Oh, I wish I'd looked after my teeth

I was never as negligent as the person in the Pam Ayres poem but, even so, my gnashers have always been trouble.

They have been filled, refilled, and extracted. I’ve had crowns, a bridge and an implant, and before my daughter’s wedding I spent many sleepless nights trying to adjust to the gumshields full of an expensive whitener that I hoped would neutralise the effect of the red wine and coffee I’d been drinking so recklessly over the years.

It worked – but only temporarily. So I was keen to try Rapid White’s Instant Whitening Toothpaste. Launched last month and available in Boots it claims to leave teeth up to one and half shades whiter after just one brushing.

Apparently: “The brightening formula with new ‘optical brightening technology’ (no, I don’t know why this is in quotes either) absorbs light and increases the amount of blue light reflected from the teeth, eliminating yellow hues to give you a brighter smile without damaging tooth enamel.”

I brushed optimistically but afterwards I couldn’t see a difference at all – I even took before and after selfies to show you but decided not to publish pictures of my teeth on the grounds that they are too scary.

I will carry on using the toothpaste until it’s finished but at £7.99 a tube (or £5.99 if it’s on special offer) I don’t think I’ll be buying another one!

A little bit of froth

Dualit is one of those brands I think we should all support: iconic designs and – as importantly – stuff that’s made right here in Britain. The company has just announced that they are launching a special pink edition of their classic toaster in October which is, as I’m sure lots of you know, breast cancer awareness month.

Having had my own brush with breast cancer some years ago I don’t really need a special month to make me aware of it, but tie-ins like this are one way of raising money to support various worthy charities. In this case, a charity called the Haven – which has centres in London, Leeds and Hereford providing a wide range of therapies to complement the medical care patients get from the NHS – will get a £20 donation for each toaster sold.

Meanwhile my other half is discovering his inner barista playing with our latest kitchen gadget – Dualit’s milk frother. 

Maybe the novelty will wear off, but until then I am enjoying my cappuccinos and next time the littlies are here he will be able to magic up babyccinos to amuse them. Who needs Harris and Hoole?

Eye, eye

When did you last have your eyes tested? 

I only ask because I learned last week that having a digital retinal photograph taken could alert you to a range of health problems including diabetes.

Many of us, it seems, overlook some of symptoms of this condition – extreme tiredness or getting up to go to the loo in the night, for example – because we assume this just happens as we get older.

Indeed, according to a survey commissioned by ShARP (the Simplyhealth Advisory Research Panel) almost half of those questioned were already displaying one or more warning signs. Yet 53 per cent had convinced themselves that they were at no risk of developing Type 2 diabetes at all!

So why might a retinal scan be useful? Diabetes can damage the retina – the light-sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eye. The damage occurs because a continuously high blood sugar level can cause the tiny blood vessels that supply the retina to become blocked or leak.

And if the blood vessels in your eyes are affected then so, too will the blood vessels be elsewhere in your body – in your kidneys, for example.

My eyes turned out to be fine. Time you checked yours? http://www.mylocaloptician.co.uk/subcontent.asp?id=1&subid=108

Grow your own

Edible flowers always seem like a lovely idea - so I was pleased when I was given a grow your own kit for my birthday. But how successful would I be?

Not very, it seemed back in May - leggy cornflowers

But look at the marigolds and nasturtiums now!

Stork talk

I know a little bit about wanting a baby and fearing you might never have one (ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage etc) and I am really thankful that I never had to go down the expensive fertility clinic route to end up with my lovely, now grown-up, children.

So I should be pleased that the Stork has landed in the UK.

‘The Stork helps “bridge the gap” between natural intercourse and in-clinic assisted treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF) or clomifene.’

I’m sure there is a market for the Stork. But although using it costs a fraction of what treatment at a private clinic would be, it isn’t exactly cheap – the recommended retail price is £99.95, for which you get just one device to be used in one ovulation cycle.

And it isn’t offering exactly the same as IUI because in a clinic the man’s sperm would be treated to ensure that only the highest-quality motile ones were used for the procedure.

The manufacturers say that cervical cap insemination has a recorded success rate of around 20 per cent which is comparable to IUI - with recorded success rates between 16 and 21 per cent. They also point out that the average the cost of IUI can range from £500 - £1000 depending on where you go and which drugs are required for treatment.

Yet I still wonder if you couldn’t get fitted for a cervical cap for free (do family planning clinics still have them?) and simply use it the same way as the Stork with the same results.

If anyone has tried this, let me know. Meanwhile you can check out the Stork here. And you can buy it here.  

Heads up

When I edited the health pages on a women’s magazine I was often asked to write about stuff that the NHS wouldn’t do, stuff that people – usually parents – had to spend a fortune on to get abroad or privately in the UK.

Skull helmets for babies were a typical example.

Magazines like running stories about skull helmets because they usually come with cute pix and heart-wrenching quotes. But should journalists really be encouraging parents to buy these devices?

The helmets are designed to correct ‘flat head syndrome’ which is caused by infants frequently lying on the same part of their head.

The syndrome has become more common now that parents are told to put their babies on their backs to sleep to reduce the risk of cot death. Babies also spend a lot of time in those little chairs you can carry from car to home and back again.

The skull helmets have to be worn for several months for up to 23 hours a day. But they can cost more than £2000 – and the first randomised, controlled study of the treatment has found no evidence that they make much difference in skull shape by the time a child is two. 

The study also revealed that all the parents whose babies wore a helmet reported side-effects – from skin irritation to feeling hindered from cuddling their children.

So instead of encouraging worried mums and dads to part with their hard-earned cash for skull helmets without being in possession of all the facts, I'd like magazines and newspapers to try to get the word across that it's not a good idea for babies to spend too much time in the same position - on their back - day and night and to refer them to the sensible advice here.

It says: 

                  Give your baby time on their tummy during the day and encourage them to try new positions during play time.

                  Switch your baby between a sloping chair, a sling and a flat surface, so that there isn't constant pressure on one part of their head.

                  Change the position of toys and mobiles in their cot to encourage your baby to turn their head to the non-flattened side.

Rabbit, rabbit

It’s easy to jump to the wrong conclusion when you write about food and drink as well as family life. Today’s in-box contained an email with the header: Rabbit Awareness Week 10 – 18 May.

Having recently received an alert for watercress week, I opened the email expecting be told about the health benefits of eating rabbit or given recipes for rabbit terrine or pate. 

Instead I read:

‘It’s Rabbit Awareness Week, from the 10 - 18 May. One million households in the UK own a rabbit, so the RSPCA is encouraging the nation to take the opportunity to learn more about one of the UK’s most popular pets!’

Oops.