Health & Wellbeing

There is a new fitness craze sweeping residential care centers across the world – silent discos. A silent disco is an event where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a speaker system, music is broadcast via Bluetooth with the signal being picked up by wireless headphone receivers worn by …

Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is run annually by the Mental Health Foundation and has been since 1993. MHAW is endorsed by the World Federation for Mental Health and is marked in over 150 countries at different times of the year. In New Zealand, MHAW will be held on 8–14 …

The Australian Federal Government is introducing a national digital health record system “My Health Record”. This has the backing of all of Australia’s peak health bodies, including the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of GPs and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. However, it has come up against some …

Cannabis is a hot topic. The government has introduced the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, which allows for terminally ill people to possess and use cannabis but not grow it. National is proposing its own bill a “much more comprehensive and thought out” piece of legislation, which is …

According to a study by the US branch of Home Instead Senior Care, over 75% of Americans would rather think about what they want when they’re no longer here rather than make plans for later life. Their survey, which looked at two groups – one aged 45 to 69 and …

In our last Gazette post, “What is “normal” eye health?”, we mentioned a few eye diseases and conditions that we are at a higher risk of developing as we get older. These include: age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, and dry eye. While as you get older you are …

Many adults develop some degree of periodontal disease (gum disease) as a part of the aging process, however there are steps you can take to prevent it. Periodontal disease, or simply gum disease, is the single most common cause of tooth loss in adults. This inflammatory disease attacks the gums, …

With an ageing population, vision loss from eye disease is beginning to require a larger chuck of the Ministry of Health’s focus, time and funding. In 2016/17 the Ministry of Health made a contribution of up to $2 million nationally to assist DHBs to develop, implement or improve care models …

Short answer – no. Carrots may not give you the ability to see in the dark, however the news is not all bad – turns out carrots are great for your overall eye health! Why is this? Carrots contain many of the important vitamins and compounds that protect eyes and …

This issue is very close to my heart as one of my closest friends lost her Dad to bowel cancer a few years ago. It was a fast moving cancer that caused a lot of pain, confusion and grief, which I think if it could be avoided it definitely should! …