Out Of Ordinary News

Local Medical News

1. People that have kids younger than five years old and want a free fluoride varnish dental treatment for them can go to McCall, Idaho.

medical newsIt is a well known fact that fluoride is of great help when it comes to preventing cavities in young patients. This initiative targets mostly kids that do not have a personal dentist; this means that the kids that don’t benefit from a dental insurance plan are welcomed to the treatment. The treatment is complimentary, but the parents should enlist the name of their kids.

2. Flu has taken the life of 21 persons, including 2 kids, in Idaho. The flu season has started on the first of October, 2012 and since then many people in the region have suffered from it. Flu is a serious condition that can take lives, even the lives of kids.

The 19 adult patients that died were older than 50; many doctors recommend that the people suffering from various medical conditions should get flu shots. Flu can cause several complications of pre existing medical conditions. For example, flu can be very bad for pregnant women or persons with diabetes and heart disease. Among the flu symptoms there are: fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit / 37.8 degrees Celsius, trouble breathing, dizziness, confusion, dehydration, vomiting, being sleepy and irritable.

3. About one fifth of the houses in Idaho contain radon, a gas that is the second cause of lung cancer in the U.S., right after smoking. Radon was found in many of the Idaho counties, and actually there are some counties where more than half of the existing houses registered high levels of radon.

This is a radioactive gas that can be found in the soil; it has no smell, taste or color and it is known to determine the death of over 20,000 persons in the U.S. every year. Radon accumulates in larger quantities during winter, when many people keep the windows and doors closed, thus allowing the gas to remain inside the walls of the house. The gas can be found in larger quantities in the basement and the ground floor rooms of the houses.

4. As spring is making itself more and more visible, farmers have also started to replenish the stock of chicks and ducklings. More than that, there are even parents that have thought about getting their kids such a present for Easter. But the Public Health and Agriculture authorities encourage people to be very careful and handle wisely the small birds, due to the high risk of salmonella, which may cause infections.

As more and more people have started to raise chickens and ducks in urban areas, they should be correctly informed concerning the possible risks and the preventative measures that should be taken. They should be taught to wash their hands on a regular basis, never allow the birds to get in the house, as well as clean all the potentially contaminated areas often.

5. Residents of SW Boise attended a class where they were taught how to prevent debilitating falls that can happen at senior age, a fact that can leave them incapable of moving on their own. Simple exercises have been practiced, and they proved to be helpful the seniors’ strength, balance, mobility and endurance.