A round-up of this week's other health news stories in brief ...
Too little sleep leads to colds and coughs
Too little sleep can lead to coughs and sneezes, new research suggests. People who get less than seven hours’ sleep a night are three times more likely to develop cold symptoms than those who spend eight hours or more asleep, scientists found. However, sleep did not affect a person’s chances of catching a cold. Effects of poor sleep on the immune system are thought to explain the findings.
A team led by Dr Sheldon Cohen, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, US found the less an individual slept, the more likely he or she was to develop a cold.
VHI clinics treat more than 2,600
More than 2,600 patients were treated in the VHI SwiftCare Clinics in the 10 days from Christmas Eve to January 2nd, the VHI said last night. On Christmas Day, 127 patients visited a VHI SwiftCare Clinic and the clinics treated 187 patients on Christmas Eve, 231 on New Year’s Eve and 260 on New Year’s Day.
The medical director of VHI SwiftCare Clinics, Dr Ray Power, said it was the busiest Christmas and new year to date for the clinics. The most common complaints were ear, nose and throat infections (41 per cent), followed by cuts (21 per cent) and suspected fractures or sprains (20 per cent).
Baby born after mother’s death
An ice-skating coach in Britain who collapsed and died from a brain haemorrhage gave birth to a baby girl two days later, it has emerged. Jayne Soliman (41) was declared brain-dead at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital but doctors kept her heart beating long enough to deliver her little girl, Aya Jayne, by Caesarean section.
Mrs Soliman, a skater who had competed in international galas, was only 25 weeks pregnant when she collapsed. She was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital but was pronounced dead at 8pm. Doctors said the skater had suffered from a haemorrhage caused by an aggressive tumour which had struck a major blood vessel.
Mrs Soliman was given large doses of steroids to help the child’s lungs develop and within 48 hours, she gave birth to a baby girl weighing two pounds one and a half ounces. The baby is said to be doing well.