health | Trinity PR

Heads up! The Institute of Trichologists has launched its new press office

Thousands of people in the UK suffer with hair and scalp conditions such as hair loss, alopecia, psoriasis and dermatitis. These are not only physical or aesthetic problems, but they can have a serious a psychological impact too.

Whether a person has noticed that; their hair is becoming thinner, they’re losing a lot of hair, a hairline is receding, they can see worrying changes to their scalp or they’ve developed small but significant “bald” patches – it might be time to consider reaching out and consulting a Trichologist.

When you get to the root of it, trichologists are the only professional practitioners who specialise in conditions affecting the hair and scalp. Unfortunately, a GP is unlikely to specialise in these areas and as such, may misdiagnose or dismiss a condition that could respond very well to the right treatment. Trichologists pride themselves on working closely with both GPs and dermatologists in order to achieve an accurate diagnosis and relevant treatment plan – as well as having a genuine and compassionate understanding of the emotional and often debilitating effects on patients suffering with a problem of the hair or scalp.

Trichologists are trained to provide individual and personalised advice and targeted referrals, always taking into consideration possible causes such as diabetes, menopause, eating disorders, PCOS and stress.

Trinity PR is therefore delighted to announce that its now working with The Institute of Trichologists as part of a wider marketing strategy, which is aiming to secure greater regulation and standardisation across the industry.

The Institute’s team of experts can provide media comments on a range of topics relating to hair and scalp health and wellbeing. So, if you’re writing news and features about any problems affecting the hair and scalp, as well as broader industry issues (such as the current ‘return to clinic’ post-lockdown) and require expert opinion from a trichologist, please do get in touch!

And, just to “re-cap”, trichology and hairdressing are very different disciplines. Hairdressing of course, is cosmetic, closely linked to fashion and grooming whereas clinical trichology is diagnostic and therapeutic, based on medical and scientific knowledge. Some trichologists may originally come from a hairdressing background, but many do not. However, both sets of professionals certainly agree that our hair and scalp can define us. Whilst perhaps not always considered essential to general health, it can be extremely important to a person’s self-esteem and overall wellbeing.

So, if you’re looking for swift expert opinion or media case studies, please contact The Institute of Trichologists press office at Trinity PR on 020 7112 4905 / info@trinitypr.co.uk

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) echoes the “anger” and “outrage” of bereaved families across the UK as the long-awaited review from the National Screening Committee fails to recommend cardiac screening for young people

Dr Steven Cox, CRY’s Chief Executive, spoke to Trinity and explained his response;

No signs or symptoms

“The first point to address is that, as a charity driven by a mission to prevent young sudden cardiac death through proactive screening and research, we completely disagree with the repeated concerns raised about the accuracy of the ECG (electrocardiogram) test.

“As CRY has previously highlighted, the 12-lead ECG test is currently recognised by experts worldwide as the ‘gold standard’ test for identifying cardiac abnormalities and signposting a need for further investigations such as echocardiogram scanning, MRI and genetic testing.

“It is a routine, first line test when a doctor is concerned about a patient’s heart. The reality is this is usually only offered to older people. Again, we ask, why should young, apparently fit and healthy young people, who may be harbouring a hidden heart defect, not have access to the same, simple and inexpensive lifesaving test?

“CRY believes ALL young people should have the opportunity to be screened, because the majority of young sudden cardiac deaths are not in elite athletes and in 80% of the tragedies there are no signs or symptoms. All too often, the first sign that anything is wrong will be the last sign.

Grey area

“The conclusion of the NSC also contradicts what is already routine practice within the NHS, as we raised during the consultation. The perception patients have of their symptoms and how this is interpreted by a GP is rarely clear cut. Many people will fall into a grey area where symptoms (e.g. breathlessness, blackouts) are easily dismissed by GPs partly because they are so common, and GPs do not have the resources or specialist training to enable every person with symptoms to be tested.

