Health | NC Health Action

Good Emotional Health

1. Good emotional health requires that we be in touch with our inner selves. We live in stressful times. Job loss and environmental stressors this can lead into emotional dis-ease.

2. Emotional Check ups

When stressed we tax our hearts forcing them to work harder. When under distress we may not sleep well, eat right, or exercise our minds our bodies properly. All of this leads to a negative emotional health. Taking the time to know our bodies and our limits can aid in developing and managing good mental health practices.

Rest and Relaxation
Adequate rest is needed in order to keep a good emotional state. Six to seven hours is still the recommended amount required for adults. Of course children and adolescents need more and it needs to be consistent. Bust schedules and carpools across town don’t always make this easy. Today’s youth have more on their plates than previous generations. Juggling school and extracurricular activities can make everyone in the household bit nuts at times.

3. Beating the Blues
The Holiday Season and other special days like Birthdays and Anniversaries can lead to emotional fallout. If we have lost loved ones these and, or happen to be alone during these celebrated times it can be very painful. Beating the holiday blues can be difficult when everyone else around you in celebratory mood.

4. Taking Care of Your Emotional Health
Depression is not uncommon and the levels vary. Talking with a trusted friend or finding a health care professional are good steps to take after determining a need. The need can be mild or severe. You may experience light blueness to an overall feeling of helplessness. Help is available if funding is an issue check Public Health listings for free or sliding-fee-scale health services. A health care professional can determine if you need to be treated with medication.

5. Breathing to Live
Sometimes, just taking the time breathe and slow down can help improve emotional health. Smiling doesn’t hurt either.

Filed Under: Health, Health Care Tagged With: Emotion, Mental Health, Public health

Moving with Sciatica

1. Sciatica Pain
Many people live with the chronic pain of sciatica. Sciatica can severely limit mobility. Like arthritis, sciatica affects joints and in this case normal damage includes for example, a pain that runs from the buttock of the affected side down through the calf in icy pricks that can last a few seconds; to several minutes. The way to fight this pain is through exercise. Moving those joints and getting blood flowing is extremely helpful in reliving sciatic pain.

2. Medications

In some cases the pain of sciatica may lead you to prescription medicine. In this case work with a health care professional and seek the lowest dosage possible. Medications treat the pain, but can cause other problems like constipation. In severe cases steroid shots may need to be administered. Taking the list of possible side effects can help you make the healthiest choice in treatment.
3. Alternative Therapy

Many people opt out of pills, looking instead to more holistic approaches to dealing with sciatic pain. Physical Therapy, Acupuncture, Massage, and Sciatic Stretches can all help alleviate pain without medication.

3. Lifestyle and Sciatica

Your lifestyle and geographic location may affect the frequency of sciatic episodes. Colder climates tend to aggravate joints and inflaming them. Warmer climates promote yearlong exercise and are generally better on the body. Walking, bike riding, even taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work all help move muscles and reduce sciatic pain.

4. Working with Sciatica

If you work outside of the home having sciatica may make some days difficult. Letting your boss know that you have a chronic-disease and may need some work accommodations that may include an outlet near your desk to plug up a chair massager. You may want to mention that you need to stand every half hour or so to stretch out your back. Offer doctors notes for your files. This may aid in the doctor’s appointments that will inevitably be scheduled during your work day.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Pain, Physical therapy, Sciatic nerve, Sciatica

Advocating for LGBT Youth

1. Advocating for LGBT Youth Fosters Community

A large percentage of LGBT or gay youth are on their own after they come out. Values, beliefs and homophobia all play a part in the high number of LGBT youth struggling to be themselves. Homophobia and ignorance play a large part in keeping people from having honest conversations around LGBT issues. Gay youth that are accepted by their families do better at school and in general experience better emotional health than LGBT youth who are not nurtured.

2. Family Advocates

The family members who stands with LGBT or questioning youth may be stigmatized as well. Parents Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays serves Parents of LGBT youth through National Programs and local chapters around the country. Drop in meetings and programs are held to help parents understand and support LGBT youth.

