On Nuptials and Nursing…

Alright, I know you’ve probably had information overload on the flu and H1N1 (Swine Flu). So this will be my attempt to get the raw facts out to you. All the media hype has for sure caused a lot of confusion, and unnecessary worry, so here’s some straight up information for ya, in Q&A format, as I have received several of these questions from friends and family as of late.

First question I’ll answer is: Is the swine flu really that serious?: Yes and no. The flu in general is serious (it can make your life miserable for 8-12 days if you have mild treatment), but it’s treatable (Tamiflu and lots of hydration cuts the time the flu will make you sick in half). The reason why the H1N1 virus is freaking everyone out is because there is not a vaccine out yet (ETA is mid-October 2009).

Is not having the vaccine yet a reason to worry?: In my opinion, no. Though it will (hopefully) prevent many people from getting H1N1, there are still measures you can take that will keep you from getting the flu. This includes washing your hands several times a day (long enough to sing the happy birthday song to yourself twice, each time you wash), using hand sanitizer, avoiding touching your nose, mouth, or eyes with your hands, coughing into your elbow NOT your hands, staying away from sick people, and STAYING HOME WHEN YOU’RE SICK.

Should I get the regular flu vaccine along with the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available?: YES. Here’s the raw truth – the seasonal flu kills thousands upon thousands of people every year. The H1N1 virus is a global problem as well, but has not taken the lives of nearly as many people (not to discredit it or make it seem less lethal. A life is a life). But getting these vaccinations can help to prevent contracting these strands of the flu.

Strands? Does that mean there’s more than one, or in this season, two?: Yes. When the manufacturers of the flu vaccine come together to make this year’s flu vaccine, they estimate what the strand of the flu will most likely be this year based on past year’s projections and results. That’s why so many people still get the flu – the manufacturers aren’t always right. But that’s still not an excuse not to get the flu vaccine – it’s still a great preventative measure to take.

What if it makes me sick? I’ve had friends that have gotten sick from the flu vaccine, I don’t want to get sick either!: Truth is, they didn’t get sick from the flu vaccine. The vaccine is a DEAD version of the projected flu virus – it’s a DEAD virus, so it cannot make the human body sick. What it does is trigger your body to make antigens that will ward off the flu should you come into contact with it. The reason why people get sick around the time they get the vaccine isn’t because of the vaccine, it’s because they were sick before or at the time of the injection.

How do you get the flu or the H1N1 virus?: Both are contracted by airborne emission. If you have the flu or H1N1, if you breathe, sing, cough or even talk around others you could pass it along to them.

Who is most at risk for contracting the flu/H1N1?: Children mostly. They are not known for their hygiene and put all sorts of things into their mouths that have been touched by others! Plus their immune systems are not always fully developed, so that can make them easy targets for the virus. Also healthcare workers and teachers are at a high risk because they are exposed to likely candidates for the virus. When the flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine become available, people in these three groups will be vaccinated first.

**WHAT ARE THE CARDINAL SIGNS OF THE FLU/H1N1?: This is a VERY important question. The key signs and symptoms of the flu are going from a state of perfect health to spiking a fever of 103º or around that area. This, coupled with unremitting nausea and vomiting are the cardinal signs of the flu. You also might see some cold like symptoms – chills, sweating, sore throat.

What should I do if I or my child have these symptoms?: Monitor them for a while, checking their temperature every 15 to 30 minutes and trying to force fluids to compensate for those lost due to the vomiting. You also might try putting them in a cool bath, or putting a cold compress on their head. If this does not relent in 12-24 hours, get them to a doctor.

I hope this helps some of you understand the flu/H1N1 better, or at least give you some clarification through the haze of the media hype. I have received this information from a variety of reliable sources, but as always, if you hear otherwise from a licensed health care professional, please defer to their knowledge base. I am still a student! 😀 If you have any other causes for concern or consider yourself or a loved one to be in a state of medical need, please contact your health care provider or EMS immediately. And as always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to share them here.

