Dr Xand's Con or Cure

Original version

BBC One North West HD

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.

Series 2

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One East Midlands HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West HD

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Yorkshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One South HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West HD

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One North West

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One West

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One South West

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Oxfordshire

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One East HD

BBC One South East HD

BBC One Channel Islands HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Alexander van Tulleken

Ashley John-Baptiste

Richard Collier

Brendan Hughes

Karen Donnelly

Tern Television Productions

Dr Xand's Con or Cure: Series 2: Episode 4

Episode 4

BBC One - Dr Xand's Con or Cure, Series 2, Episode 4

Can a public toilet seat cause infectious diseases? Are non-branded painkillers OK? Also, the woman who spent £25,000 on a cure that was a con and the dangers of low-cost cosmetic surgery.

Every week sees new advances in medical science. And sometimes we come across cures for a condition where there weren’t any before. But what if a so-called medical cure is actually a con? As well as losing hope, it could also see us losing money. Margaret from Scotland spent £25,000 on eye surgery carried out by a surgeon who has since been struck off the medical register. Her eyesight hasn’t improved, and she is still out of pocket. Denise Voon joins us from the College of Optometrists.

In our regular look at medical myths, we ask whether you can catch any infectious disease from sitting on a toilet seat. Dr Xand gets to the bottom of the science.

The world of painkillers is a multibillion-pound business. But there is a lot of confusion over what brands are best to take and for what. Should we use branded or non-branded painkillers? What’s the difference between pills and capsules? Am I better off taking ibuprofen or paracetamol? Xand has the answers.

Last year, 900,000 non-surgical cosmetic procedures were carried out in the UK. That’s everything from anti-wrinkle injections to lip fillers. But with the increase in popularity comes an increase in dodgy practitioners and scam products. And sometimes a low-cost offer of treatment can result in an even bigger cost to your health. Mum Amy from Northumberland wanted a solution to reverse signs of ageing after the birth of her first child. She saw an offer on Facebook delivering three areas of Botox at a reduced price of only £80 due to a cancelled appointment. Amy thought she was in luck. However, the woman who carried out the procedure on her wasn’t qualified, and Amy went through months of discomfort, migraines and feeling extremely self-conscious due to a droopy eye caused by the injections. We are joined in the studio by Ashton Collins from Save Face, a national register of accredited practitioners who work in non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Dr Xand's Con or Cure

Series 2

Episode 4

Contributors

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC One North West HD

About BBC One