Gurkha veterans who have served four years with the historic regiment will be told tomorrow that they will be allowed to settle in the UK. The home secretary is expected to reverse government guidance issued last month that made the obstacles to entry almost insurmountable for ordinary Gurkha soldiers traditionally recruited from Nepal.
It is understood that Jacqui Smith will announce rules that will allow entry into the UK for Gurkhas previously excluded because they retired from the regiment before 1997, provided they have fought for the British army for at least four years.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday saying the government should immediately approve the 1,400 outstanding applications for settlement, whether they meet new criteria established by the Home Office or not.
In a reprimand to the government, Vaz said: "The figure of 100,000 ex-Gurkhas including dependants publicly cited by the government as likely to take up settlement is clearly much overblown."
The prospective turnaround in policy came after the Labour government suffered its first big defeat last month by 21 votes, as 27 Labour rebels joined the Tories and Liberal Democrats in demanding equal residency rights for all Gurkha soldiers after a high-profile public campaign.
In an indication of the imminent policy volte face, Gordon Brown said at prime minister's questions that he had a "great deal of sympathy and support" for Gurkhas who wished to live in the UK. He said: "I believe it is possible for us to honour our commitments to the Gurkhas and to do so in a way that protects the public finances. That will be part of the announcement that is made tomorrow."
The Vaz letter to the prime minister followed a private round table discussion between Gurkhas and their campaigners and the government on the issue. The committee urged the government to "use our conclusions as a catalyst to announcing a much-needed change in policy".
He said the prospective benefit to the UK economy by the ex-Gurkhas was agreed by all to be high, both in terms of skills and economic power and in visa application fees. The committee had heard no evidence of a threat to future recruitment of Gurkhas to the British army in Nepal.
Martin Howe, one of the lawyers representing the majority of Gurkhas fighting for settlement, said: "We hope that the Gurkhas will be entitled to settlement if they have four years' service. We understand that this will be reviewed in four years time. If this is the case, we will be delighted and thankful."
David Enright, another Gurkha lawyer, said: "We think it's more or less a fait accompli but we have had several false dawns before ... I'm not going to celebrate until I know for sure."
Earlier this month, actor Joanna Lumley extracted concessions from the home office minister Phil Woolas live on television. Five Gurkhas had been sent letters telling them that they did not qualify for admittance to the UK a day after Brown had promised that the former solders' cases would be reviewed. Brown had not known about the letters and was only informed of their existence by Lumley.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Power drill doctor saves boy's life
A doctor in rural Australia used a handyman's power drill to bore a hole into the skull of a boy with a severe head injury, saving his life.
Nicholas Rossi was taken to hospital after falling from his bike and hitting his head on the pavement in Maryborough, Victoria state, on Friday.
The doctor on duty, Rob Carson, recognised that the boy, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, was experiencing potentially fatal bleeding on the brain and that he needed to relieve the pressure in Daniel's skull.
The small hospital was not equipped with neurological drills, so Carson sent for a household drill from the maintenance room.
He called a neurosurgeon in Melbourne for help, who talked Carson through the procedure – which he had never before attempted – by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go.
The boy's father, Michael Rossi, told the Australian newspaper: "Dr Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into [Nicholas] to relieve the pressure on the brain – we've got one shot at this and one shot only'."
He told Fairfax Radio today: "All of a sudden the emergency ward was turned into an operating theatre. We didn't see anything, but we heard the noises, heard the drill. It was just one of those surreal experiences."
The procedure took just over a minute, said Dr David Tynan, an anaesthetist who assisted Carson.
"It was pretty scary. You obviously worry, [are] you pushing hard enough or pushing too hard, but then when some blood came out after we'd gone through the skull, we realised we'd made the right decision," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Rossi was airlifted to a larger hospital in Melbourne and released yesterday, his 13th birthday.
Carson told the Australian: "It is not a personal achievement, it is just a part of the job and I had a very good team of people helping me."
