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Should I get the flu vaccine?

The first batch of government-funded flu vaccines have arrived, and many medical centres and pharmacies have been offering private flu vaccines since March. But do you need the flu vaccine? What are the side effects? How effective is it? If you don’t get it, will you catch the flu?

What is the flu?

Any conversation about the flu vaccine should start with the flu, or influenza. The flu is more than just a cold. I last caught the flu when I was a teenager, and I can still remember that terrible feeling of fatigue. I felt like I had been run over by a bus. I kept trying to get out of bed to finish my school assignments, and I kept having to get back in. And if you know me, that is very unusual!

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The skinny on skin cancer

Photo by Matheus Vinicius on Unsplash

Skin cancer is the most common cause of cancer in Australia. In fact, we diagnose and treat so many skin cancers that the non-melanoma skin cancers are not even included in the Australian Cancer Database, so we aren’t even exactly sure of the true prevalence.

Even though Summer is over, skin cancer can develop at any time. Read on for the “skinny” on skin cancer.

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I’m always tired, Doc

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

“I’m always tired, Doc.”
Well, join the club, I’m always tempted to say. It doesn’t seem like a day goes by without at least one poor patient slumping down in their chair and telling me about their permanent fatigue.

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Antibiotics: friend or foe?

Photo by pina messina on Unsplash

Spring is a strange time, isn’t it? One day it’s 30 degrees and we’re grabbing our summer clothes and getting ready for beach days, the next it’s plunged to 18 degrees and the jumpers are back on. With this temperamental weather, as well as the advent of hayfever symptoms, I’ve been seeing a lot of coughs and colds lately. So I thought I’d write a little about antibiotics.

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Low Carb Living: some FAQs

As we know from my previous post, I am a fan of low carb diets for weight loss and improved health outcomes, albeit in specific groups of people. I thought I’d write a little today about some of the FAQs I get about low carb living. Continue reading “Low Carb Living: some FAQs”