Health blog
Articles written and reviewed by practitioners registered on Olamkal.
- All specialties
- Cardiologist
- Chiropodist / podiatrist
- Dentist / dental surgeon
- Dietitian
- Massage therapist
- Orthodontist
- Osteopath
5 min read
Oral hygiene with orthodontic appliances: the complete guide
Braces or aligners radically change your daily routine: here's, technique by technique, how to brush, floss, and avoid cavities and white spots throughout an entire orthodontic treatment.
5 min read
How long does orthodontic treatment take?
A few months, several years: the honest answer is that there's no reliable number before a full exam. Here are the factors that actually make duration vary, and why you should be wary of a timeline announced too quickly.
4 min read
Pain after getting braces fitted: what to expect
Discomfort in the first few days, pressure after each adjustment, sometimes a bracket irritating the cheek: here's what's normal after fitting or adjusting orthodontic appliances, what actually helps ease it, and the signs that should raise a flag.
4 min read
Retention after orthodontic treatment: the point almost no one explains
The braces just came off, your teeth are finally aligned — and yet, treatment isn't over. Here's why retention is the invisible half of every orthodontic treatment, and why it's worn far longer than most people imagine.
4 min read
Braces or clear aligners: how to choose?
Discretion versus reliability, comfort versus required discipline: here's, without marketing bias, what actually sets fixed braces apart from clear aligners, and how an orthodontist determines what suits your case.
5 min read
At what age should a child see an orthodontist?
Seven, eight, earlier, later: here's why an early first orthodontic opinion commits you to nothing, what it actually helps spot, and why "we often do nothing" is never wasted time.
4 min read
Adult orthodontics: is it really still possible?
Forty, fifty, sixty years old: teeth move within the bone throughout life. Here's what actually changes for an adult orthodontic treatment, what needs to be checked before starting, and why age isn't the real question.
5 min read
When should you see a cardiologist? The warning signs
Growing breathlessness, a heart racing for no reason, a pain that keeps coming back on exertion: here's exactly how a cardiologist evaluates your heart, what they look for during the exam — and the signs that should never wait.
5 min read
Heart palpitations: common causes and when to worry
A heart racing, skipping a beat, pounding hard in the chest or neck: palpitations are unsettling, usually harmless, sometimes not. Here's how a cardiologist sorts one from the other.
6 min read
High blood pressure: understanding, preventing, treating it
It almost never hurts, it can't be seen, and yet it silently wears down the heart, arteries, kidneys, and brain. Here's what a cardiologist really wants you to understand about high blood pressure.
4 min read
Chest pain: when is it a cardiac emergency?
Chest pain can come from a strained muscle, reflux, anxiety — or a heart in danger. Here's how a cardiologist tells these situations apart, and above all, the signs that mean you should call 101 without waiting.
5 min read
Cholesterol and cardiovascular health: what you really need to know
"Good" and "bad" cholesterol, numbers on a blood test, diet that matters but isn't everything: here's what a cardiologist wants you to understand before you panic over — or ignore — your lipid panel.
5 min read
Routine cardiac check-up: how often, and why
No symptoms doesn't mean no risk. Here's what a routine cardiac check-up actually includes, at what age to start, and how often to repeat it depending on your profile.
5 min read
Physical activity and heart health: what cardiology recommends
How much time, what intensity, do you need medical clearance before starting, what to do after a cardiac problem: here's what a cardiologist really recommends about exercise, without the guilt-tripping.
1 min read
Eating Disorders
It is necessary to understand the different notions of eating disorders in order to diagnose them correctly.
1 min read
What happens during a dietary consultation?
The first consultation lasts about 1 hour: dietary assessment, personalized program, follow-up journal. Who can consult, and how follow-up sessions unfold.
2 min read
Obesity
A concern of the WHO since 2000, obesity, and especially childhood obesity, has become a health priority. Factors, support and the role of the dietitian.
1 min read
Which fats should you prefer?
Oils, cooking methods, fish rather than meat: a dietitian's advice for choosing and varying your fats every day.
1 min read
Fragile gut or irritable bowel syndrome
15 to 20% of the population suffers from a fragile gut, due to greater difficulty in digesting certain foods that irritate the colon.
3 min read
Constipation
Constipation is the passing of hard stools fewer than three times a week. Its causes, the nutritional intake and the foods to favour.
3 min read
Energy drinks
Unlike sports drinks, which are regulated and potentially suited to athletes, energy drinks serve only a commercial purpose.
5 min read
Therapeutic massage or relaxation massage: which one do you actually need?
Both happen on a table, with oil and skilled hands — yet they don't aim at the same thing. Here's how to tell a relaxation massage from a therapeutic one, when to choose each, and what a massage therapist can really do for your muscle tension.
5 min read
Sports recovery: what massage really does after exercise
Muscle soreness, heavy legs, getting going again after a race: here, without the hype, is what massage really delivers after exercise, what's a myth, and the right time to book one.
5 min read
Your First Massage Therapy Session: What Happens and How to Prepare
You've booked your first massage and you're not quite sure what to expect. Here's what really happens during a first therapeutic massage — the initial conversation, how your privacy is protected, how the session unfolds, and how to prepare well.
