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.

Idaho News

1. Several people have decided to get their heads shaved in order to help cancer research in Boise, Idaho. The participants have asked for money from their friends and family members, in exchange for the privilege to see them go bald. The money gathered was donated to a children’s cancer research fund. The event is organized every year.

2. A new study has showed that money can buy willpower indeed. People on a diet could win or lose 20 dollars a month if they enrolled in a program created to help them lose pounds. The program was conducted at Mayo Clinic and was the longest to demonstrate that money given as incentives had a great power making people lose weight. On the other hand, people had to pay money if they could not lose weight.

cancer research initiative

Cancer Research Initiative

3. After a woman turns 50, losing weight gets more and more difficult. One explanation is the hormone change in her body: the cortisol level increases and this makes the body store more fat on thighs and stomach.

Specialists have noticed that once a woman gets older, the muscle mass is declining, and muscles are replaced by fat. The good news is that doctors can create personalized diets for each woman and if seriously kept, these diets can help a lot.

4. Older people are not at all helped by the flu shot that has been used this year; only 9 percent of the old people state that the flu shot has helped them. As a result, many older people have been hospitalized with flu this year.

5. A new Vein Center in Idaho is presenting the next generation of medical services offered to patients with swollen veins. Half of all Americans over 50 and close to two thirds of women over 60 have this problem. The varicose veins are sometimes visible in the teenage years as well.

This is a condition that is genetically transmitted from generation to generation, so if your mother had this medical problem, it is very possible that you are going to have it as well. The physical activity is very helpful to prevent or postpone the start of the problems. It is a progressive condition that gets worse if not treated properly.

6. Cinnamon has proved to be of great help once again, and specialists recommend incorporating it in our diets on a regular basis. It prevents and combats diabetes, as it behaves in the organism like an insulin substitute for persons diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

This is a recent result of a study conducted by the University of California, Santa Barbara, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Iowa State University. Since cinnamon is capable of potentiating the insulin in the body, the conclusion is that it has the potential to prevent and overcome diseases like diabetes.

7. Due to the Daylight Saving Time, people lose one hour of sleep and this is very dangerous for those that drive a car in the morning. The risk is to get sleepy while driving, says the National Transportation Safety Board.

March 3-10 was elected to be the week of National Sleep Awareness Week, which was planned as an event that highlights tragedies that are caused by sleep loss. Sleep deprivation is strongly linked to the mistakes drivers make when driving their cars.