Inside Health
Episodes
New treatment for menopausal hot flush
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A new non-hormonal drug has been approved to treat menopausal hot flushes. It works by regulating the body's cooling signals and is now available on t...
Could the Kent meningitis outbreak happen again?
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Little over a week on from the first meningitis cases in Canterbury, many crucial questions remain. So this week we're taking an in-depth look at thos...
What's driving the outbreak of meningitis among students?
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
More than 30,000 people are being contacted in the Canterbury area regarding the outbreak of bacterial meningitis in Kent. Two people have died, and o...
What causes vaccine hesitancy?
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
There have been nearly 200 cases of measles in the UK so far this year.Measles can be prevented with vaccines - but the proportion of children being i...
Why are men getting penis fillers?
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Penis fillers were an unexpected talking point at the recent Winter Olympics after claims that male ski jumpers were having them to improve performanc...
Is the tide turning on ME research?
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
ME – also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – has long been one of medicine’s most perplexing conditions. With no definitive diagnostic test and...
What are the side effects of weight loss drugs?
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Over 1.5million adults in the UK tried weight loss drugs in 2024-25. Many swear by them, but they have been associated with side effects including nau...
Why is it so hard to find an NHS dentist?
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dentistry is high on the public and political agenda. There have been dozens of headlines about access to NHS dentistry, with some people having to tr...
Unlocking the mystery of Epstein-Barr Virus
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us have Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) hiding in our bodies. You may know it as the cause of glandular fever or “kissing disease”. But more rese...
Should all babies have their genome sequenced at birth?
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re looking at government plans to start sequencing the DNA of every newborn baby in England within the next decade. Each newborn would ...
Where does air pollution go inside our body?
27 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher stands by four lanes of traffic and inhales exhaust fumes all to see if he can see air pollution in his body. He looks at an intriguin...
Can working up a sweat in a sauna improve your health?
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Saunas are popping up all over the country, with many people claiming they relax muscles and help ease stress. But what does the science say? This wee...
The Revolution in Cystic Fibrosis Care That is Changing Lives
02 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1964, the future for children born with Cystic Fibrosis was grim - most faced a life cut tragically short. Today, the majority of people living wit...
Potential Break Through in Dementia Treatment
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dementia is now the UK’s leading cause of death - but could a vaccine one day help prevent it? New data from Wales suggests the shingles vaccine is ...
Is it safe to give kids melatonin?
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More and more parents are using melatonin to help their children sleep - but there is little research on the long-term effects. So, what do we know ab...
Can we reverse rising drug deaths?
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Drug-related deaths are at their highest levels in England and Wales since records began 30 years ago.Scotland has had the highest number of drug deat...
Exosomes: Is cosmetics' biggest trend a health risk?
05 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Exosomes are tiny balls of fat that allow cells to communicate with each other in our bodies. They're being actively researched as an experimental new...
Health risks of bin strikes, measles warning and ethics
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With bin strikes in Birmingham having gone on for months, James Gallagher heads to the Small Heath area of the city to ask what the health risks could...
Sport and the female body
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As an era-defining summer of women’s sport kicks off, Inside Health looks at the science of sport and the female body. What do we know about how fem...
Can the ten-year plan save the NHS? Heart scans with AI, and who invented condoms?
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Prime Minister has launched a 'new era' for the NHS that aims to move away from reactive care in hospitals to preventing illness through community...
Are we being too safe in the sun? How to balance the risks
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When the sun shines, out come the warnings that we all need to be careful in the sun to avoid burning and the risk of skin cancer. There are, though, ...
Can you be addicted to sugar?
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What's the science behind a sweet tooth? James Gallagher explores whether sugar really can be addicted and what happens in our bodies when we want it ...
Assisted Dying: What might the final moments be like?
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our exploration of some of the issues that could crop up if assisted dying becomes law under The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill ...
Dementia: Your questions answered and lion's mane mushrooms in the lab
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You sent in your questions on dementia and now we're tackling them. Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences a...
Assisted dying: How can we be certain someone wants to die?
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our exploration of some of the issues that could crop up if assisted dying becomes law under The Terminally Ill Adults End of Life Bill th...
