HEALTH NOTES

FLASH YOUR FEET WITH PRIDE

ACCORDING to a new study, a third of us are embarrassed by our feet, with 56% of people actively avoiding taking shoes or socks off when temperatures rise. Whether athlete’s foot, corns or unsightly toenails are your embarrassing secret, check out the Scholl Aid Range, which has solutions for all manner of ills, includes a Fungal Nail Treatment (£19.99; scholl.co.uk) and Corn Express Pen (£9.99), pictured, to help get you set for the upcoming sandal season.

HELP FOR HAY FEVER SUFFERERS

IF you suffer from hay fever, dust allergies or when visiting the homes of people with pets, check out the Lloydspharmacy Allergy Reliever (£19.99; lloydspharmacy.com). You insert it up your nose and it uses red light therapy to suppress the cells that release histamine, reducing symptoms such as watery eyes and a runny nose.

It sounds like pseudoscience but our tester, who has been known to take three or four one-a-day hay fever tablets in 24 hours when symptoms are at their worst, was able to ditch antihistamines completely while using the gadget.

THYROID DRUG ‘NOT WORKING’

THOUSANDS of patients are being prescribed thyroid drugs unnecessarily, research shows.

The hormone treatment, taken daily as tablets, does not appear to fight tiredness, low mood and weight gain, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.

But experts insisted people with mild underactive thyroid problems should not stop taking their medication and should instead speak to their doctor.

ASTHMA CHILDREN ‘IN LIMBO’

MILLIONS of children are at risk of asthma attacks

– because of a three-year wait for diagnosis.

A fifth of parents had to wait in “limbo”, Asthma UK found.

Diagnosis is difficult as kids’ lungs are not fully developed. But it also says current testing tools are “not fit for purpose”.

But the charity’s Dr Andy Whittamore added: “Even filming your child’s symptoms on a phone could help to give your child’s GP the full picture.”