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Getting Checked

 
1st December 2021

A HEALTHY AND FULFILLING LIFE WITH HIV

“The thing people are surprised about is how little living with HIV impacts my life,” says CEO of NAM aidsmap, Matthew Hodson. With a full schedule, leading one of ...

by Comms Team Getting Checked
 
16th September 2021

Power Over Sepsis

by Comms Team Getting Checked
 
3rd May 2021

A positive outcome of irritable bowel syndrome

by Karen Finn Getting Checked
 
Getting Checked 1st December 2021

A HEALTHY AND FULFILLING LIFE WITH HIV

“The thing people are surprised about is how little living with HIV impacts my life,” says CEO of NAM aidsmap, Matthew Hodson. With a full schedule, leading one of the world’s foremost sources of HIV information and sharing his ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 16th September 2021

Power Over Sepsis

“Knowledge is power,” says 23-year-old graduate Poppy Downes. “I had no idea what sepsis was when I developed symptoms at a dance festival four years ago. It just shows how important it is to be educated about it.” “It was ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 3rd May 2021

A positive outcome of irritable bowel syndrome

For Lottie Drynan, having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) came with some unexpected turns. Despite experiencing a host of symptoms that significantly impact her quality of life, Lottie has found huge comfort in her blossoming role as an award-winning IBS patient ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 28th April 2021

TACKLING NEW HEIGHTS WITH SARCOIDOSIS

Stewart Armstrong is a force to be reckoned with. Not satisfied with taming his sarcoidosis and life-threatening aspergillosis, last year he demonstrated just what can be achieved, by climbing the height of Mount Everest. Stewart’s health journey started about ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 29th March 2021

Endometriosis warriors unite

Keisha Meek and Nikita Chadha bonded under unusual circumstances. The women met through a shared chronic condition called endometriosis. Like many people with this debilitating gynaecological disorder, it took Keisha and Nikita many years to get a diagnosis. Now they ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 24th March 2021

A life after tuberculosis

Five years ago, British local election candidate Samara Barnes was astonished to learn that her persistent cough was tuberculosis (TB). To mark World TB Day, Samara shares her story with This Is MedTech. “I had had a cough for a ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 27th July 2020

Getting educated about Hepatitis C

When Ronni Marks found out she had Hepatitis C in 1996, there were no patient support groups and the internet was in its infancy. In other words, information was scarce. “My mother was having knee surgery and I went to donate ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 6th July 2020

Getting through COVID-19

It seems that everyone has felt the effects of coronavirus to a degree. But some people like Steve Radigan, who shares his story with This Is MedTech, have been impacted more than others. “My initial symptom was an infrequent dry ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 20th February 2020

Making peace with early menopause

Migraines. Depression. Hot flushes. At 41, Tally Hatzakis didn’t know what was going on. She certainly didn’t suspect it could be the menopause. “Looking back, I think it all started with migraines,” Tally tells This Is MedTech. “I had ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 15th January 2020

Fighting for thyroid health

“I am hopeful that a day will come when the suffering of thyroid patients will be a thing of the past,” says patient advocate and blogger Dana Trentini, aka Hypothyroid Mom. After the birth of her first child in 2006, Dana ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 27th May 2019

The birthday walk that changed my life

When Susan Small found out she had Lyme disease, she was in a state of disbelief. She spent most of her time in the city and had never even seen a tick. “I was infected following a tick bite after ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 29th January 2019

When eating gluten-free isn’t a choice

Champion miniature golfer Richard Gottfried spent years feeling ill before he discovered that he had coeliac disease and gradually regained his health. Believing he had a common digestive disorder called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Richard took IBS medication to ease ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 28th November 2018

Why it’s smart to know your HIV status

Andrew Gámez-Heath didn’t hesitate to get tested for HIV. Little did he know that an unexpected outcome would lead him down the path to patient advocacy. “I had just started a new relationship and thought I would go ...

