'Watch out for possible legionella contamination in Dubai'
If you fly to Thailand via Dubai and make a stopover there, be careful if you go to sleep in a hotel room that has been empty for a long time. More and more people who have been to the United Arab Emirates become infected with the dreaded legionella bacteria. It concerns sixty Europeans from thirteen countries in six months. They all fell ill after a visit to Dubai and stayed in different hotels. This is reported by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Am a Dutch pensionado of 67 years. I stay in Thailand/Cambodia 8 months a year. Always been healthy. A few days before my departure back to the Netherlands, two months ago, I developed a fever and felt weak, not hungry, etc. At Schiphol, I was picked from the disembarking passengers (my Cambodian girlfriend had secretly informed the departure desk). Half an hour later in the hospital in Amsterdam.
I am 70 years old and have a swollen left foot. Been to 2 hospitals and have been taking antibiotics for 42 days now. Tried three different types and nothing helped. Very painful and the conclusion is infection in foot without wound.
I am 70 years old and have a swollen left foot. Been to 2 hospitals and have been taking antibiotics for 42 days now. Tried three different types and nothing helped. Very painful and the conclusion is infection in foot without wound.
Question to general practitioner Maarten: Thinning hair and hair loss due to vitamin deficiency?
I am a 64 year old woman and my hair has become very thin in the last year. Not much is left of the large head of hair and even a starting bald spot here and there. Could this indicate a vitamin deficiency? I am otherwise reasonably healthy.
Vaccinations for Thailand (video)
What vaccinations do you need when traveling to Thailand? We can be brief about that. There are no compulsory vaccinations for Thailand. A vaccination against yellow fever is only mandatory if you come from a country where yellow fever occurs.
Question to general practitioner Maarten: Not being able to sleep due to pain in the right buttock
A stabbing pain in my right buttock makes walking impossible. Taken from home by Memorial with flashing lights and three employees (THB 800! Come and die with us). I've been waiting for Mr. Morpheus from 11 to 9 for three nights now, but he doesn't show up. Do I (82) have to go to the doctor now?
Health Council: The Dutch should exercise more!
According to the new exercise guidelines, adults should exercise at least two and a half hours of moderate intensity exercise every week and children for at least one hour daily. Muscle and bone-strengthening activities are also recommended for both groups.
Bananas a tropical super food!
They are widely available in Thailand and dirt cheap. Eat two every day and you'll be healthy because banana is a tropical super-food, rich in many nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fruit sugar and fiber. That is why a banana works as a powerful natural energy booster.
Question to general practitioner Maarten: New technique for patients with cardiac arrhythmias
I recently received the Bumrungrad newsletter containing an article about Cardioinsight. A technique with CT scan and a cardio vest that would provide much more information and better coordinated medication for the treatment of arrhythmia. Now I have, so I'm interested.
The first question is: my girlfriend does not know if she has been vaccinated against polio, etc. Is it still necessary to do this at the age of twenty-three? Or is it wiser to do it? We have already been to Bangkok hospital, but she did not understand it. The second question: which birth control pill can she take because she has tried some but she doesn't like the side effects like headaches or only thinking about food etc etc.
Are you getting enough Selenium?
Selenium or selenium is an important trace element that also functions as an antioxidant. Selenium is in the liver and protects red blood cells and cells from damage. There are strong indications that selenium protects men against the development of prostate cancer.
Am a man, 75 years old, living 17 years in Thailand of which 4 years in Hua Hin. Have for 4-5 years, sometimes waking up at night with a dry and burning sensation in my throat. It's been getting worse for a year and a half. Now it is even true that, 1-2 hours after eating, that burning sensation is there again.
I am 76 years old and have been on medication for arrythmia for 15 years. First Tambocor prescribed by a Dutch cardiologist and since 3 years 5 mg Concor per day after an ultrasound check in the Bangkok hospital.
Due to a condition I wear a Port a Cath now it must be flushed with Heparin every (1-1,5) month according to the Oncologist. Can this be done in a somewhat large hospital (for example Prachin Buri)?
I have had RLS Restless Legs Syndrome for about six years. The problem is that things are going from bad to worse. The attacks (if I may call it that) usually happen at night, great itching in feet to drive crazy! As a result, my sleep is disturbed and I am tired during the day.
Tips to keep your gut healthy
Your gut is too important to neglect. After all, the intestinal system is the energy factory of our body. Much of the digestion takes place in your intestines. Digestion is the entire process in which food is processed into 'bite-sized' chunks for the body's cells. This provides the entire body with energy and nutrients.