Inside Health

Does medicine have a language problem? We speak to Rachel who was made to feel like a 'naughty schoolgirl' by the terminology used around the birth of her child. We’ll find out how deep-seated blaming and belittling language in healthcare is, and why. We get sticky and sweaty discussing the dangers of heatwaves to the human body. And we take the confusion out of 'chemo brain' or cancer-related cog...

Aaaaaaaaa-choo! If you have hay fever then you know that it can be a right pain in the… nose. This week Inside Health presents a complete guide to hay fever. Are we enduring the worst hay fever season? When was the disgustingly-named “summer catarrh” first identified as a medical condition? And what can we safely plant in the garden without setting off our symptoms? GP Navjoyt Ladher and immunolog...

This week James Gallagher finds out if the Power of the Dog is true. No not the movie, but the claim that dogs can make us live longer. He’s also doing press ups in the studio to see if small amounts of muscle building exercise can help boost our health no matter how old we are. Then, inspired by the last episode on long Covid, James goes in search of the lost art of convalescence.

It’s a long Covid reunion on Inside Health. We first met Jo, Neil and John in February 2021 when they were 12 months into the condition. Another year on, we catch up with them to see if they are any closer to making a full recovery. We explore how a virus can cause such prolonged symptoms, with Dr David Strain from the NHS Long Covid Taskforce, and see if we are any closer to treating long Covid....

We get to the bottom of a medical mystery – what causes multiple sclerosis? A series of studies have compellingly pointed the finger at the virus behind glandular fever. We see if they stack up and assess what it means for the future of preventing and treating MS. Then nearly two years since the World Health Organization described Covid as a pandemic, James chats to Dr Maria van Kerkhove, who is t...

How often do we need a smear test? It’s become controversial now as a new test means women and people with a cervix need checking less often. But in the future the answer might be only once a lifetime! We hunt for the special blood that's in high demand, yet in short supply, for people with sickle cell disease. And could the disruption from the Covid pandemic be setting the stage for a large outbr...

James meets a record breaking doctor who is analysing DNA so quickly it is transforming treatment in intensive care and from one of his patients, Matthew, who discovered he needed a new heart. Then James has a disgusting confession as we discuss losing weight by getting more sleep. And can we get better therapies for all of us by copying the revolutionary trial that transformed the pandemic.?

Can you take hormone replacement therapy - HRT - for forever? Three women talk about their different experiences of how they managed the menopause. We balance the risks and the benefits of HRT to see who might be able to take it for the long-term. And do you know how much water should you drink? If you said 2 litres or six-to-eight glasses a day then you may be in for a surprise. PRESENTER: James...

Can “one helluva pig” be the solution to a worldwide shortage of organ donors. People die waiting for replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys. So I meet the teams that have started transplanting pig organs into people. We’ll explore the huge leaps of genetic engineering that are making "xenotransplantation” possible and ask if it’s even ethical to try. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Andrew Luc...

Will we need boosters forever? It’s the question you wanted us to tackle so we’re joined by Prof Beate Kampmann, the Director of The Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the search for answers. Then we explore why so few pregnant women are taking up the Covid vaccine even though it is the best option for mother and baby. And can we stop another infection in babi...

Jimi Olaghere feels like he’s been reborn after a pioneering new treatment for sickle cell disease. Scientists have engineered his blood to overcome the disease that left him in constant pain. I speak to Jimi about his experience and to his doctors about what this could mean for people with sickle cell around the world. Then we explore the headlines around women being worse off with male surgeons...

Are you one of the five million people with asthma in the UK? If so, could you be on a different inhaler - one that could control your asthma better while also being kinder to the planet? “Puffers” - or aerosol spray inhalers - contain potent greenhouse gases and can be tricky to use correctly, so not everyone can control their asthma. We speak to Caroline from Cornwall, who has switched inhalers...

Is an Omicron infection inevitable? Which drugs still work? Is this the last hurrah of the pandemic? This week we have three of the country’s greatest scientific minds teasing apart what Omicron means for our lives now and in the future. Prof Eleanor Riley, Prof Azra Ghani and Prof Sir Martin Landray also tackle your, at times controversial questions! And our regular Dr Rohin Francis gives us a fi...

