Cost of living crisis
Everyone seems to be talking about the cost of living crisis at the minute. But it can be hard to find out exactly what help is available.
We've updated our Benefits and financial assistance page and released a blog to outline where you can go for help.
In Scotland a new campaign was launched to help. Citizens Advice Scotland launched Our Advice Adds Up, encouraging people to ask for advice on the cost of living crisis.
Outside of Scotland, Citizens Advice have pages for England, Wales and Northern Ireland offering similar assistance.
Survivor stories
This month, we're looking at two stroke survivors who have written books about their lives.
Stroke survivor writes book using one finger
John is 82 and has had multiple strokes and TIAs since 2012. He lost vision in one eye and can only type with the middle finger on one hand. His new book, The Clot That Almost Killed Me, is all about his life and living with memory loss.
He also illustrated the book and designed the cover.
"This book is about determination and helping people who have experienced a similar thing to me. But there's a lot in there that I hope some survivors, or even carers will pick up."
John, stroke survivor
You can read more about John's book in this article on the Kent Messenger.
Famous faces: Vince Cable's memoir
In his recently published memoir, Vince Cable revealed that he had a "minor" stroke when he was the Lib Dem leader. He worried what people would think if he went public with the news. But says he regrets that now.
He struggled with long meetings after the stroke and sometimes used the wrong word in speeches. His wife wrote about her concerns over his health in her diary, which is used in parts of the memoir.
You can read more about his story in this article on the Guardian.
Medical news
And finally, we have two bits of medical news we wanted to share this month:
- Flu jab could reduce your risk of an ischaemic stroke. A Spanish study found that flu jabs reduce the risk of a first-time stroke by as much as 12%. This was for people who were at risk of having an ischaemic stroke. The reason for this is unclear. You can read more in this article on Medical News Today.
- New device could help people who have lost their sense of touch. A very early preview of this research reported some exciting results. Stroke survivors using the device for 10 minutes said that they experienced a 20% to 40% improvement in their sense of touch, although it's important to stress that this research is still in its early stages. You can find out more in this article on the Belfast Telegraph.
- Dozens of new genes linked with stroke. A new study discovered 61 gene locations and six genes that could be used to develop new treatment for stroke survivors. The exciting thing about this study is who was included in the study. Many studies on stroke focus mainly on white people living in Europe and North America. However, this included a much more diverse range of people, which is an important step in getting a more complete picture of stroke risk and treatment. You can read more about this study here on the UT Health news releases page.