Published January 14th, 2008
in Other Information.
On Monday 24th October 2005, in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Mr Samuel Whitbread, Bedfordshire Integrated Health Group donated the “CAM” collection of books to Bedfordshire Libraries. The presentation was followed by a talk on ‘The role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in today’s healthcare system,” by Dr Peter Davies, Dean of the School of Integrated Health at Westminster University.
Since the launch, the two book collections, sponsored by Bedford Allergy Support Group, have been issuing well, demonstrating the interest in books on allergies as well as complementary medicine. The full collection can now be found at Bedford Central Library.
In January 2007, Bedfordshire Libraries launched the Bedfordshire Books on Prescription service in all 17 of it’s libraries, working in partnership with the PCT. Each library has a collection of 35 books covering mild mental health conditions such as depression, panic attacks and anger management, as well as books on various other health matters.
Further details of the Bedfordshire Books on Prescription service can be obtained by contacting Anthea Stark, Senior Librarian, Community Link Services on 01234 350931.
Published August 1st, 2007
in Presentations.
We’ve now made available two presentations from past talks. Please click the links below to view them and please feel free to download them and view them on your computer. Links to download the presentations can be found on the left hand side of the page once you’ve followed the links below.
Allergy: Services, Politics and Real Life
The slides used during a talk for the Bedford Allergy Support Group by Dr. Ramesh Mehta FRCP;FRCPCH;MD;DCH Consultant Paediatrician at Bedford Hospital.
Wyndham Centre
The slides used during a talk for the Bedford Allergy Support Group by Sandra Bullock, Nutritionist at The Wyndham Centre.
Published May 21st, 2007
in Presentations.
Be Wise, Be Well. Cancer, the Winnable War. There Must Be An Easier Way!
Find out more by coming to hear Phillip Day, International Speaker, at the Bunyan Free Church (Mill Street, Bedford) on Thursday 10th January 2008 from 19h30.
For further information, call 01234 354499
Published February 28th, 2007
in Meetings and Newsletter.
We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to download and read the latest editon of our Newsletter, packed with useful information about the assistance and support we offer, including contact information and future meeting dates. To read the newsletter, please visit our Newsletter page and follow the link.
In addition to the availability of this newsletter, you can also now download past newsletters. Please click the links below to read them, or right-click the links and select “Save as” to save them to you computer and read them at a later date.
Published February 25th, 2007
in Uncategorised.
We’re delighted to offer you some information and advice for patients taking complex homeopathic medicines from the Dove Clinic for Integrated Medicine.
Homeopathy can take some time to provide a really effective therapy. During the course of homeopathic treatment, you might find your condition worsening initially (a reaction to treatment); this is a good sign and means the medication is ultimately likely to be effective. It is important to understand that during a course of treatment your symptoms may change and this will necessitate a change in medication.
If a reaction to treatment occurs:
- If you are taking a medicine which you rub into your navel, halve the dose (e.g. if it is five drops on alternative days then decrease the dose to five drops evry forth day). If you are still unwell a week later, then ring the clinic.
- If you are only taking oral medication, halve the dose of all medicaments. If you are still unwell a week later, then ring us.
General advice about taking homeopathic medicines:
- Before food medication should be taken as instructed, 15 to 20 minutes before food. Also, please avoid toothpaste, cigarettes, pharmaceutical medicines (drugs), or drinking anything except water, for that period of time.
- After food medication should be taken 15 to 20 minutes after food, following all the above regulations.
- Coasted tablets should be swallowed whole.
- Try and keep hydrated while taking homeopathic medicines. We would recommend that you drink plenty of spring water per day during therapy.
- Please store homeopathic medicines in a cupboard, away from strong light, heat, perfume or coffee.
- Medicines supplied in the form of pills or tablets should be taken from a clean palm of hand and put into mouth. Medicines should be placed directly onto the tongue. Powdered medicines should be mixed as directed. If the instructions say that they should be taken in water, then the containers used should be cleaned and dried. Immediately before use the glass should be rinsed in water.
