• Wash your face morning and night with a gentle skin cleanser designed for oily/acne-prone skin. Neutrogena do some lovely ones and those containing tea tree oil or neem are also effective.

• Use an oil-free moisturiser or cream for oily skin. Oily skin still needs some moisture and if you dry it out too much, the glands will produce excess oil to make up for the dryness, so you’ll end up even oilier! Aloe vera gel is gentle and effective. Nivea do a Daily Veil, which is very light and has Factor 30 to protect from the sun too!

• A gentle facial scrub used twice a week will get rid of any dead skin cells on the surface, and allow the younger healthy skin to come through.

• A facemask containing clay will mop up any excess oils and if you use this once a week, it should help prevent any spots too.

• Drink 2 litres of water daily to keep all your skin healthy and well hydrated.

• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Fish oils and Vitamin A supplements will also help to keep your skin looking good! However, don’t take Vitamin A if you’re a woman trying to get pregnant or if you are already pregnant, as too much Vitamin A can harm the baby. You must always be careful when taking any supplements or medications and check for side effects!

• If you do get pimples, dabbing tea tree oil or lavender oil on the spot directly will help kill the bacteria and help the skin to heal. If you skin is too sensitive for this, try diluting the tea tree oil in a little of your gentle moisturiser or aloe vera gel.

• Benzoyl peroxide gel or an acne gel with a tiny bit of salicylic acid can be dabbed directly on the spots or you may need an antibiotic cream from your doctor if the acne is more severe.

• Hormones can also trigger acne, so girls may benefit from going onto certain oral contraceptive pills, as these can sometimes help, but again, ask your own doctor.

• Vitamin A creams, such as tretinoin cream can clear spots and help younger skin come through, but they can also make your skin flake off and you need to ask your doctor. If you do use these, NEVER use them near the eyes, lips or nose, and you must use a Factor 30 sun cream every day.

There are also prescription tablets, such as Roaccutane available from your doctor for very severe acne, but these do have side effects and can make some people quite depressed. Try my simple tips first and if they don’t help, go and see your doctor!

1. Eat a low fat diet. We do need a small amount of fat, but most people eat too much, so cut back on butter, fatty meat, junk food, like chips and chocolate. Try and use oils like olive oil and eat lean fish or chicken. Nuts are very healthy. You should only get 20% of your energy intake from fats each day.

2. Eat more protein. This is from seeds, beans, lentils, eggs, lean fish or white meats, like chicken or turkey, as well as dairy products. This will fill you up so you’ll eat less junk food and protein builds muscle, which looks good!

3. Do regular fun exercise! This can be anything you like, running, football, swimming, basketball, yoga, cycling, but try and do some hard exercise 4 times a week for an hour at least. You’ll become stronger, fitter and gain weight if you’re too skinny, and lose weight if you’re obese!

4. Eat less sugar, sweets or chocolate. Sugary drinks, like Coca Cola, have up to 16 spoons of sugar in a can! Think of how your teeth will go black and rotten! Lots of juice drinks are full of sugar too, so drink water or fresh juice, with no added sugar.

5. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. You can get loads of tasty recipes from the Internet and this way, you know what you are putting in your body.

6. Avoid junk foods or take away foods. Street foods are also laden with fat, salt and sugar, which are really bad for you!

7. Drink less alcohol. This is high in calories and rather than your liver making muscle proteins, your liver focuses on burning the alcohol. Avoid this when you’re trying to get fit. Instead, drink 8 glasses of water a day as this is vital to build muscle and for many other important bodily functions.

8. A healthy weight is generally a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 20-25. Some people might have a BMI of 18.5 if they are very skinny naturally. (There are many BMI calculators online)
The main thing is to exercise and eat well.

9. Weight bearing exercise, like weights at the gym or home, or yoga, makes your bones stronger and makes more muscle which keeps burning calories, even when you rest.

10. Eat well, exercise and be happy! Find a healthy fitness system, which works for you and you can use for life!

As a result, I felt crap (pun intended) for 2 days and infective gastroenteritis. Here, are my tips on how to cope with this extremely unpleasant but common illness.

• Wash your hands well to avoid contracting gastroenteritis in the first place- the most common route of infection is the faecal-oral route. Yes, bacteria, parasites or viruses present in someone else’s poo have entered your mouth.
• Drink plenty of fluids to keep up with whatever you are losing. You might need 3-4 litres of fluid per day, and need to drink fruit juice, home made lemonade, soups, as well as water. Jelly and Ice Lollies are also excellent.
• Water alone is not good for you, as you need electrolytes, as well, like potassium and sodium, as well as sugars. Electrolyte Replacement Salts, which you mix with water, are excellent.
• Fluid is especially important, as dehydration is dangerous, especially for children. Children need fluid according to their weight, but as a guide, a 1year old baby weighing 10kg will need at least 1000ml of liquid in 24 hours – breast-feeding is best, so make sure your baby is taking much more milk than normal if he/she has diarrhoea.
• If you or your child is not making a normal amount of urine, this means you are dehydrated and need to take in more liquids, and see your doctor.
• Paracetamol might help with any abdominal cramps or fever, or you could try Buscopan from a pharmacist.
• You will probably vomit too, but this should pass soon. If you cannot keep any fluids down, you must see a doctor, as you may need intravenous fluids.

You must go and see a Doctor if:

- You are unwell for more than 2 days.
- Your child is unwell and more tired or lethargic than usual.
- You cannot keep in any liquids, as you are vomiting so much.
- There is blood or mucus in your diarrhoea, as there might be another illness causing the loose stools.
- You are having severe abdominal pain.
- You have been losing weight recently.
- You have worms visible in your stools.
- You have ongoing symptoms, as you may need antibiotics after your doctor takes a stool culture from you to test.
- Any other symptoms that worry you.