Retail therapies
but is falling out of favour as it can cause damage to the canal or drum and there is a risk of infection.
If your ears feel uncomfortable you should see your doctor to confirm that it is due to wax, as in many cases the same sensation can be from inflammation, sometimes due to allergy to hair products.
If persistent use of drops does not help, your GP should be able to refer you for micro-suction, which is safer than syringing.You should not have to pay to have the wax removed.
The best way of preventing a build-up of wax is to use drops once a day or on alternate days to keep the wax soft, which makes it easier for it to be moved by the hairs inside the ear canal.
You could also buy a bulb syringe to use at home to perform ear irrigation, but if you do this ask your practice nurse how to use it correctly.
QI HAVE a couple of soft lumps on the back of my shoulders, which are slowly getting bigger – I think a can feel another one developing. I’ve had a scan which has shown they are lipomas, and my GP says there is no need to do anything about them, as they are harmless. What causes them, and would it help if I lost weight, even though I’m not that fat?
AA LIPOMA is a benign, non-cancerous lump made up of fat cells that clump together.They can occur anywhere in the body where there are fat cells, but most occur in the fatty tissue under the skin. They occur most commonly on the shoulder, chest and back. Anyone can develop a lipoma at any age, but they are more common in people aged 40-60 and also in those who are overweight, have diabetes or a high cholesterol level.
They are usually small and though they can slowly increase in size they are normally less than two inches in diameter.They feel soft and move slightly under the skin if you press on them.Though most people only have one or two, some people inherit a tendency to get lots of them.
Lipomas are usually harmless and are just a cosmetic problem. If you are not bothered by them then they are best left alone.
Losing weight won’t make them go away, but might make it a bit less likely that you will develop any more.
If a lipoma has become very large or is cosmetically distressing, for example if it is on the face or pressing on another structure such as a nerve, it is possible to remove it surgically. This is done under a local anaesthetic, but it does leave a small scar.
Liposuction, which vacuums out the contents, is an alternative treatment, which leaves a smaller scar, but this doesn’t usually remove all the lipoma cells, and the remainder often slowly grow back.
A steroid injection is another treatment, which may shrink the lump, but won’t fully get of it.
HIGH-END food delivery service The Pure Package has linked up with nutrition expert Patrick Holford – bestselling author of more than 40 books – to create a new “Brain Food” programme (From £39.95; purepackage. com) which aims to improve cognitive function.
The pre-prepared meals and snacks are delivered daily and menus are carefully curated to optimise brain health, with tasty and brain-boosting foods such as oily fish, fruits and vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds.
Customers also receive a box of Patrick’s Brain Food supplements. Our tester missed sugar so had some cracking headaches to begin with, but after a few days tucking into generous portions of silky Persian dhal and dinners of roasted sea bass with rocket pesto they reported feeling more alert and sleeping better.
IF YOUR shoes get stinky even when you try to be meticulous with your washing, check out Margaret Dabbs 3 in 1 shoe freshener (£64; margaretdabbs.co.uk).
The nifty gadget slips into footwear and uses ozone to eliminate bacteria and germs.
Regular use also helps to prevent recontamination of athlete’s foot and fungal nail conditions.