June 27 is National Sunglasses Day

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is about 10% of the radiation put out by the sun. Its wavelength is shorter than visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV light is also produced by black lights, electric arc welders, germicidal lamps, mercury-vapor lamps, and tanning lights. In addition to causing sunburn, UV light damages the lens of the eye. Sunglasses can block the passage of UV light while still allowing clear vision. A wide variety of sunglasses is available. Polarized sunglass lenses reduce glare. Wrap-around sunglasses provide additional protection from not only UV radiation, but also dust, glare, and wind. Sunglasses can even be a fashion statement! Protection for your eyes isn’t only necessary during the summer. The sun puts out UV radiation all year long, so it is important to practice sun-safe behavior like wearing sunglasses whenever you are outside. The Vision Council recommends that you post a social media of yourself wearing sunglasses, and tag it #SunglassSelfie and @NationalSunglassesDay.

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month - A Personal Story

By Sorrell Fang

Where did it begin? 

I had two head injuries in my life. Both were right between the eyes. One injury was from a kid throwing rocks, and he managed to hit me. The second one was when helping a friend clear out his basement. I hit my head on a low hanging pipe. Shortly after the 2nd injury, I started having migraines. They were every once in a while and not debilitating at first. Then I got Lyme Disease, and the migraines started increasing in frequency and discomfort.  They were the kind where I started vomiting. I got dizzy, and I had to lay in bed in the dark. At times, I was so sick, I had to go to the Emergency Room. I actually ended up in the ER several times a year. On some days, I missed work or family events.

Medicines & Triggers 

I have taken practically every medicine for migraines out there. I'm not good with the idea of all the needles the doctor was discussing. I've taken the ones that knock you out so you don't feel the pain. Of course, you can't work under those conditions.  

I ended up with 3 go-to medicines. Fiorcet was taken for the onset of a migraine. If the migraine was still going strong hours later, I used Zomig. In addition, I took Zofran for nausea. All this was to keep me out of the ER. If it grew worse, I would lay on my bed in the dark with an ice pack on my head. 

There are tons of triggers. People have different ones. I share mine below:

1) Loud noises  (I am hearing challenged with 20% hearing but loud noises go through my head like lightning. Not fun)

2) Bright light

3) Chemical smells

4) Snow storm or rain storm 

5) Too much stress

6) Xylitol

If I get very sick from something else where I get dehydrated, a migraine usually follows. 

For some people, triggers are different foods. For me, an artificial sweetener called Xylitol (which is in gum, toothpaste, and lots of things now) took me by surprise, and its effects were fast. I was incapacitated in 20-30 minutes. Once we knew what it was, I would read every label to avoid it.

Changes mean Change

When I got breast cancer, all my medicines and supplements were evaluated by my oncologist to make sure they would not conflict with my chemotherapy. They didn't. But my body went through more changes during that year. (I ended up retiring early due to my almost constant illness.)

My migraines became more intense. When I was in the hospital, the nurses got used to getting me an ice pack for my head even when I was hooked up to IV chemotherapy.  I also got Fiorcet or Zomig and Zofran as needed. They found that even Benadryl helped a little.

I can't tell you whether it was the chemotherapy or the cancer that increased my migraines to 20 times a month. Now that was happening even when I was using my standbys. On some days they didn't work at all, and I was in the dark with an ice pack again. 

After a year, I was told I was cancer-free but needed to take a chemotherapy pill to prevent recurrence.  At 20 migraines a month, that was concerning to my neurologist.

Maximum then Minimum State 

My neurologist referred me to a migraine specialist. Sadly, she didn't inspire a lot of confidence in either me or my husband in talking about Botox and all the needles. Then she couldn't take my blood pressure, since it seemed all the cuffs in her office were not working. Finally, she got a BP reading from me that was high. She was all distraught and was sending me to the ER, but she didn't have the time to call them, which meant I would be waiting for hours.  As we were leaving, my husband called my general practitioner who has known me for years and told him what happened. He said, "Don't go to the ER. Go to the drug store. I will have a prescription waiting for you. Go home, take it, and rest. Then take your blood pressure."

I want to send shout outs to all the super smart General Practitioner Doctors! He prescribed Norvasc, which is a blood pressure medicine with an unusual side effect for 10% of those in their study group who are migraine sufferers.  My migraines went from 20 a month to 4. However, I could no longer use my migraine medicines with it.  Since most of my migraines are a waking onset type, I take my blood pressure pill in the morning. The migraine clears in about a half hour. If not, I take a Tylenol, which helps bounce it out. I have also taken BenAdryl. On the worst 2 day long migraine I had recently, I wore an ice pack, too. 

Not everyone can take the same medicines that I do or have the same result. If you have migraines, I encourage you to go on this journey with your doctor. Please, do not take my story as medical advice. Seeing your doctor is best, and please don't give up. Keeping a migraine diary jotting down migraine onset and relief times, food, weather, and anything else that was happening when the migraine came on, will help your doctor help you.  Wishing you all the best and good health!