- It is preferable, but not essential, to avoid taking prescribed medications (particularly self prescribed medications such as pain killers and laxatives) whilst taking homeopathic medicines.
If you run out of medicines a long time before your next appointment, telephone the Centre on 01962 718004 and we well send more in the post.
The medicines prescribed at the Dove Clinic are all registered in the country of origin. We obtain medicines from two major sources in the United Kingdom and Germany. In Germany, natural medicines are subject to careful quality control in their production and are registered under a seperate natural medicines licensing procedure. In the United Kingdom, our medicines are made by licensed pharmaceutical companies and their production and quality are carefully monitored.
Ingredients of medictaion can be given if required.
If you want to know more about the Dove Clinic, visit their website.
Published January 24th, 2007
in Presentations.
We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to download a brand new leaflet full of tips on how to reduce the effects of allergens in your home. The leaflet is in PDF format which will open automatically on most computers within your browser providing you have a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader.
Published November 12th, 2006
in Site News.
We’re pleased to announce our new look website is now complete. We hope you’ll find our website is now much easier to navigate. As well as it being easier for you, it’s now much easier for us to keep the site up to date with the latest information about our meetings and other useful articles.
Published November 4th, 2006
in Site News.
Welcome to the Bedford Allergy Support Group website. We sincerley apologise for the recent and continuing loss of service. We have recently had a server upgrade and unfortunately, our database was lost in the process. We are currently working to rebuild the database while at the same time, making some changes to the website as a whole. We hope you’ll remain patient and that you’ll like the changes once they are complete.
Published March 30th, 2006
in Meetings.
The BASG Annual General Meeting took place on 28th March 2006. The minutes from the AGM follows.
Cynthia and I are still sharing the role of Chair.
Thanks to Sue Mathews who is still editing the magazine with her husband.
Thanks to Paula and Mary for posting most of the newsletters.
A big thank you to Nada for writing up our minutes. We are sorry that she is unable to continue.
BASG works with the Healthy Living Initiative and this past year we have had:
- Four excellent talks:
- Sandra Bullock from the Wyndham centre speaking on allergy testing and relief.
- Dr. Ramesh Mehta, from Bedford Hospital, spoke to some of his hopes within the NHS and was most sympathetic to our needs.
- Jean Simkins along with a colleague came from the hospital and talked with some personal understanding about allergies and nutrition.
- Finally, Eva Novotny, a scientist, replaced Jo Perry as our speaker on GM Food and told us of the dangers.
- The four house meetings continued but it seems that there is little need for them.
- Two newsletters have been produced - Summer and Winter and the summer one for 2006 is in draft form.
- Hundreds of BASG leaflets and A5 sized timetables have been distributed for this coming year ‘06. They are in libraries, community centres, doctor’s surgeries and shops.
- An Allergy UK leaflet was distributed last yearb on the difference between allergy and intolerance.
- The provision of CAM which was run by the Healthy Living Initiative has ended. The demand was greater than anticipated and used up the funding sooner. This is both good and sad news. However, the Bedford Integrated Health Group, has had meetings with the CAM practitioners that were in the project to make sure something positive is done in the future. Dr. Basra is very supportive of this and will put it forward to all the G.P.s.
Magazines
- The first Allergy UK magazine did the round of those members interested and it has ended up in Dr Basra’s Surgery for keeping.
- The Isis magazines arrived but the other Allergy UK magazine and the GreenHealth magazine sis not - the reason being that the Allergy UK split into two becoming the Allergy UK magazine and the Allergy UK Group with the group sending out several small newsletters. Unfortunately we received neither the magazine or the newsletter. This has now been remedied. The GreenHealth Group has undergone financial difficulties and will send us information later. This has all proved hard work and is expensive so we want to cease ordering any more magazines unless someone would like to tae on this responsibility.
