Your doctor may respond by saying that what has been prescribed ’should’ be enough. Such a reply implies that the poor pain relief is somehow your fault. Don’t let your doctor make you feel guilty because you are still in pain. If you are still in pain, it is because you are not getting enough of a strong enough painkiller often enough—simple as that. It is your doctor’s responsibility and duty to correct that situation and if he or she does not do so you have every right to complain and ask for immediate referral to another doctor. The fault does not lie with you.

Some doctors will refuse to increase, or will even reduce your dose of painkiller if they decide it is making you too drowsy. They may do this even though your pain is not controlled. I believe that you have the right to have enough painkiller to control your pain, especially if your cancer cannot be cured and the cause of your pain cannot be corrected. You should decide whether you would prefer to be more alert and in more pain or drowsier and in less pain, even though the decision to be drowsier could mean that you don’t live quite as long as you would have otherwise. Your wishes in this regard are more likely to be respected if you talk to trusted family members or friends and your doctors about them before the situation ever arises. You could even put them in writing if you want to be as sure as possible that your last days will be as you want.

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Hamilton Laboratories have released a product, Stingose, which is claimed to be of value in treating the bites and stings of insects, spiders, bees, marine creatures and plants.

It contains aluminium sulphate and this chemical denatures or destroys the protein venom of animals and the complex starches of plant venoms.

The quicker it is applied, the quicker it goes to work, neutralising the poison and relieving the pain and discomfort. It also relieves the inflammation and so there are fewer long-term effects.

For those who are allergic to bee stings, the immediate application of Stingose may be life-saving.

In northern waters at certain times of the year, the bluebottle (physalia) and the box jellyfish (chironex) may cause painful and, sometimes, fatal stings. The trouble is, these jellyfish have long trailing tentacles which wrap themselves around the body and with myriad of tiny stinging cells on the tentacles, may keep firing off and discharging venom. Attempting to brush off or wipe away the tentacles may cause further discharge of venom.

Alcohol has been recommended to kill the poison cells, dry the tentacles and make removal easier. There is some recent evidence that methylated spirits and other alcohols may fire off more venom cells. Vinegar has been shown to inactivate them but does not stop the pain or inactivate venom already in the skin. Stingose does.

The Surf Lifesaving Association in Queensland now recommends application of vinegar to inactivate the stinging cells of jellyfish tentacles and then to apply Stingose or a cooling lotion.

Vinegar is not a total treatment. Once the stinging cells have been inactivated by vinegar they should be removed with the finger tips.

Any sign of distress symptoms requires immediate medical assistance.

So, if you want a good weekend, you should not only pack the insect repellent but the best first aid treatment for bites and stings from both insects and plants.

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