Nicholas Rossi was taken to hospital after falling from his bike and hitting his head on the pavement in Maryborough, Victoria state, on Friday.
The doctor on duty, Rob Carson, recognised that the boy, who was slipping in and out of consciousness, was experiencing potentially fatal bleeding on the brain and that he needed to relieve the pressure in Daniel's skull.
The small hospital was not equipped with neurological drills, so Carson sent for a household drill from the maintenance room.
He called a neurosurgeon in Melbourne for help, who talked Carson through the procedure – which he had never before attempted – by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go.
The boy's father, Michael Rossi, told the Australian newspaper: "Dr Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into [Nicholas] to relieve the pressure on the brain – we've got one shot at this and one shot only'."
He told Fairfax Radio today: "All of a sudden the emergency ward was turned into an operating theatre. We didn't see anything, but we heard the noises, heard the drill. It was just one of those surreal experiences."
The procedure took just over a minute, said Dr David Tynan, an anaesthetist who assisted Carson.
"It was pretty scary. You obviously worry, [are] you pushing hard enough or pushing too hard, but then when some blood came out after we'd gone through the skull, we realised we'd made the right decision," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Rossi was airlifted to a larger hospital in Melbourne and released yesterday, his 13th birthday.
Carson told the Australian: "It is not a personal achievement, it is just a part of the job and I had a very good team of people helping me."
Tamil children 'being abducted'
number of children in camps for people displaced by Sri Lanka's Tamil conflict have been abducted, international human rights groups say.
The groups say they have verified reports of disappearances in the Vavuniya area and are calling for the United Nations to investigate.
Suspected former Tamil Tiger child soldiers are said to have been removed by paramilitaries for questioning.
A Sri Lankan military spokesman denied the groups' allegations.
A spokeswoman for the groups, Charu Lata Hogg, said the motives for the abductions were unclear but some children were being questioned about alleged links to the Tamil Tiger rebels, or LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
Tens of thousands of children were among those displaced in the recent fighting, many finding themselves in government-run refugee camps.
On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared the country "liberated" from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year war.
He spoke after the army reported the death of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the capture of the last pocket of territory held by the Tigers.
'Kidnapped for ransom'
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is an umbrella group of global organisations which includes Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
It said it had received verified reports of abductions from camps in and around Vavuniya in the north.
It alleges that groups like the EPDP, PLOTE and the TMVP-Karuna faction - all Tamil paramilitary groups affiliated to the government - have unfettered access to the camps despite the presence of the Sri Lankan military.
"The motive is slightly unclear," said Ms Hogg.
"Some are being taken away for ransom, they've been kidnapped for ransom, and there've been certain negotiated releases where mothers had some jewellery and they could negotiate a release right within the camp.
"In other cases the children have been taken away for questioning for their alleged links to the LTTE, so they are suspected of being former child soldiers with the LTTE."
She says there are fears for the safety of former LTTE child soldiers, who should be protected under international agreements.
Sri Lanka's military denied the allegations, describing them as yet another attempt to discredit the government.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said it was impossible for "anyone, even a child or an LTTE person, to be taken out from the camps without any proper or legal authority".
The coalition says the protection of children in the north and east of Sri Lanka is a matter of urgent concern, citing the refusal of access to international agencies responsible for monitoring the camps.
Without independent scrutiny, it says, children are at risk of human rights abuses, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
The groups say they have verified reports of disappearances in the Vavuniya area and are calling for the United Nations to investigate.
Suspected former Tamil Tiger child soldiers are said to have been removed by paramilitaries for questioning.
A Sri Lankan military spokesman denied the groups' allegations.
A spokeswoman for the groups, Charu Lata Hogg, said the motives for the abductions were unclear but some children were being questioned about alleged links to the Tamil Tiger rebels, or LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).
Tens of thousands of children were among those displaced in the recent fighting, many finding themselves in government-run refugee camps.
