This cold winter, the American Red Cross wants to do more than just provide warm shelters. The Red Cross has provided on its Website some important safety tips for people to follow when the temperatures start to drop.

For Your Home:

• Use generators correctly: Never operate a generator inside the home, including the basement or garage. Do not hook up a generator directly to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment needed directly to the outlets on the generator. … Read more →

As we enter the flu season, public health officials continue to remind us that routine and proper hand washing is still one of the simplest and most effective defenses against the spread of influenza.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, proper hand-washing can prevent up to half of all foodborne illnesses. Children who wash their hands at least four times a day experience 24% fewer days with colds and flu, and 51% fewer days sick from stomach ailments.

In support of this effort, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has launched its “Get Ready” campaign to promoting proper hand-washing. … Read more →

Organ recovery refers to the removal, preservation and use of human organs and tissue from the bodies of the recently deceased to be used in surgical transplants on the living.  Though mired in ethical debate and heavily regulated, organ donation in the United States has largely become an accepted medical practice.  As the number of people needing a transplant continues to rise faster than the number of donors, this is good news.

It is important to note that total organ donation is only considered once it is clear that a patient has no hope of survival. Until that time, the focus will always be on healing the patient at hand. The prospect of gathering viable organs from a severely injured patient plays no role whatsoever in a doctor’s overall diagnosis or treatment, as every doctor is medically and ethically obligated to provide each patient with the best quality care until such time as brain death occurs.  Pledging to donate an organ will never place the patient in added jeopardy, though it may save a stranger from harm. … Read more →

According to a recent report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year 48 million people in the United States get sick from food-related illness (more than 15% of population). Of that number, 128,000 require hospitalization, and 3,000 die.

In a recent publication appearing in Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D, M.P.H., said:

“We’ve made progress in better understanding the burden of foodborne illness and unfortunately, far too many people continue to get sick from the food they eat. These estimates provide valuable information to help CDC and its partners set priorities and further reduce illnesses from food.” … Read more →

A new alert from the Joint Commission warns that hospital emergency departments should be mindful of suicide attempts in patients with no history of psychiatric problems.

“A patient who attempts suicide in the emergency room or a hospital’s medical or surgical unit often has a different set of presenting complaints or a different diagnosis than a patient hospitalized in a psychiatric unit,” said Dr. Robert Wise, a psychiatrist and a Joint Commissioner medical adviser.

Of the 827 suicides reported to the Joint Commission since 1995, about a quarter of them occurred in non-psychiatric settings, like emergency departments. The methods were usually hanging, suffocation, intentional drug overdose and strangulation. … Read more →

In 1927, the Illinois General Assembly appropriated $1 million to build a new facility in Manteno, Illinois, that would care for the mentally ill.  Manteno State Hospital, spread across 1,220 acres of land, opened in 1930, welcoming 100 male patients from Kankakee State Hospital.

Over the next few years, the hospital expanded in size, including extensive work in the electrical system, a comprehensive tunnel thoroughfare, and a sanitary and sewer system, all run by a central power station.  By 1932, Manteno had 886 patients, and by 1934, 1,193 patients. … Read more →

Sleep experts at the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Professor Franco Cappuccio and Dr. Michelle Miller offer some insight into the effects of sleep deprivation. Drawing from their recently published book Sleep, Health and Society, Cappuccio (Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-956649-4), the authors use the case study of “S. Clause” and his colleagues (elves and reindeer).

The authors identify the health risks of staying up for several days and nights, a supposed necessity so Mr. Clause can “deliver presents to children all over the world for Christmas.” … Read more →

University of Alabama at Birmingham genetic experts say the holidays present an opportunity to learn more about your family’s genetic makeup.

“The holidays are a great time to collect your family history,” says Lynn Holt, M.S., director of the School of Health Professions Genetic Counseling program. “Most people don’t know much about the family history beyond their first-degree relatives, their own parents and siblings.”

Use family gatherings as an opportunity to speak with great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, siblings, and children about life, death, and any health concerns, including relatives who may have died at a  young age. … Read more →

A recent publication in the journal Social Psychology Quarterly explores how prayer manages emotional pain.  According to Shane Sharp, a University of Wisconsin-Madison sociologist/graduate student, individuals who choose to pray find personalized comfort during difficult times.

Through a series of in-depth interviews with victims of violent and abusive relationships with intimate partners, Sharp tried to ascertain the ways in which prayer helped.

According to Sharp, those who were boiling with anger claimed to find “a readily available listening ear. If they vented their anger to that abusive partner, the result was likely to be more violence. But they could be angry at God while praying without fear of reprisal.” … Read more →

A new report from The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity (a non-profit research and public policy organization devoted to improving the world’s diet, preventing obesity, and reducing weight stigma) recently published in Pediatrics lands a blow to proponents of sugary cereals.

In response to parent fear that their child will only consume breakfast if it consists of sugary cereal, the Rudd Center provides some comfort. … Read more →