Health-E Illinois

CAM-ing it up

jgudenas — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:35:34 +0000

Are you taking any medicine, both prescribed and over-the-counter? Chances are that you’ve been asked this every time you visit a health care professional. However, while you might mention the Advil, do you remember to reveal all the complimentary and alternative medicines that you take?

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) has launched “Time to Talk, an educational campaign to encourage patients—particularly those age 50 or older—and their health care providers to openly discuss the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).”

CAM consists of the products that are not approved by the FDA (vitamins, supplements, weight gain/loss, etc) or that are considered to be unconventional (like acupuncture, naturopathy, hypnotherapy, etc). According to a survey conducted by NCCAM and the AARP, nearly two thirds of people (age 50 or over) are using CAM, but less than a third of those people have talked about it with their providers.

The Time to Talk campaign is aimed at addressing the need for this dialogue to help ensure safe, coordinated care among all conventional and CAM therapies. Talking not only allows integrated care, it also minimizes risks of interactions with a patient’s conventional treatments. When patients tell their providers about their CAM use, they can more effectively manage their health. When providers ask their patients about CAM use, they can ensure that they are fully informed and can help patients make wise health care decisions. (http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2008/060608.htm)

Patient Tips for Discussing CAM with Providers

When completing patient history forms, be sure to include all therapies and treatments you use. Make a list in advance.
Tell your health care providers about all therapies or treatments-including over-the-counter and prescription medicines, as well as herbal and dietary supplements.
Take control. Don’t wait for your providers to ask about your CAM use.
If you are considering a new CAM therapy, ask your health care providers about its safety, effectiveness, and possible interactions with medicines (both prescription and over-the-counter).

For more information on Time to Talk, to order or download materials, or to read the full NCCAM/AARP report on CAM use communication, please visit nccam.nih.gov/timetotalk/.

Summertime and the living is easy…Or is it?

MK — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:28:34 +0000

Summertime is a great time of year to go out and enjoy the hot weather. However, hot summer temperatures can bring about some serious health problems. Extremely hot weather can lead to heat-related illnesses like heatstroke, dehydration, heat cramps, sunburn, heat rash and heat exhaustion.

Heatstroke happens when the body temperature quickly rises to 106 F or higher. You can get heatstroke from staying out in the sun too long, over exerting yourself when it is really hot and humid, or, in cases of the the elderly, obese or ill, just sitting in these conditions over a long period of time. Heatstroke can lead to death.

According to MedlinePlus’ Medical Encyclopedia, the symptoms of heat illness include nausea, muscle cramps, dizziness, headache, confusion, rapid, shallow breathing, and/or rapid, weak pulse. Seizures and loss of consciousness occur in heat stroke.

Preventing Heat Illnesses

Heat illnesses are generally preventable. Hear are some things you can do to avoid or lessen heat-related illinesses.

Drink plenty of fluids so you do not get dehydrated.
Wear loose-fitting, light-color clothing.
Do not exercise strenuously in extreme heat conditions.
Do not drink alcohol when it is extremely hot.
Get out of the heat periodically, if you can. Many towns and cities now have cooling centers. For Illinois cooling centers, go to http://www.keepcool.illinois.gov/coolingcenters.cfm or search Health-E Illinois with the keyword cooling.
Apply cool, wet cloths to the skin and use a fan to lower body temperature. Place cold compresses on the person’s neck, groin, and armpits.

If you or someone else is experiencing heat illness symptoms, seek medical help immediately. For more information on heat-related illnesses, go to:

RSS-ing for Health-E updates

jgudenas — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:40:35 +0000

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based Web-content syndication format used to deliver constantly updated headline feeds to readers. Our RSS feeds distribute topics, descriptions, and links to the Health-E Illinois blog. This is an easy way for you to be alerted when new content is posted

To subscribe to our RSS feed, you need to have a current RSS feeder or news aggregator. If you do not have a RSS feeder, you can either:

1. Download a program for your desktop. Many are available for free and are easy to install (Some popular programs are NetNewsWire for Mac and NewzCrawler for Windows)

2. Use web-browsers like Firefox or Safari that have the ability to read RSS

3. Subscribe to a free web-based reader, like Bloglines, NewsGator, or Google Reader

Once you are logged in to your RSS feeder, return to the Health-E Illinois blog and click the RSS button for Health-E Illinois on the sidebar. At this point, your RSS feeder should link to the current feed from our blog!