Underestimation

“Throughout the consultation, we were frustrated that the NSC was not willing to meet with CRY to discuss the concerns we had raised about the apparent understanding (or, misunderstanding) of the incidence of young sudden cardiac death.

Thanks to 10 years of funding of the CRY Centre for Cardiac Pathology (at a cost of £1,000,000) the vast majority of SADS deaths are now investigated at the Centre, giving CRY a unique insight into how many families are affected by young sudden cardiac death. It appears the NSC is underestimating the incidence of young sudden cardiac death by at least 10-fold, and almost 100-fold for high risk groups.

“We believe this fundamental misunderstanding of the data of how many people are affected is central to why they are still referring to this as ‘very rare’ and ‘tiny’ when compared to heart attacks in the elderly.

“Young sudden cardiac death is one of the most common causes of death in young people and the most common cause of death in young athletes. It is unacceptable to continue to frame the issue in this way.

Unacceptable

“2020 is CRY’s 25^th anniversary year. 25 years ago, CRY was established to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through screening and research. It is unacceptable for a progressive society to turn its back on 600 young deaths every year and the horrendous impact it has on every family, friend and local community. It is unacceptable to leave it up to the bereaved families to raise the funds to provide the research and resources that are so important to save young lives.

“CRY will not accept the suggestion that these tragedies are unavoidable. We will continue to screen more young people and invest more than ever before into research to prevent young deaths.”

New trade association launches to drive the charge for regulation in the CBD industry

Members sign up to Charter for a legal, safe and regulated cannabinoid industry

Following an extensive 6-month consultation with key stakeholders since the release of a landmark report “CBD in the UK”, a new trade association is being launched today (Friday 8th November) at a ground-breaking CBD Summit. The Centre for Medicinal Cannabis’ conference sees the launch of the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), a platform which brings together leading businesses and experts committed to fostering a legally compliant, socially responsible and innovative CBD industry, which puts customers’ safety first.

The ACI has far-reaching plans towards creating a legal and safe, regulated industry in the UK including a new Quality Charter. Signatories will commit to a framework of legal compliance and quality controls, primarily based on a recent decision by the European Commission to classify all extracts of hemp and derived products containing cannabinoids (including CBD) as Novel Foods. To guide companies through the complex legal compliance pathway for authorisation as a Novel Food via the Food Standards Authority (FSA), the ACI has entered into a partnership with award winning regulatory consultants Global Regulatory Services (GRS).

Ultimately, the ACI aims to introduce a first-of-its-kind kitemark which will appear on products which meet its standards and assurances on product quality, efficacy and safety to retailers stocking and distributing CBD products and to increase customer trust.

The CBD Summit marks the publication of the foundation of this new association – the first draft Quality Charter which is comprised of 7 pillars:
1. Legal Frameworks
2. Testing
3. Labelling
4. Manufacturing
5. Controlled drugs
6. Marketing ethics
7. Sustainability and social impact

Shomi Malik, Development Director, CMC, comments, “In what is fast becoming a moment of reckoning for this industry, our unequivocal commitment is to provide the required stewardship to support the development of a legal and safe, regulated cannabinoid industry in the UK. Today’s announcements represent another key milestone on this path.”

Dr Andy Yates, CMC Pharmacy Lead comments, “There is no ambiguity in what the regulators want – they want fully legally compliant products on the market. As we have long advocated, the doors have closed for the current approach used by some manufacturers by claiming that the rules are somehow different for the cannabis industry. This new initiative exists to ensure that our members are fully compliant to an agreed set of terms with the relevant regularly bodies, ensuring consumer can continue to access legal, safe and quality CBD products. Those who sign up to the ACI Charter will need to put their products under intense, but necessary scrutiny, analysing manufacturing process, assessing claims and using where required toxicology studies to prove a product is safe.”

In the coming months, the focus of the organisation will be on further building its resources to maintain the integrity of these new industry standards and conduct the first round of audits of members to ensure they are collectively delivering on them. Throughout this process the ACI will continue to consult and engage intelligently with policy makers, regulators and other relevant stakeholders to steer members through a challenging and often complex regulatory environment.

