Lifelines this week looks at learning sign language, osteoporosis, farm safety, painkillers and the over prescription of medicines.
Learning sign language
A Day In A Life, Galway Centre for Independent Living's film about coping with a disability, has prompted numerous inquiries about sign-language tuition in the west. The National Association for Deaf People runs a 10-week basic course in Galway (tel/minicom 091-564871); Galway Deaf Club also runs courses, including a 20-week programme certified by the Sign Language Association of Ireland. Evelyn Conroy of the Conroy School of ISL offers sign language, awareness training, interpretation and translation. She is at 34 Rahylin Glebe, Ballybane, Galway (087-2495716, fax 091-770939, conroyschool@eircom.net)
Men and osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, or thinning of the bones, is often thought of as a women's disease, but the fractures it causes are likely to affect one in 12 Irish men over 50. A new leaflet, Osteoporosis In Men: Where Do You Stand?, aims to help men identify if they might be at risk. It is available free from the Irish Osteoporosis Society,
PO Box 9079, Cardiff Lane, Dublin 2 (01-6774267).
Farm safety
Eighteen people, including two children, have died on farms this year. Now, in a move to increase awareness of the dangers around them, up to 200,000 farmers have been sent farm-safety self-assessment forms. They will have to identify hazards on their farms and check that key safety controls are in place. There is also a safety helpline at 0818-211002.
Painkiller problems
Over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen are safely taken by millions of people a day, but they can cause adverse effects in certain users. A new study has found that aspirin is significantly more likely to cause side effects such as gastrointestinal problems compared with paracetamol and ibuprofen. Taking other medicines at the same time can influence the result.
Too much medicine?
Standards should be set for prescribing medication to people in long-term care, according to a new Irish study. A researcher from James Connolly Memorial Hospital, in Blanchardstown, Co Dublin, found that elderly patients in two long-term-care units had each been prescribed at least nine medications. Their prescriptions were sometimes changed, but the overall number of medicines they were taking was not.
Compiled by Dr Muiris Houston and Sylvia Thompson