Having weight loss surgery on the NHS can see patients sitting on waiting lists for years. Many look abroad for quicker solutions. But health tourism is fraught with risks. One woman from the Wirral was told by her consultant that she needed a gastric sleeve operation to help her lose weight. With the costs starting at around £10,000, she couldn’t afford to do it in the UK, so she looked further afield. However, when her surgery in Turkey went horribly wrong, she was left unable to eat or drink without the aid of a tube. \n\nBlue light glasses have clocked up over 140 million views on the internet. They are supposed to be the key to having a restful night’s sleep, but are they just another way to get us to part with our cash? Sleep physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski joins us in studio to talk about whether they work or not, and she gives us some useful tips on how we can improve our sleep.\n\nDetoxing has become a popular buzzword in the world of diets. Some of the claims made in relation to detox diets include magical weight loss, improved digestion and better hair quality. Dr Xand and Ashley discuss the merits and risks of detoxing and look at whether any detox gadgets are worth the money. \n\nThanks to continuing research, advancements in the treatment of cancer are improving year on year. But there are still around 55,000 women and 400 men diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK. However, pioneering new research in the early detection of breast cancer could now be literally at our fingertips. Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have discovered that sweat on our fingertips may give us an early warning of breast cancer. Ashley goes along to investigate.\n\nDrinking tart cherry juice daily has become a new sensation on social media, with many people claiming that it can help with sleep. But can it really? There is some research suggesting that it can. Dr Xand outlines why that work may be flawed but is then surprised by an anecdotal tale from one member of the team.
Source: BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 15
Skin-lightening creams are popular but can be dangerous. Many such products sold online have chemicals that are banned in the UK and can cause nerve and liver damage or cancer. ...
01-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 14
Food intolerance tests have become very popular, especially the cheaper versions found online. Tom from Oxfordshire felt duped by what he was told about them. He parted with mon ...
25-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 13
Julie from Colchester suffers from arthritis and was told she needed knee replacement surgery. Not only did her operation go badly, but she then discovered that she didn’t ...
18-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 12
Eczema affects one in five children and one in ten adults. There is no cure. Steroids are one frequently prescribed way to control it. After years of using steroid creams, 43-ye ...
11-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 11
Sixty-nine-year-old Margaret and her husband Graham do their best to eat a healthy diet. They are vegetarian, and they try to look after themselves with regular exercise. Worrie ...
04-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 10
New figures reveal that 42 million of us in the UK suffer from allergies, and topping that chart is hay fever. There are dozens of hay fever products available over the counter ...
27-09-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 9
We explore the dangerous side effects of antidepressants. Last year, over 86 million prescriptions were written for antidepressants in the UK. Reporter Anton Ferrie meets with s ...
20-09-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 8
Incontinence and pelvic prolapses can be debilitating conditions, and so for many women, the offer of a surgical mesh cure, available on the NHS, was a lifeline. But in many cas ...
13-09-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 7
Around 12 million people in the UK live with hearing issues. Detecting problems with hearing early in life is important. But last summer, the NHS launched an urgent review of pa ...
06-09-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 6
Care homes should be a place where the sick and elderly are nursed and cared for – the clue is in the name. But across seven months, in one nursing home just outside Belfa ...
30-08-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 15
Skin-lightening creams are popular but can be dangerous. Many such products sold online have chemicals that are banned in the UK and can cause nerve and liver damage or cancer. ...
01-11-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 9
We explore the dangerous side effects of antidepressants. Last year, over 86 million prescriptions were written for antidepressants in the UK. Reporter Anton Ferrie meets with s ...
20-09-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 14
Food intolerance tests have become very popular, especially the cheaper versions found online. Tom from Oxfordshire felt duped by what he was told about them. He parted with mon ...
25-10-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 5
Tinnitus is a condition that affects one in seven people in the UK and is often described as a ‘ringing in the ears’. For many, it’s a debilitating condition l ...
23-08-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 1
From cons to cures, scams to scares and fakes from facts. \n\nHealth consumer show Dr Xand’s Con or Cure is dedicated to righting the wrongs of ‘bad medicine’. ...
26-07-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: Episode 9
When Scottish couple Sheila and Michael took out a pre-payment funeral plan, they thought they were helping to make things easier for friends and relatives. But a visit from the ...
15-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 2
Travelling abroad is easier now than at any other time, but what happens if something goes wrong with your health while you are away? Taking out travel insurance is advised, and ...
02-08-2024
BBC 1
Series 2: Episode 4
Every week sees new advances in medical science. And sometimes we come across cures for a condition where there weren’t any before. But what if a so-called medical cure is ...
16-08-2024
BBC 1
Series 1: Episode 6
The incredible story of the woman who can smell Parkinson’s. Seventy-two-year-old Joy first recognised her superpower when she realised she could smell the disease in her ...
10-11-2023
BBC 1
Series 1: Episode 2
Two thousand five hundred people die each year from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos that is completely preventable. Liam and Helen are in their 30s and 40s but have be ...
07-11-2023
BBC 1