My happy Disney sprinkled with pixie dust persona that came back from the Bahamas only a few days ago loving life and the world is wearing off rapidly. I’m trying not to wash all the sparkles off but cleaning products and children are NOT HELPING,
Can all my son’s friend’s STOP having 18th birthday celebrations now please? How does he know so many people? Have so many friends? How can there be so many parties? Jealous? Moi?
It’s difficult to manage because when it’s one of his best friend’s birthday’s but it’s a Monday night what do you do? I find countering “But you’re only 18 once, mum” pretty difficult to be honest because it’s true and in the great scheme of things does it matter that they’ll be tired for school? I mean, yes, they might miss something vastly important, fail all their A levels, not get into university and bog up the entire rest of their lives, but really, for the sake of a birthday party – it’s just SO worth it.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE REPORT IN THE PAPER TODAY? All about the rise of liver disease in our children. According to NHS figures, the number of young drinkers ending up in hospital with a serious liver problem has risen by more than 50% in the last decade.
WHAT IS LIVER DISEASE?
Liver can become fatty and inflamed after drinking heavily over period of time
Leads to scaring or cirrhosis which in extreme cases ends in liver failure
No cure as such, but if doctors diagnose and treat liver disease early enough then the organ can regenerate and patients can recover and lead a normal life
That can lead to scaring or “cirrhosis” which in extreme cases ends in liver failure.
The disease is common in heavy drinkers in their 50s and 60s.
But doctors have told Newsbeat they are seeing a “generational shift” in the kind of people turning up in their wards.
Overall the number of young patients is still small, in the hundreds rather than the thousands.
But it’s been rising sharply over the last fifteen years as alcohol consumption has increased.
Dr Nick Sheron, a liver specialist at Southampton General, said: “17 years ago, I remember seeing a lad about 23 years old with alcoholic liver disease and he was the first patient I had seen at that age.
“Now it is not at all unusual to see people in their twenties in our unit.
“We get four or five every year and the youngest death we have seen was someone who was 26. It’s a big, big difference.”
DOCTORS’ TIPS
If possible, eat when you are drinking
Have ‘several days a week’ without alcohol
Try to stick within your recommended weekly limit for booze
Dr Mitchell said: “I’ve seen people come in who are bright yellow or jaundiced and bleeding from their stomachs.
“Many will turn round and say they had no idea they were drinking to that extent because your liver just doesn’t give you a warning.”
He also explained why he believes the issue may be worse than the numbers suggest.
“The way we collect these figures has its problems. So if you come in with a broken leg and you have an abnormal liver test, it might not be recorded,” he said.
“Everyone who works with alcohol, when we see these statistics we realise they are a gross underestimate.”
