ColumbiaCare

The Mayo Clinic’s website provides valuable information that can keep you healthy as you get ready for all those holiday parties. The site discusses the problems caused by infrequent hand washing and also offers suggestions. Read the advice on hand washing techniques and what kind of hand-sanitizer to use here.

The page also contains links to articles on E.coli and the most common illnesses that keep children out of school.

A press release was released this week to let the community know that National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that this week will be known as National Influenza Vaccination Week. This is to promote the flu vaccine and encourage the importance of containing the flu.

The vaccine is especially important for children because they are the highest risk group that is likely to get sick with the flu.

“According to the CDC, a vaccinated child has 70 to 90 percent less risk of having the flu than an unvaccianted child.”

Flu season is slowly starting, and by having National Influenza Week, the CDC wants to remind the community that it is not to late to get vaccinated.

The Columbia/Boone County Health Department will continue to offer the Flu Shot and FluMist on a walk-in basis. This will continue until they run out.

The cost of the flu vaccine is 20 dollars, cash or check. Medicaid and Medicare are also accepted.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call the clinic at (573)-874-7453 or (573)-874-7356.

As we know, there is not a cure for the flu, but there are treatments to help decrease symptoms as well as prescriptions to help treat the virus as soon as it hits.

Pharmacist Bill Morrissey at Kilgore’s Pharmacy in Columbia has not filled many prescriptions for the flu this year, but says the season is just coming. In past years Morrissey has mostly filled prescriptions for Tamiflu, which is given to children and adults one year and older.

“The standard adult treatment cost is 85 dollars without insurance,” Morrissey said. “Tamiflu is available in pill and liquid form.”

According to the Tamiflu website the dosage varies based on flu prevention or flu treatment. If prescribed for flu prevention, the dosage is one dose, once daily, for 10 days. For flu treatment, the dosage is one dose, twice daily, for five days.

“Time is of the essence,” Morrissey said.

Tamiflu must be taken within 24 to 48 hours of the first symptom appearance according to the Tamiflu website.

For other treatment to help break the fever or numb body aches and pains, Morrissey suggests Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help you feel better.

Most people are aware of the flu shot and its potential to prevent becoming infected with the flu virus, but the idea of needles does not appeal to everyone. Some people avoid getting the flu shot in an attempt to avoid their fear of needles. If you, or someone you know, falls into this category, there is another option. The nasal-spray flu vaccine is one such alternative. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website it is “a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu”.

If you are a healthy person, not pregnant, and aged 2 to 49 years old, then you are eligible for the nasal-spray flu vaccine, according to the CDC’s website.

According to the CDC’s Website, if any of the following apply, then you should not get the nasal-spray flu vaccine:

• history of wheezing in children (under the age of five)
• those with a severe allergy to chicken eggs
• history of Guillain-Barre syndrome
• if you were previously infected with the flu and had severe reactions
• a medical condition with a high risk for complications
• if you are pregnant

And according to the CDC’s Website, side effects of the nasal-spray flu vaccine include muscle aches, fever, runny nose, headache, cough and a sore throat. The CDC’s Website also mentions that you can get the nasal-spray flu vaccine this year even if you got the flu shot last year.

During the holiday season, the last thing we need is to get sick. But whether or not you get your flu shot, there is more you can do. According to Health.com there are ways to “outsmart the flu.”Let us know if you have any helpful home remedies that help prevent the flu.

• Wash your hands.

-Wash your hands over and over consistently for at least 15-20 seconds.  

• Avoid major crowds. 

-The flu grows in social places, so be careful when you are out and care tissues on hand.

• Keep hydrated.

-Make sure to drink lots of fluid to “keep your membranes in fighting shape.”

• Do vitamins

-Vitamin C & D and selenium are great to keep healthy during the flu season.  Orange juice and yogurt are usually fortified with vitamin D and selenium, and of course orange juice has plenty of vitamin C.   Howstuffworks.com lists several natural home remedies to help fight the flu. Here are just a few:

• Honey

-Yes, honey. If a hacking cough if keeping you up at night, try this recipe: Mix 1 tablespoon of honey into 1 cup of hot water, stir well, and enjoy. 

•  Mustard – “because it is loaded with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, many of which can be inhaled through the vapors.”

-To make a mustard plaster use this recipe: use 1 tablespoon dry mustard and 2-4 tablespoons flour. Mix both with 1 egg white (optional) and warm water to form a paste. Next, find a clean handkerchief or square of muslin large enough to cover the upper chest. Smear the cloth with the paste and then put the cloth over it. Put a little olive oil on the patient’s skin and apply the mustard plaster to the upper chest. Check the patient every few minutes since mustard plaster can burn. Remove after a few minutes. Afterwards, wash off any traces of mustard from the skin. 

