- 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.
- Why 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.
- Tired 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.
- Antibiotics: 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.
- Your 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.
- A 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.
- The 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.
- Blood 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.
- Cervical 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.
- Shift 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.
More from the journal
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.