Saving sex for sexual health

sBMJ | Saving sex for sexual health: "Anisa Nasir argues for doctors to suggest abstinence as a solution to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections"

No 10 steps back from cousins row

BBC NEWS | Politics | No 10 steps back from cousins row: "Mrs Cryer raised the issue two years ago after research showed British Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with recessive disorders than the general population.

'The vast majority of marriages in the Muslim community of Bradford, 80% are trans-continental and the majority of those are to cousins and many of those do result in either infant mortality or recessive disorders that I have seen,' she told Today."

So, anyone up for patient education?

Halal Healthspan

Halal | Healthspan

Some supplements that are not listed halal are also suitable, eg. the Vitamin D.

Florid rickets associated with prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation

Lesson of the week: Florid rickets associated with prolonged breast feeding without vitamin D supplementation -- Mughal et al. 318 (7175): 39 -- BMJ

I saw a friend last week, she is white, her husband is from Ghana. I was shocked to find out that her 16 month old daughter had florid rickets!

The mother's vitamin D level was normal and the child was being breastfed. I find it so hard to believe that rickets is still around in 2008 and think it's a public health problem being ignored. There is little national guidance as to prevention and treatment for health professionals, resulting in little or no explanation to patients, except a mention by the health visitor which often goes ignored.

I routinely start all babies at risk on Abidec or Dalivit, and tell the mother to supplement her diet too, especially if she is breastfeeding.

Salams

Just wondering how GPs counsel women wanting a termination, whether you do it differently depending on the faith of the woman or not?
Also how do you counsel women wanting a method of contraception that works as an abortifacient?

wasalam
umm safiya

Salaams

What do other doctors do when requested to fill in Cremation forms or when asked by another doctor to do Part II of the Crem form?

I had to fill in a Part II recently and I thought I would ask to see what other people do.

MaSalaam

Stranger in a strange land

Salaams

As Doctors we prescribe medication to our patients all the time. If the patient is a Muslim/Jew would you prescribe the same drug but in an alternative form in order to avoid any haram/Non-Kosher ingredients (gelatine in capsules etc) eg Ramipril tablets rather than capsules or Lansoprazole FastTab rather than capsules etc?

What if the 'halal' form is more expensive/conflicts with you Practice/PCT Prescribing Policy/Guidelines?

Masalaam

Stranger in a strange land

Salams,

I was wondering about how people deal with death and illness. I cannot seem to sleep when a patient dies, and it affects me for a while. A lady I sent into hospital in March with a hemiparesis was found to have multiple brain tumours and she died this week. Seeing her on all the drugs she was on was very upsetting. Sometimes I don't even realise why I'm not myself and later I realise all the things that went on at work, then I understand why. If they are Muslim, they have hope and long to meet Allah, but what about when they aren't, it seems like all they have to look forward to is more pain and then a black hole?

I'd be really grateful if anyone could explain their coping mechanisms, esp Umm Nour, working in Palliative Care.

wasalam

UmmSafiya

I work as a full-time GP and would like to share some points on praying at work:

What do others do when it comes to wudhu/salaat whilst at work?

Practical considerations:

1. Doing wudhu - making masah would help as the sink is sooo small and awkward to get my foot in...I use Sealskin waterproof socks (as recommended by Sidi Fraz Rabbani of Sunni Path).
Whilst this works well, I do get some weird looks as the socks are thick and v out of place with my suite/shoes.

2. Getting all your salah (zohr/Asr/Mughrib) done on time when your sooo busy with being on call, seeing extra pts, home visits, meetings, etc etc.

Any thoughts or advice on this would be appreciated

NLH - Complementary and Alternative Medicine

NLH - Complementary and Alternative Medicine:

"The library aims to include the best available evidence for complementary and alternative medicine and will be updated regularly. At present it includes Cochrane systematic reviews, other systematic reviews which have been appraised and included on the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), and Clinical Evidence reviews focusing on specific CAM interventions for various medical conditions."