• by Comms Team

Chronic Conditions 20th November 2018

Meet the “COPD Athlete”

You don’t usually come across a triathlete with severe lung disease, but Russell Winwood is great at busting stereotypes. The Australian blogger has come a long way since being diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2011, which left ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 28th July 2018

Hepatitis: finding the missing millions

Until a few years ago, Michelle Tolley was one of the approximately 300 million people who are unaware that they carry viral hepatitis. Now she’s on a quest to help find the rest of the ‘missing millions’. Despite having contracted ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 17th May 2018

“The surgery saved me, it’s a rebirth!” Testimony of Betul, 33 years old

I have been obese since my childhood. For family reasons, I could not benefit from an appropriate care. I suffered from stigmatization, I wore clothes that fit me but which I did not like and, to hide my face, I ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 2nd May 2018

Turning pain into passion: How Hospital Acquired Infections changed my life

Linda Proce’s career in disinfection started right on time. It was 2009 and Mexican Bird Flu was in full swing. Her story, however, began eight years earlier. The year 2001 marked the second time my life was plagued by a hospital ...

• by Comms Team

Family 25th April 2018

Getting to grips with eczema

I’d never seen it this bad. Jessie was covered in rash and scratching nonstop. My 12-year-old daughter was having her worst ever flare-up of eczema (or atopic dermatitis), an inherited skin condition that disrupts the skin’s barrier and ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 3rd March 2018

Diagnosing severe hearing loss and deafness

This blog is part of the Early Diagnosis campaign #BeFirst Early diagnosis and care can prevent illness from developing and slow disease progression. Lab tests, genetic tests, tests for chronic diseases and modern lab diagnostics can help facilitate earlier intervention ...

• by Patrick D’Haese

Getting Checked 1st December 2017

Ending the stigma & isolation of HIV/AIDS

December 1st isn’t just a reminder that the winter holidays are nearly here. It’s an opportunity to show solidarity with over 36 million people who are living with HIV worldwide, and to remind the public and governments that it ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 24th November 2017

New vision for man with genetic blindness

When he was born, Marc’s mother thought his vision problem was the result of medication she had taken while pregnant. Now, 60 years later, he knows his condition is genetic – and an innovative ‘bionic eye’ has given him the chance ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 11th October 2017

Under pressure: how specialist eye care changed outcomes for glaucoma patients

Gary Finnegan asks consultant ophthalmologist Keith Barton how glaucoma care has changed over the past 20 years and what the future holds Outcomes for glaucoma patients are better than ever thanks to specialisation in ophthalmology and advances in diagnostics, medication and ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 21st September 2017

Surgery changed my life. I’m so happy I went for it

Giacomina was a little anxious about her first ever operation, until her doctor explained that it was the most common procedure in Europe Giacomina Bruno had lived for almost 70 years without ever encountering a surgeon’s scalpel. But two years ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 14th September 2017

Ending the misery of STIs

Sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) can cause pain, infertility and death. Can education and new technologies help turn the tide? More than 1 million sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day worldwide. From chlamydia, syphilis and herpes to gonorrhoea, hepatitis, HPV and HIV, ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 27th July 2017

Bringing a human face to hepatitis

These days, the best way to rally support for an important cause is via social media…and selfies. That’s why the World Hepatitis Alliance has launched #ShowYourFace to stamp out the silent killer that is hepatitis. The campaign marks ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 20th July 2017

Discovering malaria’s ‘fingerprint

New invention promises faster and more accurate diagnosis Malaria kills one person every 12 seconds. Think about that for a moment. That’s five per minute. Almost half the world’s population lives in areas at risk of malaria. Hardly surprising ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 29th June 2017

The contact lens that lives inside the eye

Carina had been wearing glasses or contacts since she was a kid. Now, artificial lenses implanted in her eye give her the freedom to enjoy life – and her work (as an optician!) [caption id="attachment_1942" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo credits: ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 16th June 2017

Meet the students on a mission to improve cancer screening

MedTech’s next generation of innovators want to reduce ‘false positives’ in cancer diagnostics Imagine you’ve been tested for cancer. The results come back – it’s bad news: the test is positive and you’re given a follow-up appointment ...

