Archive | April 2022

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

“An elbow fracture is a fracture at the tip of the elbow. This can happen as a result of trauma such as a direct blow, falling on the elbow or falling on an outstretched hand.  There are three main types of elbow fractures = olecranon fracture (The pointy tip of your elbow), radial head fracture (it connects with the humerus – the upper arm bone), distal humerus fracture (it connects the shoulder to the elbow).  Regarding how common it this fracture; elbow fractures are quite common, especially among children. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 10% of all bone fractures affecting children are elbow fractures.”.

Cleveland Clinic (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22050-elbow-fractures)

QUOTE FOR FRIDAY:

“Many people have pain in the base of their foot. This could be due to overuse of one of many different structures in your foot. Common examples are sesamoiditis (inflammation of structures surrounding two small bones under the big toe joint) and plantar fasciitis (overuse of a ligament-like structure that runs underneath the length of the foot).

Pain on standing first thing in the morning is a classic symptom of plantar fasciitis. It is one of the most common problems experienced by runners, accounting for about 10 per cent of running injuries. It is also common among middle-aged people, particularly if they are overweight. It often starts with low-grade pain in the arch or heel of the foot and can get worse over weeks or months.”

Better Health Channel (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/feet-problems-and-treatments#bhc-content).

Foot Health Awareness Month – Tips for happy healthy feet!

 

10000 steps=5 miles

April is National Foot Health Awareness Month and research shows that approximately 20 percent of Americans experience at least one foot problem each year. These issues can be the result of an underlying health problem such as obesity, diabetes, or peripheral neuropathy.

Today Dr. Amanda Bartell and Dr. Andrew Bartell of North Florida Foot & Ankle Center in Jacksonville, FL, Southside, and Duval County are sharing their tips for happy, healthy feet!

  • Examine your feet each day, using a mirror – if needed – to inspect the bottom of your feet for cracks, peeling, injuries or dry skin. This is particularly important if you have diabetes to avoid a non-healing wound.
  • Wear shoes in public areas where your feet can be scratched or cut, leading to infection, athlete’s foot or plantar warts.
  • Replace the shoes you wear to exercise every six months or 500 miles to avoid heal and foot pain when the inside of the shoe begins to lose support.
  • Stretch your ankles, lower legs and feet daily and before any activity to avoid injury.
  • Thoroughly dry your feet and between your toes after bathing to reduce the risk of fungal infections. Follow up by applying a good moisturizer.
  • Don’t leave polish on nails all the time as it can lead to fungal toenails.
  • Apply sunscreen on ankles and between toes to avoid sunburn and guard against skin cancer.
  • There is a good chance you will not wear the same size in shoes your entire life, so have them measured on a regular basis.
  • Maintain a healthy weight because extra weight puts pressure on the feet, often causing heel or foot pain, circulatory problems, arthritis, and stress fractures.
  • Try to wear shoes with good support and a low heel and use custom orthotics to provide proper arch support.

QUOTE FOR THURSDAY:

“Infertility in women is often caused by problems with ovulation, the cervix or uterus, or the fallopian tubes. Perhaps the most important risk factor for female infertility is age. Women’s ability to get pregnant declines with age; female fertility declines gradually starting around 35 years of age then declines more dramatically after 40 years of age.   According to the latest WHO statistics, approximately 50–80 million people worldwide sufer from infertility, and male factors are responsible for approximately 20–30% of all infertility cases.  Spermatogenesis is one of the most crucial stages in male fertility.The slightest deviation from the natural course of spermatogenesis can lead to infertility in men.”

National Library of Medicine

 

QUOTE FOR WEDNESDAY:

“Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) happens when you suddenly start to speak with a different accent. It’s most common after a head injury, stroke, or some other type of damage to the brain.  Although it’s extremely rare, it’s a real condition. Only about 100 people have been diagnosed with this condition since the first known case came to light in 1907. Some examples of FAS include an Australian woman who developed a French-sounding accent after a car accident. In 2018, an American woman in Arizona woke up one day with a mixture of Australian, British, and Irish accents after falling asleep the night before with a headache. It doesn’t just affect English speakers. FAS can happen to anyone and has been documented in cases and languages all over the world.”

healthline

Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS)

Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is speech disorder that causes a sudden change to speech so that a native speaker is perceived to speak with a “foreign” accent. FAS is most often caused by damage to the brain caused by a stroke or traumatic brain injury. Other causes have also been reported including multiple sclerosis and conversion disorder and in some cases no clear cause has been identified.

Although it’s extremely rare, it’s a real condition.

Speech may be altered in terms of timing, intonation, and tongue placement so that is perceived as sounding foreign. Speech remains highly intelligible and does not necessarily sound disordered.

FAS has been documented in cases around the world, including accent changes from Japanese to Korean, British English to French, American-English to British English, and Spanish to Hungarian.

