Kids

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Embarrassing Bodies
22nd April 2009 30 mins Season 2 Episode 2

This week’s episode starts with 8-year-old Charlotte from Suffolk who’s been suffering from sore verrucas on her feet for over 2 years. Dr Christian sends Charlotte for tests to check her immune system and try and find out why the virus is winning. The tests reveal that her immune system is unable to fight the virus and so the usual treatment for verrucas will not do the job. Whilst a formaldehyde treatment produces some encouraging results, further immunology test reveal that she’s missing certain lymphocytes and the possible treatment course includes a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy. +++UPDATE+++ Charlotte’s operation to remove the verrucas from her foot appears to have been successful and her foot is healing really well. She’s back on her bike and back to being a normal child, pending a potential bone marrow transplant. The EB bus heads to Southend, where Dr Priya has a patient with case of cold feet, medically known as Chilblains. Dr Pixie’s patient can’t stop scratching her itchy sores while Dr Christian has a customer with a permanent runny nose due to nasal polyps. Next up is a visit to the dentist for 27-year-old Lyn from Aberdeen. Lyn arrived to see Dr James because she has an addiction to fizzy drinks that has left her with missing, rotting and discoloured teeth. After extracting the rotten teeth, Dr James recommends implants, but only if Lyn will give up smoking, as it drastically reduces the success rate of the procedure. After a long day in the dental hot seat, Lyn has a new set of pearly whites. Visiting the clinic next is David, 24, from Shropshire who’s had an embarrassing swelling for more than half his life. None of the treatments and tests have been able to ease his enlarged sore lips. Dr Pixie suggests that the swelling is a possible sign of an allergic reaction. Tests reveal that David is allergic to cinnamon and a long list of preservatives; so he sets off in search of a new diet. The doctors head to a very windy Southend-on-Sea to meet with a group of kids and their parents at Fairways primary school. Dr Pixie talks to the kids about head lice and shows them up close just how nasty they can be, whilst Dr James teaches the kids a lesson about tooth decay. Read Dr James’ guide to How to Look After Your Teeth > Maria, 13, believed she had a case of head lice, but it turned out to be much more serious. Maria actually has scalp psoriasis that causes her scalp to scale and nothing she’s tried has helped. Dr Pixie sends Maria to a hair specialist to get the scaling and inflammation under control with the help of creams and steamers. After three visits to the hair specialist Maria comes back to the clinic and shows Dr Pixie her much improved scalp. Ever since 43-year-old Sandra from Derby gave birth she’s developed a rather messy problem. Sandra experiences problems with her bottom – it bleeds and causes problems for her hygiene. Dr Pixie diagnoses Sandra with skin tags and sends her to a specialist to try a surgical procedure to clear up her problem. Tests show Sandra’s problem goes deeper than just the skin tags – she’s suffering from a case of rectacil, where her bowel is misshapen. Sandra will have to complete more tests, but pelvic floor exercises have been recommended to help her cause.

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First through the door this week is 18-year-old Cherie who’s suffering from back pain caused by extremely large breasts. The best option to ease the discomfort caused by her gigantic 30JJ bust is breast reduction and Dr Pixie refers Cherie to a specialist surgeon to get the procedure done. Visiting the dental clinic is Richard, 27, who has painful, aching teeth. Dr James’ examination reveals that Richard’s teeth are worn down as a result of Bruxism, an involuntary grinding of the teeth. Richard is sent to a specialist to clear the decay in his gums and teeth before Dr James can restore his smile with veneers and crowns. Read Dr James’ guide to How to Look After Your Teeth > Next in is Vicky, 28, who’s been dealing with boils in her groin area. Dr Christian believes the boils are caused by a condition in the sweat glands called Hidradenitis Suppurativa. As Vicky’s case is fairly mild, Dr Christian recommends treatment with antibiotics, the contraceptive pill, or acne treatments as opposed to more invasive surgery. The EB Bus heads out on the road, and first in is Amanda who feels that she has very large labia – but Dr Pixie’s examination reveals she’s perfectly normal. Meanwhile, Sharon shows her severe skin condition to Dr Christian who sends her to a dermatologist for a more accurate diagnosis. The specialist seeing Sharon prescribes topical creams to treat her scaly skin that’s been badly sun damaged. Julie visits the clinic because her ear is flaking skin and secreting gunky liquid. Dr Priya believes July has chronic otitis externa, an infection and inflammation of the ear, and sends in some sample swabs to be analyzed. An Ear Nose and Throat specialist injects an ointment into Julie’s ears and clears up her infection. Next in the clinic to see Dr Christian is Sarah who’s been suffering from lumps around her eyes for years. The condition is known as xanthelasma and it causes fatty growths around the eyes. Dr Christian recommends that she try make-up to start with as other methods carry the risk of scarring around the eyes. Allison, 23, is suffering from a funnel chest, a common hereditary condition where the chest is sunken. Because funnel chest can affect cardio and respiratory functions, Allison is sent to see a specialist for a check-up. After positive results from her test, the specialist attempts to re-contour Allison’s chest with a cosmetic filler. The EB doctors head out to rural Staffordshire to meet with the locals and discuss their health. Dr Christian speaks with some young farmers about the perils of STIs whilst Dr Pixie gets people talking about their bowels. And finally, this week’s body check sees our guinea pig group checking their poo for signs of ill health. Dr Christian talks to them about the reasons behind the differing colours and what different shapes and consistencies can indicate.

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