A weekly round-up of news affecting your health
PROSTATE CANCER
New data has revealed huge variations in prostate cancer surgery costs, leading to calls for greater transparency.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Medibank figures show the cost of prostate cancer surgery varies from $14,500 to nearly $56,000.
Cancer Council Australia CEO Professor Sanchia Aranda says the disparity is concerning.
"Out of pocket costs for these procedures show unwarranted levels of variation across Australia and at times are likely to cause significant financial hardship for patients unaware of alternatives to paying these high fees," she said.
Prostate cancer patients are often referred directly to a urologist who they develop a rapport with at a very stressful time and when told of the costs, feel compelled to pay the out-of-pockets rather than seek alternatives.
The Cancer Council is calling for an improved standard of financial consent to make sure surgeons and other clinicians disclose all out-of-pocket costs associated with a planned treatment, along with alternatives.
PUBIC HAIR
Grooming public hair can be risky.
A study of more than 7500 men and women in the US published in journal JAMA Dermatology has found about a quarter of people who groom pubic hair report related injuries.
Laceration is the most common, followed by burns and rashes.
There were 79 injuries among those surveyed that required medical attention.
SLEEP
Binge-watching the latest hit TV series is not only time-consuming, it comes at a price to your sleep.
Research by the University of Michigan and the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium has found binge-viewing frequency leads to poorer sleep quality, more fatigue and increased insomnia.
"Our study signals that binge-viewing is prevalent in young adults and that is may be harmful to their sleep," said co-author Professor Jan Van den Bulck.
Binge-viewing involves excessive watching of back-to-back programs in a single sitting and has become prevalent with the uptake of streaming services increasing across the globe.
The small study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine involved surveying 423 people aged 18-25 in February 2016.
They were asked about sleep quality, fatigue and insomnia, as well as the frequency of binge watching programs on a TV, laptop or desktop computer for the previous month.
More than 80 per cent reported binge-watching, 20 per cent doing so at least a few times a week.
Bing-watchers have a 98 per cent higher likelihood of poor sleep quality because of cognitive arousal, says lead author Liese Exelmans from the University of Leuven.
"We think they become intensely involved with the content and may keep thinking about it when they want to go to sleep."
Being mentally alert can create arousal (or pre-sleep arousal) when a person tries to fall asleep and can lead to poor sleep quality after binge-viewing, Mr Exelmans explained.
"This prolongs sleep onset or, in other words, requires a longer period to 'cool down' before going to sleep."
FLU
With Australia battling its way through its "worst ever" flu season, people have been urged to take all necessary precautions to reduce the risk of spreading germs.
Dr Vicky Sheppeard, Director Communicable Diseases NSW Health, says people with symptoms should take extra care to avoid spreading infection to family and friends who may be at greater risk of a severe infection.
"Covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, disposing of used tissues and washing hands thoroughly and often are simple precautions people can take," Dr Sheppeard said.
People with flu symptoms have also been told to avoid going out, unless to see the doctor.
Influenza symptoms may include fever and chills, coughing, a sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches and joint pains, headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
