Monthly Archive: July 2015

Feeling confident that you’ve found the ‘right’ psychologist to effectively guide you through your stress, anxiety or other mental health concerns can sometimes be a challenge! It might take several sessions before you feel that the therapeutic relationship has ‘clicked’. Asking a prospective psychologist for the opportunity to briefly meet and/or talk before consultations begin may help to foster initial confidence. The Australian Psychological Society, which is not a compulsory organisation for psychologists to join, has a useful ‘Find a Psychologist’ tool. The tool allows you to enter up to three ‘issues’ and nominate a radius around your postcode. The...

A health warning has been issued by the South Australian government over the use of wet wipes, which have triggered quite serious allergic skin reactions in certain individuals. Such reactions are referred to as ‘dermatitis’. The ingredient identified as the cause of the dermatitis is Methylisothiazolinone (‘MI’), which is used a preservative in the wipes. It may also be found in personal hygiene products such as baby wipes, moisturisers and cosmetics. Certain paints and glues may also contain it. Dermatitis can be treated with oral medication and creams, plus of course removal of the cause once identified. Liberal applications of...

Safety of the contraceptive pill is again being questioned, sparked by the news that an Adelaide based law firm may be launching a class action on behalf of women taking the combined contraceptive pill who have suffered from deep venous thrombosis (clots in the legs). The action may be against a pharmaceutical manufacturer of one of these pills. The fact is that all combined oral contraceptive pills increase the risk of deep venous thrombosis (‘DVT’) by an overall factor of three to four times the risk (ie if not taking the pill), as determined by a recent Cochrane review of...