Dr Xand's Con or Cure

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Factual: Health & Wellbeing

The facts, not the fakes, about your health.

The facts, not the fakes, about your health with Dr Xand van Tulleken and Ashley John-Baptiste. From social media scams to health scares, they'll shine a light on bad medicine.

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Alexander van Tulleken

Ashley John-Baptiste

Richard Collier

Brendan Hughes

Karen Donnelly

Angela MacMillan

Dr Xand's Con or Cure: Series 1: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC One - Dr Xand's Con or Cure, Series 1, Episode 1

The dangers of health tourism – when surgery abroad goes wrong.

The dangers of health tourism – a mother and daughter talk of their surgery abroad that went badly wrong. And we ask the question: can being cold give you a cold?

From cons to cures, scams to scares and sifting fakes from facts. 

Health consumer show Con or Cure is dedicated to righting the wrongs of ‘bad medicine’. Dr Xand van Tulleken and journalist Ashley John-Baptiste scour the country to expose medical quacks, explode false news, explain topical health and showcase extraordinary cases. In a world of social media and information at our fingertips, they’ll help you sift the right advice from the downright dangerous, shine a light on medical malpractice and criminal behaviour, and help you take your health in your own hands.

In this episode, Xand and Ashley explore health tourism, a booming industry, with many Brits heading abroad for plastic surgery or other treatments. But is it easy to do it safely? Mum and daughter Jackie and Tracey were tempted by sun and surgery, but both were left with horrific injuries. We reveal the red flags to look out for when booking surgery abroad.

For 41-year-old Justin, Facebook was a place where he could keep in touch with family, and as a person with learning disabilities, find a safe and comfortable space to chat with friends. That was until he was manipulated and scammed out of thousands of pounds by online fraudsters, targeting vulnerable individuals through social media.

Also, we bust the most common myths around colds and flu. Does going out without a jacket or with wet hair really give you a cold? And the social media trend that sees people sticking raw garlic up their nostrils to clear congestion - con or cure?

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