Health News

Pictures of 16 people arrested on drug charges show quickly substance misuse can change appearances. They were charged with possessing meth, heroin, marijuana and other substances.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Lisa Pace, 43 (inset), of Knoxville, Tennessee, used to use tanning beds every day in the 1990s. In 2000, at age 23, she was diagnosed with melanoma after moles were spotted on her leg. Moles have since appeared on her face, her arms and her chest (left, top right and bottom right). Pace has undergone 86 surgeries in total and wants to raise awareness and promote education about skin cancer

The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, offers the first evidence of long-term trends in non-suicidal self-harm in England. Alarming research shows 6.4 per cent of 16 to 74 year olds reported having intentionally harmed themselves at some point in their life when asked in 2014. In comparison, the rate was just 2.4 per cent in 2000, according to the study carried out by the National Centre for Social Research. The rate was highest among girls and women aged 16 to 24, with one in five reporting self-harm – up from 6.5 per cent in 2000.

Chelsea Spruance, 26 (left and right), from St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at four months old. At age 12, she learned that the average life expectancy for cystic fibrosis sufferers is 26 years old. After taking a family vacation to Mexico at 17 years old, she decided she wanted to travel the world. Spruance has since traveled to several countries throughout Europe and Central America. She says she wants to be a role model for other cystic fibrosis sufferers to prove that they are stronger than they think they are.

Salma Bashir, 16, lives in Pittsburgh with her mom and two younger brothers. She still chews food at home so she gets the taste of her mom's home cooking, but she can't swallow it. She was five years old when she sat on a suction device in a pool that was so strong it sucked out her intestines while on vacation in Egypt. She is now raising $3 million to afford five organ transplants.

Kenza Hancock, 35, first reported toothache to her dentist Dr Vachik Avakian of Cecil Street Dental Surgery, Plymouth, in early 2008. Dr Vachik Avakian failed to spot and treat tooth decay adequately, which led to years of pain and more dental work, according to solicitors. After multiple attempts to address the problem, Mrs Hancock underwent a failed tooth extraction while pregnant in 2017. A second dentist finished the job later the same year and days later she suffered a miscarriage. Mrs Hancock believes the 'the never-ending trauma' on her body from the extraction attempt caused her to lose her unborn baby. The NHS denies that such a link exists, saying a woman's emotional state during pregnancy does not increase their risk of miscarriage. Dr Avakian did not admit liability for the case which was settled out of court. (Pictured right, with her daughter Isabella, seven, and one-year-old Leia, with husband Jonathan, 39. Left, the swelling after the tooth extraction and inset, an X-ray of her teeth.)

Katie (pictured) 35, from London, has been working for years behind the scenes to make the facility, based at Fairfield Independent Hospital in, St Helens Merseyside, a reality for those with burns and scars in the UK.The mother-of-two was left partially blind after her ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch organised for Stefan Sylvestre to carry out an acid attack on her in March 2008.

Lamar Odom had been struggling with substances and mental health since 2011 after he was traded from the LA Lakers. In October 2015, he almost died: after a DUI charge, with growing concerns among teammates, falling out of the NBA, and being divorced by Khloe Kardashian (pictured together, right, in 2012), he was found comatose at Dennis Hof's Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada. In a new podcast with Dr Oz, Odom says ketamine, along with CBD, has helped him deal with his depression, anxiety and lack of empathy.

Payton Hayes, five (left), from Sebring, Florida, was diagnosed when he was born with craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the skull's bones fuse before the brain is fully formed. Hayes had his first surgery when he was three months old. Last year, he had an operation to treat hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The two surgeries have the left the five-year-old with scars on his skull and on his abdomen. Students at a nearby elementary school donated money to a nonprofit that makes custom dolls. The doll was presented to Hayes last week, and it has the same scars in the same places Hayes does (right).

