Even though I did a post on the flu vaccine back on August 1st you really can’t be reminded about it too often! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older be vaccinated as soon as the vaccination becomes available which is now.

As usual the vaccine will protect against the three most likely strains of flu expected to be prevalent this flu season. This years shot will include coverage for the H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season. With more manufacturers than before there is not expected to be a shortage of vaccine this season.

Vaccination is particularly important for those who are at high risk of flu complications including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health problems like diabetes, asthma, heart and lung disease, and people 65 years of age and older. While children younger than 6 months of age are at a high risk they are too young to be vaccinated. It is important to vaccinate the people that take care of them and will be around them instead.

And once again…THE FLU SHOT DOES NOT AND CANNOT CAUSE THE FLU!!!  bjmdjd

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · flu shot · flu vaccine · health · wellness

Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say in a June 25th report that 90% of Americans consume more salt in their diet than is currently recommended. As most everyone knows increased salt (sodium) consumption is related to heart disease and stroke.

One of the most interesting findings is that most of the salt comes from processed foods that don’t even taste salty rather than from adding or cooking with salt at home. In school I was always taught that the easier the food was to prepare (i.e. the more processed it was) the more salt it contained.

The recommended salt consumption is 2,300 mg/day for healthy folks and 1,500 mg/day for those with high blood pressure. Many food companies have pledged to lower the salt content of their processed foods but admit that it will only be in some selected foods and it will be a very slow process.

The best way to lower food intake is to cook at home but in our rushed lifestyles that is unlikely to happen. Slowing down might have health benefits in areas we haven’t even thought about. bjmdjd

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · heart disease · processed foods · salt consumption · stroke

Sorry I’ve been absent for a while but we had some family drama that needed to be dealt with. Forunately all is well and I’m back in the saddle again.

Even though it’s not funny, one of the jokes in an emergency room I worked in was all of the trouble that some folks went to when trying to find an instrument to get some attention through a suicide gesture. Some thought they would try to “fake” it by using the readily available acetaminophen. Little did they know that this inexpensive over the counter medication is one of the most dangerous drugs you can take if you take too much.

A recent study at the University of Rochester in New York has found that a majority of teenagers and young adults take over the counter medications without even knowing what the medicine actually is or the possible dangerous side effects.

Even though various studies document that acetaminophen toxicity is the cause of more cases of acute liver failure than viral hepatitis, few adolescents realized the possible dangers of taking that drug or many others that are freely available to them.  In this study it was found that 77% of those studied that were determined to be “health literate” did not even know the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen.

While this study focused on young people the findings for adults are not much better. It is imperative that people educate themselves about the medications that they take and become familiar with the dosage instructions printed on the bottle. bjmdjd  

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acetaminophen · acetaminophen dangers · health · over the counter drug toxicity · University of Rochester · wellness

Results of the ACCORD study were reported at the American College of Cardiology 2010 Scientific Sessions and in the online version of the New England Journal of Medicine this week.

The report concluded that there is no benefit in aggressively treating high blood pressure in diabetics to numbers below 120 mm Hg diastolic. There was no difference in fatal and non fatal cardiovascular events in this group of patients and a group who had their diastolic blood pressure treated to less than 140 mm Hg.

Blood pressure in diabetics definitely needs to be successfully treated but there is no advantage to being over treated.  bjmdjd

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American College of Cardiology · diabetics · high blood pressure · hypertension

Anyone who keeps up with health news is aware that there has been a bru hah hah over vitamin D deficiency and its relationship to cardiovascular disease.

A study was reported this week at the American College of Cardiology 2010 Scientific Sessions that found that folks with low levels of vitamin D who were able to normalize them were less likely to suffer a cardiovascular event in up to six years of followup. The ways the people used to normalize their vitamin D levels were not listed.

I guess maybe it is worth it to have your vitamin D levels checked and if they’re low to grab some supplements or a prescription and put on the bikini or Speedo and head out into the sun. Don’t forget the sunscreen or you’ll have another problem to deal with!  bjmdjd

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American College of Cardiology · cardiovascular disease · vitamin D deficiency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has voted to recommend that all adults receive the annual influenza vaccine beginning next flu season (2010 – 2011). Prior to this recommendation the focus was on people between the ages of 6 months and 18 years old and over 50 years old, anyone at risk of complications from the flu, and those in close contact with high risk individuals.

