St. Patrick's Day and Celtic Curse in 2026
St. Patrick's Day has always struck me as a wonderful annual opportunity to raise awareness of the most common genetic illness afflicting people with Irish genes: haemochromatosis, sometimes referred to as 'Celtic Curse' because it puts you at risk of absorbing too much iron and thus damaging vital organs and joints. Symptoms of genetic haemochromatosis (GH) range from chronic fatigue to joint pain, memory issues, abdominal pain and skin conditions. If not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner GH can lead to very serious long-term health complications and death. GH affects people of all ages and genders. Although some doctors still think of GH as a male condition, women suffer from it too, notably at or after perimenopause and menopause (FYI: in America GH is referred to as HH for Hereditary Hemochromatosis) St. Patrick's Day 2026 is a particularly good time to raise world awareness of hereditary haemochromatosis because we know more about its Celtic origins than...