General health and lifestyles

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK and mostly affects women over 50, however younger women can also get breast cancer. In rare cases men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime however there is good chance of recovery if detected early. For this reason, it is important that women check their breasts regularly for any changes

Breast self-examination:

Touch your breasts. Can you feel anything unusual?

Look for changes. Is there any change in shape and texture?

Check anything unusual with your doctor

Lump

Texture

Appearance or direction of the nipple

Nipple Discharge

Rash or crusting

Further support

Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a serious condition where your blood glucose (Sugar) level is too high. There are two main types: Type 1 and Type 2. They’re different conditions, but they’re both serious. There are some other rarer types of diabetes too.

What causes diabetes?

What all types of diabetes have in common is that they cause people to have too much glucose (sugar) in their blood, but we all need some glucose. It’s what gives us our energy. We get glucose when our bodies break down the carbohydrates that we eat or drink, and that glucose is released into our blood.

We also need a hormone called insulin. It’s made by our pancreas, and its insulin that allows the glucose in our blood to enter our cells and fuel our bodies.

Type 1 and Type 2

When you’ve got Type 1 diabetes, you can’t make any insulin at all. If you’ve got Type 2 diabetes, it’s a bit different. The insulin you make either can’t work effectively, or you can’t produce enough of it.

In both types of diabetes, because glucose can’t get into your cells, it begins to build up in your blood. And too much glucose in your blood causes a lot of different problems.

To begin with it leads to symptoms like having to wee a lot, being incredibly thirsty, and feeling very tired. You may also lose weight, get infections like thrush or suffer from slow healing wounds.

Complications

Over a long period of time, high glucose levels in your blood can seriously damage your heart, your eyes, your feet and your kidneys. These are known as the complications of diabetes.

But with the right treatment and care, people can live a healthy life. And there's much less risk that someone will experience these complications.

It is important if you experience any symptoms such as weight loss, always being thirsty and needing to drink all the time and needing to toilet frequently please got and see your GP as soon as possible. (Diabetes UK)

• Diabetes information for teens

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain that causes someone to have frequent seizures also know and epileptic fits.

Anyone can have a one-off seizure in their lifetime, but this doesn’t always mean they will go on to develop epilepsy. Epilepsy is usually only diagnosed if a doctor thinks there’s a high chance that the person could have more seizures.

Epilepsy can start at any age and there are many different types. Some types of epilepsy last for a limited time and the person eventually stops having seizures. Therefore, for many people epilepsy is a life-long condition.

What are epileptic seizures?

Electrical activity is happening in our brain all the time, with the cells in the brain sending messages to each other. A seizure happens when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity in the brain. This causes a temporary disruption to the way the brain normally works, so the brain’s messages become mixed up. The result is an epileptic seizure

There are many different types of seizures. What happens to someone during a seizure depends on which part of their brain is affected, and how far the seizure activity spreads

During some types of seizure, the person may remain alert and aware of what’s going on around them, and with other types they may lose awareness. They may have unusual sensations, feelings or movements, or they may go stiff, fall to the floor and jerk their bodies, arms and legs.

It is important that during a seizure that the person is not moved, do not restrain the person during a seizure, remove any objects away to protect the person from harm, and put them in the recovery position when fit finished. Call an ambulance if the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, or if it is the person’s first fit.

After a seizure a person might be quite sleepy, this is normal if it is safe let the person sleep or move the person to a safe area.

• Epilepsy health for teens

Health Conditions

Asthma

Asthma is a common long term lung condition that affects the airways – the tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.

It can affect people of all ages and often starts in childhood; however, asthma can develop for the first time in adults.

With the right treatment most people with asthma are able to manage their symptoms and it does not impact on their everyday life /activities.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of asthma are:

• Wheezing
• Breathlessness -
• A tight chest – it may feel like a band tightening around it
• Coughing

What’s an asthma attack?

Asthma can sometimes get worse for a short time – this is called an asthma attack. This can happen suddenly or gradually over a few days.

Signs of an asthma attack

• Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness
• Being too breathless to eat, speak or sleep
• Breathing faster
• A fast heartbeat
• Drowsiness, confusion, exhaustion or dizziness
• Blue lips or fingers
• Fainting

There’s currently no cure for asthma, but treatment can help control the symptoms so you’re able to live a normal, active life.

Treatment

Inhalers- devices that let you breathe in medicine- are the main treatment. Tablets and other treatments may also be needed if your asthma is severe.

Inhalers can help:

• Relieve symptoms when they occur (reliever inhalers)
• Stop symptoms developing (preventer inhalers)

Reliever Inhalers

Most people with asthma are prescribed a reliever inhaler. These are usually blue. A reliever inhaler relaxing your airways (NHS choices) A reliever inhaler should relive your symptoms within a few minutes. A reliever inhaler should not be required every day, if you need to use your reliever inhaler three or more times a week you should see your GP for a review of treatment.

Reliever inhalers have few side effects, but they can sometimes cause shaking or a fast heart beat for a few minutes after they have been used.

