Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Physical Illness & Disease

Hay fever. Peanut allergies. Eczema. Billions of people worldwide have some form of allergy; millions have one severe enough to seriously endanger their health. And over the past decade, the number of people diagnosed with allergy has been steadily increasing, an ever-growing medical burden on individuals, families, and our health care system. Medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail, herself an allergy sufferer whose father died of a bee sting, set out to understand why.

It has been called the worst treatment disaster in the NHS's history. But when it was first used Factor VIII was pitched as a medical miracle: a drug made from human plasma that enabled haemophiliacs to lead lives free of fear that a minor injury would prove fatal. But in the 1980s, tens of thousands of haemophiliacs began to test positive with HIV and AIDS. Their life-saving treatment Factor VIII was infected.

On 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In 11 pages, it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus. You might have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. 

Charlotte Raven had never heard of Huntington's disease when, in her mid-30s, she discovered that her father was suffering from the illness. Life for her and her young family would never be the same again. Patient 1 is her brutally candid account of coming to terms with this inherited neurodegenerative disease, which can manifest at any time in life for people who carry the faulty gene.

What is a dream? Why do we dream? How do our bodies and minds use dreams? These questions are the starting point for this unprecedented, astonishing study of the role and significance of dreams, from the beginning of human history. An investigation on the grand scale, encompassing literature, anthropology, religion and science, it articulates the essential place dreams occupy in human culture and how they functioned as the catalyst that compelled us to transform our earthly habitat into a human world.

Most people don't realise that the main reason we are exhausted is that we are living out of sync with our biology. In Energize!, renowned sleep expert Dr Michael Breus teams up with SoulCycle founding instructor Stacey Griffith to present a revolutionary science-based plan that will give you the energy you need to succeed and optimise your health. Using core principles from chronobiology and biology, they outline an easy-to-follow, personalised programme based on your body type that will give you incredible energy, promote happiness and fight off fatigue for good.

How to Prevent Dementia begins with the principle that the more we know about dementia, the easier it is to prevent or delay it. A better foundation of knowledge also helps people to understand and interact thoughtfully with loved ones living with the condition. The book shows that dementias exist on a spectrum, starting with perfectly normal performance and ending at the extremes of mental dysfunction. Dr Restak also provides practical advice on how to reduce your risk of developing the condition.

"We all have trapdoors in our lives. Sometimes we jump off just in time: we defuse an argument with a joke; we swerve to prevent a traffic accident. But sometimes we are unlucky enough to be on the trapdoor when the lever is pulled. My own trapdoor was hidden in the consulting room of an Oxford neurologist." When the trapdoor opened for Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, he plummeted into a world of MRI scans, a disobedient body and the crushing unpredictability of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. But, like Alice tumbling into Wonderland, his fall did something else.

ASMR to Wake Up Gently is a must for anyone looking to tune out anxiety and greet the new day gently. Using bespoke sounds and meditative techniques, Emma will guide you through a quiet wake up and morning routine. ASMR to Wake Up Gently is a must have for ASMR fans, beginners and those searching for deep, joyful and meditative ways to relax.

Having been told by doctors that due to Izzy's polycystic ovarian syndrome they would have difficulty conceiving - and after two years of trying - Izzy and Harry turned to IVF. Izzy's aim drawing on her own experience is to break through some of the taboos surrounding miscarriage, IVF and fertility issues. This brutally honest and deeply personal account will acknowledge the struggles that so many couples go through but will ultimately focus on the positive life-changing and remarkable results that IVF can yield.

Shortly before his 44th birthday, John Diamond received a call from the doctor who had removed a lump from his neck. Having been assured for the previous 2 years that this was a benign cyst, Diamond was told that it was, in fact, cancerous.

ASMR to Drift Back to Sleep is a must for anyone looking to tune out the noise of the night and find comfort and relaxation in bed. Using sound-bathing and meditative techniques Emma will keep you in a hypnotic state and allow you to gently drift back to sleep. ASMR to Drift Back to Sleep is a must have for ASMR fans, beginners and those searching for deep, joyful and meditative ways to relax.

ASMR to Ease Insomnia is a must for anyone looking to tune out the noise of the day and find comfort and relaxation before sleeping. Using bespoke sounds, meditative techniques and roleplay Emma will guide you through a session at a sleep clinic. ASMR to Ease Insomnia is a must have for ASMR fans, beginners and those searching for deep, joyful and meditative ways to relax.

When Dr Arthur Kleinman, an eminent Harvard psychiatrist and social anthropologist, began caring for his wife, Joan, after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, he found just how far the act of caregiving extended beyond the boundaries of medicine. In The Soul of Care, he delivers a deeply inspiring story about what it means to grapple with illness from both sides, as an experienced doctor and a loving husband. Caregiving is long, hard, unglamorous work - at moments joyous, more often tedious, sometimes agonising, but always rich in meaning.

In Tell Me the Planets, Ben Platts-Mills tells stories about his work with survivors of brain injury, offering a rare glimpse into the world as seen through their eyes: charismatic Danny, whose criminal past has left him paralysed down one side, but who now helps others worse off than himself; Sid, whose memory for the present lasts only moments; and Liah, who is caught in a battle with the care system threatening to make her homeless. 

When the woman he loved was diagnosed with a metastatic cancer, science-writer George Johnson embarked on a journey to learn everything he could about the disease and the people who dedicate their lives to understanding and combating it. What he discovered is that a revolution is now under way – an explosion of new ideas about what cancer really is and where it comes from. He combs through the realms of epidemiology, clinical trials, laboratory experiments and scientific hypotheses.

There are few visible markers of the accomplishments of public health. If epidemiologists do their jobs, nothing happens. An outbreak does not grow into an epidemic. A child does not go hungry. A would-be smoker never lights up. These achievements are rarely noticed or celebrated, but Caitlin Rivers lives for such victories. By making sure that things don’t happen, she and legions of scientists, practitioners, and policymakers change the course of history.