Christine Jennings, 57, of Leicester, was 32 years old when the bug latched onto her skin while she was playing in the park with her young daughters. Over the next week, the former interior designer and artist developed what she thought was a virus, with migraines, a rash and swollen joints. But it was just the beginning of a 25-year battle in which Ms Jennings' health gradually deteriorated until the point of being bedridden (pictured left). She is cared for around the clock by her daughters (one of which is pictured right) who she said are the only reason she has held on to her life. Ms Jennings claims the NHS have dismissed her plight at every step. (See inset, wearing sunglasses to block out light which causes her pain).

Elio Figueredo, 13 (left and right), of Tampa, Florida, was born with a rare condition that is believed to be a form of ichythosis. The genetic disorder causes new skin cells to grow too quickly and lose the barrier that traps moisture, which leads to shedding. Elio spent the first three years of his life in a nursing home getting specialized care before moving home. He has to take two bleach baths a week and is moisturized with Vaseline every two to three hours.

Data from the African nation’s health ministry revealed there have been 2,008 cases of the killer virus and 1,346 deaths since it began last August. It comes after officials warned last week the outbreak shows signs of spiralling out of control. But the Congo's health ministry said there had been fewer attacks on medics by militiamen, meaning they may be able to 'recover some lost time'. 'In recent weeks, the trend has been positive, although vigilance is still necessary,' it said. Armed militiamen believe Ebola is a conspiracy against them and have repeatedly attacked health workers battling the epidemic.

Lisa Shaw (pictured top right in 2013, before the botched treatment), 40, underwent a non-surgical procedure called fibroblast in 2017 because her 'droopy eyes' had made her miserable for decades (left, tiny dots mark where a plasma pen was used to singe the skin). The £280 treatment promised to lift and tighten her eyelids at the fraction of the cost of going under the knife. But the stay-at-home parent from Morecambe, Lancashire, has been left with permanent pink and crusty eyelids (bottom right). Ms Shaw said: 'There is nothing I regret more than getting fibroblast done. It promised to fix my eyes, but instead it completely ruined my face. 'My confidence has now been ruined. I'll never be the same again.'

A study by campaign group Action on Sugar - based in London - looked at 526 food products that used cartoons on their packaging. They found 51 per cent had high levels of sugar, salt and fat. The worst offenders included Morrisons Dolly Mixtures (top left) which had a whopping 65g sugar per pack - almost treble the recommended daily intake for children. Kinnerton Paw Patrol 6 Mini Chocolate Bars (top centre) contain 60 per cent sugar and 17 per cent saturated fat. Just one 12g chocolate bar would provide a four to six year old with over a third of their maximum daily recommended intake for sugars. Peppa Pig Candy Bites (top right) are made up of 99 per cent sugar and have 12 grams of it in each tube. A bag of Cheetos Cheese (bottom left), promoted with an image of their Cheetah mascot on the packaging, has 2.8g of salt - the entire recommended daily amount for four to six year olds- and almost 20g of fat. Peperami Tex-Mex Snack Pack - with  its cartoon mascot wearing a Mexican sombrero (bottom centre)- has 1g of salt and 10g of fat per stick. Heinz's Pasta Shapes serves up 0.8g salt per can (bottom right).

An Australian fashion designer who has been candid about her difficulty falling pregnant shared the exact meals she ate to lose her baby weight after giving birth late last year. Co-owner of Sabo Skirt Thessy Kouzoukas (pictured), 29, weighed 53kg before she gave birth to her daughter via IVF, and at her heaviest she weighed 75kg after. She's currently at 59.7kg - just 6.5kg away from the weight she wanted to be when she walks down the aisle towards longtime partner Georgio Batsinilas in Greece next month.

Many of us don’t eat enough wholegrains, fruit and veg to meet our daily fibre needs — on average, we get 19g of the recommended daily 30g, according to the British Nutrition Foundation. But what if you could get your fibre from cakes, ice cream, and white bread? That’s the suggestion from the makers of new products said to be high in this gut-boosting nutrient. Here, Helen Bond assesses six new products that boast a high-fibre content.

