The Health Journal.
Plain-English health information from Ballarat Doctors — what a symptom usually means, what a test actually measures, and when something is worth an appointment.
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Latest · Seasonal
Thunderstorm asthma: why spring storms matter in western Victoria
You do not need a diagnosis of asthma to be at risk. If you get spring hay fever, this is worth ten minutes of your attention before grass pollen season.
SeasonalThunderstorm asthma: why spring storms matter in western Victoria
You do not need a diagnosis of asthma to be at risk. If you get spring hay fever, this is worth ten minutes of your attention before grass pollen season.
PreventionWhy Ballarat's cool weather still burns you
UV, not temperature, causes skin damage — and Ballarat regularly reaches burning levels on days nobody would describe as hot.
Women's healthTired all the time? Iron deficiency is worth ruling out
Low iron is one of the most common and most missed causes of exhaustion — and you can have it with a completely normal haemoglobin.
PreventionAntibiotics: when they help, and when they quietly cost you
Most of what sends people to a GP in winter is viral. Understanding why that matters makes the appointment more useful for everyone.
ChildrenYour child has a fever: what actually matters
The height of the temperature matters far less than how your child looks and behaves. Here is what to watch, and when not to wait.
SeasonalA winter cough in Ballarat: when to wait it out, and when to book
Most coughs clear on their own. A short list of features means it is worth being seen — and knowing them saves both unnecessary visits and dangerous delays.
PreventionThe bowel screening kit in your mailbox is not junk mail
It arrives free, it takes five minutes at home, and it finds a cancer that is highly treatable when caught early. Around half of kits are never returned.
Heart healthBlood pressure: the number that never tells you it is high
High blood pressure causes no symptoms for years while it damages arteries, kidneys and eyes. Here is what the numbers mean and what actually shifts them.
Women's healthCervical screening: you can now collect the sample yourself
The test changed, the interval changed, and self-collection is available to everyone eligible. If the speculum was the barrier, it no longer has to be.
WellbeingShift work and sleep: what actually helps
Working against the body clock has real health consequences. Some of them can be blunted, and it is worth knowing which.
DiabetesUnderstanding your HbA1c
One number summarising three months of blood sugar — what it measures, what your target might be, and why tighter is not always better.
Mental healthWhat a Mental Health Treatment Plan actually is
It is a conversation, a written plan, and Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions. Here is what happens in the appointment, so it is less of an unknown.
Men's healthFour numbers worth knowing once you turn 40
Men see a GP less often and die around four years earlier. Most of that gap comes down to things that are measurable, silent, and treatable.
Women's healthMenopause: what is worth treating, and what is worth measuring
Hot flushes are the symptom everyone knows. Sleep, mood, joint pain, bladder changes and brain fog are the ones people put up with unnecessarily.