Shingles

Last year a friend of mine had to deal with shingles.  She suffered a great deal of pain before she got past this illness.  What is shingles?  Shingles occurs when the varicella zoster (chicken pox) virus which has lived in our bodies inactive since we had chicken pox as kids becomes active. 

Symptoms of shingles include a painful, blistering rash which affects nerves on one side of the body (either side but rarely on both sides).  When shingles symptoms occur, the nerve affected may result in pain, burning, tingling or numbness.  Some people notice itching.  After the pain symptoms begin, a red rash and blisters may show up.  Other symptoms some people experience also include fever and chills, aches, headache and fatigue.  These symptoms may last two to four weeks and cause great discomfort. For some people, the pain of shingles continues for months and years.  This postherpetic neuralgia causes long-term pain and symptoms. 

Anyone dealing with shingles should see their doctor immediately for treatment.  Treatment includes antiviral medications as well as drugs to treat symptoms. 

Who is most at risk for shingles?  According to the CDC, one in three people will deal with shingles during their lifetime.  As we age, our risk of developing shingles goes up.  In fact, almost half of all cases of shingles affect people age 60 and older. 

Can we protect ourselves from shingles?  The shingles vaccine has been recommended for people over age 60.  If you and your loved ones are age 60 or older, check with your doctor and insurance co as some will cover the cost of the shingles vaccine. 

For more information about shingles, check out the CDC Prevent Shingles at http://www.cdc.gov/features/Shingles/ or Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/shingles/basics/definition/con-20019574

September is Fruits and Veggies--More Matters Month

 

When researchers look at how our children are eating, they find that children are eating more fruit but 6 out of 10 children are still not eating enough fruit.  When they looked at the vegetables consumption, they found that 93% of children did not eat enough vegetables.  http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/fruit-vegetables/

If you are wondering how much servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended for a child (by age), check out this website:  http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/fruit-vegetables/

In the News: Kate Middleton suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum

Congratulations to the British royal family.  Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, have announced the pregnancy with their second child.   As Mom Kate did during her first pregnancy, she is suffering with a condition of severe persistent nausea and vomiting called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). 

What is hyperemesis gravidarum? Besides being miserable with excessive nausea and vomiting, women who deal with Hyperemesis gravidarum face the danger of weight loss, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance.  Serious complications can occur and harm both mother and baby.  Prompt diagnosis and treatment is needed to provide the best outcome.  More information can be found at American Pregnancy Association at http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/hyperemesisgravidarum.html

Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation at http://www.helpher.org/hyperemesis-gravidarum/

 

Walking prevents limitations for arthritic joints

When your knees hurt, it’s easy to back off on the exercise.  You want to protect your joints and do not enjoy the pain you deal with.  However, the experts recommend more exercise, not less. So how much exercise is needed to prevent arthritic limitations such as getting out of bed or a chair, climbing stairs or walking?  They recommend walking 6000 steps/day. 

The researchers recognize that many people with osteoarthritis do very little exercise.  A 2013 study showed that 2/3 of Americans do not walk 90 minutes per week. http://www.arthritistoday.org/news/not-walking-with-arthritis-269.php  But what about the “unstructured walking” we do during our day to day lives?  “Unstructured walking” happens when we walk around the house, watering our flower beds. Another example of unstructured walking is when we carry clean clothes from the dryer and put it away in our closet and dresser. Probably everyone does these types of activities.  So how many steps will help keep our joints healthy and prevent limitations?  Researchers looked at almost 1800 people for a period of two years.  Those people who walked 6000 steps/day or more protected their joints better and had fewer limitations.

So, I guess we need to pull out those pedometers (or download a free pedometer app on your iPhone) and see how many steps we take every day.  It would be an interesting experiment.  Hmmm.  I wonder how many steps I make during my work day. http://www.arthritistoday.org/news/walking-protects-against-limitations-348.php?utm_source=MBSnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=OA&utm_content=body&utm_campaign=Aug21

Here’s another great reference for Drug information from the Arthritis Today staff can be found at http://www.arthritistoday.org/arthritis-treatment/medications/drug-guide/?utm_source=MBSnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=DrugFree&utm_content=body1&utm_campaign=Aug2

 

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In the News--Ebola

Have you read the news about Ebola?  This virus found mostly in Africa has killed over 1500.  Earlier (7/31/2014) US health officials warned Americans not to travel to three African countries (Liberia, Guinda, and Sierra Leone).  Two Americans working for a medical mission became ill with Ebola and were transferred back to the US (Emory University in Atlanta for medical care.  Both Americans recovered.  What do we need to know about Ebola?

Ebola is caused by the Filoviridae virus and has been causing illness and death in Africa since 1976.  The experts suspect the first people caught the virus when they ate an infected monkey. Moore, P, The Little Book of Pandemics, Fall River Press (New York, NY, 2009): 29-31.  Another possible carrier is bats.   The current outbreak has killed over 1500 people in western Africa countries.  This virus is a vicious killer; it kills 60-90% of the people infected.  If you want to check out the CDC website on Ebola virus, you can find it at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa.html

The Yahoo News report on 8/2/2014 quoted a doctor/professor and chair in molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University, as “low-risk situation for general US population…Ebola is not spread like the cold or the flu… It’s transmitted by very close contact with people who are sick or with their bodily secretions, such as blood, urine or feces.”  This Yahoo article can be found at

https://www.yahoo.com/health/how-ebola-is-spread-from-human-to-human-93513417302.html

I noticed a recent communication from CDC expanded to “body secretions.”  

This week’s news involved the successful treatment using a experimental vaccine on 18 monkeys infected with the Ebola virus.  The National Institutes of Health will begin enrolling volunteers for the ebola vaccine beginning this week. 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/testing-on-experimental-ebola-vaccine-to-begin-in-u-s-1409241094?KEYWORDS=ebola+vaccine

Many people (including medical professionals) are concerned with this disease.  Needless to say, many people are watching this situation as it evolves. 

In the News--When Hospital Workers get Vaccines, Community Flu Rates Fall

I have taken an annual flu shot for years—long before they became mandatory.  I think the flu shot helps keep me healthy (and people I come into contact with). 

This study showed that “for every healthcare provider who received the influenza vaccination, one few person in the community will contract an influenza-like illness.”   http://www.news-line.com/NS_news18661_enews 

 

By the way, August is Immunization awareness month.  Have you considered whether you will get a flu shot this year?  Almost everyone should be getting a flu shot every year.  It’s time to think about it.  If you aren't sure about whether you should get a flu shot, talk to your doctor/primary health care provider. 

 

 

Million hearts website

I am holding a scone which we enjoyed during our Scotland trip in May.  We found this scone to be yummy--a sweet biscuit with dried fruit --the locals recommended adding jam and whipped cream.  Yum. I did share this scone with 3 other people and, of course, we do not eat desserts every day (I wish we could). We do try to eat healthy most of the time and I am always on the lookout for new recipes. 

Have you looked at the Million Hearts website at

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0623-million-hearts.html  The goal of the Million Hearts program is to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017.  While I was looking around the website, I printed off a chicken recipe which sounded good. Check it out at http://recipes.millionhearts.hhs.gov/recipes/cornmeal-crusted-chicken-nuggets-blackberry-mustard