Life-Saving Tips (if you have to go to hospital)
These bits of info – via New Scientist – are well worth committing to memory!
Blood transfusions are dangerous if the need is low!
Of people judged on arrival at hospital to have more than a 50 per cent chance of dying, those who had a transfusion of red blood cells were twice as likely to survive as those given no transfusion. But in arrivals judged to have less than a 6 per cent chance of dying, those who got a transfusion were five times as likely to die as those who did not.
Friday-itis
People who have non-urgent surgery on Friday have a 44 per cent higher risk of death than those who have it on Monday.
The risks are tiny, but who wouldn’t opt for a Monday op knowing this?
Pre-Op Shave
The shave, typically using a disposable razor, is more dangerous than any bacteria living in your hairs. Because the nurses are prone to cut you.
Hip Replacements
There are 200 types. Some are tried and proven. Choose them ahead of the “latest” un-proven sorts.
Check-ups
A regular check-up is important if you need to keep something monitored. But if you are in good health, harmful false diagnosis is as common as useful – there is no net gain in living longer or avoiding a heart attack:
Health check-ups have long been popular in the US. They have recently been introduced in the UK as a “midlife MOT” to be done every five years. They sound like common sense but check-ups are surprisingly controversial, because they look for illness in people who have no symptoms. This can lead to unnecessary worry and treatment.
The most recent trial into the effectiveness of general check-ups looked at nearly 60,000 Danish people offered annual checks for five years. Five years after this period, heart attack rates and overall death rates were unaffected