Breakspear Medical

23/12/2025

🎄🏆 WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: Christmas Decorating Contest! 🏆🎄

The judging is complete, the votes are in, and we're pleased to announce the winners of our Inter-Departmental Christmas Decorating Contest!

Our competing departments of Nurses, Accounts/Patient Liaison, Medical Secretaries & Pharmacy all brought creativity and festive spirit to Breakspear Medical this season. Each display has brightened our clinic and brought smiles to patients and staff alike!

⭐ Most Festive Spirit Award: Medical Secretaries. Your display radiated warmth, cheer, and the true essence of the holiday season.

🎁 Best Use of Mystery Decoration Box Award: Nurses. Congratulations on your creative and clever use of the mystery decorations!

❤️ People's Choice Award: Accounts/Patient Liaison. Chosen by our wonderful Facebook followers! Thank you to everyone who voted; your engagement is truly appreciated!

A huge thank you to ALL our participating departments for making our clinic feel so festive and welcoming.

There is one more category to be judged 7 January 2025, which is the Best Clean Up Award. Excellence in tidying up and leaving the space spotless will be judged and rewarded.

Congratulations to all our winners (so far), and Merry Christmas from the entire Breakspear Medical team!

23/12/2025

The festive season is almost here and while we all look forward to celebrating with loved ones, recent UK health research shows that a third of people with digestive sensitivities experience worsening symptoms during the holiday period.

As you navigate Christmas celebrations, remember that your body is always communicating with you.

This holiday season, be mindful of:
- how your body responds to rich, unfamiliar foods
- changes in your energy levels and digestion
- any new or worsening symptoms that persist
- the temptation to "worry about it all in January"

You know your body best. If something doesn't feel quite right during the holidays, whether it's digestive discomfort, unexplained fatigue, or reactions to certain foods, take note because these signals matter.

We're here for you in 2026

If the festive season leaves you feeling that your health needs expert attention, Breakspear Medical's team specialises in understanding your body's unique responses. We address individual dietary challenges, food sensitivities, environmental factors, and support healthy ageing through personalised environmental medicine.

Your wellbeing deserves more than New Year's resolutions. It deserves expert, individualised care.

Wishing you a mindful and healthy festive season!

Start 2026 feeling your best: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/appointments/

18/12/2025

VOTING HAS CLOSED!

🎄✨ IT'S TIME TO VOTE! People's Choice Award ✨🎄

Our talented departments have been hard at work transforming spaces around the clinic into festive wonderlands, and now WE NEED YOUR HELP to choose the winner of our People's Choice Award!

Below we've posted photos of the various decorated areas. Take a moment to scroll through all the creative displays, then simply LIKE the photo of the decorations that capture your heart the most! 💚

Your LIKES = Your VOTES!

Winners for all three categories will be announced on Tuesday, 23rd December 2025 🏆

One of our patients, who has been with us for 4 weeks recently, shared how much of a pick-me-up it was to see the decorations go up. It's moments like that which remind us why we try to bring a little extra joy and warmth during the festive season! 🎁💫

Thank you for being part of our Breakspear Medical family and helping us celebrate the season! 🎅

18/12/2025

Back pain disappeared in 5 minutes

One of our patients experienced sudden pain after decorating for Christmas. What happened next demonstrates the power of integrated treatment approaches.

From neuromuscular taping to Low-dose Immunotherapy (LDI), discover how understanding your body's unique responses can lead to rapid relief.

Read her full story on our blog https://www.breakspearmedical.com/neuromuscular-taping-ldi-pain-relief-patient-story/

Discover how a patient in her 80s found complete pain relief in 5 minutes using neuromuscular taping and Low-dose Immunotherapy (LDI) at Breakspear Medical. Learn about the histamine connection.

16/12/2025

Did you know that neuromuscular taping could help reduce blood pressure?

Recent research from Breakspear Medical shows promising results for hypertension management.

In a pilot study, patients who received neuromuscular taping between the shoulder blades experienced significant reductions in their blood pressure readings and the benefits lasted for at least 5 days.

This non-invasive technique may work by modulating the body's autonomic nervous system, offering a gentle yet effective approach to cardiovascular health.

To read the full published article, title "Neuromuscular taping reduces blood pressure in systemic arterial hypertension", visit: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/resources/published-medical-papers/

This is a collection of links to published medical papers written by our doctors or colleagues that you might be interested in reading.

09/12/2025

We've been concerned about this for quite some time

A recent eye-opening BBC Panorama investigation brought to light the alarming presence of PFAS ("forever chemicals") which are lurking in everyday household items, such as non-stick pans and children's waterproofs. Reporter Catrin Nye discovered she had nearly 5 times the level considered to pose health risks.

The rather troubling aspect is that these chemicals simply don't break down; they accumulate in our bodies and have been linked to thyroid disorders, fertility problems, and even certain cancers.

At Breakspear Medical, we've been treating Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and helping patients detoxify from environmental chemicals for decades. Through our hyperthermia IRATHERM treatments, carefully tailored detoxification protocols and comprehensive approach to allergy and environmental illnesses, we've helped hundreds of patients reduce their toxic burden and rebuild their immune systems.

The medical community is increasingly recognising the importance of this issue. A recent clinical review in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine emphasises that informed discussion between patients and clinicians about PFAS exposures, health risks, and mitigation strategies is essential for proper care. https://www.ccjm.org/content/92/8/463

If this story strikes a chord with you, whether you're experiencing unexplained symptoms, chemical sensitivities, ME/CFS, or simply wish to understand your exposure better, please get in touch.

