Believe You Are Gorgeous

Unflattering photos that make us look old or overweight can steal our self-esteem, especially when they are all over social media. Here are some psychological tips to change the way they make us feel.

• Stop seeing yourself - and other women - purely in terms of shape and size. Instead of greating female friends with 'You look great, have you lost weight?' try 'It's great to see you, you look really happy'.
• Start treating your body with respect and value it for the amazing piece of machinery that it is. Focus on diet and exercise as a way of maintaining your health and youthful energy.
• Limit your demands for reassurance - confidence comes when we stop looking to other people for affirmation and accept that we, and our bodies, are good enough.

Good Housekeeping, February 2015

Antibiotics - When to say No

Antibiotics are very useful when needed. But now bacteria are becoming resistant and there are almost no new antibiotics being developed. Without them, operations will no longer be routine, success rates for leukaemia and other cancer treatments would plummet and an infected scratch or chest infection could be fatal. Even more worryingly, if bacteria run out of resistance weapons, they steal from or do swaps with other bacteria. This means that if you visit a country with a high level of resistant bacteria (Greece is a good example) even exposure to a few on food or surfaces will increase the chance of swaps going on with your own bacterial populations.

Several factors contribute to resistance build-up. The routine use of antobiotics on farm animals, antibacterial products at home, multiple courses of antibiotics, not taking a full course, and the way we use them too often - especially for trivial conditions.

We associate getting better with antibiotics, even though we would have got better without them. We no longer accept that it is normal for a sore throat to last for a few days - and be very sore sometimes.

If you are elderly or vulnerable in other ways, have a condition like COPD or cardivascular disease, or are pregnant or immune suppressed, antibiotics are very important. But for the conditions lissted below, visit your pharmacist, stay at home for a few days and take simple measures like painkillers. Avoid getting an infection in the first place by washing hands often with ordinary soap and water, and protect others by using tissues if you have a cold and disposing of them properly.

Colds: Usual length: 4 days. What's normal? Feel unwell, have a bit of a temperature, green or yellow mucus. Adults can expect 2 to 4 colds a year (6 to 8 for children). Antiobiotics: Never needed. Why: Caused by viruses not bacteria, colds resolve without them. Treatment: paracetamol and other over-the-counter remedies. Tip: Don't blow you nose too hard as it blasts bacteria filled pus into your sinuses.

Sinusitis: Usual length: Up to 18 days. What's normal? Horrible blocked-up feeling, pain, bit of a temperatre, headache. Antiobiotics: rarely needed, but consider them if you have recurrent bouts of smelly nasal discharge. Why: 80% of cases resolve in 14 days without them. For every 15 people treated with them, only one has a slight benefit a week later. Treatment: painkillers and steam inhalation.

Acute sore throat: Usual length: Up to 7 days. What's normal? Scratchy pain. Antiobiotics: No, unless you have 3 out of four symptoms - raised glands, pus at the back of the throat, fever, no cough. Why: 90% of sore throats resolve within a week withoutt them. If 4,000 people were treated with them, it would prevent only one case of quinsy (abscess on the tonsils). Treatment: Warm drinks are soothing, take paracetamol and suck sweets. Tip: If you have a cough, it's almost certainly not a bacterial infection, so you won't need antibiotics.

Middle ear infection: Usual length: Up to 3 days - 60% of cases resolve in 24 hours without antibiotics. What's normal? Throbbing pain. Antiobiotics: Not usually needed, except in under-twos with both ears affected. Or at any age isyou have an ear discharge. definitely yes if you have hgih fever and vomiting. Why: For every 15 people given antibiotics, only two have reduced pain and they do not prevent deafness. Treatment: X. Painkilles and distraction (try watching your favourite feel-good film).

Urinary tract infection: Usual length: a few days. What's normal? Burning sensation and needing to pee often. Antiobiotics: No, if mild and you have clear urine with no more than two of the following symptoms- burning when peeing, frequency, smelly pee. Yes, if severe, symptoms last more than seven days, urine is cloudy, or if you have side or back pain and high fever. Why: 50% of UTIs with a bacterial cause will resolve in 3 days. Serious complications are rare. Antibiotics use may disturb natural gut / vaginal flora. Treatment: Hot water bottle and lots of fluids. Drink cranberry juice (it stops bacteria sticking to the bladder wall). if it recurs, take avoidance measures: pee after sex, drink more water, avoid soap and bubble bath.

Vivienne Parry in Good Housekeeping, February 2015

Domain Name Availability

A useful resource to see if a domain name is available for registration, which includes European country versions as well, is 123 Domain Names http://123domainnames.co.uk/

Phil Bradley column in CILIP Update Jan/Feb 2007

Evening Primrose

The seeds of the evening primrose (a US wildflower that looks like a giant buttercup) are especially rich in the essential fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).

This has long been thought to help people with eczema who have trouble converting fats from foods into GLA. In 2014, a pilot study of people with eczema backed up this theory.

Between 500 and 1,000 mg daily is thought best for preventative health.

April 2015

25 Life Hacks

Life Hacks are just simple ways to save you time, hassle and money.

1. Rub the inside edges of new shoes with Vaseline - it stops them rubbing and prevents blisters.
2. Use the sticky part of a Post-It note to clean between the keys of your keyboard.
3. Cut the ends off flowers and dip into boiling water to make them last longer.
4. Use an empty plastic bottle to separate eggs. Crack the egg into a bowl, put an upside down empty plastic bottle over the yolk and watch it get sucked up inside.
5. A spritz of hairspray removes ink and permenent marker from hard surfaces.
6. Use toothpaste to clean hazy car headlights. It works on swimming goggles too.
7. No eggtimer? Get Google to do the job by typing 'set timer (XX) minutes/seconds' in the search bar.
8. Hang a tennis ball on a piece of string from the ceiling of your garage at the exact point you can drive without bumping into the wall.
9. Stretch a rubber band from top to bottom around an open paint tin to wipe your brush on and keep paint off the side of the tin.
10. Remove chewing gum from an item of clothing by putting it into the freezer for an hour, then pick off the gum.
11. Iron shirts from the inside to make pressing the button area easier.
12. Stack your folded clothes vertically in a drawer so you can see them all.
13. Fill a water bottle a quarter full and freeze on its side. Then fill with water and have it ice cold on the go.
14. Know the 9 times table trick? Hold out both hands, put down the digit you want to multiply 9 by, and count the total number of thumbs/fingers still up. For example, hold down 5th finger of left hand and there are 4 digits to the left and 5 to the right, so the answer is 45. (9x5 = 45).
15. To remove a cherry stone, use a straw to push it out.
16. A small dish of bicarbonate of soda in a wardrobe will absorb extra moisture and keep clothing fresh and dry.
17. If you want to conserve a phone battery, turn the screen brightness down, close any apps running in the background that you don't need, and turn off 3G/4G as these all sap power.
18. Kill weeds in paving by pouring boiling water on them.
19. Fill a bowl with water, pop in half a lemon and microwave for two to three minutes. The steam will loosen any dried food particles for easy microwave cleaning and the lemon makes the oven smell really fresh.
20. Use a clothes peg to hold a nail in place while hammering.
21. Use a strand of spaghetti as a taper for candles and avoid burned fingers.
22. Tangled jewellery? Keep thin chains knot-free by threading them through drinking straws, then fastening.
23. Use a slice of white bread to remove grimy marks from non-washable wallpaper.
24. To keep CDs from skipping, clean with car wax, dry and buff outwards from the centre.
25. Freeze grapes to chill white wine without watering it down.

Feature in Good Housekeeping September 2014