Healthy Tips: Sun Smart
Summer is a great time to rest and relax and enjoy the sun
while it lasts. Just make sure you don’t
forget your sunblock if you’ll be outside for any length of time. You can still
get a nasty sunburn on those cloudy days at the beach and the water will
intensify the sun’s rays. So stop those
painful sunburns and keep the wrinkles at bay and use your sunscreen!
Healthy Tips: School Physicals
Before you know it Fall will be here and so won’t the back
to school rush. Don’t leave your back to
school and sports physicals to the last minute.
Make sure you are up to date on all your vaccinations and you are good
to go to start off the school year on the right foot. Don’t let long waits at the doctor’s office
hold up your sports game or your clinical rotations at collage.
Healthy Tips: Vaccines
So what’s the deal with vaccines? Are they safe? Should kids
be getting the shots more spread out? There is still a lot of controversy
circulating around vaccines and it can be hard to know who is right and what
sources to trust. Especially when a lot
of public figures outspokenly disapprove of vaccines. So here’s the down and dirty. Vaccines are
safe and very important. Study after
study has been done to show that vaccines do not cause Autism. The signs of Autism just become apparent
around the same age as most vaccines are scheduled. The vaccine schedules are
set up to protect the child when they need it most as well as to take advantage
of when their immune system is at its strongest. As we get older we stop making long lasting
immunity. So its best to get most
vaccines when we are young. There is
absolutely no mercury in the vaccines.
Also if there are any side effects or bad reactions from a vaccine, as
with all medications, they are reported and the vaccines safety is continually
being checked and updated. Because of
vaccines we have eliminated so many childhood illnesses that use to result in
death. So please vaccinate your children
for their health and safety.
Healthy Tips
“Hey google knows!” How often do we find ourselves saying
this or hearing someone else say it when we don’t know the answers to something? The internet is an extremely valuable resource
of information but anyone can put anything on the internet. So how do we know if what comes up in our search
results is accurate and can be trusted? Well what’s on top must be the best,
right? Unfortunately, just because a search result is listed near the top doesn’t
mean its better than any others. All
this means is that the company has managed to promote their page to being the “most
popular” or paid for the privilege of being listed first. These sites are not always the best place for
getting quality health information, they may give you some of what you need to
know but may not really the best place to look.
We have provided a list of some websites that are known to have more
accurate health information. You can find list under our: Internet Resources
for Health tap. If you know of any other good sources please let us know and we’ll
be glad to add them to the list.
Healthy Tips: Tanning:
Healthy Tips: Tanning:
So how bad IS tanning?
Well, it depends on where you are tanning. Exposure to UV rays, which is
what causes our skin to darken into a tan, varies depending on the
location. If you are getting a tan from
working outside in the sun day after day after day its not nearly as bad for
you than if you go to the beach a few times a year and get so much sun you burn
to a crisp. Studies have shown that more
frequent sunburns related to infrequent sun expose are more damaging to you
skin than consistent sun exposure over long periods of time. This is thought to be related to how our body
reacts to the sun and the damage to skin cells caused by sunburns. Furthermore, tanning beds are by far the
worst place to go. They increase your
risk of the rarest and deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma, by up to 75%! This is related to the intensity of the UV
ray exposure present in tanning beds.
Due to this extreme rise in risk with tanning bed use, some states are requiring
individuals to be 18 or older in order to go to a tanning salon. Keep this in mind before you decide you need
a little extra color.
Healthy Tips: High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a medical issue that affects a large
number of people. The tricky thing about
it, is that until the blood pressure gets dangerously high you don’t have any
symptoms. So if there aren’t any
symptoms why would we bother to treat it? Especially with medications that may
not make a person feel well, such as having to run to the bathroom to pee all
day. The reason we treat it is that
while you may not be feeling any symptoms that elevated blood pressure is
causing all kinds of damage to you body.
Your blood is slamming into your delicate organs with so much pressure
that they cannot handle it. The organs
effected the most are your kidneys, brain and eyes. Uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to
strokes, blindness, and kidney failure.
And its not like these things will happen when you are “older”. If the
pressures are high enough people in their 30’s and 40’s can have significant health
issues related to high blood pressure.
So if you have high blood pressure, make sure you take your medicine,
watch how much salt you eat and regularly see your health care provider.
Healthy Tips: Lyme
Lyme disease is something that many people who live here in
New England worry about, and rightly so.
We have a large number of ticks in the area and they have the potential
to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme. So,
let’s take a few moments to discuss some important things to know about Lyme. First, let’s start with the most reassure aspect,
not all ticks care Lyme and even if you have been bitten by a tick it takes
36-72hours of an infected tick being latched to a person to transmit the
bacteria. So, if you remove a tick that
is still flat and hasn’t become full of blood, chances are low that you have
become infected. Now for the not so reassuring,
only about 20-25% of patients with Lyme recall being bitten by a tick and only
80% of people infect will develop a bull’s eye rash. This is why your provider may check for Lyme
via a blood test if you are showing any signs or symptoms that may be related
to Lyme. Symptoms of early Lyme include:
The classic bulls eye rash which will show up 7-14 days after exposure,
fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headache, neck stiffness, poor or no
appetite, and/or fever. Basically, the
same symptoms you might have if you had the flu. Later stages of Lyme have different symptoms
and can be harder to diagnosis. These
symptoms may have more nerve or heart based symptoms. So there are lots of reasons why your provider
might want to check to rule out Lyme as a possible cause, especially as in most
people early treatment with an antibiotic is effective. The best thing you can do is try and avoid
tick bites by wearing long pants when out in areas that would have a large
number of ticks such as wood areas. Also,
regularly check for ticks after you’ve been outside. If you can remove the tick before or soon
after latching your chances of getting Lyme are greatly decreased. If you are worried that you might have been
bitten by a tick or are concerned you might have Lyme Disease call and speak to
your provider as soon as possible.
References:
www.uptodat.com
Healthy Tips: Diabetic foot care
Diabetes is a complex disease that affects many parts of a
person’s body. One of those things is
the small nerves in a person’s feet. As
diabetes progresses a person’s ability to feel things, such as sharp objects,
can decrease on the soles of the feet.
Because of this the person could step on something sharp and/or get a
cut and never know it. Therefore its
important to regularly check your feet if you have Diabetes. Checking for cuts and wounds is important
because if these areas are left untreated then serious infections can occur. These infections could result in the loss of
a toe, foot, limb or even a person’s life.
So, if you have Diabetes, make sure you take a few minuets at the end of
you day to check your feet. A little bit
goes a long way.
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