Fasting may reset your body, but can it reset your mind? The new trend of dopamine fasting claims it can. And wait, there's more. This trend also works against dopamine resistance, implying that things that did not make you happier before will now do. You see, dopamine is a part of the brain's reward system and plays an important role in your pleasure reception. While this neurotransmitter is not directly linked to an individual's happiness, it triggers feelings of satisfaction, motivation and pleasure.

However, a person can also reach a stage of dopamine resistance if they continue to indulge in activities that trigger its frequent or constant release. In this case, the individual stops feeling the impact of this neurotransmitter and thus, does feel good or happy.

So does dopamine fasting work?

Dopamine fasting is a practice where individuals limit their exposure to activities or stimuli that typically provide a surge of dopamine. The idea behind dopamine fasting is to reset or recalibrate the brain's reward system. This is usually done by abstaining from gratifying things or experiences like social media, junk food, and even sex. Proponents of dopamine fasting argue that continual overstimulation from digital devices, social media, and easily accessible indulgences has numbed our brain's reward pathways. By regularly denying ourselves these dopamine triggers, the idea claims, we might restore our ability to acquire fulfilment from life's basic pleasures.

How Does Dopamine Imbalance Affect Your Mental Health?

Having low levels of dopamine can make you less motivated and excited about things. In Parkinson's disease, there is not enough dopamine in the areas of the brain important for movement. This leads to problems with muscle stiffness and movements such as walking.

The symptoms of a dopamine imbalance depend on what is causing the problem. They include physical symptoms such as:

• muscle cramps, spasms or stiffness
• digestion problems, such as constipation or reflux
• pneumonia
• trouble sleeping
• moving or speaking more slowly than usual

• feeling tired and unmotivated, or sad and lacking hope
• having low libido (sex drive)
• hallucinations (experiencing something that's not real)

How Can I Adjust My Dopamine Levels?

Adjusting dopamine levels is complicated, as it is involved in many different roles in the brain. Your doctor won't measure your dopamine levels directly, and there is no simple test to measure it. Your symptoms will be the clues that tell your doctor if you have too much or not enough dopamine. They will then prescribe medicines to adjust your dopamine level, based on your symptoms, and make adjustments based on how your body responds and how you feel.

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A two-year-old boy from Bristol, UK has died from a rare heart disease, known to mostly affect children with only flu-like symptoms, on January 8.

Hudson Martin had been diagnosed with Kawasaki disease when he was seven months old and was placed on lifelong medication including aspirin and blood thinners to reduce the risk of clots. Since then, he had been living a normal and happy life, according to father Damien Martin.

He told Bristol Live: "You’d never know anything was wrong from pictures or videos. He bounced off everything. He loved climbing, dancing, music, he was a proper daredevil."

But days before his third birthday, he suddenly collapsed while playing at home. Despite being given CPR by paramedics for an hour, his heart did not restart and he passed away.

“They did absolutely everything they could,” Damien said. "His heart just wouldn't come back."

What Is Kawasaki Disease?

Also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, Kawasaki disease causes inflammation in the walls of small to medium-sized blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body which can damage to the heart and blood vessels, mostly in children younger than five years old.

When this happens, the heart doesn't work as well to pump blood to the body and could burst (coronary artery dilation and aneurysms). It also causes swelling in the lymph nodes and mucous membranes inside the mouth, nose, eyes and throat.

Apart from a 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius) fever that can last for five days, children with Kawasaki may also experience some or all of the following symptoms:

• Rash on the main part of the body or in the genital area
• Swelling and redness of their hands and feet
• Irritation and redness of the whites of their eyes
• Swollen lymph glands in the neck
• Irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat

It remains unknown what causes Kawasaki disease in children and if it affects adults.

Diagnosis involves ruling out other diseases that cause the same symptoms which include:

• Scarlet fever
• Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
• Stevens-Johnson syndrome (a disorder of the mucous membranes)
• Toxic shock syndrome
• Measles
• Some illnesses caused by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Is It Curable?

While this non-contagious disease can be treated with a mixture of antibodies given through the veins (intravenous immunoglobulin) and aspirin, it remains uncurable. Doctors may also advice steroids if intravenous immunoglobulin is not effective.

After receiving treatment for Kawasaki disease, most children recover fully and long-term follow-up care remains unnecessary. However, children who have suffered through aneurysms or other complications related to the disease will need lifelong monitoring with a cardiologist.

Cases of scabies, a highly contagious skin condition caused by microscopic mites, continue to remain higher than normal across England this winter, according to the latest surveillance data. Recent findings from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Research and Surveillance Centre indicate that scabies has been spreading more widely than expected over the past few months, with infections steadily increasing through autumn and winter.

Overall, reported cases have stayed above the usual five-year average, with the sharpest rise recorded during the final four months of last year, particularly across northern regions of the country. With scabies infections continuing to climb, concerns are growing around which treatments are safe to use, especially when it comes to children.

What Is Scabies?

Scabies is caused by a microscopic parasite known as Sarcoptes scabiei. This mite burrows into the top layer of the skin to lay its eggs, triggering severe itching and a red, spotty rash that often becomes more intense at night. Although the mites are too small to be seen easily, measuring less than half a millimetre, the body reacts to their saliva, eggs, and waste, leading to an allergic response.

Scabies spreads through prolonged skin-to-skin contact and can affect people of all ages. According to the NHS, it is most commonly transmitted through close household contact, including between partners, family members, people living together, and during sexual activity.

How Is Scabies Spreading In The UK?

