There has been much information about the importance of vaccinating children and adults against COVID. But it’s also important not to forget to vaccinate infants and children against all the other diseases like mumps, chickenpox and measles. One hundred years ago, before vaccinations, one in five children died before the age of five. Vaccines work. Parents, check your children’s vaccination history and ensure it’s up to date.
Heart disease and stroke accounts for 32,000 deaths of women in Canada, second only to the number who die from cancer. Most women are unaware of the threat of heart disease. It’s important to be know the symptoms of a heart attack. Some women have no symptoms but others may have dull, heavy or sharp chest pain, or pain in the neck or jaw or throat. Call 911 for immediate help.
Work is being done worldwide to find out why some people just don’t get COVID-19. These people are called the “never COVID” cohort. Research so far has suggested that this group has a higher level of T cells, cells that are part of the immune system created from exposure to other types of viruses like the common cold. Since the average person isn’t aware of their T cell level, vaccination is the surest way of protection.
If you were one of the people who took advantage of “Weedless Wednesday” in January to quit smoking and are now a non-smoker after four months, congratulations! If you missed Weedless Wednesday, you have another chance on May 31. The World Health Organization calls this day “World No Tobacco Day”. Roughly six million people die from tobacco-related illnesses every year and this should reach eight million by 2030. The average smoker spends $4,000 on cigarettes annually: another good motivator to quit.
There’s much talk about vaccine hesitancy but this time of year there is also sunscreen hesitancy. With sun exposure being the most important controllable risk factor for skin cancer and the fact that sunscreens can reduce this risk, some people are still hesitant to use them. Become one of the “sunscreen UNhesitants” this summer. Buy a good sunscreen and use appropriately it each time you spend extended time in the sun.
May is MedicAlert Month in Canada. MedicAlert is the country’s largest membership-based registered charity. Members receive a bracelet or necklace describing medical conditions with a toll-free number that rescuers can call to access your MedicAlert health record and family contact information. Cost is low at $5 per month, a reasonable cost for help in an emergency.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used in medicine more and more. AI is used in screenings, diagnostic tests and blood work to detect cancers in their earliest stages. In some centres, AI is used to analyze mammograms with 99 per cent accuracy. Early diagnosis is so important in cancer and AI is making it more possible.
COVID-19 brought with it a new vocabulary for Canadians. An example is R0 (pronounced “R-naught”). It’s defined as a mathematical measure of a disease’s reproduction rate, an average measure of a virus’s transmissibility. The R0 for COVID varied from less than 1 to almost 4. By the way, as a comparison, the R0 for measles is 12 to 18 (fortunately we have an excellent vaccine against that) and for seasonal flu it’s between 0.9 to 2.1.
Learning to live with COVID. What does that mean? The hope is that COVID will become an accepted risk in the community like the flu virus has become. It’s something that will always be there and people, after assessing their own risks, will take personal precautions to prevent getting and spreading the virus. So, physical distancing, staying home when sick, and even masking will still be part of our lives.
Many people have trouble sleeping. One solution to try is not watching TV or using a computer or tablet within two hours of bedtime. Do a little stretching, go to bed a bit earlier, read a good book (on paper), or listen to soft music. A good goal is seven hours of sleep per night.
Have you flossed your teeth in the last 24 hours? If not, flossing probably isn’t part of your daily oral hygiene routine. Flossing helps prevent dental problems. Even once daily will help.
Bill Coon graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto in 1984, and was the Faculty’s Centennial Scholar that same year. Bill and his pharmacist wife, Barbara, along with Paul Whitehead, opened Muskoka Medical Centre Pharmacy in 1990. Bill and Barbara, along with their business partner Jenna Whitehead, opened Campus Trail Pharmacy in 2020. The understanding that medications are only part of the health solution has led to Bill’s interest in fitness and health, both personally and professionally. Bill’s Capsule Comments provide a full range of up-to-date health information.
Muskoka Medical Centre Pharmacy is conveniently located in the Huntsville Professional Building at 348 Muskoka Road 3 North. Phone: (705) 789-1785.
The Campus Trail Pharmacy is at 39 Campus Trail, in the new Campus Trails Wellness Centre off Muskoka Rd 3 N beside The Tom condominiums. Phone: (705) 789-5331.
Read more from Bill on the Muskoka Medical Centre Pharmacy Facebook page.
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