO OFFER INDIVIDUAL ADVICE OR SEE INDIVIDUAL PATIENTS. ADVICE GIVEN HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. SEEK HELP FROM YOUR GP IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL PROBLEM
Eczema update
New guidelines by the American Academy of Dermatology list a wide range of effective topical treatments for eczema, making strong recommendations for the use of non-prescription ones, such as moisturisers and steroid creams, and some specialist prescription drugs. However, they strongly advise against the use of topical antimicrobials and antiseptics, considering that these risk antimicrobial resistance, alteration of microflora and pH, and potential contact sensitisation. They also advised against antihistamines because of low evidence of efficacy.
NEW CLASS OF ANTIBIOTIC
A new compound, zosurabalpin, has been successful in initial test-tube and animal studies, and now some early human testing. It will be a long time before full clinical trials lead to a new antibiotic drug, but it offers hope for infections, such as the carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacterium. This causes serious blood and chest infections in critically ill hospital patients, being resistant to many antibiotics, killing 40-60% of those infected.
Coping with FROZEN SHOULDER
The condition causes pain and stiffness, making the shoulder hard to move
This occurs when the flexible tissue that surrounds the shoulder joint – known as the capsule – becomes inflamed and thickened, affecting one or both shoulders, although it’s not fully understood why. It’s also called adhesive capsulitis, or shoulder contracture.
Your risk increases if you have previous shoulder injuries or surgery, diabetes or thyroid problems, Dupuytren’s contracture (hardening of the tissue in your palm), heart disease or stroke.
Typically, the shoulder pain becomes more severe over several months, then increasing stiffness occurs. In particularly severe cases, you can’t move your shoulder at all. Symptoms vary from mild, with little difference to daily activities, to severe, with no shoulder movement, making it difficult to do everyday tasks, such as bathing, dressing, driving and sleeping comfortably, worsening gradually. The stages of frozen shoulder are:
1 The ‘freezing’ phase, lasting two to nine months. Your shoulder starts to ache and can become very painful, such as when reaching out for things, especially worse at night or lying on the affected side.
2 The ‘frozen’ phase, lasting four to 12 months. Your shoulder becomes increasingly stiff, affecting daily living activities, but the pain doesn’t usually get worse and may even decrease.
3 The ‘thawing’ phase, lasting 12 months or more. You’ll gradually regain movement in your shoulder, and the pain start