On Tuesday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared the country "liberated" from Tamil Tiger rebels after a 26-year war.
He spoke after the army reported the death of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and the capture of the last pocket of territory held by the Tigers.
'Kidnapped for ransom'
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers is an umbrella group of global organisations which includes Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
It said it had received verified reports of abductions from camps in and around Vavuniya in the north.
It alleges that groups like the EPDP, PLOTE and the TMVP-Karuna faction - all Tamil paramilitary groups affiliated to the government - have unfettered access to the camps despite the presence of the Sri Lankan military.
"The motive is slightly unclear," said Ms Hogg.
"Some are being taken away for ransom, they've been kidnapped for ransom, and there've been certain negotiated releases where mothers had some jewellery and they could negotiate a release right within the camp.
"In other cases the children have been taken away for questioning for their alleged links to the LTTE, so they are suspected of being former child soldiers with the LTTE."
She says there are fears for the safety of former LTTE child soldiers, who should be protected under international agreements.
Sri Lanka's military denied the allegations, describing them as yet another attempt to discredit the government.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said it was impossible for "anyone, even a child or an LTTE person, to be taken out from the camps without any proper or legal authority".
The coalition says the protection of children in the north and east of Sri Lanka is a matter of urgent concern, citing the refusal of access to international agencies responsible for monitoring the camps.
Without independent scrutiny, it says, children are at risk of human rights abuses, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
Cabinet ministers press Gordon Brown for radical shakeup of politics
Gordon Brown is being pressed within his cabinet to extend plans to reform parliament, with proposals including setting up a constitutional convention that would be responsible for reconnecting politics with the people.
An intense cabinet-level debate is under way on the format of this initiative, its timescale and the range of issues that would be discussed. The enthusiasts for wider reform include Harriet Harman, leader of the Commons, James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, and David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
The discussions were launched inside the cabinet by the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, when he raised the idea of a British constitutional convention on the model of the Scottish constitutional convention.
What the modernisers inside the cabinet want on the agenda is:
• A referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• An elected upper house.
• Spending caps on donations to political parties.
• A widening of the base from which candidates are drawn.
However, some senior cabinet figures argue a more radical agenda should be deferred for Labour's general election manifesto, and are sceptical that broader constitutional reform, including changes to the electoral system, will address public anger over expenses. There are also fears a big initiative would divert from the priorities of the recession and public services.
The sceptics would prefer the review to be confined to modernising parliament, with measures including strengthening the power of backbenchers.
The cabinet debate comes as a "furious" David Cameron last night forced the retirement of a former Conservative minister who unsuccessfully claimed £1,645 for a floating 5ft high "duck island" at his country house. Sir Peter Viggers, MP for Gosport, was told he would be stripped of the Tory whip unless he agreed to retire.
Purnell defended his claims last night after the Daily Telegraph reported that he avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of a London flat even though he told the Commons authorities that his main home was in his Stalybridge and Hyde constituency. Purnell said he had not avoided paying the tax when he sold the London flat in October 2004, originally bought before he became an MP, because the London sale fell through when he bought his constituency property in June 2002. The eventual sale took place within the timeframe that meant no tax was payable.
Beyond Westminster, there is a growing sense that the crisis over MPs' expenses can be used as an opportunity to completely reshape the democratic process. Today, the Guardian publishes a four-page supplement on proposals for reforming politics. The ideas, ranging from the size and shape of parliament to the nature of political lobbying, are being debated in an online project on the Comment is Free website. Identifying more than two dozen areas for reform, the series aims to break down barriers between opinion-formers and the public.
Brown has hinted about the potential to use the expenses crisis to reconfigure the political landscape twice in the past 24 hours – at a press conference on Tuesday and at yesterday's prime minister's questions. He is likely to publish a reform paper after the expected drubbing in the European elections on 4 June.