Assisted dying: Who’s eligible under the proposed bill?
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Terminally Ill Adults End of Life Bill is working its way through Parliament. If it became law in England and Wales it would be one of those momen...
How did the Covid-19 pandemic change medicine?
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Five years on from the first Covid lockdown in the UK, we consider how the pandemic changed medicine. We're joined by Dr Emma Wall, academic consultan...
Why do we lose our hearing with age?
18 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John is registered blind, and relies on his hearing to get around in his everyday life. But as he has got older, he’s started to notice his hearing ...
Will wearables revolutionise healthcare? Cardiff Science Festival special
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fitness trackers at the ready! Join James Gallagher at Cardiff Science Festival as he runs through the ways wearable tech is making an impact on healt...
Allergies: How to support young people as they grow up
04 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When we hit our teens it's often a time when everything starts to change. We meet new friends through work or studies, we start going out more at nigh...
How shoes affect our bodies and a focus on genital herpes
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has James been buying shoes that are bad his feet? He meets podiatrist Dao Tunprasert to find out how healthy his shoes are. Also, returning to our th...
Bird flu update after UK farm worker infected and your questions on urinary problems
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher discusses the risk from H5N1 bird flu in the UK as a poultry worker in the West Midlands is infected and looks to the US where the dis...
Raw milk: What are the risks and why are people talking about it?
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Pasteurising milk makes it safer, but are there any benefits to drinking it “raw”? James heads to a dairy farm to investigate the evidence and see...
Can you really boost your immune system?
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From kombucha to cold water swims, sleep to supplements, so many things are claimed to help enhance your immune system. We investigate the evidence, a...
Mould and Indoor Air Pollution: How Concerned Should You Be?
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It has been a cold start to the year and for many that means the heating's on, windows are shut and we're drying clothes inside the house. For many pe...
Can supervised toothbrushing fix the children's dental crisis?
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the UK, around a third of British children have tooth decay. Just among the under-fives, it's a quarter - a figure that rises significantly in the ...
Olympian Sir Chris Hoy wants more tests for prostate cancer - should it happen?
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy is calling for more prostate cancer testing after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Prostate cancer can often pre...
What next for Alzheimer's treatment?
05 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The first drugs to slow Alzheimer's progression have been making headlines around the world. For researchers in the field, the arrival of these two th...
Focus on the breath
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever thought about how you breathe? For many of us, the 20,000+ breaths we take each day go underneath our conscious awareness. But every now...
How does embarrassment affect your health?
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many campaigns now to stop stigma and embarrassment - from Davina McCall talking about the menopause to Idris Elba campaigning for black ...
Changing the lives of children with rare genetic diseases
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you have a rare genetic disorder, new technology that allows your genetic code to be analysed means you could have a diagnosis within weeks. Before...
Cancer vaccine trials and planning for cyber attacks
27 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Trials of a cancer 'vaccine' have begun and presenter James meets Steve, one of the first patients to trial the new treatment, Steve remembers his sho...
Mpox, your statins questions and tick-borne meat allergies
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mpox is spreading and it’s been classified a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. Presenter James Gallagher meets Professor Tru...
What should we do about vaping?
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Richard was 10 when he started smoking, and by the age of 35, he had given up on giving up smoking. But thanks to vaping he quit, almost by accident, ...
Can diet and exercise ever replace statins?
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The inventor of statins, Akira Endo, died this summer. When he was prescribed statins in older age for high cholesterol he refused, preferring to impr...
How can we age well?
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From the Hay Festival, James and a panel of experts explain what we can all do to help ourselves age well. We discover what’s going on in our bodies...
Is watching sport good for you?
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the emotional roller coaster of the Euros comes to a close and the summer Olympics begin, James joins Professor Damian Bailey for an experiment to ...
What does alcohol do to the body and brain?
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week James visits a pub in Liverpool where he's joined by a trio of alcohol researchers who’ll watch carefully as he drinks two pints of lager....
Are more young people getting cancer?