• by Comms Team

Getting Checked 6th June 2017

Meet the young doctors bringing healthcare to rural Romania

Talk about mobile health! Doctors and medical students have put Romania’s healthcare divide in the spotlight Every month, one of Romania’s many rural villages welcomes up to 40 young doctors and students on a mission: to deliver health services ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 16th February 2017

Young Turk revolutionizes diagnostics with smartphone imaging

Getting sick is no fun anywhere, but relief is close at hand in the industrialized world. Lab results come within hours, diagnosis is quick, treatment is prescribed. For sick people in remote villages around the globe, though, the story is ...

• by Laurel Kenner

Getting Checked 14th December 2016

Self-Tests Help Migrants Fight HIV

In the depths of America’s Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” His words ring true in today’s fight against HIV/AIDS, as social stigma still deters people from seeking ...

• by Laurel Kenner

Getting Checked 18th November 2016

There’s something about Movember

Hollywood megastar Ben Stiller has helped to raise awareness about prostate cancer and prompted a debate about the need for a better test In 2003, two friends – Travis Garone and Luke Slattery – were enjoying a beer in Melbourne, Australia, when they ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 8th November 2016

No time to lose: counting breaths, saving children’s lives

Pneumonia kills more children than and other infectious disease. Simple counting beads could speed up diagnosis – and increase survival rates 920,136 children. That is the number of kids who died of pneumonia in 2015. Nine hundred and twenty thousand, one hundred and ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 14th September 2016

“I felt that I had failed my child”

This is what Julia Seugling kept on telling herself after her baby had been delivered by emergency C-section at 28 weeks. It wasn’t exactly the blissful scenario that she had envisioned for the birth of her first child, but there ...

• by Karen Finn

Getting Checked 8th September 2016

Superbugs: have we built kryptonite on Earth?

If you experienced heart failure or diabetes, fought HIV, underwent heavy surgery and survived, chances are that antibiotics have already saved your life. Since their discovery, antibiotics have been the equivalent of Superman on Earth: saving lives, giving hope, making ...

• by Ioana Dobre

Getting Checked 26th July 2016

Hepatitis C: Stopping a killer’s spread for pennies

The nurse already had given dozens of free flu vaccinations at a small New Jersey office one day last fall when an alert employee noticed that she was using the same syringe over and over. State health officials urged the 67 ...

• by Laurel Kenner

Getting Checked 25th April 2016

Brett’s diagnosis came in the nick of time

When a 16-year-old aid worker returned from Uganda feeling tired and ill, it took days to diagnose malaria and begin urgent treatment. The delay almost cost him his life. Feeling tired after a long-haul flight is what you can expect. ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 11th April 2016

A life lost to sepsis every 3½ seconds

Diagnosing sepsis within the ‘Golden Hour’ offers the best chance of surviving a potentially lethal condition In 2005, Dr. Ron Daniels was working in the intensive care unit at the hospital where he had trained. As he walked into the ward ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 15th March 2016

Birth defects: do you want to know?

Genetic testing during pregnancy can reveal a rare disease before a baby is born, helping parents to prepare. But just how much information do parents want about their child? All children are unique but Olivia Farnsworth is a true one-off. ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 2nd March 2016

Wanted: a swift and simple Zika test

If you have fever, rash, joint pain, headache and fatigue, it could be flu, dengue fever or chikungunya. Or it could be Zika virus. The trouble is it can take weeks to find out for sure. For pregnant women in ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 22nd January 2016

Lying to save her daughter’s life

When doctors missed her three-year-old’s brain cancer, Amanda decided she had to do whatever it takes to get a diagnosis for her child. Amanda Davies knew something was wrong. Over the course of a year, her daughter, Lil, had ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 27th November 2015

Cancer Treatment Gets Personal with DNA Sequencing

When identical twin sisters were diagnosed with different forms of cancer, they began to wonder if cancer was “in their genes.” They discovered that gene sequencing could provide answers, but it could also raise some difficult questions. Kathy Giusti was ...

• by Mariellen Brown

Getting Checked 4th September 2015

How are measles diagnosed?