Some common speech changes associated with FAS include:

  • Fairly predictable errors
  • Unusual prosody, including equal and excess stress (especially in multi-syllabic words)
  • Consonant substitution, deletion, or distortion
  • Voicing errors (i.e. bike for pike)
  • Trouble with consonant clusters
  • Vowel distortions, prolongations, substitutions (i.e. “yeah” pronounced as “yah”)
  • “uh” inserted into words

How this is diagnosed:

Language skills will be tested. This can be done with:

  • Reading, writing, and language comprehension tests
  • Recordings to analyze speech patterns

Images will be taken of the brain. This can be done with:

  • MRI scan
  • CT scan
  • Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scan
  • PET scan

The brain’s electrical activity may be measured. This can be done with an electroencephalogram (EEG).

FAS is rare. A team of specialists may be needed to make the diagnosis.

Treatment for this condition:

The goal of treatment is to manage symptoms. Choices are:

  • Speech therapy to learn how to better move the lips and jaw during speech
  • Counseling to help cope with FAS

How to prevent this rare condition is to do the following:

There are no known guidelines to prevent this health problem. Stroke is the most common cause. People who are at risk for stroke should take steps to lower their risk.

QUOTE FOR TUESDAY:

“Underage drinking is a serious public health problem in the United States. Alcohol is the most widely used substance among America’s youth, and drinking by young people poses enormous health and safety risks. In 2019, about 24.6 percent of 14- to 15-year-olds reported having at least 1 drink. In 2019, 7.0 million young people ages 12 to 20 reported that they drank alcohol beyond “just a few sips” in the past month.  People ages 12 to 20 drink 4.0 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States. Although youth drink less often than adults do, when they do drink, they drink more. More than 90 percent of all alcoholic drinks consumed by young people are consumed through binge drinking.  The consequences of underage drinking can affect everyone—regardless of age or drinking status. Either directly or indirectly, we all feel the effects of the aggressive behavior, property damage, injuries, violence, and deaths that can result from underage drinking. This is not simply a problem for some families—it is a nationwide concern.”

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIH

 

QUOTE FOR MONDAY:

“On-time vaccination throughout childhood is essential because it helps provide immunity before children are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases. Vaccines are tested to ensure that they are safe and effective for children to receive at the recommended ages.”

Center for Disease Control and Prevention CDC

Immunization Week – Why are vaccines are vitally important?

 

 

Most parents are familiar with the “childhood vaccination schedule” – a detailed plan for when children should get certain immunizations that help protect them from preventable diseases. But as the list of recommended vaccines has grown over the years, so too has the list of questions parents have about vaccinations and vaccination schedules.

Those who wonder why vaccines are so vitally important is because they prevent so many diseases that in the past we couldn’t if you could save your child’s life you would well this is one way in doing it.

While some parents wonder if the number of vaccines and doses kids receive can ever be too much for their bodies to handle, the short answer is: No. Extensive research has been done to ensure the safety of vaccines for young immune systems. Kids are exposed to germs (or antigens) every day. The amount that they’re exposed to by getting a vaccine is just a tiny fraction of the antigens they encounter daily.

Know this to understand vaccines; a vaccine is a dead, or weakened version, or part of the germ that causes the disease in question. When children are exposed to a disease in vaccine form, their immune system, which is the body’s germ-fighting machine, is able to build up antibodies that protect them from contracting the disease if and when they are exposed to the actual disease.

Immunizing helps to protect the health of our community – especially those who can’t be immunized, like children who are too young or those who can’t for medical reasons.  Vaccine schedules recommended by agencies and organizations, such as the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians cover about 14 different diseases.

Oftentimes, day care centers, schools and sports teams require proof of immunizations in order for your child to participate. Keeping up with their shots can help make sure they don’t miss out. If you’re planning on taking your child in for a back-to-school physical exam, this can be a great time to get them caught up on their shots. Or you can schedule a separate immunization-only appointment.

Stanford Children’s Health states “Over the years, vaccines have generated some controversy over safety, but no convincing evidence of harm has been found. And although children can have a reaction to any vaccine, the important thing to know is that the benefits of vaccinations far outweigh the possible side effects.”.  So think over getting vaccinations for your child if you against them based on the proof of what they can do.  Always check with your physician if you have any questions.

 

QUOTE FOR THE WEEKEND:

“World Meningitis Day is to help raise awareness about meningitis – a potentially deadly disease. that can kill in a matter of hours or cause lifelong disability.  Meningitis can strike everyone and at all ages and it is a medical emergency and must be treated quickly.

Meningitis continues to be a major global public health issue causing up to 5 million cases each year, including epidemics of new strains that spread between countries and across the world.

Vaccination against meningococcus, pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type b protect against common causes of meningitis. New vaccines will save more lives over the next decade.”

World Health Organization WHO