Vhi HealthClub

Chronic Respiratory Disease

St. James' Hospital in Dublin has launched a special DVD to help patients of COPD or Chronic Respiratory Disease to manage their symptoms. Marie Lawlor is a respiratory nurse at the hospital and she tells me how it works.

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(2 mins 54 sec)

Exercise in the Water

Our resident fitness expert, Philip Phelan, is back to talk about exercise, this time in the water. Philip explains how this low impact form of exercise can offer a relaxing and enjoyable work-out.

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(2 mins 18 sec)

Philip Phelan Children and Activity

Our resident fitness expert, Philip Phelan, tells me how to keep your children active during the school semester and what the best approach to take with sport is.

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(2 mins 31 sec)

Writing Your Own Life Story

The Irish Hospice Foundation is encouraging all of us to compile and write our own life stories. I talk to broadcasters Eamon Dunphy and Miriam O Callaghan who explain why it helped them cope with their own bereavements in life. Eamon talks about the loss of her father while Miriam lost her sister to breast cancer when she was still quite young. The Irish Hospice Foundations website is www.hospice-foundation.ie

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(4 mins 12 sec)

Joining the Gym

Many of us have great intentions about joining the gym and our fitness expert, Philip Phelan joins us in studio to talk about getting the most out of your membership, the best equipment for you and how to maintain the momentum. I ask him how to find the gym to match your needs and how to enjoy it rather than see it as a chore.

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(2 mins 36 sec)

The Health Costs of the Economic Boom

Dr Eimear Shelly from the Health Service Executive tells us how we are 'suffering from success,' with the rate of chronic illness from heart disease and obesity on the rise. When people are earning more money the option to change your lifestyle is suddenly available and most of us are making unhealthy decisions of eating more and exercising less.

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(3 mins 40 sec)

Dealing with death in hospital

The death of a loved one is never easy to cope with but the experience that faced writer Ann Dempsey while her husband passed away in hospital was more difficult than most. Ann tells her moving story of her husband Dave’s final hours and questions the manner in which he was treated. Ann has since lead a campaign to improve hospital practices when it comes to dealing with death as she says thousands of people die each year in hospital and they should have the right to die with dignity.

The Irish Hospice foundation programme to change hospital practices around death and dying – www.hospice-foundation.ie

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(4 minutes 56 secs)

Quitting Smoking : 6 months later

As her new years resolution Majella Fitzpatrick gave up her 20 a day smoking habit. At the time Majella was quietly confident and planning a healthier lifestyle. Now six months later Majella has completed her planned half marathon and has been very successful with her resolution. Listen as Majella explains her weakness of the cigarette completing the holiday picture of sun, sea and sand.

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(3 minutes 32 secs)

Exam Stress – Concentration Tips

After all the study and the long hours, there are two hurdles that often stress students on the day of an exam. First is a lack of concentration. Stress expert Karen Belshaw talks us through a simple visualization technique to calm those nerves and increase concentration on the job at hand. The second hurdle is time management. Karen suggests that knowing the number of questions before and a little preparation to allocate time can reduce stress – and always leave 15 minutes at the end to polish up answers!

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(2 minutes 24 secs)

Binge Drinking – A task force

Over one third of Irish adults say they have over five drinks in a single sitting which qualifies as binge drinking. What can and should the government be doing to combat this trend? Dr Joe Barry, a member of the government task force on alcohol tells Aileen O Meara that self regulation of the alcohol industry and sports and music sponsorship are two areas that need to be addressed. He believes the government can make an impact on our binge drinking culture and that the public is more than ready for the challenge.

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(2 minutes 53 secs)