Now the new recommendation encourages everyone over the age of 6 months to be vaccinated unless they have a contraindication. Since vaccine makers have plenty of lead time for planning an increased manufacturing schedule it is hoped that the increase need for vaccine will not cause a shortage.  bjmdjd

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · flu shot · flu vaccine · health · universal flu vaccine recommendation · wellness

One way to waste a lot of your money is through colon detoxification though many people swear that it works! Since I can’t say it better than Dr. Toni Brayer who publishes the “Interesting Doctor’s Blog” that is listed in my side bar I’ve decided to let her do it. Here is the link:  http://healthwise-everythinghealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/colon-detoxification.html    bjmdjd

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colon cleansing · colon detoxification

I’ve read a couple of studies recently that reminded me about something very important that I have never mentioned in this blog. Are supplements and so called “natural” medications safe? The answer? They may be and they may not be. That really helps.

The real problem is that many people feel that any medication that can be purchased without a prescription and is called a supplement or “natural” is completely safe. This is absolutely untrue!

I feel that the main problem with many supplements is that no well designed and reliable studies have been done to determine the effectiveness and possible harmful side effects and drug interactions of these medications. They are not regulated by any governing agency. Even though the Food and Drug Administration does occasionally make a mistake when evaluating prescription medications, they have absolutely no control over the manufacture or distribution of these supplement medications.

Another problem with supplements or “natural” medications is that the correct dosages are not really known and with no regulation you really don’t know how much of the medicine you are actually getting in the manufacturers formulation. Maybe it says 500 mg but is it really? Who knows?

The bottom line…be very careful with the use of supplements and “natural” medicines. Many people complain about the cost of healthcare but they gladly purchase these expensive medicines with out of pocket money when they don’t even know if they are helping or hurting them. Because of possible prescription drug interactions you should always inform your doctor of any of these medications that you are taking.

Be very careful with anything that you put in your body.  bjmdjd

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are supplements safe · Food and Drug Administration · health · healthcare · natural medicines · supplements · wellness

Red yeast rice is a product of yeast grown on rice and is served as a normal part of the diet in some Asian countries. Extracts of red yeast rice have been used in China for hundreds of years to treat patients with circulatory and digestive disorders. It also has been known for many years to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff).

Researchers writing in the January 15, 2010 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology reported that red yeast rice lowered LDL comparable to the cholesterol lowering prescription drug pravastatin (Pravachol).  Certain types of red yeast rice cultivated with a specific mold actually contain lovastatin which is the cholesterol lowering drug Mevacor!

These findings show great promise in patients who are forced to discontinue various cholesterol lowering drugs because of the fairly frequent side effect of muscle aches and pains. In these patients  the red yeast rice was well tolerated and could be a treatment option in the future.

One of the main problems now is making the determination as to whether to classify red yeast rice as a drug or as a dietary supplement which would then involve the Food and Drug Administration. Their involvement would be necessary in order to regulate and control for contaminates and consistency between different manufacturers.

If you have high cholesterol and either can’t tolerate the current cholesterol lowering drugs or you would rather take something that is thought to be better tolerated in many patients, discuss it with your doctor.  bjmdjd

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American Journal of Cardiology · cholesterol lowering drug side effects · health · healthcare · high cholesterol · LDL · lovastatin · pravastatin · red yeast rice · wellness

Most of us realize that diabetes is a very costly disease. Both in dollars and in mortality and mobidity numbers. Several months ago the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (Nov. 2009) released the following staggering numbers concerning diabetes.

• 24 million Americans with diabetes
• $174 billion spent on diabetes in 2007
• $11,477 average annual cost in 2007 to an American with diabetes
• $60 average cost of a box of 100 blood glucose test strips
• $70 average cost for a vial of insulin

One of the scariest facts is that the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes is growing everyday. I think that there are 2 main reasons for this. (1) Lower lab number results are now used to diagnose the disease. Until recently the medical community found that it was missing too many diabetics using the old numbers. (2) And the growing problem of childhood obesity. Many young people are now being diagnosed with Type II diabetes which is something that rarely ever happened in the past.

Educate yourself, get plenty of exercise, watch what you eat and maintain a healthy weight. As the old T.V. commercial used to say, “The life you save may be your own.”  bjmdjd

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diabetes · exercise · health · healthcare · lose weight · wellness