Can soaking up the sun give you a difficult head?

The prospect of a fortnight in the Aegean beckons, with the welcome possibility for heliosis, the Ancient Greek term for sunbathing, in deference to the sun God, Helios. They were apparently properly conscious of its “health benefits”, with the distinguished physician Soranus of Ephesus (popular for his treatise on gynaecology with a “truly magnificent” account of the management of a tough labour) commending sunbathing for diverse ailments of the skin and lung.

Virtually 500 many years earlier, Herodotus, in his account of the battle of Pelusium in 525 BC, commented on the big difference in the bony remains of the Egyptian and Persian casualties – identifying for the 1st time the hyperlink between sun deprivation and weak or brittle bones. “The skulls of the Persians were so thin that the mere touch of a pebble would pierce them, but it is scarcely attainable to break the skulls of the Egyptians with a blow from a stone,” he wrote.

When the outcomes of scientific investigations are “too excellent to be true”, they are usually just that. This proved to be the downfall of the psychologist Sir Cyril Burt, whose demonstration of the substantial heritability of intelligence in research of twins separated at birth had a profound influence on submit-war education policy. His findings remained unchallenged till, a handful of months right after his death, Princeton psychologist Leon Kamin drew focus to their implausible consistency more than decades: whilst the numbers of twin pairs he claimed to have studied enhanced practically nine-fold, the correlation of their intelligence scores remained exactly the same. This is impossible.

Not too long ago, scrutiny of the outcomes of the drug business-sponsored trials of statins has identified a equivalent issues. For, whilst the charges of reported critical side-effects differ significantly, it is usually precisely mirrored by the exact same figure for these taking the placebo. Therefore, for these taking rosuvastatin, the incidence of significant adverse occasions was recorded as 15 per cent, and for these taking the placebo 15.5 per cent for people taking simvastatin six per cent, placebo 6 per cent – and so on. This is improbable and, pace Sir Cyril’s correlation coefficients, as well excellent to be correct.

Gum performs

The numerous therapeutic makes use of of chewing gum have featured in this column ahead of, notably for stimulating the secretions of the salivary glands in those troubled by a dry mouth. Lately its portfolio of clinical indications has expanded to contain pregnant girls requiring a Caesarean, for whom thrice-day-to-day gum chewing reduces the possibilities of establishing transient paralysis of the gut – and, for individuals who are discomforted by bloating, advertising a speedier return of typical functioning. “This protected and economical intervention,” it is claimed, “should be incorporated in the regimen care of girls following a Caesarean part.”

Austrian gynaecologist Heinrich Husslein has located exactly the identical benefit for girls requiring keyhole surgery on the fallopian tubes and ovaries. Scarcely rocket science – but essential for the girls concerned.

Ghost reader

Last but not least, further to readers’ accounts of encounters from the other side, Hugh Foster from Hampshire recalls reading through a letter in his paper some time ago from a woman reporting how the resident ghost in her residence would hover behind her chair as she read through The Daily Telegraph. The apparition, being a slow reader, would get annoyed if she turned the pages too quickly – until ultimately she became so fed up that she summoned an exorcist to evict the ghostly intruder.

E mail your well being inquiries to drjames@telegraph.co.united kingdom answers will be published in the wellness part of the Telegraph site each and every Friday

Can soaking up the sun give you a difficult head?