London: People who had therapy for fear of spiders at 8am had a greater reduction in symptoms than those treated at 6pm, in a study at Saarland University Hospitals, Germany.

The reason may be that natural levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, peak in the morning.

Specific phobias are among the most common anxiety disorders, affecting more than one in ten of the population, with fear of spiders one of the most common.

Exposure therapy, where patients are increasingly exposed to spiders, can help, but not everyone benefits.

Drugs have been used to boost the effects of the therapy, and one of the most effective is synthetic cortisol, with a Swiss study showing that those given it had double the reduction in symptoms seen in those prescribed a placebo.

– NHS hospital patients are to be offered a drug-free way to treat post-surgical blood clots, a condition that kills 25,000 Britons a year.

The Geko device is a thin, six inch strip that attaches to the leg and delivers tiny electrical impulses to the back of the knee. It was approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence this month.

Developed at Bart’s and the London NHS Trust, it has been designed to help those who are unable to take blood-clot dissolving drugs — the first-line treatment — due to other health problems.

The device stimulates the muscles in the leg and foot which then increase blood flow in the veins of the lower leg. This may help reduce the risk of blood clots forming.

– Doctors have discovered a way to treat an uncommon — yet distressing — condition that makes patients belch up to 20 times a minute.

Supragastric belching is thought of affect thousands of Britons and is due to excessive swallowing, meaning air is taken into the oesophagus. Digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic acid reflux — or heartburn — are also thought to increase risk of developing it.

High levels of anxiety have been found in patients, and it has been linked to stress. Some patients say it started with them deliberately belching to ease feelings of bloating or abdominal discomfort, but it then became a habit.

Now, German and Swedish experts have used a combination of the muscle relaxant baclofen, and pregabalin, an anticonvulsant used to treat seizures and anxiety, to control the problem.

The treatment resulted in a greater than 90 per cent drop in the rate of belching, and doctors believe the combination works by reducing sensitivity at the junction between the oesophagus and stomach.

– Millions of British women are living with chronic incontinence because they are too embarrassed to seek medical help, according to new research. About three-quarters of five million British women who develop the condition after giving birth fail to contact their GP, despite it being easily treatable.

Many have never spoken to anyone — even their partner — about their problem, according to the poll of 2,000 mothers commissioned by Netmums, and carried out for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Royal College of Midwives.

Six in ten felt the subject was taboo and 56 per cent said they were embarrassed. A further 16 per cent felt ashamed. Simple physiotherapy exercises can solve the problem with the pelvic floor.