I love this video that the CDC recently put out on the importance of balancing your diet, and maintaining a physical exercise regimen that will ensure that you lose weight, and KEEP the weight off. So many times we try to lose weight by fasting, or cutting out all of our favorite junk foods from our diet. And it always ends up in relapse to those lazy behaviors and binging out on our favorite potato chips – and so we gain all of that lost weight back.

Here’s the simple truth: if you don’t enjoy the diet or exercise regimen that you start when you’re trying to lose weight – you won’t ever like it, and you won’t keep the weight off for good.

It’s just like the tortise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race. If you enjoy the process to weight loss, you will make it a pattern of your life, and it will become inseparable with who you are, who you have become – which will hopefully be a better, and much healthier you.

Here’s some quick tips on how to get started on adjusting your diet: 1. Keep your favorite things your favorite things. Just moderate them. If you like chocolate, learn self-control when reaching for the Hershey’s 6 pack chocolate bars in your pantry. 2. If you’re a soda junkie, ease off of it, or replace half of your cola intake with juice, or even better: WATER. This is especially crucial now that we’re in the summertime. Dehydration can happen easily without your knowledge – and those cold sodas are actually adding to the problem. Caffeine is a stimulant, and it in part stimulates your body to excrete more fluid, thus dehydrating you. Water doesn’t do this. And it has 0 calories. Drinking water instead of sweet drinks can DRAMATICALLY cut your caloric intake, and drop lbs very quickly. 3. Instead of high carb snacks from the vending machine in the break room, pack an apple or some veggies you can dip in a light ranch dressing. If you have a sweet tooth that will not stay quiet, pack some raisins or strawberries instead. 4. Eat lean meats like seafoods, chicken, etc. And DON’T go for the fried versions of these foods – fried lean meats are just as bad for your body as dark meats. Grilled, broiled, or baked is the way to go. 5. Eat at home more often. It’s proven that if you have control over how your meal is prepared, you’ll be more conscientious about the way it’s prepared, and how much you prepare for yourself. 6. If you eat out, ask for a TO GO BOX when you order your food. The second it comes to your table, put half of the apportioned food into the to go box for another meal later. Most restaurants give you 2-3 servings worth of food. 7. HAVE FUN WITH IT! Invite your girlfriends over for a beauty night where you all eat healthy foods and do make-overs on each other. Put together a veggie plate, make different types of quiche to nibble on, and serve splenda-sweetened ice tea to cool everyone off. 8. Make this process wholistic – Look at what the Bible says about taking care of your body (1 Cor 6:19) and self-control (Prov. 25:28, 2 Tim. 1:7, Titus 2:12, 2 Peter 1:6). PRAY about your new life-style and ask God for His wisdom to make good choices. He cares about the little things, so ask Him to help you choose foods wisely, so that your body may be healthy and able to serve Him fully for many years to come.

And on exercise, one thing for now: MAKE IT FUN. If you don’t like to exercise already, do something you LIKE to do. If you like to play a particular sport, go out and do it! If you like to watch TV a lot, or listen to music, do that while riding on the treadmill at a gym. If you are stressed out all the time, do something relaxing like Pilates or Yoga. If it’s not FUN you won’t DO IT. Also, make sure that whatever you do, you do it for at least 30 minutes 4 or 5 times a week. Get your heart rate up for at least 15 minutes of that time. And if you do the same routine, watch out – you might get bored. So mix it up a little every now and then.

*One last thought: Only 10% of your “health status” is dictated on medical care. 20% is dictated by your genetics. 20% is dictated by your environment (city with nuclear power plants, pollution, etc). But 50% of what dictates how healthy you are is your LIFE STYLE & HEALTH HABITS. Which means you are (at least) 50% responsible for why your body is the way it is.

MAKE THE CHANGES. HAVE FUN. LIVE HEALTHY TO LIVE LONG.