June is Cataract Awareness Month

A cataract is the clouding of the clear lens in the eye. This lens focuses incoming light on the retina in the back of the eye, from which nerves lead to the brain. The image you see is created when your brain interprets the nerve messages about the light coming through the lens. A cataract is sometimes caused by the aging of the cells in the lens of the eye. As they clump together, they make vision more difficult. Sometimes the lens gradually becomes colored brownish or yellowish, changing the appearance of what you look at. In addition to aging, other risk factors for cataracts in adulthood include diabetes, eye injury, smoking, steroid use, and UV rays from the sun. Symptoms of cataracts include blurry vision, faded colors, halos or glare around lights, poor night vision, or prescription changes becoming more frequent. Cataracts can happen to children and babies. About 3 out of 10,000 children have cataracts. Childhood cataracts can be genetic, or from the mother having German measles while pregnant. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. They are frequently detected at a routine eye doctor checkup, before you even realize you have a problem. Cataracts are easily treatable by surgery, which restores quality of life to those who have the surgery. Cataract surgery usually is followed up with postoperative antibiotics, steroids, and/or NSAIDs. Your eye doctor will check your eye(s) later on the day of surgery and again a week later. You should be able to drive and return to work after a few days. However, cataract surgery will not restore your vision totally. You will probably need glasses, at least for near vision, when you have healed from the surgery.

Is Raw Milk Safe to Drink?

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization means the milk is heated for a short time to a high temperature. Pasteurization is intended to kill potentially pathogenic bacteria (including Brucella, diphtheria, E. coli, Salmonella, Streptococcus, and typhoid) that can be found in milk. This also extends the shelf life of milk. Some people prefer to drink raw milk for its purported health benefits. Several types of cheese (e.g., asiago, camembert, gruyere, Parmigiano-Reggiano, roquefort) are made from raw milk. Unpasteurized milk “goes bad” more quickly than pasteurized milk. It has a shelf life of only 3-5 days. Belgian food safety experts conclude: “Raw milk poses a realistic health threat due to a possible contamination with human pathogens. It is therefore strongly recommended that milk should be heated before consumption.” What about bird flu in cow milk? There are several types of bird flu caused by the H5N1 virus. Bird flu, also known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, is common in wild birds worldwide. It is transmitted to domestic poultry and other animals, including dairy cattle. These animal viruses, although potentially dangerous to livestock, do not normally infect humans. Live H5N1 viruses in raw milk may cause digestive upset in those who drink it, but as of now, no human deaths from the virus have been reported. As of the beginning of June 2024, only 4 human cases of H5N1 have been reported in the US, 3 in persons who worked with dairy cattle and 1 person who worked with poultry. All individuals had only mild symptoms. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are monitoring the presence of H5N1 virus in milk. They indicate that pasteurization of commercially available milk and destruction of milk from cows sick with the virus are protecting the milk supply. You can read regularly updated reports here:
https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/updates-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai
To be on the safe side, drink pasteurized, not raw, milk.

June is Dairy Month – What is in milk?

Cow milk is made up of 87% water. The other 13% is proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Overall, milk contains 58 different nutrients your body needs.  Calcium may be the best-known mineral found in milk and other dairy products. Calcium forms the structure of strong bones and teeth. An 8-ounce glass of milk or cup of yogurt provides 300 milligrams (mg) of calcium. This is the same amount of calcium as in 13 small cans of tuna, 11 eggs, 7 cups of uncooked rice, 6 oranges, or 5 ounces of salmon with bones. Other dairy products made from milk also contain significant amounts of calcium. An ounce of cheese or a cup of ice cream contains 200 mg of calcium. Cottage cheese contains 100 mg of calcium per ¾ cup serving. Unfortunately, too many people don’t get enough calcium in their diet. Osteoporosis, a loss of bone density that makes your skeleton weak and brittle, can results from calcium deficiency. So can tooth decay! Calcium deficiency can also lead to feelings of fatigue or muscle aches. So, eat more dairy products. Drink up! Milk is known as “nature’s perfect food.”

Healthinfo Island poster sets for June

You can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits using the SLURLs in this posting. In Second Life, 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

June is Men's Health Month. All the poster sets this month deal with various aspects of men's health. You might want to save the quiz for last. The answers are found on posters in the other 7 sets this month. A lot of the information is useful for women as well!

Information on climate change anxiety is poster set 8.

1. June is Men's Health Month
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22

2. Men Get It Too!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24

3. Men's Health (Not So) Trivia Quiz
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

4. Men and Loneliness
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24

5. Gay/Bi/Trans Men Have Distinct Health Issues
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

6. Who's Got Freckles?
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

7. Men: What screenings do you need?  (Photo Caption: Everyone needs regular health screenings.  Men are less likely to be screened than women and are less likely to have a regular physician.  Different tests are done at different ages.  Family history and lifestyle also play a role in determining what to screen for and when.  Use this display as a guide to determine what questions to ask your doctor.)

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

8. Overwhelmed by Climate Anxiety?
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32