3. School GSA’s Just Another Club

Gay Straight Alliances (GSA’s), are school approved after school meetings that bring gay and straight kids together to talk. These meetings are facilitated by a faculty member who is present but allows students to run their own discussion. Points for mandatory community are earned through GSA activities and monies earned for fundraisers often go towards a service project that helps others in need.

4. Help around the Holidays

Holidays are a very lonely time for closeted LGBT youth. While everyone is festive and happy holidays can send a young LGBT youth over the edge. Dating, mistletoe and the pressure to conform at the time of year when families work on bonding can be troubling for LGBT youth who aren’t supported emotionally.Unfortunately, the suicide rate for LGBT youth goes up during the holidays. Taking time invite a young person over to eat with your family or, sponsoring a community pot luck to ease the financial burden while welcoming LGBT youth to a family oriented dinner can add holiday joy and lend hope.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Family, Gay, LGBT, Mental Health

Bypassing Arteries without the Heartbreak

: Image via Wikipedia

Coronary artery bypass has saved millions of lives over the years, but it has always come with a cost. A long recovery with a risk of complications from an incision down the middle of the body, along with the large scar down the chest are what is to be expected under the best of circumstances. With the same procedure, it is now possible to avoid this altogether. Surgeons can use small incisions, and enlist the aid of a robot, to do the hard work.

There are a few hospitals in the United States that offer the opportunity for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. A robotic system is able to work inside the body through these incisions, controlled by the surgeonâ€™s hands. By using this motion control system, the surgeon can manipulate blood vessels inside the body and perform the entire procedure of bypassing arterial blockages without ever touching the patient.

The procedure takes place via small incision between the ribs. A small camera can be placed inside, affording a view within the body without cutting through the entire ribcage. The magnified image provides a high-resolution, detailed view of the heart and arteries so the surgeon can determine the best actions to take.

The benefits of taking this route to heart surgery include a much faster recovery, as many patients can resume a normal life within two weeks. Hospital stays are dramatically shortened as well; the fact that a patient will experience less pain and fewer complications makes it possible for them to be discharged in two or three days following surgery.

Without breaking the breastbone, there is also no need for a heart-lung machine. This eliminates the need for anti-clotting medications and the chance that blood cells can be damaged by using this system. Bleeding is reduced as well and, combined with the smaller incision, the chances of infection are much less as well, and thereâ€™s no need to actually stop the heart. Therefore, the procedure is much safer overall and is available even to patients too weak to undergo the trauma of traditional bypass surgery.

Filed Under: Health, Medical Procedures Tagged With: Cardiac surgery, Coronary artery bypass surgery, Surgery

Body Image In Girls

Fat Image Average Kids

1. A ten year old asks to go on a diet. She thinks she’s is too fat. Kids are teasing her in school her mother is scared for her daughter. This is a common scenario in many homes. Girls deciding years before they hit puberty even that, there is something deficient about their bodies. Something that makes food bad.

Thoughts of Skinniness

2. This is a prominent thought for those living with eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. More common in white youth than youth of color the disorders are starting to gain popularity across racial lines. This is due in large part to media celebrating thin bodies. The desire for skinny over thick bodies is often a cultural choice. In southern climates dishes are hearty with gravies and stocks meant to add meat on skinny bones. In other climates vegetables and meatless products are the in thing. It varies with perception and individual choice. Teaching your daughter by example is a good way to get her to accept her body and love herself as is.

3. Kids Listen

Kids listen when adults talk. They hear us complain about pinching fat and overeating. Then they watch us eat to get through emotionally tough times. As adults we send mixed messages. We may unconsciously praise thinner children over thicker ones and admonish them for asking for more food or always seeming to be in the kitchen when you go in for the last piece of say anything. Good praise goes further distance than bad. Helping your daughter make healthy eating choices and sharing in meal preparation are healthy ways to improve your communication and your diets.