Dr Parveen Bhatarah, Regulatory and Compliance Lead, CMC adds, “It’s imperative that this industry has a robust, standard analytical testing method to measure cannabinoid content within different CBD-based products. Any company in this space will no doubt have faced a number of problems when analysing cannabis products. If there is no standardisation, there is no recourse for companies or customers to question test results. The lack of standardisation is hurting the industry’s ability to present cogent arguments on key matters such as defining ‘zero-detectable THC’; the CMC’s efforts in addressing this broad-ranging subject is significant for the industry to move forward.”

Sarah Gaunt, Global Regulatory Services comments, “We want to encourage companies to apply for authorisation via a package of robust data that meets all the safety standards for a novel food. Supporting ACI members to do this is crucial – it’s a complex, lengthy, but absolutely vital process to ensure we have an industry based on high quality products. This new ACI Charter is the first step towards a legally compliant CBD industry which could become the gold standard for the rest of the world.”

Cannabidiol, known more commonly as CBD, has seen a notable rise in consumer demand in recent years, leading to an influx of products available largely online, in high street health food stores and pharmacies. According to a study by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC), the UK CBD market was shown to be worth £300m currently, and its double-digit growth each year has led to market value expectations of almost £1bn by 2025.

The ACI is an initiative led by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis. Over the course of the past six months the CMC have, with its members’ support, been undertaking a wide-ranging review of the UK CBD sector. This has included commissioning the most comprehensive market sizing exercise, a product testing review with The Times and the first ever opinion poll to establish public attitudes to the CBD market and its products.

To read the ACI charter in full and watch the accompanying explanatory video visit the new website https://www.theaci.co.uk/

Top soap star to be screened by experts from leading heart charity in memory of friend

Trinity PR is delighted to be part of leading heart charity Cardiac Risk in the Young’s (CRY) latest project in its ongoing campaign to raise awareness and to screen more young people potentially at risk from undiagnosed heart conditions across Yorkshire.

A simple and quick ECG test could save the lives of the 12 “apparently fit and healthy” young people that die each week in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions. This Sunday (15th September), star of ITV’s Coronation Street Colson Smith (who plays Craig Tinker) will help boost these efforts by joining around 100 other young men, women and teenagers aged between 14 and 35 from across the region who will be screened by the expert team from CRY.

The screening day will once again be held by the family and friends of local man Rory Embling, who tragically died in May 2014 from a previously undiagnosed heart condition aged just 26. Colson, born and bred in Castleford, was a great friend of Rory; they were both staunch Leeds United fans and were both involved with Castleford Cricket Club.

Rory’s dad, Chris Embling (who famously built a pub in a shed a.k.a. “Rory’s Return” in the back garden of the family’s home to raise money for CRY in August 2015), says; “We are delighted that Colson – fondly known as Craig to so many of us Corrie fans in Yorkshire and across the UK – is so publicly lending his support to our weekend of screening, as well as taking the wise decision, as a 21 year old, to be screened himself.”

An ECG test is the gold standard diagnostic test used by CRY’s screening team to identify abnormalities that can cause sudden deaths in young people. The test is quick, non-invasive and, if necessary, a further Echocardiogram can be taken on the same day to provide further clarity or reassurance. Thanks to Professor Sanjay Sharma, Professor of Inherited Cardiovascular Disease and Sports Cardiology at St George’s University of London, Medical Director of the Virgin London Marathon and overseer of CRY’s screening programme, CRY can subsidise the programme significantly as she makes no charge for her work. Privately, these tests could cost hundreds of pounds.

Chief Executive of CRY, Dr. Steven Cox, concludes: “CRY now tests around 30,000 young people, aged 14-35, annually. But we still believe screening needs to be extended to all young people”.

