The problem usually resolves after stopping painkillers and introducing more effective preventive treatment (eg, amitriptyline for persistent tension headache or migraine).

They get remedial, not preventive treatment that doesn't help them to become functioning members of society.

Also, these days, doctors can number-crunch your odds of developing heart trouble — which should help you decide whether to take preventive treatment like cholesterol-zappers.

The new era raises the exciting prospect of individual care - of preventive treatment tailored to your actual make-up, with health resources used efficiently for the first time.

Of that strategy's four components - distributing mosquito nets, preventive treatment, treatment of the disease and destroying mosquitoes - the first three can be delivered by nurses on two wheels.