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, Catherine, Princess of Wales shared she’d been diagnosed with cancer. Describing this news as ‘a huge shock’ and at age just 42, the...
Can insomnia be fixed?
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How did you sleep last night? Perhaps you couldn't drift off, or maybe you woke in the middle of the night and then couldn't nod off again.In this spe...
We go on a tick hunt
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists are worried about ticks. They say they’re starting to pose more of a health risk here in the UK, as our climate warms and urban areas spi...
Is intermittent fasting good for you?
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? As the month of Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslims are concluding several weeks of time-restricted eating...
Can noise harm our health?
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From ear-splitting aircraft noise and the drone of traffic to the hum of an open-plan office, the world around us can feel loud. But is it getting lou...
Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you’d feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving’ we...
Why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
BBC health journalist Laura Foster can’t get the first days of the pandemic out of her head; the stunned silence of the newsroom as the first lockdo...
A guide to the perimenopause
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been referred to as puberty in reverse but what actually is the perimenopause? How do you know if you’re in it? What can you do to soften the...
Speedy medicine, and is fermented food good for us?
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we’re taking a look at emergency medicine outside hospitals and surgeries – and meeting the people who save seriously-ill people i...
Bladder, bowels and sex: Learning to live after my mountain accident
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, Niall McCann was left with a bruised spinal cord when he crashed his speed glider into the side of a mountain at 50mph. He shares his journey...
Living in a Bacterial World
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re exploring our microbial metropolis.Smitha Mundasad heads into the lab to meet the bacteria that live on her skin – and on her fami...
How do cold and flu remedies help when we're ill?
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the nights draw in and the spluttering sounds of coughs and colds seem to be all around us, presenter James Gallagher is getting ahead this year an...
What's stopping us from exercising in older age?
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Exercise in older age is high on the agenda, but the idea that with age comes bags of time and a desire to ‘get out there’ isn’t true for a lot ...
Inside a sexual assault referral centre
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The issue of sexual assault hasn’t been far from the headlines in recent weeks - but what kind of help is available for people who have been through...
Migraines and Headaches
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
1 in 7 people live with migraines around the world, and the condition costs the UK economy billions each year. Attacks can be debilitating and all-con...
When does sitting become bad for health?
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How many hours do you spend sitting down per day? Six? Maybe eight? Or 10? Between commuting, working and relaxing, sitting can soon add up to hours a...
Why is syphilis making a comeback?
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the Government released the latest statistics on STIs in the summer, one in particular stood out. Syphilis. A sexually transmitted infection whic...
On the trail of a new street drug
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a new drug hits the UK’s streets? And how are illicit drugs here changing – and why?James follows the trail of the first case of...
What difference could new Alzheimer’s disease drugs make?
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Until recently, breakthroughs in treating Alzheimer’s disease were non-existent. But two new drugs have shown promise in moderately slowing memory a...
Could weight-loss drugs treat addiction?
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Barely a day goes by without more headlines around new weight-loss drugs, from the issue of global shortages, to investigations into suicide risk, and...
What happened to mpox?
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One year after the peak of UK infections, can we determine what actions brought mpox cases down? A year ago, mpox – the virus formally known as monk...
How fast should you eat your food?
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our guinea-pig presenter James Gallagher has been eating either extremely fast or excruciatingly slow to figure out what our eating speed does to our ...
How hot is too hot for human health?
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After the hottest June in history and record-breaking temperatures last year, the UK is really feeling the heat. But, we’re not alone. Last week the...
Did Covid turn us into teeth grinders?
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher finds out if we've turned into a nation of grinders after reports from dentists of increased clenching and cracking of teeth. Margar...
Parkinson's and Ballet
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James meets Ian who has Parkinson's disease and hears how ballet has helped with his symptoms, as a major new review of the evidence shows exercise re...
NHS weight-loss drug
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher asks whether a weight-loss drug on the NHS heralds a new era in tackling obesity? He meets Jan who lost nearly 4 stone after being par...
Back pain
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lower back pain impacts millions of adults every year and, in many cases, diagnosis can be murky. Non-specific pain is personal and complex, driven by...