Any local person between the age of 14 and 35 can register to have a free cardiac screening at www.testmyheart.org

KELO-COTE® teams up with Instagram Influencer @itsbeccarose

Kelo-cote®, clinically proven silicone scar treatment, has partnered with Instagram Influencer @itsbeccarose in a new social media campaign. In the summer season, keeping scars safe and protected in the sun is a high priority for the millions of people who have visible scars.

The pressure of showing more skin than usual in summer can also have an influence on the psychological wellbeing of people with visible scars. Whilst they should be rightly proud to show their scars – on the beach, on the gym or on holiday – it’s also important that people know that they can use treatments to help improve the appearance of scars, leading to greater body confidence.

The aim of this campaign is to promote body positivity and safe scar management amongst the general public and specifically those people who have a visible scar from injury, surgery, illness or cosmetic surgery.

Visit Becca’s blog piece to read about her personal journey to body confidence: http://beccarose.org/2019/08/learning-to-love-my-scars.html

The Guys’ Guide to Summer Pampering

The recent rise in male pampering shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon: this year’s Met Ball saw many high-profile men embracing the camp theme, sales of male skincare is booming and it’s now common place for male celebs and sports players to be asked in interviews about their grooming regimes.

So, if you want to present your best self this summer, but you don’t want to leave the comfort of your home to do it, follow our essential guide for guys getting summer-ready so you don’t get left behind!

Have your feet been hidden away all year in boots, or crammed into trainers? Chances are, as summer appears, you’ll be ditching winter shoes in favour of sliders, flip flops or the latest catwalk trend for “hiking sandals”, so you need to get your feet ready to be exposed! A new survey¹ found that over a quarter of men (28%) hate the way their feet look! So, why not pick up a pair of Footner Exfoliating Socks and get baby-soft feet without having to leave the house. Just pop the socks on for an hour and chill out in bed or on the sofa. In the next few days, watch all your dead skin peel away, leaving your feet soft and smooth without enduring a public pedicure. Whilst you’re at it, make sure you clean and trim your nails for summer-ready toes.
Studies from Kantar reveal that hair removal products are the fastest growing category for male shoppers. It goes up 25% year-on-year, with £6m worth of sales in 2018. More and more men are favouring the smooth, hair-free look, as exhibited by the men on reality TV shows, with experts calling it ‘The Love Island Effect’. Why not get involved this summer? The range of methods for male hair removal include using cream, shaving, waxing and epilating.
Take care in the sun – tans are great but burning isn’t. If you’re planning on chilling in the sun this summer, make sure you’re wearing a high SPF. Not only is looking like a lobster unattractive, it hurts too! If you do get a little too bronzed make sure you use after sun to soothe the burn. If the British summer doesn’t provide, you can always explore fake tanning options, so you still glow despite the weather. Statistics from Mintel show that almost one third of guys from 16 to 24 have experimented with a tan-enhancing product – join the trend and show off your bronzed complexion this summer.
Eyebrows – yes, it’s now a man-thing, but some guys find that getting brows shaped and trimmed in public can be a painful experience in more ways than one! So, why not learn how to groom your eyebrows at home. Invest in a pair of tweezers for stray hairs and use a comb to work out which hairs are longer than others and need to be trimmed. Get these sorted so you’re ready for all those holiday selfies.
Sort out your summer scent – If you’re going to be working out this summer or messing around on the beach it’s inevitable, you’re going to get a sweat on, so you want to make sure you’re extra protected in the sun. Make sure you’ve got a good deodorant and swap any heavy winter aftershave for a lighter summer fragrance, perhaps with notes of citrus so you stay smelling fresh, particularly as heat causes smell to intensify.

Heads up! The Institute of Trichologists has launched its new press office

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) echoes the “anger” and “outrage” of bereaved families across the UK as the long-awaited review from the National Screening Committee fails to recommend cardiac screening for young people

New trade association launches to drive the charge for regulation in the CBD industry

The Guys’ Guide to Summer Pampering

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