Wednesday, 7 April 2021

NICE One

The UK's National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a change in treatment for patients with chronic pain which has no known cause (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/07/chronic-pain-sufferers-should-take-exercise-not-analgesics-says-nice). NICE suggest that such patients should not be prescribed analgesics (pain-relieving medication, like paracetamol or opiates). Analgesics often don't work and can prove addictive. NICE believe that treatments involving physical exercise, talking therapies and/or acupuncture have more success. The downside, however, is that these alternatives require extended medical/professional intervention (and contact). This is not easy for the UK's National Health Service that has already accumulated an enormous backlog of work, whilst dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. It's always easier to prescribe pills.
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Flowers of Oahu 64. Wikstoemia uva-ursi or Akia

The bark, roots and leaves of this plant release a narcotic that was used to stun fish.

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