📖 View the full BBC article here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8z8pv1e0ko

To find out more about our treatments and approach: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/conditions/

Your health deserves proper attention. Let's work together to find some answers.

04/12/2025

🎄It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Breakspear Medical ✨

We're pleased to announce our Inter-departmental Christmas Decorating Contest is officially underway!

This year, 5 of our departments are taking on the festive challenge. Each team selected a mystery box of decorations and drew their assigned decorating zone. Now they're adding their own creative flair to transform their spaces into winter wonderlands.

Prize categories:

🎁 Best Use of Mystery Decoration Box
⭐ Most Festive Spirit
❤️ People's Choice Award - This one's up to YOU!

We'll be posting photos of each decorated area over the coming weeks, and we want to hear from you! Which department's display is your favourite? Keep an eye out for our posts and let us know which area you feel captures the spirit.

Winners will be announced on 23rd December 2025, just in time for Christmas!

02/12/2025

🎯 Take 5 minutes to boost your mood and energy!

The NHS has launched a free Healthy Choices Quiz that gives you personalised tips on sleep, nutrition, exercise and mental health. Get your score out of 10 plus their advice and free tools to help you feel better.

Research shows 19 million people could improve their wellbeing with simple lifestyle changes. This NHS quiz helps find out what might work for you: https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/healthy-choices-quiz/?WT.mc_ID=HCQ_PR&wt.tsrc=PR

Or are you looking for more personalised support? Our Healthy Ageing programme goes deeper, helping you understand your unique metabolic status and creating tailored plans to maintain vitality and wellbeing as you age. Check it out: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/conditions/healthy-ageing/

25/11/2025

Winter wellness: practical tips to stay healthy

Following our early flu season alert last week, today's blog shares actionable steps you can take to protect yourself this winter.

From simple hygiene habits to immune-supporting nutrition, our Environmental Naturopath Jean Monro explains how vitamins A, C, and D can help keep your defences strong during cold and flu season.

Learn about:

● daily prevention strategies
● lifestyle measures for immune health
● beneficial nutritional supplements
● when to seek medical help

Read the full blog for expert advice on staying well this winter 👉 https://www.breakspearmedical.com/practical-winter-infection-prevention-tips/

Discover practical tips to prevent winter infections including flu vaccination, hand hygiene, and immune-supporting supplements like vitamins A, C & D. Expert advice from our Environmental Naturopath.

20/11/2025

🦠 Early flu season alert: what you need to know

This year's flu season has arrived earlier than usual, with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reporting increased influenza activity across the UK.

The current situation, according to NHS publications:
• A drifted strain of Influenza A(H3N2) is predominating this season
• Flu activity is already circulating in the community earlier than typical
• A&E attendances and hospital admissions are rising, particularly amongst older adults

What is a "drifted strain"?

Flu viruses naturally mutate over time, making small changes to their surface proteins. When these changes accumulate, the virus "drifts" and may look different enough that our immune systems don't recognise it as well. This is why flu vaccines are updated each year.

How this affects you

A(H3N2) predominance is associated with higher rates of severe illness and complications, particularly in elderly populations, compared to other flu strains.

Even with drifted strains, the flu jab provides important protection against severe disease. All eligible groups, including those with underlying health conditions and healthcare workers, should get their 2025/26 seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible.

Understanding flu vaccines

Each year, the flu vaccine is updated to best match the strains of influenza expected to circulate. Because flu viruses mutate frequently, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine can vary each year. Vaccines are designed to provide protection against multiple flu strains circulating this winter, and even when strains drift, vaccination significantly reduces the risk of severe outcomes.

💉 If you're in an eligible group, which includes 65+, pregnant, young children, or those who have underlying health conditions, consider booking your flu jab today. If you're eligible for an NHS flu vaccine, you can:

• contact your GP surgery to book an appointment
• book a free NHS flu vaccination appointment at a pharmacy online
• find a pharmacy that offers free NHS flu vaccination where you can walk-in and get vaccinated without an appointment (if you're aged 18 or over)

Our upcoming Tuesday blog post will share tips on how to boost your immune system.

04/11/2025

You finish a healthy lunch and within an hour, fatigue sets in. You experience brain fog and feel completely drained. To try to fix this, you try eliminating "bad" foods, take some new supplements, and try to establish better sleep habits. These changes help briefly and then symptoms return. Again, you're exhausted, bloated and frustrated.

Understanding the Load Phenomenon

Your body has a threshold above which symptoms occur. This threshold isn't fixed; it's lowered by stress, infection, poor sleep and cumulative exposure to environmental factors including foods, chemicals, fragrances and pollutants.

When these factors accumulate, they create a "load" that exceeds your individual threshold, triggering chronic symptoms. Even if you address one factor (such as diet), other unidentified sensitivities may be keeping you above that threshold.

You need a different approach

At Breakspear Medical, we use comprehensive allergy/sensitivity testing and treatment called Low-Dose Immunotherapy (LDI) to identify your specific triggers and help retrain your immune system. With over 500 different food and environmental allergens available for testing, we can create a personalised treatment plan to help lighten your load.

Learn more about the Load Phenomenon on our website: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/patient-information/the-load-phenomenon/

Arrange a consultation with a member of our Clinical Team to discuss your specific symptoms and receive a personalised treatment plan.

Our bodies have a limit. When we get too much stress, sickness, and not enough sleep, our limit goes lower. Environmental things, such as polluted air or contaminated water, can also move us closer to reaching our limit. The impact of our lifestyle and environment negatively affecting our health is....