Sperm Counts
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher investigates whether there is a decline in male sperm including the results of his own sperm count analysis. He meets a couple who con...
Psychedelics for depression
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can magic mushrooms help your mental health? James Gallagher cuts through the hype and examines the evidence to find out if psychedelics can treat dep...
What soaring food prices are doing to our health
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The cost of everything is soaring, but what toll is that taking on our health? We’re at a food pantry scheme in Coventry meeting mums Danielle and E...
Women and heart attacks
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn had a heart attack but 'powered through' making the Christmas dinner before seeking help - because she put her symptoms down to anxiety and backa...
Is a fungal pandemic possible?
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Gallagher asks whether the next pandemic might be an invasive fungi? Most people think of athlete's foot or fungal toe nails but the World Healt...
Maggot therapy for difficult wounds
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of antibiotic resistance means that we need alternatives to fight infections - and some healthcare professionals are turning to maggot therap...
Why is everyone ill? Can ketamine and therapy treat alcoholism?
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Covid and other bugs have ripped through the Inside Health team, so we find out why everyone seems to be getting sick at the moment and if we will be ...
Lazy Guide to Exercise
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s January. Christmas is a distant memory and nobody feels much like getting off the sofa, but luckily this episode can help. James Gallagher is ...
How can a cold home affect your health?
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
James is in South Wales where he's wired up and locked inside a cryo-lab to discover the impact of cold on the human body. A temperature of 10C seems ...
GP Records, Serotonin & how we get cancer
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want to see your GP records at the touch of a button? That’s the plan in England, but doctors warn us freely opening them up to everyone is n...
Still Shielding; Childhood Vaccinations; Antibiotic Use
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you imagine moving out of the family home and watching your daughter grow up from a distance, all to avoid the threat of Covid? That’s the decis...
Have I dodged Covid? And skin colour and health
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I think I might’ve dodged Covid. Like many others, I’m fully vaccinated but have never tested positive despite having had plenty of opportunities ...
Secrets of sewage science
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe listen to this one BEFORE you eat… James is off to meet the sewage scientists trying to stop the next pandemic. He meets the teams that were m...
A spoonful of sweetener
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do sweeteners do to our bodies? We force feed James cups of sweetened tea and find out with nutrition scientist Dr Sarah Berry from King’s Coll...
A good death with friends and family
09 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Should friends and family be trained to give potent medications to those dying at home to relieve their symptoms? We often say that we’d like to die...
Covid waves, Gene therapy for haemophilia B, New uses for old drugs
02 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Smitha Mundasad asks whether we will see waves of Covid – with infections going up and down and then up and down again - forever more. We speak to E...
Are too many babies being diagnosed with cows' milk allergy?
26 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rashes, a runny nose and weird poos are all common in babies. Parents are sometimes told these symptoms mean their baby is allergic to cows milk and ...
Monkeypox, mind body connections, are children exercising less since Covid?
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think bendy joints has to do with the way the brain works? Well you may be in for surprise. Scientists have found a connection with autis...
Medical language, chemo brain & heatwaves
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does medicine have a language problem? We speak to Rachel who was made to feel like a 'naughty schoolgirl' by the terminology used around the birth of...
How's your hay fever?
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Aaaaaaaaa-choo! If you have hay fever then you know that it can be a right pain in the… nose. This week Inside Health presents a complete guide to h...
The Power of the Dog
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week James Gallagher finds out if the Power of the Dog is true. No not the movie, but the claim that dogs can make us live longer. He’s also do...
Long Covid revisited
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a long Covid reunion on Inside Health. We first met Jo, Neil and John in February 2021 when they were 12 months into the condition.Another year...
Multiple sclerosis and the Epstein Barr virus
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We get to the bottom of a medical mystery – what causes multiple sclerosis? A series of studies have compellingly pointed the finger at the virus be...
Cervical screening, blood donation & measles
01 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How often do we need a smear test? It’s become controversial now as a new test means women and people with a cervix need checking less often. But in...
Rapid genome sequencing in the clinic
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
James meets a record breaking doctor who is analysing DNA so quickly it is transforming treatment in intensive care and from one of his patients, Matt...