A weekly round-up of news affecting your health:
WOUNDS
Australians are being asked to be 'wound aware' and seek prompt treatment to avoid potentially nasty complications such as amputation.
Nearly half a million Australians a day suffer chronic wounds, costing the health system an estimated $3 billion a year, according to Wounds Australia.
Due to a lack of awareness, too many people don't get the right treatment, says podiatrist Kerry May, of Wounds Australia.
The chief operations manager says for people with diabetes, wounds should be taken as seriously as a heart attack.
"If someone has a heart attack they look at reviewing their medication, their lifestyle choices and what's important to them," Ms May said.
A very small wound on the foot, like a scratch, can very quickly become a larger wound increasing the risk of infection and possible amputation, she warns.
"A wound is something that can be caused by so many conditions and affect so many people, yet it just doesn't have that national focus," the expert says.
Signs of a potentially infected wound include pain, odour, fluid and slow healing and Ms May says if a wound has not got better after four weeks then people should seek treatment from their GP.
"Sometimes a very simple treatment, very early, can prevent very big problems down the track and that's the message we really want to get across to people," Ms May said.
BLEEDING
New medical guidelines to help women with heavy menstrual bleeding have been released.
About one in four Australian women experience heavy menstrual bleeding, many suffering severe pain as a result.
Treatment options range from hormonal therapy to surgery, which can take the form of endometrial ablation or hysterectomy.
Concerned women aren't receiving equality in care, according to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care which on Friday released new guidelines for doctors aimed at helping ensure women have access to the best available treatment for the condition.
Data from the Commission's Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation, released earlier this year, showed that rates of hysterectomy varied dramatically from one part of Australia to another.
According to the new guidelines, most women with this problem can be effectively cared for by their GP and the need for a hysterectomy is not common.
Associate Professor Kirsten Black, a Sydney gynaecologist who chaired the Commission's Topic Working Group that compiled the new standard, says a referral to a specialist is only necessary in some cases.
Referral to a specialist may be warranted in some situations - such as if the woman has uterine fibroids or polyps, or in less common situations where cancer is suspected, Assoc Prof Black says.
"Sometimes a hysterectomy is required, but the clinical care standard is seeking to ensure that women are offered the spectrum of available treatments and options."
OBESITY
Local sport coaches could be key to cutting down the amount of junk food children eat on a weekend, according to Australian researchers.
A study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health looked at what kids ate at a normal netball session, compared with what they ate if coaches provided healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetbales and cheese.
Coaches provided the healthy snacks to participants before each netball session for one school term. Children's food consumption was observed at one session before, during and after the intervention.
Parents attending the observed session also completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires.
Not surprisingly, when kids were provided healthy food before sport, they ate less junk food before and after the game.
"Coaches providing healthy snacks before sessions at sports clubs increased consumption of nutrient-dense foods at the session, and may have positively affected participants' attention/participation," the authors concluded.
In Australia, 18 per cent of children aged 2-17 years are overweight and a further seven per cent are obese.
The researchers say weekend sport provides an opportunity to instil healthy eating behaviours in children with the aim of reducing the soaring rates of childhood obesity.
For as little as $2 per child each week, this type of intervention could change the amount of junk food kids eat while at sport, the researchers say.
