How to Support Someone with Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is defined as lasting for over 12 weeks. It may linger after acute pain from injury or surgery has passed, or it may have no understandable cause. It affects the daily quality of life; a person with chronic pain may avoid many activities in an attempt to not make the pain worse. Chronic pain can cause mental distress, such as anxiety, helplessness, and hopelessness. It can ruin a person’s life.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are going to support someone who is dealing with chronic pain:

Learn about chronic pain and its effect on a person’s life.

• Understand that there will be better and worse days in terms of the pain level.
• Use your knowledge to support the person and help them address their needs.

Offer encouragement for actions that will support his or her quality of life. 

• Encourage physical therapy and other forms of movement, even if at first it is uncomfortable. Gradually increasing the length and intensity of exercise will improve pain levels and increase daily functioning.
• Help establish a balanced daily routine that includes exposure to sunlight.
• Encourage socialization.
• Encourage the person to practice good health habits related to sleep, nutrition, and avoidance of substance abuse.
• Encourage self-care, such as breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques. Perhaps pursuing a hobby will provide relaxation.
• Be flexible and adapt to his or her changing needs.

Provide emotional support.

• Encourage communication about his or her feelings. Be a good listener.
• Be patient, very patient.
• Provide motivation for increasing independence.
• Be empathetic, but not enabling. You shouldn’t reinforce a need for inactivity.

Help him or her find professional support if needed. 

• This could be medical, psychological, spiritual, or physical therapy.
• Advocate for his or her needs. Ensure that he or she receives appropriate professional care.

Having the support of a family member or a good friend can make a big difference in the life of someone living with chronic pain.

Keep an Eye on This Virus in 2025

Bird flu (also known as avian influenza) is a disease in many wild aquatic birds caused by an Influenza A virus. The virus can pass into other animals, including domestic birds and mammals, like dairy cattle and even humans. 

Most infections in humans (and other mammals) are due to exposure to birds that are infected with the H5N1 virus. Infections in humans are rare and generally symptoms are quite mild.

Bird flu does not appear to spread from person to person. Nor is it food-borne so it is safe to eat cooked eggs and poultry meat. Bird flu virus is not found in pasteurized milk nor in ground beef.

Bird flu virus has been found in some pet food. The viral infection has killed some domestic cats and wild cats.

A vaccine exists to protect domestic poultry. There is not yet a human vaccine, although some are being developed. The CDC recommends preventing infection by avoiding contact with sources of exposure whenever possible. 

On December 26, 2024, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported finding a new mutation of the H5N1 bird flu virus in a Louisiana man who had the first severe case of bird flu in the US. This mutation allows the virus to more easily attach to cells in the human upper respiratory tract. The mutated form was not found in the wild birds that likely infected the man, so it seems the mutated virus developed after the man was infected.

This mutation means the virus is more capable of infecting and causing more severe symptoms in humans. Definitely something to watch out for in the new year.

 

Healthinfo Island Displays and Exhibits for January 2025

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of these poster sets may help you stick with your New Year's Resolutions.

You can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits in Second Life using the SLURLs in this posting. Click on the poster with the same name as the title of the poster set, and you will get a notecard that contains all the text of the posters plus descriptions of the images.  If you click each poster, you will get a private message with additional information and live links.

Central Pavilion of Healthinfo Island
Check out the calming breathing exercise on the back wall!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/126/24

Losing Weight is Difficult
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22

Heartburn!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24

Fluoride and Health
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

Cancer Screening and Prevention Benefits
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24

Types of High Blood Pressure
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

Healthier Life with Type 2 Diabetes
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

Practicing Gratitude
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/24/23/30

Take a Nap!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32

Better Airplane Bathrooms? Yes, please!

Airplane bathrooms are not accessible to many of us with disabilities. If we have to fly, we must think carefully about how to manage a flight without needing to use one.

We may choose an itinerary with shorter, more frequent legs so that we can use the airport facilities, even though it is much more inconvenient for our travel schedule. We might have to use adult diapers during the flight even though we wouldn’t normally need them. Or perhaps we purposefully dehydrate ourselves. None of these are good solutions.

Effective October 23, 2023, the Department of Transportation’s Air Carrier Access Act has an added requirement that all new single-aisle planes must have lavatories large enough so that a person with a disability plus an attendant can get into and move around within them. 

This should make all of us more comfortable on long flights.