What is Toxic Shock Syndrome and how is it treated?There are several known causes of this rare diseaseTue May 14 2024 - 17:30
Just how unsafe are emergency departments in Irish hospitals?Dr Muiris Houston: University Hospital Limerick has been a black spot for many years, while Beaumont is a good example of how a hospital can turn things aroundMon May 06 2024 - 05:31
How could it be that hypochondriacs have shorter lifespans?Dr Muiris Houston: The inescapable truth is that everyone with illness anxiety disorder is eventually proved rightMon Apr 22 2024 - 05:01
Would you want to know if you had dementia many years before you developed symptoms?Dr Muiris Houston: Even if you felt well, you would be placing a Sword of Damocles over your future healthTue Apr 09 2024 - 05:01
Long Covid: ‘I feel alone and lost . . . it is difficult to see an end to this’Dr Muiris Houston: We urgently need more research into understanding its underlying pathology and to find better treatmentsMon Mar 25 2024 - 05:31
Cancer: How to navigate the mental challenges of a diagnosisDr Muiris Houston: A new book highlights the common myths and misinformation surrounding the diseaseMon Mar 11 2024 - 05:31
Long Covid must be treated as the serious threat it is to public healthDr Muiris Houston: Up to 20% of people who contract virus develop the health complications that make up long Covid syndromeMon Feb 26 2024 - 06:00
Kate Middleton may have had a very sensible reason for her long hospital stayDr Muiris Houston: While there was some speculation online about the princess’s recent diagnosis, she may simply have wanted time to convalesceMon Feb 12 2024 - 05:31
How worried should I be about measles? A doctor’s guide to a highly infectious diseaseMeasles spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated. In some children it is very serious, leading to hospitalisation and even death in rare casesThu Feb 08 2024 - 16:33
Ozempic has big potential, but caution is necessaryFor all the popular clamour for the new medication it is not without side effectsMon Jan 29 2024 - 05:01
EMA issues warning for males with epilepsy or bipolar disorder being treated with group of medicinesDr Muiris Houston: Drugs used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder linked to neurodevelopmental disorders in patients’ childrenTue Jan 16 2024 - 19:00
Is it possible the HSE is beginning to change for the better?Bernard Gloster’s focus on accountability over death of teenager in Limerick hospital is new ground for a HSE chief and is welcomeMon Jan 15 2024 - 06:01
Why New Year’s health resolutions are a waste of timeDr Muiris Houston: They tend to be inherently self-critical and stem from magical thinking that with one big change your life will be transformedMon Jan 01 2024 - 07:24
Warning issued over potential injuries caused by flying champagne corksReport in British Medical Journal says pressure in a 750ml bottle can launch corks at a speed of 80/kmhWed Dec 20 2023 - 23:30
‘Elf and safety’: Live Christmas trees can bring on unfestive issues for someDr Muiris Houston: For those who are sensitive, prolonged indoor exposure to live Christmas trees can lead to respiratory and skin health issuesMon Dec 11 2023 - 05:31
Will hospital-at-home system be better for Irish patients?Stephen Donnelly announces rollout for next year of a ‘virtual ward’ programme for patients of two public hospitalsMon Dec 04 2023 - 12:19
Dr Muiris Houston: Mounting evidence of link between Covid and a range of heart diseasesDr Muiris Houston: There is a definite link between Covid infection and a range of heart diseases, even for those who had a relatively mild infection and made a good recoveryMon Nov 13 2023 - 05:31
Does it matter if your doctor is kind or not?Dr Muiris Houston: Kindness, it has been claimed, is an ideal component of patient care. But not everyone agreesMon Oct 30 2023 - 05:31
Bed bugs: ‘Until you go through an infestation, you have no idea just how horrifying it really is’Dr Muiris Houston: These home invaders bite psychologically as much as physicallyMon Oct 16 2023 - 05:31
Give Me a Crash Course in . . . Parisian bed bugsThese bloodsucking insects are causing paranoia for fans during the Rugby World CupWed Oct 04 2023 - 19:00
Many spina bifida patients lead full lives thanks to their own and their parents’ heroic effortsDr Muiris Houston: Ireland has one of the highest rates of the condition in the world, with it occurring in one in every 1,000 live birthsMon Oct 02 2023 - 05:31
Cures of Ireland: A Treasury of Irish Folk Remedies - An authoritative exploration of alternative medicine From faith cures to herbal remedies, Cecily Gilligan’s research covers several aspects of Irish folk medicineSat Sept 23 2023 - 00:00
How one Irish hospital has turned its performance around in quite a dramatic wayDr Muiris Houston: A patient experience confirms the absolute transformation of Beaumont’s emergency departmentMon Sept 18 2023 - 06:01
What is botulism and how is it caused? Condition explained after Bordeaux outbreakBotulism is caused by a poisonous toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinumWed Sept 13 2023 - 19:43
It looks like Covid-19 is on the move again – how concerned should we be?Two new strains of the Omicron variant are prompting concerns for illness severity and vaccine efficacyMon Sept 04 2023 - 06:01