Preventer Inhalers

If you need to use a reliever inhaler often, you may also need a preventer inhaler

Using a preventer inhaler every day reduces the inflammation and sensitivity of your airways, which stops your symptoms occurring. It is important to continue to use even when you do not have symptoms.

Image of lungs: Right airway that hasn’t used a preventer regularly

Source: HMR Children’s Respiratory Specialists

There are a number of other therapies and inhalers that are used, for more information, visit the supporting links below.

Regular check ups

It is important to have regular contact with your doctor or asthma nurse for regular reviews of your condition. These appointments may include, discussing your symptoms, a discussion about your medication, breathing tests.

It is important that these appointments are attended.

Further support

• Allergies health for Teens

Cervical Screening (Smears)

Cervical screening (a smear test) checks the health of your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your womb from your vagina.

It's not a test for cancer, it's a test to help prevent cancer. All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 should be invited by letter every three years. During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix.

The sample is tested for changes to the cells of your cervix. Finding abnormal changes early means they can be monitored or treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer. You'll get your results by letter, usually in about 2 weeks.

When you receive your results you may also have included a HPV result as it is a risk factor for cervical cancer. If this is positive you will be recalled for another smear in 12 months to review your HPV status, as the body should deal with the infection itself (NHS UK).

Try not to put off cervical screening. It's one of the best ways to protect yourself from cervical cancer.

HPV Vaccine

Girls can get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine free from the NHS from the age of 12 up to their 25th birthday. It helps protect them against cervical cancer, which is the most common cancer in women under 35 in the UK.  From the 2019-20 school year, it's expected that 12- to 13-year-old boys will also become eligible for the HPV vaccine.

It also helps to protect against genital warts and rarer HPV-related cancers, such as:

• anal cancer
• genital cancers
• cancers of the head and neck

In England, girls aged 12 to 13 years are routinely offered the first HPV vaccination when they're in school Year 8. The second dose is normally offered 6 to 12 months after the first (in school Year 8 or Year 9).

The HPV vaccine is effective at stopping girls getting the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers, and some other anal and genital cancers and cancers of the head and neck. It's important to have both doses to be protected.

Girls who missed their HPV vaccination can still be vaccinated on the NHS up to their 25th birthday. Girls who start the HPV vaccination after the age of 15 will need 3 doses as they do not respond as well to 2 doses as younger girls do.

Further support

The following are recommendations to help ensure you can remain healthy and live well (NHS UK).

Diet

Ensuring you have a balanced diet is an important part in maintaining good health. A balanced diet means you eat from a variety of food groups to ensure that you have consumed sufficient nutrition to ensure your body can work well maintain good health. 

Food groups in your diet should include fruit and vegetables at least 5 portions per day, high fibre/starchy foods such as bread, potatoes, rice should be at least a third of your plate. Some dairy or dairy alternatives and protein such as pulses, fish, meat and eggs should also be included as part of a varied diet.

Drink plenty of fluids each day (at least 6-8 glasses) water is best.  Limit foods with saturated fat and food and drinks high in sugar as this increase your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Further support

Exercise

To stay healthy you need to stay active daily and complete both aerobic and strengthening exercises the following are recommended guidelines:

Age 19-64 years 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week (such as brisk walking or cycling) or 75 minutes of vigorous running or tennis etc.

And

Strength exercises two or more days a week that work all the major muscles of the body such as legs, back etc.

Age 5-18 years you need to do three types of physical activity:

• Aeorobic exercise
• Bones strengthening exercise
• Muscle strengthening exercise

You should be doing at least 60 minutes every day and at least 3 days a week this exercise should include exercises to strengthen muscles and bones such as gymnastics, dance, football, running and tennis.

For further information can be found below:

• Change 4 Life
• Exercise

Sleep

In order to maintain physical and mental health it is important to sufficient sleep. We are all individual and need different amounts of sleep. The recommended guidelines for sleep as per NHS UK are:

• children age 5-18 years should have between 9-13 hours
• adults 18 years and over require between 7-9 hours
• toddlers and babies require between 12-17 hours

If you are always feeling tired you may not be getting sufficient sleep, find out more information on how to get a good sleep and what can cause sleep problems.

Immunisations are an important way we prevent illnesses that can result in life limiting changes such as blindness, deafness, brain damage and death. This is why children in the UK are immunised as a baby to give lifelong protection, the immunisations are given at certain ages in order to maintain your protection until you leave school.

When planning to go to university, it is important to ensure you have had the Meningitis ACWY vaccine and Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio booster. If you have had your injections in year 9 you will have had the Meningitis ACWY vaccine and Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio booster, so you will not need another injection.

Don’t worry if you have not had the Meningitis ACWY and Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio booster in year 9 and you are going to university. You can contact your GP surgery, who can arrange for you to have the MEN ACWY and Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio booster injection at the surgery.

If you are not sure what injections, you have had you can ask your GP, contact the school health service or go through access to information.

There might be a small charge for you to obtain your immunisation history.