4. Kids, Diet, and Rock Stars

Kids go for what everyone else likes. If you want your daughter to eat get into her lunch box. Make it interesting wraps vs. traditional sandwiches. Colorful fruits and veggies and healthy oatmeal

Filed Under: Health, Health Care, Women's Healthcare Tagged With: Anorexia Nervosa, Body image, Eating disorder, Health

Celebrities in Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers

: Image via Wikipedia

When thinking about celebrities, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that some of the biggest stars end up going to rehab for an addiction to alcohol or drug abuse (often illegal drugs). In fact, many of them spend a significant amount of time in these centers because of new drug use, relapses, etc. The sad thing is that many of these celebrities that we know and love either have or will die due to their drug use.

Currently, it is said that Robert Downey Jr. is possibly the top drug user for celebrities who is currently living. He has been around drugs his entire life and even started using marijuana when he was six years old. He has been in and out of drug and alcohol treatment centers many times throughout his life. At this point, he has actually been clean for a few years, but the suspicion of many is still there.

There are many celebrities whose lives ended early because of drug use. In fact, some of these deaths are unclear as to whether they were accidental or not. For example, Marilyn Monroe died of a sleeping pill overdose. It is still unknown whether or not this was homicide or suicide. John Belushi was a well known and well loved comedy actor. Unfortunately, his death was the result of an accidental overdose of speedballs, which is a combination of heroin and cocaine.

Sadly, when we see those in the media who have drug addictions, and are in and out of rehab, some people start to think that it is OK behavior. Others know that it is not OK to constantly be working with treatment centers, and that drug addiction is a hard thing to deal with. Unfortunately, those celebrities that we see giving in to drug and alcohol addiction are getting younger and younger.

Filed Under: Addiction, General, Health Tagged With: Addictions, Alcoholism, Health, John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Downey Jr, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

Understanding Teen Dating Violence

1. Teen Dating Violence is on the rise and is a Public Health issue. Factors vary and range from graphic movies and other media to school bullying, peer pressure and gang violence. This social ill cuts arcoss race,class and gender lines and effects teens in all economic brackets. Teen Dating Violence needs defining as dating practices and customs have likey changed since you were a teen.

2. Tuned in Parents

Parents who are aware and have good communication with their teens are more likely to beware of abuse and to stop it. The movies and videos are not real life and they are more likey to depict a young woman who using sex appeal to her advantage rather than it ending badly for her increasing teen girl appeal. Knowing who your daughter is with and where are not only good parenting skills but it speaks to a level of trust between parent and teen.

3.It’s Midnite: Do you know where your teen is?
Friends with absent parents provide countless hours of unsupervised teenaged fun. Hopefully your house isn’t the designated party house in your absences. Girls inexperienced to dating and without the tools to say walk away when uncomfortable can find themselves caught up at something as innocent as hanging out watching videos or an impromptu CD music listening party. Sometimes it is innocent fun, sometimes not. Knowing that your teen is supervised and safe is good sleep medicine.

4. Tell-Tell Signs
A more sullen attitude, lack of interest in eating, overeating and general lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities are all signs of depression. An overly agressive boyfriend may have anger management issues. Watch your teen if she is generally happy and outgoing and things suddenly change out of nowhere, find out why. Unexplained bruises and excuses so that she can isolate are all signs that need attention.

Filed Under: Health, Health Care Tagged With: Adolescence, Dating abuse, Domestic violence, Public health

Hospital Medical Errors: A Silent Epidemic of Death

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Medical technology has advanced to the point that many serious conditions can be treated. However, mistakes in diagnosis and treatment in hospitals leads to the death of an extraordinary number of people. A study in 2003 supported an Institute of Medicine report in 1999 that concluded there were 98,000 deaths due to medical errors that year. Another independent study reported that 195,000 deaths occurred in this manner in each of the years of 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Most people admitted to hospitals suffer from serious conditions, but various studies are showing a rise in preventable deaths. These range from wrong diagnoses and failure to catch infections in time to incidents of surgical mistakes, such as operating on the wrong area or even leaving equipment inside patients. We’ve all heard of stories in which complications following surgery result in surgical instruments being found inside the patient. This might as common as other incidents, but illustrates the possibilities of danger due to errors in hospitals and operating rooms.