At the minimum, it is thought that the review will examine the relationship between the executive and parliament, including how MPs can more easily influence the subjects for debate and vote on the floor of the chamber. It will also look at whether select committees can be appointed independently of party whips and examine ways for reconnecting people with parliament. The digital inclusion minister, Tom Watson, told a Lords select committee yesterday that MPs and peers should set up a self-publishing platform.
Lord Mandelson himself probably does not believe in trying to seize the initiative by proposing a "big bang" constitutional reform though a constitutional convention. But advocates of more radical reform pressed Brown during yesterday's PMQs.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "We now have a once-in-a-generation chance to change politics for good."
Brown said today: "We must consider not only how parliament can be more accountable to the people, but how the executive … can be more accountable."
An intense cabinet-level debate is under way on the format of this initiative, its timescale and the range of issues that would be discussed. The enthusiasts for wider reform include Harriet Harman, leader of the Commons, James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, and David Miliband, the foreign secretary.
The discussions were launched inside the cabinet by the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, when he raised the idea of a British constitutional convention on the model of the Scottish constitutional convention.
What the modernisers inside the cabinet want on the agenda is:
• A referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• An elected upper house.
• Spending caps on donations to political parties.
• A widening of the base from which candidates are drawn.
However, some senior cabinet figures argue a more radical agenda should be deferred for Labour's general election manifesto, and are sceptical that broader constitutional reform, including changes to the electoral system, will address public anger over expenses. There are also fears a big initiative would divert from the priorities of the recession and public services.
The sceptics would prefer the review to be confined to modernising parliament, with measures including strengthening the power of backbenchers.
The cabinet debate comes as a "furious" David Cameron last night forced the retirement of a former Conservative minister who unsuccessfully claimed £1,645 for a floating 5ft high "duck island" at his country house. Sir Peter Viggers, MP for Gosport, was told he would be stripped of the Tory whip unless he agreed to retire.
Purnell defended his claims last night after the Daily Telegraph reported that he avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale of a London flat even though he told the Commons authorities that his main home was in his Stalybridge and Hyde constituency. Purnell said he had not avoided paying the tax when he sold the London flat in October 2004, originally bought before he became an MP, because the London sale fell through when he bought his constituency property in June 2002. The eventual sale took place within the timeframe that meant no tax was payable.
Beyond Westminster, there is a growing sense that the crisis over MPs' expenses can be used as an opportunity to completely reshape the democratic process. Today, the Guardian publishes a four-page supplement on proposals for reforming politics. The ideas, ranging from the size and shape of parliament to the nature of political lobbying, are being debated in an online project on the Comment is Free website. Identifying more than two dozen areas for reform, the series aims to break down barriers between opinion-formers and the public.
Brown has hinted about the potential to use the expenses crisis to reconfigure the political landscape twice in the past 24 hours – at a press conference on Tuesday and at yesterday's prime minister's questions. He is likely to publish a reform paper after the expected drubbing in the European elections on 4 June.
At the minimum, it is thought that the review will examine the relationship between the executive and parliament, including how MPs can more easily influence the subjects for debate and vote on the floor of the chamber. It will also look at whether select committees can be appointed independently of party whips and examine ways for reconnecting people with parliament. The digital inclusion minister, Tom Watson, told a Lords select committee yesterday that MPs and peers should set up a self-publishing platform.
Lord Mandelson himself probably does not believe in trying to seize the initiative by proposing a "big bang" constitutional reform though a constitutional convention. But advocates of more radical reform pressed Brown during yesterday's PMQs.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "We now have a once-in-a-generation chance to change politics for good."
Brown said today: "We must consider not only how parliament can be more accountable to the people, but how the executive … can be more accountable."
New light on Down's cancer link
Scientists may have solved the mystery of why people with Down's syndrome seem to have a lower risk of some cancers.
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
The extra copy of chromosome 21 which causes Down's appears to contain a gene that protects from solid cancerous tumours, tests on mice suggest.
The gene seems to interfere with signals a tumour relies on to grow. The finding raises hope of new ways to prevent and treat cancer.