By the time you leave school you should have had 5 injections Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio as a minimum, plus a few others that you can see from the information given below:

6-in-one vaccine

• Protects against: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping cough, Polio, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) and Hepatitis B.
• Given at: 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age to all babies born on or after 1 August 2017.

Pneumococcal (PCV)

• Protects against: some types of Pneumococcal infection
• Given at: 8 weeks, 16 weeks and one year of age

Rotavirus vaccine

• Protects against: Rotavirus infection, a common cause of childhood diarrhoea and sickness
• Given at: 8 and 12 weeks of age
• Read more about the Rotavirus vaccine

Meningitis B vaccine

• Protects against: Meningitis (caused by Meningococcal type B bacteria)
• Given at: 8 weeks, 16 weeks and one year of age
• Read more about the Men B vaccine

Hib/Men C vaccine

• Protects against: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Meningitis caused by meningococcal group C bacteria
• Given at: one year of age
• Read more about the Hib/Men C vaccine

MMR vaccine

• Protects against: Measles, Mumps and Rubella (German Measles)
• Given at: one year and at three years and four months of age
• Read more about the MMR jab

Children's flu vaccine

• Protects against: Flu
• Given at: annually as a nasal spray in Sept/Oct for all children aged two to nine years on 31 August 2018
• Read more about the flu vaccine for children

4-in-1 pre-school booster

• Protects against: Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping cough and Polio
• Given at: three years and four months of age
• Read more about the DTaP/IPV pre-school booster

Human Papilloma Vaccine

• Protects against: cervical cancer
• Given at: 12-13 years as two injections at least six months apart
• Read more about the HPV vaccine

3-in-1 teenage booster

• Protects against: Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio
• Given at: 14 years
• Read more about the 3-in-1 teenage booster

Meningitis ACWY

• Protects against: Meningitis (caused by meningococcal types A, C, W and Y bacteria)
• Given at: 14 years and new university students aged 19-25
• Read more about the MenACWY vaccine

Optional vaccinations

These vaccinations are offered on the NHS in addition to the routine programme to "at-risk" groups of babies and children.

Chickenpox vaccination

• Protects against: chickenpox
• Who needs it: siblings of children who have suppressed immune systems and are susceptible to chickenpox, for example because they're having cancer treatment or have had an organ transplant.
• Given: from one year of age upwards. Children receive two doses of chickenpox vaccine given four to eight weeks apart.
• Read more about the chickenpox jab

BCG (tuberculosis) vaccination

• Protects against: tuberculosis (TB)
• Who needs it: babies and children who have a high chance of coming into contact with tuberculosis.
• Given: from birth to 16 years of age.

Flu

• Protects against: flu
• Who needs it: children aged six months to two years and those aged nine to 17 who have certain medical conditions or a weakened immune system, which may put them at risk of complications from flu. (All children aged two to eight years are given the flu vaccine as part of the routine immunisation schedule.)
• Given: for children between the ages of six months and two years as a single jab every year in September/November. For children aged nine to 17 years of age as a nasal spray every year in September/November.
• Read more about the nasal spray flu vaccine and the flu jab

Hepatitis B

• Protects against: Hepatitis B
• Who needs it: children at high risk of exposure to hepatitis B, and babies born to infected mothers.
• Given: as six doses over 12 months – a baby born to a mother infected with hepatitis B will be given a dose at birth, followed by further doses at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age, and a final dose at one year

Further support

• Mersey Care's vaccination and Immunisation Service

The testicles are two oval shaped male sex organs that are found inside the scrotum on either side of the penis. They are an important part of the male reproductive system as they produce sperm and the hormone testosterone necessary for male sexual development. In order to recognise what is not normal it is important to understand what is normal for you, therefore regular self-examination is recommended at least monthly.

There are around 2,200 cases of testicular cancer diagnosed each year. Testicular cancer is the most common type of cancer to affect men between ages of 15-49. Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer and has 98% successful treatment rate for this reason it is extremely important that individuals perform testicular self-examination regularly (NHS and Cancer Research UK)

Testicular self-examination

What are you looking for?

• A hard lump on front or side of a testicle
• Swelling or enlargement of a testicle
• Increase in firmness of a testicle
• Pain or discomfort in a testicle or in the scrotum (the sac that holds the testicles)
• An unusual difference between one testicle and another

If you find a lump or swelling or any of the above signs get checked out as soon as possible.

Further information

What is a Young Carer?

Young Carers are children and young people under the age of 18 who provide regular and ongoing care and emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances. A young carer becomes vulnerable when the level of care giving and responsibility to the person in need of care becomes excessive or inappropriate for that child, risking impacting on his or her emotional or physical well-being or educational achievement and life chances.

Some of the responsibilities Young Carers might have include, practical tasks such as cooking and cleaning, physical care for example moving and handling, personal care, emotional support, household management such as managing finances, caring for siblings, administering medication or translating. Some people become carers at a very young age and don’t realise they are carers, other young people become carers overnight.

We know that Young Carers often do not think of themselves as carers and it is important that you are recognised and get the support you need. 

Further support