Measles are often thought to be a plague of the past, an ancient evil which only haunts some remote areas of the earth, caused by a virus so rare, vaccinations are superfluous. A trip to the past In  ancient history, ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 10th July 2015

“I control my life. HIV’s got nothin’ on me”

For mothers like Posha, Lexina, Luchrecia, Rita, Queen and Siphiwe the news that they were pregnant didn’t come with quite as much joy as it does for most expectant mothers. Each year, approximately 1.5 million women living with HIV give ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 8th July 2015

This mother blamed the menopause for her symptoms – until her doctor unveiled the truth’

My whole body ached as I woke stiff, unrested and shiny from night sweats. The bruises on my shins throbbed. I forced myself into action, organising breakfast while snapping at my children. It was clearly going to be another ­non-functioning ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 8th July 2015

When contraception is a young girl’s way to school

Alima was 15 years old when she travelled from her home to the capital of Ghana, Accra, to save up for wedding crockery. But life in the city can be risky for young girls like Alima. Working in the markets girls ...

• by Gael Bassetto

Getting Checked 27th May 2015

This woman had abdominal surgery – watch what happened next!

Imagine having routine surgery and ending up feeling even worse than before you had the procedure. Everything was well planned, you went to a good hospital with great staff and the operation went well. But then about a week later, ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 17th May 2015

HIV testing: In Uganda, it’s a couples thing!

Health experts have long advocated the need to look beyond pregnant women to reduce HIV transmission from mothers to their children. Ellon Mabaasa and her team think getting male partners involved will help, and they’ve got the numbers to ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 6th May 2015

Tackling cervical cancer in Nicaragua, without the help of pink ribbons

Pink ribbons remind us to take cancer seriously and get ourselves checked out, but in places where “pink” has yet to catch on, organisations like PATH are stepping in. So at some point in spring, Europe becomes aglow with pink, ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 27th April 2015

A smear for a smear: let’s talk about pap tests

For many women, having a pap test doesn’t even come close to the top on their list of priorities. But is should. Women often opt out of a pap test because they find it unnecessary and are generally unaware ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 22nd April 2015

A parents’ dilemma

New gadgets allow you to check your kids’ vital signs without rushing to hospital Have you ever been awoken in the middle of the night by your child's cry? I know I have. They wake because they are hungry. Or ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 7th April 2015

4-time cancer survivor dedicates life to educating women

As a survivor of thyroid, cervical and breast cancer, Yuthar Al Rawahy has devoted her life to raising awareness and educating women in Oman about the importance of early detection. Yuthar was 48 years old, a healthy mother of five children ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 1st April 2015

5 lessons we can learn from Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie has emerged as an unlikely champion of informed medical decision-making. This would have been hard to predict if you were familiar with stories of Jolie turning up at her first wedding in black rubber pants or roaming around ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 30th March 2015

Women and heart attacks: could a new test spot them earlier?

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, claiming the lives of more than three times the number of women as breast cancer. But what if there was an easy way to tell if a woman is having ...

• by Mariellen Brown

Getting Checked 16th March 2015

I survived Ebola’

Survivors say early detection and treatment can help beat Ebola and conquer stigma The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak is heading for 11,000. That's 11,000 people – 11,000 family stories of heartbreak and horror, thousands of children orphaned by a deadly disease. ...

• by Gary Finnegan

Getting Checked 23rd February 2015

Kids and magnets: the dangers of attraction

It appears that many kids have a refined palate for cold, iron-tasting afternoon snacks known as magnets. And frankly it’s understandable – those colourful pieces of construction marvelousness look remarkably like candy. Children often lament stomach pains and tummy troubles ...

• by Shweta Kulkarni Van Biesen

Getting Checked 2nd February 2015

Could a blood test predict suicide risk?

A simple blood test may be a reliable way to screen people for suicide risk. The test looks for changes in a gene that helps the brain manage stress and control impulsive behavior. “Suicide is a major preventable public health ...

• by Lauren Nelson

Getting Checked 8th January 2015

Take a deep breath … that was your diabetes screening

One of the ways medicine is reinventing itself is by making diagnostic techniques less… scary. The mention of a colonoscopy, a biopsy, or even a blood test can be quite unnerving. And not just because we fear ‘why’ the doctor ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 17th December 2014

The Moustache: is it the pink ribbon for men?