The study by the Children's Hospital of Boston appears in the journal Nature.
Humans usually have two copies of the 23 chromosomes that together contain all our genetic information, one from each parent.
Down's syndrome is a genetic disorder which results from the presence of an extra, third copy of chromosome 21.
It has been known for some time that individuals with Down's syndrome get certain types of cancer less often than those without the condition.
However, the reason why has been unclear.
The latest study showed that having an extra copy of one of the genes located on chromosome 21 - a gene called Dscr1 - is sufficient to slow cancer growth in mice.
The gene seems to work in combination with another gene also found on chromosome 21 to interfere with the signals a tumour relies upon to stimulate growth of its own blood vessels.
Without those vessels feeding the tumour with its own supply of blood it cannot thrive.
Inspiration
Writing in the journal, the researchers, led by Dr Sandra Ryeom, said: "It is, perhaps, inspiring that the Down's syndrome population provides us with new insight into mechanisms that regulate cancer growth and, by so doing, identifies potential targets for tumour prevention and therapy."
Dr Kairbaan Hodivala-Dilke, a Cancer Research UK scientist at Queen Mary, University of London, said: "This finding raises several important questions about the roles of other chromosome 21 genes that might help regulate tumour growth.
"The next stage is to think about how we might be able to exploit this research to improve cancer treatments in the future."
Stuart Mills, of the Down's Syndrome Association, said: "We have known for some time that people with Down's syndrome have lower incidences of cancer, apart from leukaemia, than the rest of the population.
"This is one of the first studies to examine the reasons why, and we welcome its findings. We will be following further research with great interest."
Irish abused 'cheated of justice'
Victims of child abuse at Catholic institutions in the Irish Republic have expressed anger that a damning report will not bring about prosecutions.
The report, nine years in the making and covering a period of six decades, found thousands of boys and girls were terrorised by priests and nuns.
Government inspectors failed to stop beatings, rapes and humiliation.
John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said he felt "cheated and deceived" by the lack of prosecutions.
The findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions - in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.
No real names, whether of victims or perpetrators, appear in the final document.
Mr Walsh said: "I would have never opened my wounds if I'd known this was going to be the end result.
"It has devastated me and will devastate most victims because there are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever."
Police were called to the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse's news conference in Dublin amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending.
The victims were among 35,000 children who were placed in a network of reformatories, industrial schools and workhouses until the early 1990s.
More than 1,000 people had told the commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse.
'Self-serving secrecy'
The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy".
The commission found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.
It also found physical and emotional abuse and neglect were rife in some institutions.
Schools were run "in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff".
It found the Department of Education had generally dismissed or ignored complaints of child sexual abuse and dealt inadequately with them.
As far back as the 1940s, school inspectors reported broken bones and malnourished children but no action was taken.
The report proposed 21 ways the Irish government could recognise past wrongs, including building a permanent memorial, providing counselling and education to victims, and improving current child protection services.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said he was "profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions".
This report makes it clear that great wrong and hurt were caused to some of the most vulnerable children in our society," he said.
"It documents a shameful catalogue of cruelty: neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, perpetrated against children."
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, said those who perpetrated violence and abuse should be held to account, "no matter how long ago it happened".
"Every time there is a single incident of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is a scandal. I would be very worried if it wasn't a scandal... I hope these things don't happen again, but I hope they're never a matter of indifference
The report, nine years in the making and covering a period of six decades, found thousands of boys and girls were terrorised by priests and nuns.
Government inspectors failed to stop beatings, rapes and humiliation.
John Walsh, of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, said he felt "cheated and deceived" by the lack of prosecutions.
The findings will not be used for criminal prosecutions - in part because the Christian Brothers successfully sued the commission in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, unnamed in the report.
No real names, whether of victims or perpetrators, appear in the final document.
Mr Walsh said: "I would have never opened my wounds if I'd known this was going to be the end result.