Rotten Tomatoes?

jgudenas — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:00:08 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration has issued several warnings recently about a Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to the consumption of certain raw red tomatoes.

Since mid-April, the CDC reported that at least 167 people in 17 states have been infected with Salmonella, 23 of which were hospitalized with Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon strain of Salmonella (The CDC states that the true number of people affected by the salmonella outbreak may be higher, because cases aren’t always reported immediately)

However, before you decide to eliminate everything tomato-related from your life, the FDA says it is fine to keep eating the following types of tomatoes: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, homegrown tomatoes, or tomatoes that are from states which have not been linked to the outbreak. If you are not sure where your tomatoes came from, the FDA suggests calling the store where you bought the produce. If you are still unsure, the FDA urges consumers to then simply avoid eating the tomato.

These tomato warnings also apply to all restaurants and grocery stores, both in the produce aisle and in recipes. So far, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Outback Steakhouse, Winn-Dixie, and Taco Bell are among the companies pulling suspect tomatoes.

In addition to steps taken by the government agencies to keep produce safe, the FDA published the following tips for reducing the risk of food borne illnesses from fresh produce:

1. Buying: Purchase produce that is not bruised or damaged. Also, bag produce separately from other groceries.

2. Storage: Certain produce should be kept refrigerated, including strawberries, lettuce, herbs, mushrooms, and other perishable fruits and vegetables.

3. Preparation: Produce should be thoroughly washed with running water and manicured before cutting, cooking or eating.

4. Separation: Keep fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw separate from other foods, such as raw meat, poultry, or seafood, and from kitchen utensils used for those products. Also, areas and surfaces used for preparing meats should be washed with soap and hot water before using for vegetables - such as cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops.

Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. Serious and potentially fatal cases are more likely in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weak immune systems. For more information about Salmonella, click here.

Also check out Illinois Department of Public Health

Reporting to you live,

Swim at Your Own Risk

MK — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:07:18 +0000

Summertime is a time for picnics, vacations, and daily trips to the backyard pool, community pool, water park, or lake. Swimming is one of summers great joys, however, there are possible hidden dangers lurking in those refreshing waters. The first danger most people think of is drowning. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2005, there were 3,582 fatal drownings in the United States. These deaths are preventable. To minimize the risk of fatal drownings, follow some simple rules.

Never swim alone or let small children swim without adult supervision.
Have pools enclosed with a fence and cover the pool with a tight cover when not in use.
Do not dive or let anyone else dive in shallow water.
Start young children out with swimming lessons. Teach them to respect the water. Set out rules for swimming and enforce them consistently.
Make sure that public pools and lakes have trained, attentive lifeguards on duty at all times.

Besides the obvious danger of drowning, watch out for hidden dangers. Beware that disease-causing bacteria including e. coli, giardia, cryptosporidium, and c. difficile, that can live and breed in water. This is especially true in non-treated bodies of water like rivers and lakes. Symptoms of bacterial infection include diarrhea, cramps, foul-smelling stools, fatigue, and vomiting. See the doctor asap if you suspect water-born bacterial infection.

In pools, the main preventive step to eliminate the threat of bacterial infection, is to treat the water with chemicals. Chemicals, however, can present their own dangers. If you over “medicate” your pool, adverse effects from the chemicals themselves can occur. Too much chlorine can cause dry skin, burning eyes, and aggravate asthma. Swallowing pool chemicals can cause abdominal cramping and diarrhea.

Finally, no matter where you swim, remember that you are intensifying the effects of the sun on your skin. Always use sun block and reapply often. Swimming is fun and great exercise. Just remember to be safe while in the water.

For more information, check out the following website