Post-operative infections, blood clots and pulmonary embolisms, as well as bed sores are among things that can go unnoticed if proper diligence isn’t conducted by hospital staff, and lives would be saved if these incidents were prevented or treated in time. There are even cases of patients falling and not being attended to in time, resulting in their death because the cause of their fall was not treated or the injuries due to the fall didn’t receive the necessary emergency care.

This proclaimed epidemic, as it is called by some, is not limited to the United States. A 2009 report from the UK says that hospital mistakes rose by 60% in two years. Faulty medical equipment and errors in prescribing and administering medication were also included in the list of causes for patient deaths.

The more thorough the report, the more common it seems deaths from medical mistakes are, and the more they seem to be increasing. By finding away to monitor and prevent just a portion of these, tens of thousands of patients could be saved each year.

Filed Under: Health, Hospitals & Clinics, Medical Procedures, Treatment Tagged With: Healthcare, Hospital, Surgery

Hand Sanitizers: Healthy for the Body and Mind

: Image via Wikipedia

Germs consist of microorganisms, millions and millions of them which we cannot see and cause many diseases. They are everywhere and located on everything. It is almost unavoidable to come in contact with them. Germaphobia in itself consumes people and, in some cases, can be considered an illness, but the truth cannot be denied that germs pose a real hazard to human health.

The awareness of germs in causing diseases has many benefits. Antibiotics treat infections and surgeons must wash their hands before operating; this has saved many lives over the years. Our day-to-day activities put us in constant contact with germs, and the advent of hand sanitizers to compliment regular hand washing has added a significant level of protection against possible infections.

Carrying a small container of hand sanitizer is easy to do. You just put it in your pocket, and it comes in very handy when it is not possible to wash your hands. The solution is usually made up mainly of alcohol, which kills any germs on your hands; up to 99% by most claims. For germophobes, this statistic might leave them to wonder which 1% or fraction of a percent of the germs the sanitizer does not kill. These products have been proven to be very effective, however, and better yet, bacteria and viruses cannot become immune to the destructive element of the alcohol in these substances.

Germs are found on doorknobs, food, and even money. Every place you go, there is a surface that can cause potential panic in somebody so afraid of germs and illnesses. For people that suffer from germaphobia, and everyone else, using a sanitizer will alleviate just about all of the concern. It kills germs on the spot just by rubbing it in. The substance then evaporates and of course, the next time you touch something, you are again exposed to germs. A small bottle with the gel can be used over and over, without the need to run to a bathroom to find a sink to wash your hands.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Hand sanitizer, Hand washing, Health

Asthma in Youth

1. Of concern to Public Health Officials is the high number of youth living with asthma. Hundreds of children die annually from symptoms related to asthma and other breathing and respiratory issues. Some of this is preventable.

2. Dust Bunnies aren’t Cute

Dust mites carry germs and air born pollutants that contribute to breathing, asthma and other respiratory failure. Simple things like dusting furniture frequently, airing out rooms and, tossing stuffed animals that collect dust 100% of the time will make breathing easier for the entire household but especially for children suffering with asthma.

3. Inhalers and School Records

Parents familiar with caring for an asthmatic child know the routine and scary feeling when your child can’t breathe. Inhalers become school bag accessories and outdoor play and gym class are sometimes problematic. Of utmost importance is keeping your child’s school updated with current contact information for you, and emergency contact and your child’s doctor. In the event of a bad attack at school you want to be notified as soon as possible.

4. Dealing with Depression

If your child experiences depression from not being able to play outside with the other kids or not as much or hard as them, be aware and empathetic. It isn’t easy being a kid and it is never easy being the different kid. Especially if illness is involved. Most kids adapt and adjust and pull their inhaler out and use it as needed. It is hard to be anything but conscious about breathing when it isn’t happening for you naturally. Indoor activities that have a cool stamp but aren’t threats to your child’s physical health are encouraged.

5. Asthma Can Change

For some people flare-ups with asthma decrease over time and for some it seems to dissipate entirely. Unfortunately others are not bothered for years at a time and flare-ups happen later in life as an adult when a severe asthma attack can be life even more life threatening.

Filed Under: Health, Health Care Tagged With: Asthma, Breathing, Child, Health, House dust mite, Inhaler