Advertising/Contacts
- BASG featured again on a calendar. The calendar was produced by the Bedford Healthy Living Initiative.
- The Kempston Directory published our meeting date and it will advertise the other three meetings/talks for this year.
- Our website continues to attract the public. Franca got a phone call from Ireland - a woman suffering from severe mercury poisoning - who directed her to Dr Jean Monroes. The subject of mercury poisoning cropped up in the local paper recently. A young lady was badly affected by amalgam fillings and was going to sue her dentist. We have been in touch with her and asked Jean to send her some information.
- How many of you saw in the local paper, the Poodle allergic to flouride Bedford’s water supply opening the bottle of spring water? It was the BASG team who informed the paper of this story.
- The Bedford PPI Forum is following up the issue of Allergy Services in Bedford and they will keep us informed. Franca has agreed to represent our cause on this forum as she is one of the members.
- The book launch of the CAM books at the Bedford Library went very well. It was the Bedford Integrated Health Group, which we support, that initiated/inaugurated and funded this in partnership with the Bedfordshire Libraries. BASG also helped to fund some of these books.
- Deputy Lord Lieutenant Denise Hurst of Patrick Hall MP both spoke on the importance of CAM at Westminster University. The main presentation was given by Dr Peter Martin.
Consultations
- We responded to the national consultation phase on ‘Your Health, Your Care, Your Say’ run by Heartland Primary Care Trusts. Franca and Nada went to the public consultation day. It was a worthwhile event and we have received he documentation of the outcome.
- We have responded to a consultation by the North Bedfordshire Council for the Voluntary Services on a mapping questionaire.
- We’ve participated in the Home Office “State of the Sector Panel” survey on employees and volunteers working with charities and voluntary groups.
Future Dates
- We shall have a stall at the Baby Show on Sundau 9th April 2006 (10am to 4.30pm) at Bedford International Athletics Stadium. Any help on the day would be most appreciated.
Published September 1st, 2005
in Press.
Article from the Daily Express dated Tuesday 30th August 2005 called “The Benefits of… Laughter”
The Benefits of… Laughter
You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you? Well, yes, actually, you have. Not only does it lift your spirits but it’s also one of the easiest ways to give your body a healthy workout.
Monty Python taught us always to look on the bright side of life, and scientists have proved that by doing so we can reduce stress, relax our muscles, stimulate our digestive system and even release plenty of feel-good endorphins to boost our flagging immune systems.
Laughing for just one minute can be as refreshing as 45 minutes of exercise, with up to 80 muscles being used, say scientists. If you belly-laughed for an hour, you’d burn nearly 500 calories - and also put yourself at risk of tummy cramps.
Researchers in the United States found that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, which increases blood flow to the heart by nearly 25 per cent. By comparison, people asked to watch a war film saw their blood flow drop by 35 per cent.
A leading proponent in the field of laughter therapy is Dr Madan Kataria, a Mumbai-based physician who started developing “laughter clubs” in 1985. He believed that getting people together to laugh would improve their confidence and mood. There are now more that 3000 laughter clubs over the world.
ALL SMILES: Laughing is good for your health
During sessions, people are encouraged to concentrate on deep breathing techniques which help to increase the body’s supply of oxygen. Participants also hop around screeching like monkeys and chickens to promote group laughter.
Those who have trouble getting started are encouraged to fake their laugh, which tricks the brain - which can’t tell the difference between the two - into releasing feel-good chemicals and paving the way towards real laughter.
It is said that as we get older, we forget how to laugh - at least, we laugh a lot less. Children are said to laugh an average of 400 times a day, whereas adults manage just 15.
Dr Michael Miller, professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, suggests that people try to flex their laughter muscles more regularly. He says: “We recommend you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is good for the vascular system.”
To find a Laughter Club near you, visit the website: www.laughteryoya.org