Category: Health

Dental Health of Children

Dental_Health_Clinic_290120124956Dental decay is one of the most common chronic infectious diseases among U.S. children. This preventable health problem begins early: 17% of children aged 2-4 years have already had decay. By the age of 8, approximately 52% of children have experienced decay, and by the age of 17, dental decay affects 78% of children. Children and adults who are at low risk of dental decay can stay cavity-free through frequent exposure to small amounts of fluoride. This is best gained by drinking fluoridated water and using a fluoride toothpaste twice daily. Children and adults at high risk of dental decay may benefit from using additional fluoride products, including dietary supplements (for children who do not have adequate levels of fluoride in their drinking water), mouth rinses, and professionally applied gels and varnishes.

via CDC – Family Health – Parents: ABCs of Raising Safe and Healthy Kids.

The Risk of Surgical Error

iStock_000005365498Small-e1282704396512After a cautious and rigorous analysis of national malpractice claims, Johns Hopkins patient safety researchers estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patient’s body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week.

The researchers, reporting online in the journal Surgery, say they estimate that 80,000 of these so-called “never events” occurred in American hospitals between 1990 and 2010 – and believe their estimates are likely on the low side.

via Johns Hopkins Malpractice Study: Surgical ‘Never Events’ Occur At Least 4,000 Times per Year – 12/19/2012.

Worksite Wellness – Sustainability

wellness(4)Quality Work and Quality Living

A positive wellness culture in the workplace contributes to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of workers. The workplace becomes more productive and constructive when employers integrate breaks for rejuvenation. It also helps to establish clear and reasonable roles and responsibilities and respect the time and talents of individuals and their non-work demands. These steps provide the organization with more opportunity to reduce the number of sick days and health-associated costs. Are you working to make your office a healthy place for yourself and your colleagues?

Worksite Wellness at a Glance

  • Helps employees take responsibility for lifestyle choices
  • Educates workforce about hazards and opportunities for wellness
  • Enhances employee productivity
  • Reduces absences and idleness
  • Reduces health care costs
  • Shifts health care paradigm from treatment to prevention

For Employers

  • Establish programs for exercise during  the workday
  • Implement a no-smoking policy and provide resources for tobacco cessation
  • Allow flexible work schedules and telecommuting
  • Encourage personnel to take the stairs
  • Select worksites close to public transportation, walking trails, fitness facilities, and other amenities

via CDC – Worksite Wellness – Sustainability.

Clean Hands Save Lives

child-hand-washing-lgThe most important thing that you and your kids can do to help keep from getting sick is to wash hands, especially after coughing and sneezing, before preparing foods or eating, and after using the restroom. By washing your hands often, you wash away germs that you have picked up from other people, from contaminated surfaces, or from animals and animal waste. Everyone should wash their hands for 20 seconds (about the length of a little tune) to remove germs. It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs. Rinse well and dry your hands. It is estimated that one out of three people do not wash their hands after using the restroom.

via CDC – Family Health – Parents: ABCs of Raising Safe and Healthy Kids.

Home Safety: Prevent Poisoning

poisonAbout 90% of poison exposures happen at home, making it the second leading cause of accidental death in the home.

Nonfatal poisonings are most common among children under 5 years old. The most common causes of these poisonings are:

  • Cleaning and household products
  • Personal care and beauty products
  • Medicines (especially dangerous are those with iron)
  • Vitamins
  • Plants
  • Lead and carbon monoxide

Try these strategies:

  • Know your poisons. It would be easier if every bottle that contained poison was marked with a skull and crossbones, as they are in cartoons.  Poisons come in many forms: cosmetics, garden products such as fertilizer, furniture polish, dishwasher detergent, and carbon monoxide from burning fuel.
  • Buy wisely. Purchase products with child safety lids, whenever you can.
  • Store safely. Put any product with a warning label up high and in a locked cabinet. Don’t keep medicines in your purse, pockets, or drawers. Keep products in their original containers. Do not use food containers for storage.
  • Watch your children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, most child poisonings occur when parents are cooking dinner or not watching their children closely for other reasons.
  • Follow directions on chemical products. Open a window when you are using them. Never mix household cleaning products together — bleach and ammonia mixed together create a toxic gas, for example.
  • Keep carbon monoxide outside. Have heaters, stoves, and fireplaces checked by a professional every year. Carbon monoxide can also enter the house through an adjoining garage. Never run an engine or car motor or use a barbecue in a garage.
  • Stay on top of medicines. Follow directions and measure carefully, keep track of when medicines are taken, and put them away right after use. Get rid of expired medicine by crushing or dissolving medications and adding them to old coffee grounds, then place them in a sealed plastic bag in the garbage can. Don’t flush them down the toilet unless the instructions say to do so. Monitor use of medicines prescribed for teens.

Post the poison control telephone number. Have it near every phone and store it in your cell phone: (800) 222-1222.

via Home Safety: Preventing Burns, Cuts, and More.

Uncovering a Silent Killer: Hepatitis C

What virus infects 3.2 million Americans, leads to 15,000 deaths each year, and is a major contributor to the fastest-growing lethal cancer in the U.S.?

It’s hepatitis C, and the vast majority of people who are infected don’t even know it, since the virus can be symptomless for years or even decades. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that every American born from 1945 to 1965 get tested for exposure to hepatitis C, which can lead to liver disease and liver cancer.

via Uncovering a Silent Killer: Hepatitis C | Parade.com.

Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections

Change is never easy and old habits are tough to break. Since preventable healthcare-associated infections (HAI’s) affect one in 20 patients, the healthcare community – from the C-Suite to the front line – must come together to change practices that allow HAIs to impact the quality and safety of patient care.

via CDC – Blogs – Safe Healthcare – Behavior Change in Healthcare to Break Old Habits and Prevent HAIs.

Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics and similar drugs, together called antimicrobial agents, have been used for the last 70 years to treat patients who have infectious diseases. Since the 1940s, these drugs have greatly reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. Antibiotic use has been beneficial and, when prescribed and taken correctly, their value in patient care is enormous. However, these drugs have been used so widely and for so long that the infectious organisms the antibiotics are designed to kill have adapted to them, making the drugs less effective. People infected with antimicrobial-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer, more expensive hospital stays, and may be more likely to die as a result of the infection.

via CDC – Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance.

What causes a concussion?

Your brain is a soft organ that is surrounded by spinal fluid and protected by your hard skull. Normally, the fluid around your brain acts like a cushion that keeps your brain from banging into your skull. But if your head or your body is hit hard, your brain can crash into your skull and be injured.There are many ways to get a concussion. Some common ways include fights, falls, playground injuries, car crashes, and bike accidents. Concussions can also happen while participating in any sport or activity such as football, boxing, hockey, soccer, skiing, or snowboarding.

via Concussion – WebMD: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.