An increasing number of men are opting for Botox injections and the surgical removal of flab.

WHEN A man goes for plastic surgery, he’s usually there for a bit of fine tuning. Although the most common cosmetic operation for men is removal of moles, a growing number are going in for Botox injections to remove wrinkles.

THERE IS still reason to take the influenza virus seriously, according to virologists Pentti Huovinen and Thedi Ziegler.

“People die from influenza every year, although the gravity of the situation obviously varies according to the strain of the virus involved,” says Ziegler.

In Finland, influenza normally becomes widespread at the end of the year and typically lasts a couple of months. Ziegler points out that the threat of an influenza pandemic – that is, a worldwide outbreak – is always present.

REGULAR USE of aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer among those with a congenital susceptibility to cancer of the large intestine. This was the main finding of a broad international study, which also included Finnish patients. The results were published in the influential British medical journal The Lancet.

The study covered around one thousand persons with a hereditary risk of developing cancer of the large intestine. Some of the participants regularly took aspirin, while those in the control group took a placebo. Those in the former group were found to be only half as much at risk of developing intestinal cancer as those in the control group. The results are not generalisable to other forms of cancer.

Aches and pains are a fact of life, but they need not get in the way of life.

MOST OF us suffer from pain in one form or another. Modern life, with its chairs and keyboards, makes it almost inevitable. Some of the most common yet debilitating pains attack our necks, shoulders, and backs. As many as 50 per cent of the population will suffer from serious back pain at some point in their life – sufficient to cause loss of time at work and lowered quality of life.

Barefoot running has been touted for years, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be?

I MUST confess that I’m not much of a runner myself. I prefer hiking and martial arts, and the most I’ve ever run at a time was a half-marathon in my army days, way back in the previous millennium. Even so, I’d heard of the barefoot running “revolution”, and some of its dramatic claims regarding injury prevention.

The core idea behind barefoot or “minimal” running is that human feet evolved for ...

Specialist: the growing use of artificial fragrances is increasing the number of allergic persons.

Fragrance allergy is an annoying condition that at its worst can isolate the sufferer from social life. It is difficult to avoid fragrances even if one does not use them oneself.

Matti Hannuksela, a specialist in dermatology and allergology, thinks that the reason behind the increase of fragrance-allergic persons is precisely the increasing use of different artificial fragrances.

The Society for Functional Medicine urges a complete overhaul in established approaches to treating illness.

Doctors in Finland are too focused on treating individual symptoms, observing consultation times and dispensing medicines rather than investigating long-term patients’ genetics, nutrition, environments or backgrounds, according to Funktionaalisen Medisiinan Seura (the Society for Functional Medicine), whose members are professionals in the field from doctors to nutrition coaches.

Niina Karttunen suffered from several bouts of maxillary sinusitis and bronchitis that lasted for a long time. Seven years ago, a skilful doctor realised fortuitously that it was, in fact, a fragrance allergy. In addition, Karttunen was diagnosed with a perfume allergy that caused skin symptoms. After the diagnosis, Karttunen was at first angry and disappointed with herself.

“Before that, I did not even take any special diets for real and just thought ‘What are you complaining about?’ It was difficult to admit that I myself was challenged,” she says.

A visit to the Red Cross Blood Service takes little time, and can benefit many.

I’VE never been one for needles, always making a point of looking the other way when being given a vaccination. So when I feel a slight prick in my right arm, I stare intently at the television looming in front of me. Onscreen, a man is enthusiastically using a pen to paint over the scratch he has made on his car, and gesticulating wildly. Ah, the strange comforts of infomercials.

What are the options when your hair starts thinning out?