5 min read
Back Pain and Neck Tension: When Massage Helps, and When You Need to See Someone Else
What massage genuinely relieves — muscle tension, knots, pain driven by stress and poor posture — and what it cannot do. Above all: the red flags that mean you should see a doctor before any session.
5 min read
Cupping: What It Really Does, and What Those Marks Actually Mean
You've seen those red circles on an athlete's back and wondered what they're for. Here, without hype and without mystery, is what cupping really does — and what the marks it leaves actually mean.
9 min read
Ingrown Toenail: What a Podiatrist Actually Does (And Why You Must Never Dig It Out Yourself)
A nail corner buried in the flesh, pain at the slightest touch of a shoe. Here is exactly how a podiatrist treats an ingrown toenail — nail care, packing, orthonyxia — and when it becomes a medical emergency.
8 min read
Fungal nails and skin infections: what a podiatrist actually does
A thick, yellowing, crumbling toenail; skin peeling between the toes. Here is exactly what a podiatrist does about a fungal infection — and the situations that belong to a dermatologist or a doctor first.
7 min read
Osteopathy and Sport: Prepare Your Body, Recover, Keep Going
Running, tennis, weight training, swimming: here is exactly what an osteopath looks at in an athlete, what they work on for prevention and recovery, and how they fit alongside your physiotherapist and your sports physician.
6 min read
When Should You See an Osteopath? What Actually Happens in a Session
Pain that keeps returning to the same spot, a movement you no longer dare make: here is exactly how an osteopath examines you, what the hands are looking for — and the moment they send you to a doctor instead.
7 min read
Your First Osteopathy Session: What Actually Happens
You walk in, you sit down, you talk. Then a pair of hands starts searching, testing, releasing. Here is what a first osteopathy session really feels like — so you can walk in relaxed.
7 min read
Osteopathy for Babies: What an Osteopath Actually Does with Your Child
A baby who cries every evening, a head always turned the same way, a feed that never quite settles: here is exactly what an osteopath examines, what the hands are looking for — and what a good practitioner always checks first.
7 min read
How Many Osteopathy Sessions Do You Need? A Straight Answer
Often one to three for recent pain — and many patients never come back. Here is what makes that number vary, how to tell it is working, and why booking a first session commits you to nothing at all.
7 min read
Headaches: What an Osteopath Works On, and What Belongs to a Doctor
A tight neck, long days at a screen, pain climbing from the base of the skull: here is exactly what an osteopath looks for and treats in tension-type and cervicogenic headaches — and the signs that mean calling 101.
7 min read
Back pain that won't go away: what an osteopath actually does
What an osteopath looks for under their hands when a back has been hurting for months, how a session unfolds, and why current guidance puts movement and manual therapy in the front line.
6 min read
Osteopath, Physiotherapist or Chiropractor: Which One Is Right for You?
Three professions that treat with their hands, three ways of thinking. Start from your own situation — recurring pain, post-surgery recovery, a locked back — and leave knowing exactly who to book.
7 min read
Osteopathy and pregnancy: real relief for back and pelvic pain
What an osteopath examines in a pregnant woman, how the techniques are adapted trimester by trimester, and what a course of treatment can change in your daily life.
8 min read
Osteopathy for Children and Teens: What a Session Actually Does
A heavy backpack, a back rounded over a screen, a growth spurt, an ankle still stiff weeks after a sprain: here is exactly what an osteopath looks at in a child, how a session unfolds — and why there is nothing frightening about it.
7 min read
Wisdom teeth: do they really have to come out?
No, not always — and that is the honest answer. A well-positioned, functional wisdom tooth you can actually clean can stay for life. Here are the real reasons to extract, how the procedure works, and what you must be told about the risks before saying yes.
9 min read
When should you see a dentist? What really happens at a check-up
You've been putting it off for months, maybe years. Here is exactly what a dentist does during a check-up — and why "but nothing hurts" is the worst possible reason to wait.
8 min read
Dental Implants: Who They Are For, and What Really Happens
An implant is not a tooth screwed in over lunch. It is a titanium root, months of healing, real risks — and sometimes a simpler option that works just as well. The honest walkthrough, step by step.
7 min read
Bleeding Gums: Gingivitis, Periodontitis, and Why Waiting Costs You
A little pink in the sink after brushing? That is never normal. Here is how to tell gingivitis — still fully reversible — from periodontitis, which destroys bone for good, and what a dentist can genuinely do about it.
8 min read
Dental scaling: what it actually is, and why it is not teeth whitening
Ultrasonic scaler, air polishing, final polish: here is exactly what your dentist does during a scaling appointment, the real difference between plaque and tartar — and why your teeth will not come out whiter than their natural colour.
8 min read
Cavities: how they form, how to prevent them, how they are treated
A cavity does not appear out of nowhere: it is built, day after day, with every sugar hit. Here is the real mechanism, why frequency matters more than quantity, and what your dentist actually does to save the tooth.
7 min read
Teeth whitening: what works, what damages
Whitening acts on the natural colour of your teeth — not on your crowns, bridges or composite fillings, which will not lighten. Here's what a dentist checks before starting, why internet kits and charcoal powder can cost you dearly, and the side effects you must be told about.