Early in 2018 I posted this piece about body weight. It recorded the fluctuations in my own weight using three different measurements (stones, pounds, kilos) and noted how I lost a couple of stone in 2012, by swimming most days and eating less. Apart from the year up to summer 2013 I have generally been… Continue reading Outweighed by my children
Until this week I had had the same dentist for 25 years. He is now cutting back his hours, moving towards retirement and taking on only private work. If I wanted to continue with him as my dentist, I would have to go private, not on the NHS. 25 years is, by a long way,… Continue reading A New Dentist
Back in 2018, in this piece, I recorded my satisfaction at the state of my children’s teeth, and my own. I have a wide selection of fillings (white at the front, amalgam at the back), and crowns on many of my molars. They regularly need some kind of treatment, but I had gone 30 months… Continue reading Still all clear at the dentist
This time last year, while on holiday in Spain, I was bitten repeatedly by insects. It prompted this piece (Holiday notes: sun, sea, sand, and insect bites) which includes some photos showing the after-effects of insect bites on my skin. It came with a warning, in case you are squeamish about such things. I have,… Continue reading Insect bites (August 2020 update)
Last year I had a realization regarding conversational recall, and wrote about it in this piece (June 2019): I am no good at medical chat. Or, more accurately, I do not retain information about other people’s ailments, diagnoses and medications. This would be a problem if I were in the medical business, but I am… Continue reading Word of the week: BRAN
At this time of year my son suffers badly from hay fever. In the early spring there’s something in the air in our part of London that plays havoc with his eyes and nose. It started 11 years ago, when he was four. He left nursery one day with his eyes all swollen and red… Continue reading Word of the week: Loratadine
We are back from our holiday in Spain, well looked after throughout our stay by my brother, who has lived there for most of his adult life. In fact, he has lived there for well over half of his entire life. It is nearly 36 years since he left London to set up home there.… Continue reading Word of the week: sunburn
WARNING: There are three photos at the end of this piece that show the effects of insect bites on my skin this summer, and an infection that affected my palms some years ago. You might find them rather unpleasant but they illustrate what this piece is about. If you are squeamish about such things, be… Continue reading Holiday notes: sun, sea, sand, and insect bites
The EHIC, or “European Health Insurance Card”, entitles those of us who live in the UK to “reduced cost (or sometimes free) state-provided healthcare where treatment becomes medically necessary during a temporary visit to other countries of the European Economic Area or Switzerland”. I quote directly from the letter that accompanied our new cards when… Continue reading Word of the week: EHIC
What are your strengths? What are you good at? What do your friends, family, and others around you, regard as your strengths? In my case, friends and family have often made reference to my memory. I’m not sure that they all regard it as a strength, but it’s certainly something that gets mentioned. On numerous… Continue reading No good at medical chat