Various factors behind sharp rise in Caesarean sections at Rotunda hospitalOf almost 3,200 such deliveries in Rotunda last year 42% were primary — first time on a pregnant womanWed Aug 30 2023 - 05:00
HPV vaccine for boys: why it’s needed, how it works and its safety recordOver 100 million people have been fully vaccinated with Gardasil worldwide- including over 550,000 people in IrelandFri Aug 25 2023 - 08:18
Dr Muiris Houston: Ironman deaths highlight dangers of extreme sporting eventsYoughal Ironman saw deaths of two athletes in same part of triathlete event. What may have caused this?Mon Aug 21 2023 - 15:53
Health risks of mobile phone use: is there anything to be worried about?Definitive evidence is lacking, but precautions might be wise regarding tissue heating, interactions with pacemakers, and microbesMon Aug 21 2023 - 05:01
The dangers, and health benefits, of gardeningDr Muiris Houston: You can pick up serious injuries and ailments from horticultural activity, but some risk assessment will mean you enjoy only the advantagesTue Aug 08 2023 - 06:01
State-funded IVF: Hands of bean counters all over crude cut-off criteriaThose behind scheme would have better served Irish public by adopting weight-based treatment criteria on case-by-case basisTue Jul 25 2023 - 18:07
Think twice before booking your next foreign holiday, especially if you have heart or lung diseaseHeatwaves abroad can change everything for your health, especially if you have a pre-existing conditionMon Jul 24 2023 - 06:00
Q&A: Alzheimer’s trial results offer hope for sufferers and their familiesCure for condition that affects over 64,000 people in Ireland has moved a step closer following successful trials of a new drugTue Jul 18 2023 - 13:10
Why has WHO declared that aspartame is a possible carcinogen?Aspartame is an artificial sweetener widely used in diet fizzy drinks, chewing gum and low-sugar breakfast cereals and yoghurtsFri Jul 14 2023 - 15:30
Why a chickenpox vaccine is now recommended and what we know about the dose scheduleVZV vaccine already in use in Canada, South Africa and New ZealandThu Jul 13 2023 - 15:10
Voice changes alone will not help with early disease diagnosis, but can be a signpostDr Muiris Houston: Scientists hope they can use a database to develop algorithms linking certain ailments to how we speakMon Jul 10 2023 - 05:01
Vital Signs by Martin Dyar – The anthology that converted me from being indifferent to poetryCollection features humane accounts of patient experiences, and I was moved by Patrick Kavanagh’s The HospitalSat Jul 01 2023 - 00:00
Fungi have had a fleeting presence in our lives – but that may be about to change Dr Muiris Houston: Given global warming, Candida auris is a serious concern as it’s resistant to nearly all antifungals, spreads rapidly in hospitals - and can withstand temperatures of up to 42CMon Jun 12 2023 - 05:01
Flying afflictions and how to avoid them, from popping ears to deep-vein thrombosisDr Muiris Houston: A few problems to watch out for this holiday season, particularly on or after long-haul flightsMon May 29 2023 - 05:31
The Covid pandemic may never be over, but the public health threat should continue to declineDr Muiris Houston: The best indicator that the pandemic is far from over is the nearly three million cases and more than 17,000 deaths reported in AprilMon May 15 2023 - 05:01
Don’t label babies born by new IVF procedure as having three parents - that’s not correctMitochondrial replacement treatment is a modified form of IVF that uses tissue from a healthy donor egg and does not constitute a ‘third parent’Sat May 13 2023 - 05:00
Hello, my name is Dr ChatGPT: Are robot doctors really the future?Dr Muiris Houston: Simulated empathy can never replicate human communicationTue May 02 2023 - 05:01
‘Coffin tablet’ misuse: Why the painkiller pregabalin must be made a controlled drug in IrelandDr Muiris Houston: Pregabalin has become a ‘street drug’ and is contributing to an increasing number of deaths in IrelandMon Apr 17 2023 - 05:31
Dead or alive? The doctor’s challengeDr Muiris Houston: Dying is a process. It’s a doctor’s job to decide at what point in this process death can be appropriately declaredMon Apr 03 2023 - 06:01
Clocks are about to change. Our body clocks turn out to be key to making medicine workDr Muiris Houston: As the clocks spring forward, we would be wise to look at chronotherapy and the link between time and drugsMon Mar 20 2023 - 05:01
Unfortunately, I advise patients to choose private hospital care over publicDr Muiris Houston: Public hospitals represent a growing danger. If you have a choice, choose private healthcareTue Mar 07 2023 - 05:31
The next global pandemic just got closerDr Muiris Houston: The latest evolution of bird flu raises serious concerns - it is time to increase testing and sequencing samplesMon Feb 20 2023 - 05:01
‘Before you go to bed tonight hang a scarf or a cloth outside your door’Dr Muiris Houston: Folk cures often have some of the same methods and goals of biomedicine and must not be neglectedMon Feb 06 2023 - 05:31
Dr Muiris Houston: When young athletes collapse, it could be a rare form of heart diseaseAmerican football’s Damar Hamlin suffered commotio cordis, the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death among athletesMon Jan 23 2023 - 05:31
Covid-19 Q&A: What you need to know about the new variant they’re calling KrakenDr Muiris Houston looks at the latest variant of Omicron and the challenges it posesTue Jan 10 2023 - 14:37
