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BBC Radio 4


Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.


Inside Health

It has been a cold start to the year and for many that means the heating's on, windows are shut and we're drying clothes inside the house. For many people, mould becomes a major concern in winter and the health problems mould can cause have been under more scrutiny since the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 from long-term exposure to mould at his home in Rochdale.

At Imperial College London a study called WellHome is underway to monitor levels of mould and other indoor pollutants in homes across the west of the capital. Presenter James Gallagher meets Mum of four Roxanne who had monitoring equipment installed in her house to collect data that could lead to guidance on housing quality and inform how healthcare professionals look for and treat conditions affected by mould. 

Joining James at Roxanne's is WellHome's Dr Athena Trachalaki, a Respiratory Registrar with Imperial College NHS trust. With her, to go through all the pollutants that pose a risk to our health indoors is WellHome lead and Professor of Community Health and Policy at Imperial College, Frank Kelly. 

Dr Jonathan Grigg, Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine at Queen Mary University, London, tells James it could be the end of the line for the gas cooker, and Professor Alastair Lewis who is Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of York takes a virtual tour of James's home to discuss all the ways James could be cleaning up the air he breathes. 

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Editor: Holly Squire

Mould and Indoor Air Pollution: How Concerned Should You Be?

From kombucha to cold water swims, sleep to supplements, so many things are claimed to help enhance your immune system. We investigate the evidence, and ask if it's possible to avoid catching a virus this winter (and still leave the house). 

Plus, James braves 3.9 degree water to see for himself if cold water swimming has any affect on our immune systems.

Guests:
Margaret McCartney - Resident GP and expert in evidence-based medicine 
John Tregoning - Professor in Vaccine Immunology at Imperial College London
Eleanor Riley - Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease at University of Edinburgh

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Hannah Robins
Content Editor: Holly Squire 

The programme was produced in partnership with the Open University.

Can you really boost your immune system?

Pasteurising milk makes it safer, but are there any benefits to drinking it “raw”? James heads to a dairy farm to investigate the evidence and see if anything is lost in pasteurising milk.

Guests:
Professor Marion Nestle, food policy expert, New York University
Dr Ellen Evans, food safety expert at Cardiff Metropolitan University
Jonny Crickmore, Fen Farm Dairy and chairman of the Raw Milk Producers Association
Professor Markus Ege, researcher, University of Munich

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett

Raw milk: What are the risks and why are people talking about it?

James Gallagher discusses the risk from H5N1 bird flu in the UK as a poultry worker in the West Midlands is infected and looks to the US where the disease is spreading in cattle. He's joined by virologist Dr Ed Hutchinson from the University of Glasgow to discuss how the virus is evolving, whether we are edging closer to bird flu becoming a pandemic and how it's being handled in the US as President Trump's government takes office.

Also, you've been sending in your questions on embarrassing health problems and lots of you have asked about the problem of leaking urine, known as urinary incontinence. James puts your questions to Dr Vanessa Apea, a consultant physician in Genito-urinary and HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London.

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett

Bird flu update after UK farm worker infected and your questions on urinary problems

You sent in your questions on dementia and now we're tackling them. Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, joins James Gallagher to go through the insidehealth@bbc.co.uk mailbag.

James also visits mushroom grower the Bristol Fungarium which has teamed up with the University of the West of England to examine a mushroom called lion's mane.

Lion's mane has a lot of hype about it online as well as a long history in traditional medicine and neuroscientist Dr Tim Craig and his team are taking it into their to lab to investigate whether it might harbour properties that could benefit people with dementia.

Thanks to everyone who sent in questions after listening to our episode 'What next for Alzheimer's treatment' which is available on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024ng7 

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Editor: Holly Squire

Dementia: Your questions answered and lion's mane mushrooms in the lab

Has James been buying shoes that are bad his feet? He meets podiatrist Dao Tunprasert to find out how healthy his shoes are. Also, returning to our theme of health conditions you find embarrassing, we get the lowdown on genital herpes from Dr Vanessa Apea. She's consultant physician in Genito-urinary and HIV medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and answers some of your questions.

Presenter: James Gallagher
Producer: Tom Bonnett
Assistant Producer: Siobhan Maguire

How shoes affect our bodies and a focus on genital herpes

New Series: Dr Mark Porter demystifies the health issues that perplex us and separates the facts from the fiction. He brings clarity to conflicting health advice, explores new medical research and tackles the big health issue of the moment revealing the inner workings of the medical profession and the daily dilemmas doctors face. 

This week Mark Porter looks at the regulation covering medical devices and implants - everything from artificial joints, to pacemakers and heart valves - and explains why more needs to be done to protect the general public who are often unwitting guinea pigs for untried technology. 

He asks why is it so much easier to get approval for devices like new hip or breast implants compared with the strict protocols observed for drugs? All you need for most devices is the equivalent of the CE mark - the sort of approval you would expect to find on a toy or a kitchen appliance, not a pacemaker - which may explain why some have unacceptably high failure rates. 

