MY daughter has been diagnosed with coeliac disease and I have been advised that it is important to prepare her food separately from the rest of the family.

Why is this necessary?

If you eat a gluten-free diet to treat a health condition, it is important that you do not contaminate your gluten-free food with other food that contains gluten.

To stop cross-contamination:

€¢ Wipe down surfaces

€¢ Clean pots and pans with soap and water

€¢ Use separate breadboards to keep gluten-free and gluten-containing breads separate.

€¢ Use a separate toaster or toaster bags

€¢ Use different butter knives and jam spoons to prevent breadcrumbs from getting into condiments

€¢ Use separate containers to store gluten-free food from gluten-containing foods

You may be able to access gluten-free foods for your daughter on prescription either through your GP or through the Scottish Gluten-free Food Service. For more information, visit www.nhsinform.co.uk

I LIVE on a farm and normally help out during the lambing season. I am pregnant and have heard that I should avoid sheep?

Some infections can be passed from sheep to humans. If a pregnant woman becomes infected, it could harm her and her unborn baby's health.

If you're pregnant or think you might be pregnant, avoid close contact with sheep during the lambing season, which runs from January to April.

Infections that can affect female sheep (ewes) and which could be passed to pregnant women include:

€¢ chlamydiosis

€¢ toxoplasmosis

€¢ listeriosis

€¢ Q fever

These infections are uncommon in sheep and very rare in humans. The number of human pregnancies affected by contact with sheep is extremely small.

Although the risks are low, pregnant women should still avoid close contact with sheep during lambing.

To avoid the risk of infection if you're pregnant or think you might be pregnant:

€¢ do not help deliver lambs

€¢ do not milk ewes

€¢ avoid contact with aborted (miscarried) or newborn lambs, or with the afterbirth.

€¢ avoid handling clothing, boots and other items that have been in contact with ewes, lambs or the afterbirth

€¢ ensure your partner washes thoroughly if they have contact with ewes that are lambing

WHAT is acne?

Acne is a chronic skin condition that affects most people at some point during their life. It causes spots to develop on the skin, usually on the face, back and chest. The symptoms of acne can be mild, moderate or severe.

Acne is thought to be caused by changes in hormones that are triggered during puberty. Acne can cause great distress and have an adverse effect on a person's quality of life and self-esteem.

Therefore, healthcare professionals recognise that the condition requires effective and sometimes aggressive treatment.

Around 80% of 11 to 30-year-olds are affected by acne. Most acne cases in girls occur between the ages of 14 to 17, and in boys the condition is most common in 16 to 19- year-olds.

Most people will experience repeated episodes, or flare-ups, of acne for several years before finding that their symptoms gradually start to improve as they get older. The symptoms of acne usually disappear when a person is in their twenties.

However, in some cases, acne can continue into adult life, with approximately 5% of women and 1% of men over 25 continuing to experience symptoms.

With treatment, the outlook for acne is generally good. Treatments can take between two to three months to work but, once they do, the results are usually effective.