Bianca Weintraub (pictured), 33, was a healthy New York personal trainer when she got implants in 2014 (left). After years of exhaustion, fevers and doctor's dismissals, she's healthy and pregnant again after getting the implants out in 2018 (right). Blood tests in 2017 revealed that Bianca was positive for several infections including a fungal one. She suspects that she had 'breast implant illness,' a series of disparate symptoms like Bianca's that women develop after getting breast implants - but which vanishes once after 'explanting' to remove the implants (inset).

Several children died after heart surgery at one of the country's top hospitals, leading doctors to declare that they wouldn't even send their own kids there for surgery. In a months-long investigation, The New York Times found death rates in the pediatric cardiac unit of the University of North Carolina Children's Hospital was about five percent, higher than most hospitals in the country. At least four deaths were confirmed in just a three-month period alone. In secret recordings, Dr Timothy Hoffman, the chief of pediatric cardiology (bottom left), called it a 'crisis' and Dr Kevin Kelly, the head of Children's Hospital (bottom center), is heard saying that performing fewer surgeries could lead to job cuts. Cardiologists expressed concerns in the recordings about then-head surgeon Dr Michael Mill (bottom right) after he failed to come in to perform a transplant surgery when a donor heart became available.

Allee Mullen, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was 20 weeks pregnant when her daughter was diagnosed with spina bifida. Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord doesn't form properly, which can cause walking and mobility problems. Doctors performed an in-utero surgery that has been shown to preserve neurologic function better than post-natal surgery. Emery Greene (right) was born with her surgical wound healed and she performed well on her neurological tests. Mullen and her husband named her after the two doctors that treated her: Dr Emery and Dr Greene (left).

Pastor Philip Dunn (left and right, with his wife), of Charleston, West Virginia, was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2003 and gradually lost his eyesight. Macular degeneration causes blurred vision or even 'blind spots' in the central vision that may grow larger. In August 2018, he underwent surgery after a cataract ruptured in his left eye. Dunn was able to see after the operation and doctors found no signs of macular degeneration. After a second surgery to remove the cataracts in his right eye, Dunn's eyesight was completely restored.

Jackson Oblisk (left) was bitten by a tick near his home in Louisville, Kentucky just before his second birthday. The Kentucky toddler spiked a 105 degree fever and slipped into a coma because he contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is carried by two species of ticks in the US. The infection attacked Jackson's brain, covered him in the hallmark rash (right), and left him unconscious for days. At last, he woke up on Friday - just in time to celebrate his second birthday.

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: Racheal Acuff, 32 (pictured left with her daughter Reegan), from Missouri, drove herself to hospital in June 2018 when she noticed blood in her urine - a sign of a kidney infection. She had no indication her body was suffering from pneumonia, and her health rapidly declined in the next 12 hours. The last thing she remembers before being sedated for three weeks is doctors running numerous tests in a race to figure out what was wrong. When Ms Acuff came round, she was shocked to be told she had septic shock, a complication of sepsis, toxic shock syndrome and was on dialysis. She fought for her life while in hospital for a total of nine weeks before she was discharged (pictured right in hospital). But the worst was yet to come over the next few months as Ms Acuff has endured various amputations due to a lack of blood flow when she was ill (pictured bottom inset, after her finger amputations, top inset, after her toes amputation).

Leon Straker, a professor of physiotherapy at Curtin University, said many people think there is one 'good' posture. But actually, there isn't just one way of sitting. Different ways of sitting will place different physical stresses on our bodies, and variety is good. Upright sitting is probably the posture you think of as 'good' posture. The defining feature of this option is that the trunk is upright (left). Professor Straker also revealed how you should sit when leaning forwards (top right) or reclining (bottom right).

Damien, 13, has been in and out of foster care all his life, and has battled kidney failure since he was eight years old. But his care has proved too much for many of his carers, and each time he rotates out of a home, he loses his spot on the waiting list for a kidney, because transplant patients are required to have a stable home. With no hope of a kidney coming, and his condition so severe, Damien would have to move to live in the hospital for full-time dialysis as he waited for something else. When his math teacher, Finn Lanning, heard that Damien, a bright boy he'd barely got to know, would be leaving school because of factors out of his control, he offered to step in. Now, he has adopted Damien, who has moved into his place, and Damien is at the top of the waiting list for a kidney - as the community tries to rally together with a GoFundMe to help Lanning afford a new teenage son.

