Healthy advice from your family doctor
Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, occurs when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone. Your thyroid gland is found in your neck, at the base of your throat. It produces hormones (called tri-iodothyronine and thyroxine, or T3 and T4 for short) that help to regulate many of the body’s metabolic processes. Common symptoms of
Chilblains are itchy, swollen and painful lumps on the skin that form after exposure to the cold. They are caused by changes in the blood vessels in response to the cold. Chilblains most commonly affect the fingers and toes but can also occur on the nose and earlobes. Symptoms of chilblains include: red, blue or
Around one in six Australian couples have problems with fertility. Infertility is diagnosed when a couple has been unable to fall pregnant after having regular unprotected intercourse for a year. There are many causes of infertility, including problems with ovulation (the release of an egg from a woman’s ovary), fertilisation by a man’s sperm and
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in one or both testicles. In most cases, only one testicle is affected. It is estimated that 980 Australian men were diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2021, making up about 1.2% of all new cases of cancer diagnosed in men. It most commonly occurs in men aged 25–40 years.
Seasonal affective disorder (also known as SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes according to the season. Most people affected by SAD have winter-pattern SAD, where symptoms develop in autumn and winter and go away during spring and summer. However, a smaller number of people have summer-pattern SAD where they experience depressive
With 60% of Australian women over 18 being overweight or obese, it’s not surprising that diets sell. In fact, research by IBISWorld estimated that Australians’ spending on weight loss counselling services and related low-calorie foods and dietary supplements will reach more than $452 million in 2019-2020. Despite this, our waistlines continue to increase. So where
We all have lapses every now and then where we are not eating as well as we could be. Maybe you’ve been lacking motivation, or fast food just seems like the easier option. Healthy eating can seem confusing at times, but it’s important not to get overwhelmed and to focus on the rewards that there
Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder (MDD) is a type of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is a common but often under-recognised mental illness where a person becomes obsessed with parts of their bodies and how they appear to other people. BDD affects men and women equally, but muscle dysmorphia occurs largely in males. Men with MDD typically
Macular degeneration, also known as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), is the leading cause of major vision loss in Australia, responsible for 50% of all cases of blindness. About one in seven Australians over the age of 50 years has some signs of the ARMD. There is no cure for ARMD, but there are things you
Type 1 diabetes is the more common type of diabetes to be diagnosed in children and young people. According to the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS), in June 2020 there were over 14,300 children and young people aged 0-20 years with type 1 diabetes, making up 11% of the total number of Australians living with