P.S. Madd props for the brilliant Clayton Bell, Pastor of TNLC in Tampa, FL for inspiring this post with his Weight Down Throw Down 2.0

I strongly suggest that you check out my friend Kelley Owens’ sister’s post on healthcare in America. I have some other thoughts on this, as this is a long and laborious topic and problem in our nation, and I chimed in a bit 🙂 I’ll definitely be posting more about this as time goes by.

Thanks Kacey!

We’ve all done it. We start feeling strange, or notice something different in ourselves, spouses, or kids and freak out. And since going to the E.R. is not a very nice option, we call on the one and only, Dr. Net. We pull up Google, and search away for the reason why Junior has a red spot on his arm that wasn’t there there this morning. You visit symptoms[dot]webmd[dot]com and click away. You tell it that Junior has numbness or tingling in the affected area unilaterally, and there’s some reddening in the area. And webmd tells you that it could be one of the following: cellulitis, abcess, brachial plexus nerve injury, burn, or chemical burn. All of which are serious problems, and should be checked immediately by a health care provider. But maybe Junior just ran into the wall, or got punched by his big sister. It’d be good to get the full story from them, but what if they can’t tell you because they don’t remember, or because they are developmentally inept at this point in time? Sites such as these are not the most helpful in these situations, because they are not always accurate, and they convey tremendous amounts of fear to the reader/researcher. I know, because it’s happened to me.

I had a stomach ache once that was worse than usual, so I palpated (rubbed :-)) my lower abdomen (tummy), and felt a few lumps that moved when I rubbed around them. It didn’t feel good at all when I did that, so I started freaking out. I pulled up webmd and clicked away, frantic as to what was happening, and what I should do to get whatever this was out of me. It gave me the following conditions: abcess (recurring theme here?), benign lipoma (thanks for the benign adjective…really makes me feel better…), or an umbilical hernia (not fun!). I resolved it could NOT be one of those three, and tried to relax and lie down for a bit. And a few minutes later, I found out what it was: flatus. All my palpating was moving it through my intestines (which hurt quite a bit…those things are not that wide!), and all my pain and discomfort subsided after it left (Though my CN I was not happy about that).

Now before I really start sounding like a webmd hater (too late?), let me say that there is some useful information on that website and others like it. There’s some good drug advertisements, and the layout of the site is nice and colorful, and it’s nice to see a full description of, articles related to, and videos describing the benign lipoma it just diagnosed you with. All well and good…but not very accurate.

So here’s some sites where you can find reliable information about various diseases and disorders: MedlinePlus is a great place to look up various conditions, drugs, and news and press announcements about various things that are happening in the health care world. PubMed is great for looking up journal articles and research articles that are centered around various disorders and outcomes of interventions for those disorders. And lastly, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) website. This website has a lot of information about health problems around the nation, such as the H1N1 virus, E. coli, and the like.

Now, there isn’t a symptom check-er on these sites, so a sudden onset of symptoms will be subject to your discretion and wisdom when deciding further actions. Of course rushing to the E.R. or Urgent Care center isn’t that desirable, especially when you get the bill afterwards. But being knowledgeable about health problems you do have, or ones that have affected your family and might likely affect you in return is a good place to start. But I must say, that if the symptoms are severe and suddenly severe at that, seeking out medical advice and care would be wise. And if it’s not that major, and you just want to know what you might/could do, or what you might/could have, or what you can do that’s an inexpensive treatment for something that isn’t too severe, just give a friend who is in the medical field (like me!) a call! We get trained on at home remedies, and quick ways to manage adverse symptoms. It’s just a start, but it sure beats combating the rising cost of health care after a visit to the E.R. …That’ll be a topic for a future post 🙂

Well, at least my Top 5 strength “themes”. In the hopes of understanding myself, Dave, and others I work with better, I took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment just now. Here’s my Top 5:

Developer, Intellection, Harmony, Belief, and Responsibility.

I was kindof surprised at the results, but after reading the descriptions and reassuring my husband that I answered the questions with complete honesty, I can see how they describe me. 🙂

What about you? Have you taken a strenth finder assessment before? What are your top strengths, or what do you think they are?