This scare-mongering report on pregnancies should be withdrawn The vogue for anxiety-mongering may have overreached itself - as suggested by the (extremely) critical response to a report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Chemical Exposure During Pregnancy, published this month. The college is an august institution that, since its founding in 1929, has been instrumental in ensuring the high standards of obstetrics that have seen the maternal mortality rate plummet from 45 to 1.2 per 1,000 live births. This report should have provided the opportunity to reassure pregnant women that the scarcely detectable, minuscule levels of chemicals in air and water pose no threat to their health or their unborn babies. But instead the authors invoked the "precautionary principle"," resulting in a ludicrous set of recommendations to expectant and breast-feeding mothers - that they should avoid painting the nursery, buying fabrics or furniture or using non-stick frying pans, while "minimising"" use of cosmetics, moisturisers and shower gels. This advice has been described as "alarmist"." The college is under pressure to withdraw their report - it should do so. The hazards of the iPad and similar technology, as mentioned in this column last week, are well recognised by the manufacturer. Apple draws attention in its manual to the risk of "headaches, eye strain, blackouts and seizures"." Headaches and neck pain may be a positional effect from long periods of looking down at the screen, while "scrolling down"" can induce feelings of dizziness, faintness and nausea. Several readers suggest symptoms may be due to "sensitivity"" to electromagnetic radiation generated by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. For all that, 80-year-old Eileen Hughes is so impressed by the mind-expanding possibilities of her new device ("emails, crosswords, books to read, newspapers, information gathering, TV viewing etc"") she suggests the government should give an iPad to all pensioners to prevent cognitive decline. Garlic remedy My thanks to a reader from Cyprus for passing on his self-discovered remedy for the crusty, sun exposure induced patches of skin known as actinic keratoses. His wife urged him to consult his doctor for a patch on his right temple but "on the spur of the moment"" he opted to rub it several times a day with a clove of raw peeled garlic. "Within a week it had dried up and formed a scab which fell off," he writes. He repeated the procedure with a patch on his right ear and recommended it to friends with similarly gratifying results. Garlic may also be effective against fungal infections of the skin: the website of the University of Maryland Medical Centre cites the benefits of a garlic gel in treating ringworm and athlete's foot. Medical mystery This week's conundrum comes courtesy of Mrs L E from Bolton, who has been troubled by peeling skin on her fingertips, causing tender patches, and fingernails splitting down the centre. Diabetes discussion Finally, further to recent comments on the over-zealous diagnosis of non-diabetic diabetes and related issues, several readers have requested the relevant references to permit them to have "an informed discussion"" with their doctor. The most important include: Þ'The sharp increase in the numbers diagnosed with diabetes following the shift to measuring the glycated haemoglobin": Phillip H Evans, British Journal of General Practice 2013, 463 p235. Þ'The marginal benefits of treating asymptomatic diabetes": Lynn Lowe et al, Diabetes Care 1997, 420, pp163-169. Þ'The potential hazards of overtreatment of diabetes": Remy Boussagon et al, BMJ 2011, 343: d4169. Þ'The risk of statin-induced diabetes": Aleesa Carter et al, BMJ 2013, June 8, p14.