The holidays can be a joyous occasion to come together with family and friends. Take precautions to keep foodborne illness from getting in the way of your next holiday celebration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website, “foodborne disease is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages.” And, the CDC estimates that 5,000 people die out of the 76 million cases of foodborne illness found in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC’s website.

There are easy steps you can take in the kitchen to reduce your risk of infecting those you care about. According to the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website (www.fightbac.org), simply “clean”, “separate”, “cook”, and “chill”. When cleaning, the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website recommends washing your hands, any tools and surfaces that come into contact with food, and fruits and vegetables. The Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website also recommends that when separating food, make sure each type of food does not come into contact with other types, such as raw meat and cooked meat, so that cross-contamination does not occur. And when cooking, the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website recommends that you use a food thermometer, so that you can check the internal temperature of meat. And according to the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website, you should refrigerate at 40 degrees F or below, and freeze food at 0 degrees F or below.

Safe Cooking Temperatures

• Poultry- minimum 165 degrees F (internal temp.)

• Steaks/ roasts- minimum 145 degrees F

• Ground meat- minimum 160 degrees F

• Fish- 145 degrees F, or flesh easily separates/ flesh is opaque

• Gravy, sauces- boil when reheating

• Leftovers- 165 degrees F

Source: Partnership for Food Safety Education’s Website (www.fightbac.org)

Do you have any safe holiday tips?

Share them with us!  Post a response to this blog entry by clicking on the “No Comments” link near the title of the post.

When flu season starts, it is hard to determine if your syptoms are in fact flu-worthy or just that of the common cold, but FluFacts.com gives us insight on how to tell the difference.”The cold and flu are both respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different types of viruses,” according to the website.One main difference is a cold will gradually appear and worsen, whereas the flu can appear within 3-6 hours. Symptoms of the flu also contain fever, aches, chills, and tiredness, and these are much less common in the cold spectrum. Productive coughing, sneezing, and a running nose are much more prevelant in the cold realm.If you are experincing flu-like symptoms please contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Columbia/Boone County Health Department, 1005 Worley St., Columbia
Contact Number: (573)-874-7355
Cost at the clinic: Flu shots & FluMist: $20 Pneunomia: $30
Check or cash is accepted
They can bill Medicaid and Medicare, but not private insurance
Saturday, Nov. 17, 10:00-1:00

Schnucks, 1400 Forum Blvd., Columbia
Contact Number: (573)-446-2804
Cost: Flu Vaccine: $25, Pneunomia: $39
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 10:00-1:00
Thursday, Nov. 15, 4:00-7:00
Friday, Nov. 16, 10:00-1:00
Saturday, Nov. 17, 10:00-1:00

Like taxes or heartbreak, the flu is a part of life. For most people, the virus sneaks or stomps its way into their lives more than once.
Avoiding the virus is obviously the goal; but, if the flu does make its way into your body, it may be helpful to know what it can do once it gets there.
Dr. William Salzer, Professor of Clinical Medicine at MU, said that the flu enters the body through the nose and mouth. From there, “it tears up your respiratory tree,” which includes the nose, throat, lower airways, and lungs, he said. For some people, the virus enters the bloodstream and circulates around the body until it is killed by the immune system; for others, the virus descends down into the lungs where it can cause one of two types of pneumonia, Salzer said.  The first kind is primary flu pneumonia for which the flu is the direct cause, and the second type is bacterial pneumonia which does not appear until 5-10 days after the first flu symptoms, Salzer said. The bacterial form of the disease is responsible for most of the flu-related deaths among senior citizens, Salzer said. For information about pneumonia, click here.

Dr. Salzer also champions getting the flu vaccine. In fact, he said the CDC recommends that children between six months and five years old be
vaccinated because of that age group’s higher occurrence of other diseases resultant from the flu that can lead to hospitalization. As for parental concerns that the vaccine may give children the virus, Salzer said that parents shouldn’t worry.

“There’s no evidence that the flu shot causes the flu,” Salzer said.

Salzer also mentioned a live vaccine that is squirted into the patient’s nose. The spray has been approved for children as young as two years old should they not want to get a shot, he said.  The flu is coming. That much is certain. Make sure to wash your hands.

• The next flu clinic is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 17 at the department’s offices located at 1005 W. Worley St. (573) 874-7347.

A flu vaccine clinic was offered at the Columbia/Boone County Health Department from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The clinic was set up in stations beginning with registration and ending with payment. Both the flu shot and FluMist were administered for $20 each. They are able to bill both Medicaid and Medicare, but are unable to bill private insurance, said Stacia Reilly, public information officer for the Health Department. Reilly said that those with private insurance will receive a receipt for the vaccine. The clinic has been administering flu vaccines for four years and they have seen up to 500 people in a given three hour period, Reilly said.