"It has devastated me and will devastate most victims because there are no criminal proceedings and no accountability whatsoever."
Police were called to the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse's news conference in Dublin amid angry scenes as victims were prevented from attending.
The victims were among 35,000 children who were placed in a network of reformatories, industrial schools and workhouses until the early 1990s.
More than 1,000 people had told the commission they suffered physical and sexual abuse.
'Self-serving secrecy'
The five-volume study concluded that church officials encouraged ritual beatings and consistently shielded their orders' paedophiles from arrest amid a "culture of self-serving secrecy".
The commission found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.
It also found physical and emotional abuse and neglect were rife in some institutions.
Schools were run "in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff".
It found the Department of Education had generally dismissed or ignored complaints of child sexual abuse and dealt inadequately with them.
As far back as the 1940s, school inspectors reported broken bones and malnourished children but no action was taken.
The report proposed 21 ways the Irish government could recognise past wrongs, including building a permanent memorial, providing counselling and education to victims, and improving current child protection services.
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said he was "profoundly sorry and deeply ashamed that children suffered in such awful ways in these institutions".
This report makes it clear that great wrong and hurt were caused to some of the most vulnerable children in our society," he said.
"It documents a shameful catalogue of cruelty: neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, perpetrated against children."
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, said those who perpetrated violence and abuse should be held to account, "no matter how long ago it happened".
"Every time there is a single incident of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is a scandal. I would be very worried if it wasn't a scandal... I hope these things don't happen again, but I hope they're never a matter of indifference
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Cut onion may ease pain of bee sting
excruciating pain. My hand started inflating. A cut onion on the sting worked in 20 minutes to stop the swelling and ease the pain.
We first heard about using a cut onion on a sting about 20 years ago. We checked with world-renowned onion chemist Dr. Eric Block of the State University of New York at Albany. He agreed that a fresh-cut onion might ease the pain of an insect sting because an ingredient in onions breaks down the chemicals responsible for inflammation and discomfort. Other readers have used fresh onion juice to soothe the pain from a minor kitchen burn.
::
My mom has been addicted to laxatives for 30 years. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted. Four months later, she had to go back for the same problem. She was told to take Metamucil three times daily. Now she complains she has no bowel movements.
Chronic laxative use can impair the normal function of the digestive tract. It will take time and plenty of fluid and fiber for your mother's bowel to recover.
There are some simple approaches in addition to fluid and Metamucil that may be helpful. Boiling 2 tablespoons of flaxseed in 3 quarts of water and consuming 2 ounces of the liquid daily is one, as is chewing sugarless gum. A magnesium supplement of 300 to 500 milligrams per day can help, so long as her kidneys are healthy.
We have also heard from many people that Power Pudding (applesauce, wheat bran and prune juice) can be useful.
latimes.com
We first heard about using a cut onion on a sting about 20 years ago. We checked with world-renowned onion chemist Dr. Eric Block of the State University of New York at Albany. He agreed that a fresh-cut onion might ease the pain of an insect sting because an ingredient in onions breaks down the chemicals responsible for inflammation and discomfort. Other readers have used fresh onion juice to soothe the pain from a minor kitchen burn.
::
My mom has been addicted to laxatives for 30 years. Last year she had to be operated on because her anus had constricted. Four months later, she had to go back for the same problem. She was told to take Metamucil three times daily. Now she complains she has no bowel movements.
Chronic laxative use can impair the normal function of the digestive tract. It will take time and plenty of fluid and fiber for your mother's bowel to recover.
There are some simple approaches in addition to fluid and Metamucil that may be helpful. Boiling 2 tablespoons of flaxseed in 3 quarts of water and consuming 2 ounces of the liquid daily is one, as is chewing sugarless gum. A magnesium supplement of 300 to 500 milligrams per day can help, so long as her kidneys are healthy.
We have also heard from many people that Power Pudding (applesauce, wheat bran and prune juice) can be useful.
latimes.com
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