Happy New Year. I hope you’re sticking to your New Year’s resolutions! Our resident GP Margaret McCartney has dragged me out for a wintery run to discuss how to stick to a healthier lifestyle. And we’re joined by Dr Giles Yeo, Dr Ian Hamiliton and Prof Russel Foster as we tackle the best diets, giving up booze for Dry January and getting a better night’s sleep. PRESENTER: James Gallagher PRODUCER:...

Beat pre-diabetes and get your love life back? We hear from two people who are trying to avoid getting type 2 diabetes. But not everyone thinks the term is helpful so our resident GP Margaret McCartney and Dr Samuel Seidu, from the Leicester Diabetes Centre, join us to discuss. And our cardiologist Rohin Francis gets one step closer to his dream of being an astronaut. Presenter: James Gallagher Pr...

Flying London to New York and back. 244 times every day. For half a year. That’s the size of the carbon footprint of all the personal protective equipment used in health and social care in England during the first six months of the pandemic. So I take a look at how the NHS is going green including efforts to make a reusable facemask. Also, a shortage of vials for blood tests has GP Navjoyt Ladher...

The future is here. Gene silencing medicines - which can fine tune how our DNA works - have held promise for decades. Now hundreds of thousands of people will get them in the UK. James speaks to a surgeon whose life and career have been saved by gene-silencing drugs and to researchers who think the field could lead to drugs for diseases we think of as untreatable. Presenter: James Gallagher Produc...

The pandemic has strapped rocket boosters onto vaccine science. So where is it taking us next? What other diseases are we about to take on? Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, architect of the Oxford vaccine, gives me her view. Also, given teenagers and parents agree about everything and never have any arguments.... we should be able to rapidly resolve any questions about whose decision it is when it comes t...

Anyone need a hug? I’m taking a look at this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine. It helps explain how we experience the physical sensations of touch, heat and cold. Yes it’s the hugs, tea and ice cream Nobel! But it could also have implications for treating pain, so Prof Irene Tracey is here to discuss. And you wait decades for fortification and two come along at once. I explore why the government wa...

We’re going meat-free for this podcast! The supermarket shelves are heaving with faux meats and vegan ultra-processed foods. And if you don’t want to put milk in your coffee or on your cereals there’s a load of plant-based alternatives. So we take a look at how healthy these foods are and what you need to know when you’re doing the weekly shop. Sorry you will have to listen to me eating a sausage...

Do you know your mons pubis from your labia majora? Few of us can identify the parts of the vulva - that’s the external female genitals. So I go exploring with Dr Fiona Reid from St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester and find out why we all need to be better informed. Also, who should be able to look at your medical records? There are grand plans afoot to collect the data your GP holds on you and make...

My blood pressure is perfectly normal, but could I benefit from medication to lower it even further? We discuss with Oxford University’s Prof Kazem Rahimi and our resident GP Margaret McCartney. How do you diagnose a new disease that could have 200 symptoms? We explore long Covid in children with our reporter Carolyn Atkinson and Professor Sir Terence Stephenson from the UCL Great Ormond Street In...

It’s time to talk about periods and contraception. Different birth control options alter the menstrual cycle. Journalist Nicola Davis tells me about her decade without periods and our resident GP Margaret McCartney and sexual health doctor Julia Bailey discuss the evidence and what you need to know. We’ve also got vaccination expert Adam Finn to discuss the slowdown in young people getting the Cov...

Time for a sprinkling of happiness with a new exhibition at the Wellcome Collection. Last time we heard how children's A&E is under huge pressure as infections, that disappeared during Covid, make a comeback. But doctors also warn that many of those children shouldn’t actually be there. Damian Roland a paediatrician in emergency medicine at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust busts the...

Here at Team Inside Health we’ve noticed our children are constantly ill. So we find out why. Are all those bugs that were dormant for the pandemic suddenly having a resurgence? Or has a year and a half of being squeaky clean left a lingering impact on our immune system? Plus Medlife Crisis - Rohin Frances asks can you be too fit?