Close to a million men from the UK through Finland to Singapore pledge to growing moustaches for 30 days in November. And it’s a lot more serious than it sounds. It's Movember. A global campaign rooted form Australia and now ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 16th December 2014

What does a positive HPV test result mean?

If you are a woman over the age of 30, it’s possible your doctor has recommended you get an HPV test with your pap test. Most women who have HPV don’t know it, and generally the body manages to ...

• by Betina Kiefer Alonso

Getting Checked 17th November 2014

What does a “blood test revolution” look like?

There are a few things about healthcare that seem to be given. GPs have terrible handwriting and blood tests are slow and cumbersome. Then there’s always that one person who sets out to change what seems to be unchangeable. ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 15th November 2014

Can blood tests predict breast cancer or depression? Not yet, but we’re not far.

There are a handful of conditions you knew a blood test could easily identify, like diabetes, HIV, anaemia. Pretty obvious. But soon, simple blood tests could do a lot more. What if they could predict depression, your chances of breast ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 25th October 2014

Will apps pave the way for a more open conversation on STDs?

How often do you talk to your sexual partners about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)? In a world where even just being communicative and open about sex remains a challenge, the topic of STDs is rarely broached between people. The taboo ...

• by Betina Kiefer Alonso

Getting Checked 15th October 2014

Get your next eye exam on a smartphone

Getting your eyes checked in rural Kenya isn’t easy. So many people don’t do it. Maybe this can change now. Rather than waiting for patients to show up at clinics, it is much more effective to go to ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 15th October 2014

Could a blood test have saved Sybil in Downton Abbey?

[Spoiler Alert!] Fans of the international smash hit TV series Downton Abbey would probably rather forget the emotional episode in season 3 in which the estate-fleeing rabble rouser Sybil was set to deliver her interbellum love child and things went terribly ...

• by Betina Kiefer Alonso

Getting Checked 5th October 2014

Is herpes a big deal?

The New York Times called genital herpes the “largest epidemic no one wants to talk about." So is it actually a big deal to have it? Most people have some form of herpes, and many might not even think to ...

• by Betina Kiefer Alonso

Getting Checked 4th October 2014

Your smartphone may be your pocket doctor but what about its dumber brother?

Your smartphone can show your temperature, heart rate and sleeping patterns. Soon it could even tell you if you have the flu or give you an eye exam. But what about the good old unbreakable ‘dumb’ phones? 6 out of the 7 ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 26th September 2014

Wearable Vapor Sensor Can ‘Smell’ Diabetes

A wearable vapor sensor could monitor diseases such as diabetes and hypertension by picking up airborne biomarkers exhaled or released through the skin. “Each of these diseases has its own biomarkers that the device would be able to sense,” says ...

• by Catharine June

Getting Checked 14th September 2014

At-Home Test Diagnoses Anemia In 60 Seconds

A device that uses a single drop of blood can quickly diagnose anemia and allow inexpensive at-home monitoring. The basic test produces results in about 60 seconds and requires no electrical power. A companion smartphone application can automatically correlate the visual ...

• by John Toon

Getting Checked 5th September 2014

New test diagnoses TB in minutes, not months

A new test could dramatically improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), allowing health care providers to report test results in minutes. Findings from the first human clinical trial show the test can determine if a patient has ...

• by Holly Lambert

Getting Checked 4th September 2014

Test yourself with a lab the size of a deck of cards

You wake up feeling a bit under the weather. It could be the flu, or maybe your low on Vitamin D? What if you could check right then and there with your morning coffee what exactly is happening to your ...

• by Andrea Toth

Getting Checked 24th August 2014

Peanut butter sniff test confirms Alzheimer’s

A dollop of peanut butter and a ruler might be a way to confirm a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student in the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste and the University of ...

• by Jill Pease

Getting Checked 24th August 2014

The 50 cent microscope that folds like origami

A new take on the microscope is making waves on the global health scene, promising to speed diagnoses of conditions in areas where it can now take weeks or even months. Remember those origami books you had as a kid? ...

• by Andrea Toth

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