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Health and Home: DIY Awareness Campaign

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

At this time of year there are a number of campaigns about Christmas light safety, and reminders of what can go wrong when people take part in DIY around the home. DIY can have unexpected results. For example, when I was pregnant with my eldest (we’re talking 2006) I took it upon myself while home alone during maternity leave to gloss a door. No big deal, it’s a door, what could possibly go wrong? Put it this way, despite being super careful I somehow manage to paint the door, myself the living room carpet, the hall carpet, lino in the bathroom and the bath.

I put sheets down and everything so I’ve no idea what was wrong but needless to say it was a DIY disaster and that I am not allowed to paint anymore. On the upside I did manage to get a new carpet out of my misfortune…..

Some DIY disasters however are not so quickly and easily dealt with. Once more we as a nation are taking up our sandpaper, our paintbrushes and ripping back upholstery in a bid to make do and mend, to create bespoke pieces for our homes and to enjoy a spot of upcycling. I am a huge fan of upcycling myself. It saves money, it’s great to put your own stamp on things, it keeps things out of the landfill (the same reason I use Freecycle when I can) and it’s fun!

Judging however by the rising number of mesothelioma claims that have arisen as a result of home DIY, there is definitely a downside if you don’t know what you’re doing.

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According to data offered by Slater and Gordon Lawyers:

  • 33% of people surveyed are happy to upcycle old/antique furniture, yet only a tiny 1% would consider this an extreme risk to their health.
  • 45% of people surveyed would happily drill into walls, however only 5% of people consider this an extreme risk to their health.
  • A huge 48% stated that they were ‘not concerned’ about a health-related problem (e.g. breathing difficulties, nausea, skin irritation etc.)

While drilling, hammering and the usual DIY tasks are all of course potentially dangerous in their own right, what is causing the most concern to professionals is the fact that without knowing it many individuals are opening up old furniture which may well contain asbestos. Asbestos, as you might know may cause a number of health-related concerns if precautions are not taken when handling it.

A recent campaign which looks to open up people’s eyes to the potential for harm that comes from upcycling old furniture while not being aware of the risks is doing great things for spreading awareness. More can be found on Twitter on the #HealthandHome hashtag and via the handy infographic below.

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Don’t give up on upcycling, far from it! Just make sure that you stay safe while you’re doing it.

PS: I did not paint the carpet on purpose to get a new one. Just so we’re clear on that.

Thanks to Slater and Gordon Lawyers for the information and for running this campaign which will help keep us DIY fans safe.

In Health and Exercise

Diagnosed With Diabetes

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on 2 Comments

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This week I have been diagnosed as type 2 diabetic. This wasn’t altogether a surprise as I’ll explain in a moment but was something of a slap all the same.

About four years ago I went to my GP for an MOT. I’d not been feeling wonderful so went in to get a checkover. The results came back that my “blood sugars” were too high. Fast forward three months for another check and they’d shot up to the point where I was borderline diabetic. Being proactive the GP referred me to our excellent diabetic team (as clearly something wasn’t working as it should) and I was put on 1000mg metformin then and there, to stave off what seem to be the inevitable, for a while at least.

I’ve been classed as pre-diabetic ever since. The meformin did reduce my levels and I’ve bounced along that way ever since.

Back in July my review came back with a significantly higher result than hoped for. My levels had jumped up. My HbA1c levels, for those in the know, had jumped from 45mmol/mol to 55 mmol/mol. Where 42 mmol/mol and under is considered normal and 42-47 mmol/mol is pre-diabetic, 48 mmol/mol is classed as diabetic. 55 mmol/mol is considered diabetic and not good.

Three months on I was retested and yesterday went to see my diabetic nurse who confirmed that while my levels had dropped to 51 mmol/mol from 55 mmol/mol I was now classed as type 2 and so additional management and support was put in place.

I was a bit upset to be honest! I eat incredibly healthily, am active and take care of myself. Despite this, my body has decided to rebel. It was always something that could happen; there’s a family history of diabetes, I have PCOS and had wildly unmanageable, despite frequent testing and injecting gestational diabetes during my last pregnancy. Still, a kick in the pants.

I’m not being maudlin about it, it is what it is and I knew it was coming. My health team are quite frankly awesome, and know the lifestyle I lead is (or should be) helping so at least I’m already doing the right things.  So for now it’s in for a battery of check-ups and additional testing then hope my new regime helps to manage the diabetes better. Injections are “coming” at some point apparently however for now I’m hoping that the new medication levels and what not, when tweaked, will do the job.

It’s not ideal. It’s not great. I’d rather I hadn’t tipped over however I have and now that I’ve stomped around, called my pancreas an arsehole a few times and bemoaned the fact that despite my best efforts my body has other plans I’m now ready to forge on, do what needs to be done and get on with things.

My body really can be an arsehole sometimes……

 

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