Inside Health's psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton investigates a question tweeted to the programme - what's the role of testosterone supplements in men. And following the Prime Minister's comment about Tourette's syndrome Max tells Mark what the condition really involves. 

Mark talks to Prof Tony Heagerty from the University of Manchester and Professor Tom McDonald from the University of Dundee about new research suggesting that taking pills at night rather than in the morning reduces the risk of complications like stroke and heart attack. 

And there's a column from GP Margaret McCartney about what goes on in her head when she's making a diagnosis. 

If there is an issue that confuses you - that you've read or heard about - then please get in touch. Contact us on twitter @BBCRadio 4 using the hash tag #InsideHealth or email the programme via the Radio 4 website. 

Producer: Erika Wright.

Med devices, Testosterone, Itching, BP, Pills, Tourette's

The programme that uncovers the real stories behind the health headlines, providing clarity where there's confusion.

First, a subject that looks set to be in the headlines this week - growing disquiet about the Health and Social Care Bill and changes to the NHS which include the transfer of responsibility and resources to GPs.

Many health experts simply don't understand the reforms, including international public health expert Professor Martin McKee who confesses in this week's British Medical Journal that he doesn't get it either. So what chance is there for the rest of us?

It's not just bewilderment that's likely to hinder the implementation of the new Bill. There's active resistance from both hospital consultants and GPs. But what are the reforms going to mean for you? Dr Clare Gerada, the Chair of the Royal College of GPs, discusses this question with Mark.

Mark Porter puts his mental agility to the test at the Research Institute for the Care of the Elderly in Bath to find out whether there's any truth behind recent headlines suggesting that our cognitive abilities start to decline from forty five. Professor Roy Jones tells Mark the results of his memory test.

And GP Margaret McCartney explores the thinking behind Do No Resuscitate Orders, the record put in a patient's notes when staff feel that attempts to resuscitate them in the event of cardiac arrest are likely to do more harm than good.

Finally, the holy grail to combat all flu viruses - a universal vaccine. Mark Porter visits the world's only Flu Camp where new versions of the vaccine are being trialled in volunteers. Professor David Salisbury, Head of Immunisation at the Department of Health, and Dr Kamran Abbasi, Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, join Mark to discuss the use of the current flu vaccine.

Producer: Beth Eastwood.

Health bill, Memory, Resuscitation, Flu

Inside Health covers the ongoing debate about proposed reforms to the NHS in England. This week Colleges representing nurses, midwives and physios have joined sceptical GPs and hospital specialists by announcing their opposition to the reforms. And, just out, a report by a cross party select committee on health questions whether current financial pressures make it too risky to implement the most radical changes in the Service's history.

Health Minister Lord Howe talks to Dr Mark Porter in response to the criticisms from Professor Martin McKee and Dr Clare Gerada in last week's programme..

And an Inside Health listener emailed to ask why Tinnitus confuses patients as well as doctors. Dr Max Pemberton investigates.

Plus why are teenagers - the most internet savvy generation of all - finding it difficult to access good health information in the internet? Psychologist Ellen Henderson at the University of Bath is one of the authors behind a new study looking at websites aimed at young people and offering advice on treating pain like headaches and period cramps.

Vitamin D supplementation is currently recommended for all groups at particular risk of deficiency - such as pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children - but three quarters of parents, and more than half of doctors, midwives and health visitors are not up to speed with the latest guidance, so don't follow it. As Chief Medical Officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, writes to healthcare professionals highlighting the importance of vitamin D supplements Inside Health talks to Nick Bishop Professor of Paediatric bone disease at The University of Sheffield.

Finally, our resident sceptic Dr Margaret McCartney explains why she doesn't rate over the counter cough mixtures.

Producer: Erika Wright.

NHS bill, tinnitus, pedestrians, teenage info, Vitamin D, cough mix

On Inside Health this week, the bacteria Pseudomonas that's been responsible for a number of deaths in special care baby units in Northern Ireland.

Mark Porter asks Prof Richard James, Director of Healthcare Associated Infection at the University of Nottingham, why the outbreak occurred and how the Department of Health is likely to try to prevent future occurrence..

We look at a new class of drugs that could transform the lives of tens of thousands of people on warfarin. Recently approved by NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, these drugs overcome many of the drawbacks of taking warfarin. Mark Porter explores just who is likely to benefit if the drug gets its final endorsement from NICE next week.

Mark also explores which prescription drugs are addictive, and how wearing high heels can damage your calves but might improve your sex life.

Presenter: Dr Mark Porter 
Producer: Beth Eastwood.

Pseudomonas, anti-coags, alcohol, pres drugs, high heels

In Inside Health tonight, Dr Mark Porter tackles the confusion and prejudice that surrounds the skin condition Vitiligo - famously said to have been the reason why Michael Jackson skin looked so light. 

Max Pemberton discovers why surgeons may be wearing masks for their benefit rather than their patients.

And Margaret McCartney reminds doctors who tweet to proceed with caution - posting photographs of the first patient you've anaesthetised is likely to get you into trouble!

Vitiligo, diabetes care, knee implants, masks, social media

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