UK Health Security Agency surveillance data shows that scabies cases reported through sexual health services remained relatively stable before the COVID-19 pandemic, but numbers began rising sharply from 2022 onwards. Diagnoses increased from 3,393 cases in 2023 to 4,872 cases in 2024, marking a 44 per cent rise.

• London accounted for roughly one-third of all cases recorded in 2024.
• The steepest percentage increase was seen in the North East, where reported cases nearly doubled.
• Young adults aged 20 to 24 made up 41 per cent of diagnoses, while those aged 25 to 34 accounted for 31 per cent.

Scabies UK: What's Behind The Surge In Cases?

Both the UKHSA and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) suggest several reasons could be driving the surge:

• Increased social interaction and physical contact following the pandemic, after years of reduced mixing.
• Greater awareness of scabies and more testing taking place at sexual health clinics.
• Overcrowded housing and the ongoing cost of living crisis, which may delay access to prompt treatment.

Experts also caution that the actual number of cases is likely much higher, as the available data only reflects diagnoses made in sexual health settings.

Scabies UK: Can Ivermectin Treat Scabies In Children Safely?

Ivermectin is an oral antiparasitic medicine used to treat scabies by paralysing the mites. It offers a systemic alternative to topical creams and is often considered in cases that are widespread, severe, or involve institutional outbreaks. Because the drug does not kill scabies eggs, a second dose is usually required after seven to fourteen days to target newly hatched mites.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, ivermectin is generally well tolerated, improves treatment compliance compared to creams, and has been widely used in mass drug administration programmes, though repeat dosing is important due to its limited effect on mite eggs.

Despite its broad use in programmes targeting conditions such as river blindness, intestinal worms, and scabies, ivermectin has traditionally not been recommended for children weighing under 15 kilograms, largely due to limited safety data. However, researchers revisited this concern following a systematic review and meta-analysis that suggested the drug could be safe even in children weighing as little as 11 pounds.

In a double-blind clinical trial, researchers assessed the safety, effectiveness, and pharmacokinetics of ivermectin in young children with scabies. A total of 240 children weighing between 11 pounds and under 33 pounds in The Gambia, Kenya, and Brazil were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin at doses of 200, 400, or 800 micrograms per kilogram alongside a placebo cream, or placebo tablets alongside permethrin cream. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 3, 7, 10, and 14 to monitor biochemical markers, drug levels, and blood health.

Ivermectin: Only One Serious Adverse Event

The findings showed that ivermectin was effective in treating scabies, with just one serious adverse event reported. This involved a temporary increase in liver enzymes, which returned to normal levels within 32 days. All other side effects possibly linked to the treatment were mild, resolved on their own, and were similar to those seen in children weighing more than 33 pounds.

“Outcomes from the Ivermectin Safety in Small Children trial will hopefully provide greater reassurance that ivermectin can be safely used in children weighing less than 15 kilograms,” said lead study author Kevin Kobylinski, PhD, an honorary visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford with the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok, in an ASTMH press release.

England is recording higher-than-normal scabies infections this winter. Health authorities have cautioned that the condition, caused by microscopic mites known as Sarcoptes scabiei that tunnel into the skin, spreads quickly through close physical contact and often leads to severe itching and irritation. Data from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Research and Surveillance Centre shows scabies is circulating more widely than usual in England, with cases increasing through the autumn and winter months.

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Scabies UK: What Is Scabies?

Scabies is caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. These tiny parasites burrow beneath the skin where they survive, feed and lay eggs. The presence of the mites triggers an allergic reaction in the skin, resulting in an itchy rash. Scabies passes easily from one person to another, particularly among people living in close quarters.

If one member of a household is infected, doctors usually advise checking and treating other family members and close contacts at the same time, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Scabies UK: What Are The Early Symptoms Of Scabies?

Early signs of scabies include intense itching, which is often worse at night, along with a pimple-like rash, small blisters, and thin, irregular lines on the skin known as burrows. These symptoms commonly appear between the fingers, on the wrists, elbows, armpits, waist and genitals. According to the National Health Service, these reactions occur due to the body’s response to the mites and their eggs beneath the skin.

Symptoms do not usually appear straight away and may take three to six weeks after the initial infection to develop. However, people who have had scabies before may notice symptoms within a few days. Typical signs include severe night-time itching and small bumps, blisters or burrow-like tracks on areas such as the hands, wrists, elbows, nipples, genitals and waist.

In more severe cases, the skin may become thickened, rough and scaly. Among children and older adults, scabies can also affect the scalp, face or the soles of the feet.

Scabies UK: Are There Different Types Of Scabies?

Yes, scabies exists in several forms beyond the classic type. These include:

• Crusted (Norwegian): This form is more likely to affect people with weakened immune systems. It causes thick crusts over large areas of skin and can involve millions of mites, compared with the 10 to 15 mites typically found in classic scabies.
• Nodular: More commonly seen in children, this type affects areas such as the genitals, groin or armpits. Firm, raised lumps may persist even after the mites have been eliminated.

Scabies UK: How Is Scabies Treated?

Scabies is usually treated successfully with prescribed medicated creams and lotions called scabicides, along with careful hygiene measures. To avoid reinfection, clothes, bedding and towels should be washed at high temperatures and tumble-dried or ironed. Items that cannot be washed should be sealed in a bag for at least three days, as the mites cannot survive without contact with human skin.

Professor Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and former chair of the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies, said the rise in cases may be linked to delays in accessing medical care and gaps in identifying and treating close contacts, which can allow the infection to continue spreading.