Dr Xand's Con or Cure 

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Dr Xand's Con or Cure

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

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Dr Xand's Con or Cure: Series 2: Episode 7

Episode 7

BBC One - Dr Xand's Con or Cure, Series 2, Episode 7

A look at the baby hearing test scandal and the dangers of home gel nail kits. Also, does reading in dim light damage our eyes, and can ice cure acne?

Around 12 million people in the UK live with hearing issues. Detecting problems with hearing early in life is important. But last summer, the NHS launched an urgent review of paediatric services after it became clear that thousands of babies and young children had hearing problems that weren’t diagnosed until it was too late. We meet Kirstie and her eight-year-old son, Tommie. Tommie was born deaf, but it wasn’t diagnosed until it was too late. Now fitted with cochlear implants, Tommie is improving, but the lack of a diagnosis has left him at a very big disadvantage compared to others his age. Samantha Lear, a senior paediatric audiologist, joins us to advise on what signs we should look out for in young babies, and what to do if we suspect a child may have issues with hearing.

When it comes to what we eat, it’s hard to keep up with what’s good for us and what’s bad. In this episode, we’re looking at the battle between two giants of our diets – fat and sugar. Are they really that bad for us, and is one worse than the other?   

Facial icing is another trend that has gone viral on social media, with millions of viewers watching videos online of people using ice and iced water on their faces. The claim is that it is a way to help circulation and get rid of acne and redness. But is it a con? Dr Xand thinks that it is dangerous and explains why.

Home kits of gel nail polish promise salon-style nails with a finish that lasts for weeks, sometimes months. And they’re easy to buy if you have about £70 to spare. That’s a lot cheaper than going to a nail salon regularly. However, they can come with unexpected health risks. We speak to 26-year-old Katie from Bradford, who prefers doing her nails at home but suffered pain and peeling of her skin due to the chemicals in the nail kit. Consultant dermatologist Dr Deirdre Buckley is in the studio to talk about the problems with these kits and advises us to steer clear of them.

Many of us have no doubt been told by our parents – and now tell our own kids – that sitting too close to the television, reading in dim light or not wearing your glasses can ruin your eyesight. But how much of this is actually true?

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