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England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

bbc.com

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Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#371

Post by jasonfarnon »

what wrote: post #354
iamflimflam1 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to pile into the - this is not true. But it's not true. We get regular bowel cancer screening - you get it every 2 years once you hit 50 - https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/bowel-cancer-screeni... And there are also regular health checks available once you hit 40 - https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/nhs-health-check/

That’s exactly what they said? > it's entirely possible you'd simply never see a doctor again in your life until you're ready for your prostate exam in older life

I'm confused too. Prostrate screening starts at age 50 in the US. Every response seemed to corroborate the original point at least as applied to men.

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#372

Post by tjohns »

ifyoubuildit wrote: post #362
gsnedders wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a decent amount of public health research that suggests that annual physical exams don’t actually have a large impact on health. In the US case specifically, I always wonder how much of the benefit is just “here’s a free appointment with a doctor once a year”.

It's not free. If you bring anything up, you will be charged. I know because I've paid hundreds of dollars for "free" physicals that way.

It's free if you don't bring up things that should technically have been a dedicated own appointment.

The idea behind physicals is they're considered preventative care... catching problems early, often before there's any overt symptoms. For example, checking your cholesterol and A1c levels before they progress to heart failure or diabetes.

Once you're showing symptoms, you've left the realm of preventative care and it's now diagnostic/treatment for a established issue.

(ACA only provides 100% free coverage for visits that are 100% within the "preventative care" box.)

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#373

Post by jasonfarnon »

gs17 wrote: post #175
nly wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crazy how different healthcare is in different countries. In the UK once you've had your childhood vaccinations it's entirely possible you'd simply never see a doctor again in your life until you're ready for your prostate exam in older life. There are no regular checkups or preventative care on the NHS for mid life adults unless you're proactive

In the US it's entirely possible to do that as well. I've never been forced to see a doctor outside of getting a form signed before grad school.

well what did you do during covid? Even if your school/employer didn't require vaccination during covid, most schools I attended at different phases of my life, well before covid, required some new vaccine or other. I think in the US it's pretty hard to get through school without visiting a doctor after childhood vaccines.

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#374

Post by Teknoman117 »

jijijijij wrote: post #318
paulmist wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe I don't think it's commonly done. For example, the standard Dutch MSM STI test [1] covers HIV, Syphilis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhoea only while Trichomoniasis, HPV 2 and Herpes are rather common. That being said, it's freely available at most hospitals. [1] https://www.mantotman.nl/

> HPV 2 and Herpes are rather common Seems like both HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalences are actually rather low in the Netherlands. As for STI testing: Serological testing is pretty meaningless regarding infection risk and direct viral detection is only done on visible lesions for differential diagnostics AFAIK. You can shed the virus without lesions, HSV-1 can be contracted without direct mucosa contact, and while HSV-…

Most of the stigmatization of HSV in the US is mostly the result of pharmaceutical companies trying to create a market for HSV antiviral drugs. In the 1980s they ran ads that equated HSV with leprosy. Since that was also the time of the AIDS scare the public was probably very susceptible. Even in my childhood I remember ads on TV for the antiviral drugs promising a way of "living a normal life" despite HSV infection.

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#375

Post by [deleted] »

crabette wrote: post #301
ceejayoz wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would blame the "social" media, on the old internet they had barely any visibility. They managed to get plenty of visibility long before computers. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-50713991 > There followed a 100-year battle between the authorities and an often sceptical, sometimes aggressive, public. In Britain, a succession of laws made vaccinations free, then compulsory - backed by fines and…

I do not disagree, but I don't remember antivax to be visible in pre-facebook internet either, so I only blame it for ~current wave

[deleted]

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#376

Post by rootusrootus »

tjohns wrote: post #346
iamflimflam1 wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That tends to be part of the regular health checkup. I think that there's a working assumption amongst US folk that because the NHS is is publicly funded, it must be terrible.

Actually, I would've have assumed the other way - that the NHS was better than the US system. Which was why I was shocked when you said health checkups aren't allowed before age 40. :) US healthcare plans offer an annual physical exam every year at all ages. Looking at the UK NHS website, it seems to be only offered there after age 40, and limited to once every 5 years? Am I reading that right?

> Actually, I would've have assumed the other way - that the NHS was better than the US system.

I thought it was relatively uncontroversial that the major problem with US healthcare is not quality but cost. And the UK NHS is widely regarded as one of the lower quality implementations of single payer in any modern social democracy [0].

[0] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/health (#23, but Canada is actually worse!)

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#377

Post by rootusrootus »

1234letshaveatw wrote: post #216
gs17 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US it's entirely possible to do that as well. I've never been forced to see a doctor outside of getting a form signed before grad school.

Interesting, my insurers, through my employers, have always required a annual physical

That's interesting, I haven't ever been required to do that. I tend to have an annual checkup around my birthday, though it isn't really a physical exam anymore, more of a "hey lets do some blood tests and discuss if there's anything noteworthy we should talk about." They quit actually poking and prodding about the time I turned 45 or so. Doctor says the physical is mostly a waste of time.

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#378

Post by Reason077 »

nly wrote: post #146
Aurornis wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hep C screening at least once for adults >= 18 is recommended and considered standard of care in the United States. I checked my medical records and I have a negative Hep C result in an old checkup when I was younger, and another one from a new provider who insisted on a big panel of standard testing for new patients (despite me having no risk factors). It’s unfortunate that your early providers dropped the ball. I w…

Crazy how different healthcare is in different countries. In the UK once you've had your childhood vaccinations it's entirely possible you'd simply never see a doctor again in your life until you're ready for your prostate exam in older life. There are no regular checkups or preventative care on the NHS for mid life adults unless you're proactive

> “There are no regular checkups or preventative care on the NHS for mid life adults unless you're proactive”

This isn’t quite true. There is a free “NHS Health check” for adults aged 40-72, which you’re supposed to do every 5 years and includes basic checks like blood pressure and cholesterol. I certainly get messages from my GP nagging me about it from time to time.

Re: England set to be one of the first countries to eliminate hepatitis C

#380

Post by nephihaha »

sterlind wrote: post #147
pacija wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contemporary pharmaceutical companies, as well as contemporary government and private health institutions are my enemy. I would rather die than live using their products and services. When more ethical entities take over their business I will gladly start using them once again, as I did back in the day before they turned evil.

interesting. so if you get a bacterial infection, you plan to succumb to it rather than take antibiotics?

I'm afraid to say my last few experiences with antibiotics have been dismal. I got given three different types of antibiotics for one infection, none of which cleared it up much at all. Last time I appeared to have successful antibiotic treatment for something was in the 2010s.
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