Breakspear Medical

29/08/2026

Ticks can carry Lyme disease, which can have a big impact on your health. At Breakspear Medical, we've spent years helping patients diagnosed with Lyme disease, so we know how important prevention is.

Watch this UK Health Security Agency to learn how to avoid being bitten and how to remove ticks.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/858104342813486

27/08/2026

Here's a bit of allergy trivia for you; what do you think is the most common allergy in the world? Watch this fun clip from QI. The answer might surprise you!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19LtAbhLc4/

21/08/2026

🥇 FEEL GOOD FRIDAY 🏆

Meet Colonel Carlo Calcagni, who is an Italian Army veteran, para-athlete and one of the most inspiring people we know at Breakspear Medical.

This year alone, Carlo:
- became double world champion, winning gold in both the 100m and 400m T72 at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships
- broke his own world record in the 100m T72, not once but twice
- currently sits at #1 in the world rankings for his class

As Carlo says, "Illness doesn't go on vacation. I don't either."

Carlo is driven to train hard and refuses to let illness set the pace. This is why we're proud to support him on his health journey. Sixteen years, dozens of hospital stays, and he keeps setting records.

Wishing all our Italian friends a wonderful end to the summer break! Sending Carlo our best for his next chapter of treatment.

20/08/2026

We're honoured to share the maiden speech of Morven-May MacCallum, newly elected MSP for the Highlands and Islands, delivered in the Scottish Parliament on 3rd June 2026.

Morven-May has long championed Lyme disease and chronic illness awareness, as an author of "Finding Joy," a volunteer with Lyme Disease UK and the Lyme Resource Centre, and now as a parliamentarian using her platform to speak for patients who are so often overlooked.

In her speech, she draws on 2024 Lyme Resource Centre survey data showing that a striking majority of Scottish respondents were infected in the Highlands and Islands, and that most patients or their loved ones suspected Lyme disease long before a diagnosis was confirmed. She speaks candidly about years spent housebound as a teenager, misdiagnosed and denied treatment, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure no one has to fight harder to be believed than they do to get well.

At Breakspear Medical, we see the impact of these diagnostic delays every day. Morven-May's willingness to share her story so publicly helps shine a light on the barriers so many chronic illness patients face and pushes the conversation about awareness, diagnosis, and treatment forward. Thank you, Morven-May, for your courage and continued advocacy.

📖 Read more of her story via Lyme Disease UK's coverage, and find her testimonial on our website: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/about-us/testimonials/

https://youtu.be/rqp_xsYy_Dw?si=yEbJq99mhrSxZ2BC

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

18/08/2026

Ever wonder why inflammation doesn't just "switch off" on its own?

Inflammation is your body's natural response to injury or illness. The real issue is what happens afterward, when your body needs to actively resolve it using molecules called SPMs (specialised pro-resolving mediators).

If the SPMs don't do their job properly, low-grade inflammation can quietly smoulder in the background, which is linked to fatigue, pain and chronic illness.

The good news is that you can support this process through diet, lifestyle and targeted supplementation.

Read our full blog: https://www.breakspearmedical.com/why-doesnt-inflammation-switch-off/

17/08/2026

We're grateful for every patient who takes the time to share their experience. Here are three of our latest 5-star reviews.

If you've been considering a consultation, visit our website.

30/07/2026

Why are so many of us tired all the time?

Do you ever wake up after a full night's sleep and still feel like you're running on empty? New research into why points to it coming down to your mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside every cell.

Dr Martin Picard of Columbia University explains that fatigue is often your body's way of budgeting energy. When cells face stress, infection, or accumulate everyday wear and tear, they send out a signal called GDF15, which tells the brain to conserve energy. This is why stress alone can increase how fast cells burn through fuel by up to 60%.

Diet also plays a significant role. A surprising drain on mitochondria is actually too much fuel arriving at once, which is part of why high-sugar diets leave us more fatigued, not less.

The good news is that there are ways to help overcome fatigue. Cutting back on sugary snacks/meals may be beneficial. For some people, adopting a low-carb high-fat ketogenic diet can help. Regular exercise forces the body to increase energy production by clearing out inefficient mitochondria and replacing them with fresh ones that work better, giving you more usable energy day to day.

Breakspear Medical can investigate, identify and help address any underlying infections that could be stressing mitochondria on an ongoing basis.

Fatigue is a signal worth listening to and not just pushing through. Talk to a member of our Clinical Team about your fatigue symptoms to find solutions.

Radical new insights from the science of interoception – how the body senses its internal state – explain the real reasons we feel tired all the time, and how to re-energise

21/07/2026

🦠 Did you know that infections such as the flu, COVID or pneumonia can all affect your health long after you've recovered?

New research presented at the 17th Congress for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine shows that infections can significantly raise the risk of serious health problems down the line. These health problems include:

● Heart attack & stroke risk can jump 3-7x in the weeks after an infection
● Flu hospitalisation is linked to a much higher risk of developing diabetes within 90 days
● Certain herpes infections are linked to higher dementia risk while the shingles vaccine may lower it

According to their findings, the flu vaccine alone has been shown to cut major cardiovascular events by 45%, which shows that vaccination can be helpful for most people.

However, we need to start thinking of short-term infections as potential major drivers of chronic disease. There are additional things we can do to support the body's resilience against infection. If you or someone you know is looking for ways to support immune health, Breakspear Medical can help through personalised nutrition and targeted, personalised supplementation, and by helping to reduce the burden of underlying allergies/sensitivities with low-dose immunotherapy (LDI).

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Experts say infections are an underrecognized driver of chronic disease, with inflammation helping fuel cardiovascular, renal, and neurologic risks.

09/07/2026

There was a time when almost no one watched a music video shot in a sunlit meadow and thought about ticks.

That's changing.

When Charli XCX released her latest video filmed in long grass, fans quickly raised the same question in the comments: "What about ticks?" The singer later acknowledged the concern had crossed her mind, too. Add in a string of celebrity photos, such as Harry Styles, Zoë Kravitz, and others pictured relaxing in similarly tall grass, and a lighthearted online debate turned into a much bigger conversation about tick safety.

It's a small sign of a bigger shift. Awareness of tick-borne illness is growing and people are starting to factor it into everyday decisions, not just wilderness trips.

At Breakspear Medical, we see this shift as a good thing. The outdoors should still be enjoyed fully, however, a little tick awareness goes a long way toward keeping that enjoyment safe.

Harry Styles, Zoë Kravitz, Sarah Pidgeon … celebrities love stretching out on Britain’s lawns and meadows. But with the tick-borne Lyme disease on the rise, is it safe for any of us?

09/07/2026

New: ME/CFS Awareness Campaign 🔍

ME Research UK posted that Tom Morrison MP has asked the Government how people with experience of ME/CFS will be involved in shaping the upcoming public awareness campaign. Minister Sharon Hodgson confirmed that officials are still deciding on the details, including how the ME/CFS community will be involved in its design and delivery.

We'll be watching closely to see how this develops. Read the full update here 👇

Both the UK Government’s 2025 ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan and the 2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS recognised that many people with ME/CFS have experienced misunderstanding, stigma and a lack of recognition of the disease and the impact it can have on everyday life. Indeed, the results of the consulta...