From the Desk of Nurse Marsha....
HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE THE FLU?

You may have the flue if you have some or all of these symptoms:
Fever*, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.  *It's important to note that not everyone with the flu will have a fever.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I GET SICK?

If you get sick with flu-like symptoms, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care.  Please wear a facemask if you have one, or cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or into your elbow if you don't have a tissue.  Then...you guessed it-WASH YOUR HANDS!  Sing the Happy Birthday song twice while you're washing them with soap and water or use and antiseptic had gel.  Rub your hands together until they're dry.  Most people with the 2009 H1N1 (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1/qa.htm) have had mild illness and haven't needed medical care or antiviral drugs and the same is true of the seasonal flu.  If you are high risk, or have a weakened immune system, contact your healthcare provider to see if you need an antiviral medication and when you should get the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 flu shot.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO GET FLU COMPLICATIONS?

*Children younger than 5 (especially children under 2 years old)
*People 65 and older
*Pregnant women
*Adults and children who have:
Cancer, blood disorders (including sickle cell disease), chronic lung disease (including asthma or COPD), diabetes, heart disease as well as kidney, liver, neurological and neuromuscular disorders.
*If you or your child are seriously ill with the following emergency warning signs, go to the ER.  If your parental gut feeling says your child needs to be seen by a doctor, call your doctor, and take them in!

Child:  fast breathing or trouble breathing, bluish skin color, not drinking enough fluids, sever or persistent vomiting, not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child doesn't want to be held, flu-like symptoms improve but then come back with a fever and worsening cough, fever with a rash.

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7

HAPPY SUMMER to you all!

One way to keep it happy and healthy is to learn how to avoid sports injuries. According to the 2009 National Health Observances, July 20-24 is National Youth Sports Week. This month I would like to focus on the “Five Ways to Avoid Sports Injuries” with the help of the American Academy of Family Physicians Kids Health on familydoctor.org This is a very informative website with lots of great tips!

Playing sports can be a lot of fun, but getting hurt isn’t fun. Take these five steps to prevent injuries so you can stay in the game:
1) Wear protective gear, such as helmets, protective pads and other gear.
Protective gear is anything you wear that helps keep you from getting hurt! The gear obviously is different for every sport. HELMETS are the most important protective gear especially for playing football, hockey, baseball, softball, biking , skateboarding, inline skating and more.

2) Warm up with some stretching and cool down afterwards.
Take a light jog or walk to get loosened up and ready to play. Stretch out and warm up your muscles to lengthen your muscles and increase your blood flow and muscle temperature. Be at an event approximately 15-30 minutes in advance so you can stretch, warm up and be ready to go have fun!

3) Know the rules of the game.
Traffic lights at intersections are supposed to help prevent crashes between cars and trucks-so, too, are rules of the games to prevent injuries.

4) Watch out for others.
Be aware of those around you and communicate while you’re on the field to avoid collisions (i.e. baseball).

5) Don’t play when you’re injured.
This is a very important! See a doctor if you are injured and follow his/her instructions.

Lastly, remember RICE if you are injured:
R—rest whatever body part is hurt
I—ice the part that is injured (for approximately 20 minutes)
C—compression/wrap the body part with an ace wrap
E—Elevate the injured part

Have a happy and healthy summer!

Nurse Marsha

PLANTING SEEDS
Seems like we've waited a long time to plant our seeds this year, but everything has it's time...

Nurse Marsha

PLANTING SEEDS
Seems like we've waited a long time to plant our seeds this year, but everything has it's time...

Nurse Marsha

Make sure to check the bulletin board across from Nurse Marhsa's office.  Nurse Marsha is in her office on Thursday's from 10:00am to 1:00 pm.  If you would like to make an appointment to see her, you can contact her at 865-7595 during her Thursday office hours, or at 434-2171 other times.

Now that it’s Spring, are you getting more motivated to get out and walk? Have you heard your joints talking back to you with crunching and creaking sounds? Those are familiar sounds of arthritis for a lot of us along with pain, redness, and swelling.

May is National Arthritis Awareness Month so let’s look at hand arthritis a little closer. I recently read an excellent article from Keri Kasel, Admissions Coordinator, and the Occupational Therapists at Woodside Lutheran Home. They reminded me about some great tips about arthritis that I hope will be helpful to all of you.

“Arthritis” can cover more than one hundred different conditions which affect the joint and surrounding connective tissue. Each case of arthritis requires an individual plan established by his or her healthcare provider. Occupational therapists can aid in the management and treatment of common hand arthritis. The Occupational Therapist at Woodside Lutheran Home has the following tips for those suffering from arthritis of the hands:

REST- The “No Pain-No Gain” saying is NOT true in cases of arthritis. Rest, and decreasing the stress on the affected joints, can increase your productivity.

TREATEMENT-Both heat and cold have appropriate applications. Heat works well with small joins of hand that feel ‘stiff’, but should not be used during periods of inflammation. Paraffin (warm wax) baths may be beneficial. A person may respond better to cold, especially in larger joints of the back, hips and knees. In either case, do not exceed more than 20 minutes durations of treatment.

EXERCISE-Hand exercise? It’s true. This may help improve your strength and also help you do other activities you enjoy with less pain. Do not exercise to the point of pain or when the joints are red or inflamed. Simple exercises can include filling a sink with warm water and soaking your hand for 1-2 minutes while gently squeezing a soft sponge or Nerf-type ball. Slowly stretch the fingers apart 3-5 times, then slowly bend 3-5 times. Finish by touching each finger to the thumb.

These general recommendations are only suggestions to be performed at the beginning stages of arthritis symptoms. For advanced cases of arthritis, it is important to consult your healthcare provider and establish a ‘management’ program for your condition. Physical therapy may also be a beneficial therapy to help you! Also check out special tools that may help you out with everyday tasks such as large grips for tools and utensils (wrap foam or fabric around items with narrow handles, like pens), wall mounted jar openers, reachers, special fasteners (such as Velcro) on clothing and many more. Your healthcare provider may suggest medicines that may be beneficial in decreasing your pain level and also decrease the inflammation of your joints.
For more information, please call me at 434-2171.

You may also check out two excellent websites:
1)http://www.arthrititis.org (Arthritis Foundation)
2)http://familydoctor.org

God’s blessings and peace to you all!

Nurse Marsha