Jude Peters, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was born in April 2014, and diagnosed with RCDP, a rare developmental brain disorder, which causes dwarfism. Sixty percent of 'Rhizo kids' don't make it to their first birthday, and another 30 percent don't make it to two. The condition impacts the development of their lungs, brain and skeleton so severely that it often proves fatal. Those who survive cannot eat, talk and walk. Doctors said he would make it two weeks at best. But now he is thriving at five years old.

Victoria Maddock (left), 27, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, had been suffering from blurry vision in her right eye which she had tried treating with eye drops. But when she began to feel like she was 'looking through milk bottle bottoms' she immediately visited the local opticians. She was diagnosed with iridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndrome, involving swelling of the cornea and changes in the iris (see inset, her eye). A build up of pressure led her to develop glaucoma, and with both conditions most common in people in their 70s, doctors were shocked. If it had been left any longer, Ms Maddock, who had needed to wear glasses occasionally until this point, could have lost vision in her right eye, she was told. Horrified, Ms Maddock had surgery to drain fluid in her eye twice - the first time failing to work (see right, after surgery).

Sheriah Harrison (left and right before surgery) paid £5,000 for a tummy tuck, liposuction and a boob reduction. The procedures could cost in the region of £12,000 privately in the UK. Days after flying home from Istanbul following the triple surgery, the 40-year-old was whisked to hospital for an emergency operation. Doctors revealed Ms Harrison, of Cardiff, had the onset of sepsis, a life-threatening response by the immune system to an infection. The civil servant spent almost a month in hospital following the ordeal. She still has an open wound in her stomach that needs to be dressed every day. Pictured top and bottom inset, her stomach immediately after the procedure in Turkey.

Jemima Willis, 37, of London, was woken by Stefan Willis making strange noises and after deciding he wasn't snoring, thought he was having a bad dream. But when he didn't reply to her calling his name, she instantly knew something was wrong, called an ambulance, and began CPR. Seven paramedics soon took over, while Mr Willis' heart stopped beating and he didn't breathe for 25 minutes. At hospital, Mrs Willis waited for her husband to wake from a five-day induced coma, as doctors told her Mr Willis had suffered a stroke and minor brain damage. Doctors are still unsure why Mr Willis, who said he was in his fittest shape ever, suffered a cardiac arrest, but he has since fully recovered. (Right, Mr and Mrs Willis together, left, after a British Heart Foundation charity bike ride).

Maggots are already used by the NHS to heal wounds, while the Ancient Egyptians believed in pouring honey into cuts. And now doctors in Indonesia have revealed another unusual way of treating gashes to the skin – pouring coffee (inset) powder onto them. Ground beans were used to treat a 63-year-old man with three diabetic foot ulcers after he refused to have an amputation. Medics rubbed powdered arabica coffee into the man's open sores, bandaged his foot and, three months later, the injuries had completely healed (main).

Lottie Butler (pictured), from Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, claims her life has been turned upside down since the accident last year. The 18-year-old now struggles with the hidden effects of her brain injury, such as memory loss, difficulties concentrating and fatigue. The sixth-form student said her school work now leaves her 'exhausted and tired' - and fears she won't be able to enjoy university when she goes. Recalling her accident, Miss Butler, out with her boyfriend at the time, said: 'I remember banging my head on the door as I left the toilet cubicle.

Oscar Saxelby-Lee, of Worcester, was in a race against time when his aggressive form of leukaemia which had worsened in February this year. He won the nation's heart when his parents Olivia Saxelby, 23, and Jamie Lee, 26, desperately launched an appeal to the public to help save their son within three months. It led to a staggering 10,000 donors being tested across the UK including 4,855 people who queued for hours in the rain in his home town (see right). On Wednesday, a Facebook post said the operation was a success and the parents have every hope it will save their 'beautiful' boy who was diagnosed at Christmas. (Left, Oscar receiving his treatment, inset, the family together).