Wear your red on Friday, February 3! This year, as in the last two years, we will join the GO RED FOR WOMEN movement to increase awareness of heart disease in women. Did you know it is the #1 killer of women? (Think over 422,000 American women each year!!) For more information, you can check out the American Heart Association’s site: www.goredforwomen.org. If you see someone wearing red or a little red dress pin, you know they joined the movement too!
Once again, we face our new calendar with the fresh, clean pages, just waiting to be filled with appointments, birthdays, events, and activities. The blank pages are so forgiving right now; we haven’t missed anything yet. There are no reminders that we forgot a birthday, or didn’t mail out the bills. Our New Year’s resolutions are still so new so we haven’t forgotten them yet. Most of us are great at making resolutions; we may not be so good at keeping them, but many of us are experts at making them. Maybe we set ourselves up for failure by creating too many lofty goals. Maybe we need to give ourselves a break this year.
Be well.
Take care of yourself and if you have others that depend on you, help them stay well.
Do your best.
That might not be perfect, but it will be your best. Who would complain about ‘best’?
Go easy on yourself.
You didn’t fail because you missed the mark. Maybe the mark was too high.
Treasure the small, random moments that happen every day.
We usually miss these moments because we are too busy.
Happy New Year to you! Be well!
Our days are filled with busy schedules; we are more fatigued than usual, leaving our immune system vulnerable to illness. With the cooler weather ahead of us, we will be keeping the windows closed, with no fresh air circulating to move the germs out the door. Parties and celebrating fill our calendars; we are exposed to more people than usual. Tis the season to be on guard; any of these factors can be an invitation for sickness.
You…
The higher risk populations include:
Pregnant moms
Those that have household day-to-day contact with children under six months old
General healthcare workers (hospital, clinic, EMT/EMS personnel)
Children ages six months to 24 years of age
Adults ages 25-64 years with certain medical conditions that may leave them more
vulnerable to complications from infection
How do you know if you have influenza?
According to Tri-County Health Department, www.tchd.org, the symptoms of the flu are:
Chills and fever
Headache
Muscle aches and pains
Sore throat, dry cough
Runny nose, nasal congestion
Fatigue, weakness
Loss of appetite
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are possible
What to do…
Get your flu shot early. If you didn’t get a flu shot, follow the tips below to feel better quickly. Remember, it’s nice to share with others; just don’t share your germs.
Stay home; avoid contact with others
Wash your hands thoroughly and often; use hand sanitizers
When you sneeze, use the crook of your arm (inside elbow) to minimize spreading germs
Take acetaminophen (such as Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (such as Advil®)
Drink lots of non-alcoholic fluids (you need to stay hydrated right now)
Check with your healthcare provider to see if anti-viral medications are appropriate
Zinc. There is good evidence that zinc may shorten the duration of a cold by about a day, and that can mean a lot of time in a busy schedule. Echinacea has not been very effective in fighting colds.
Get lots of rest
Checklist…
Juices, soups, chicken broth, gelatin (to keep you hydrated and keep your energy up)
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen for the aches and pains
Tissues (dispose of in trash and try not to touch other people’s tissues)
Phone numbers to your healthcare provider and a family member or friend
A good book or a few movies since you will be staying home for awhile
Stay home and avoid contact with others to avoid spreading infection
Yes it is…you may notice the little white flakes dropping down on our blog. We are going to celebrate the winter (because we can’t fight it, we are joining it!).
You don’t have a technical problem with your screen…it IS snowing in here.
It may seem like yesterday when you made that commitment to lose weight. Was it REALLY almost a year ago? Did your goals fall off the radar but the pounds didn’t?
With the holidays fast approaching, we will be tempted with extra dinners, desserts, and alcohol. Putting a game plan into play before the holidays and not after will help keep the extra weight from stubbornly attaching to your hips. Why wait until January 1? Now is a great time to rally your resolve to lose weight, start exercising, or both! Beat the post-holiday rush at the gym and join today!
The physicians at The Women’s Health Group have healthy weight and weight loss guidelines to share with you. Please click here for that information. If you need help getting started, call your doctor for a weight loss consult. Hire a health coach-they can be your cheerleader! Hire a trainer so they can count the reps and you can focus on the workout. enlist a workout buddy-they are usually free! Make a commitment to maintain, and not gain during this holiday ‘Eating Season’! You can do it! Your blood pressure, your heart, and your bones will thank you for it!
Recently, new findings about the HPV virus and vaccination have been publicized that deserve a comment.
The HPV vaccine is now recommended for boys as well as girls and is suggested to be given to girls ages 9-26 years old and 11-12 year old boys. The direct risk to males is thought to be less than the risk for girls who contract HPV; however, the benefit to boys still exists by decreasing the risk of transmission to girls, since relatively few girls are receiving the vaccine. I don’t feel strongly about boys receiving the vaccination for their own protection since the risk of penile warts and cancer are relatively low. If you are anti-vaccination, I would not push this too hard for boys. However, if you are comfortable vaccinating your son, there is now evidence that the public health benefits from the vaccine when given to adolescent boys outweighs any risk that may be found from getting the vaccine itself or the HPV virus through infection.
The risk of heart disease from the HPV virus in women is based on very preliminary data and I would caution in concluding anything about this finding or making making generalizations until further data comes in on this subject over the next few years.
If you have any questions regarding the HPV virus and vaccination for boys, please see your child’s pediatrician or your family medical provider. All the physicians at The Women’s Health Group are happy to discuss the risks vs. benefits of the HPV vaccine in young women.
~Steve Volin, M.D.
For the WebMD article about HPV, please click here.
It’s not too late to register for Denver’s Race for the Cure. The walk/run is this Sunday, October 2. There will be on-site registration the day of the race. For details, click here. If you are already registered, good job! If you have never participated, this could be your first! If early mornings aren’t your style, then try “Sleep In for the Cure”. Details on their website.
We all know someone with breast cancer-we can fight back!
