Virtual Ability: September 2024

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

September is National Service Dog Month

Service dogs are specially trained to help a human manage disability and lead a fuller life. They are not just companions or pets, they are working animals who have specific skills that assist their owner.

Service dogs can be trained to safely guide a blind person around everyday obstacles, retrieve objects dropped by a person in a wheelchair, or press buttons to open a door. They may be able to provide their owner with seizure or diabetic alerts. They can calm autistic children or veterans who have PTSD.

If you see a person with a service dog, don’t try to pet it or get it to play. It needs to pay total attention to the person for whom it works. If you are not sure if a person’s dog is a service dog, you are allowed to ask two questions:

Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Service dogs do not have to wear an identifying vest and the owner does not have to provide proof of its training. Emotional support dogs are not considered service dogs because they are not trained for specific tasks.

Dogs are devoted, loyal, and loving. They can truly be a person’s best friend as well as an important assistant if the person has a disability.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

September is Sepsis Awareness Month

What is sepsis?

Sepsis is a life-threatening toxic response of your body to an infection. Most cases of sepsis originate in a bacterial infection. Many people who develop sepsis have an underlying medical condition, such as a weakened immune system or chronic illness. Sepsis is the leading cause of deaths in hospitals in the US.

What are the symptoms of sepsis?

Signs and symptoms that a person has sepsis include one or more of the following:

Clammy or sweaty skin
Confusion or disorientation
Extreme pain or discomfort
Fast or weak pulse
Fever, shivering, or feeling excessively chilled
Shortness of breath

However, each of these can indicate another cause.

How dangerous is sepsis?

Sepsis is a medical emergency. According to the CDC, about 1.7 million adult Americans develop sepsis annually. Of these, about 350,000 either die in the hospital or are discharged to hospice. However, as many as 80% of sepsis deaths could have been prevented if detected and treated early. For every hour of delay of treatment, the risk of dying of sepsis increases by 8%.

What can you do to reduce your risk of getting sepsis?

Practice good hygiene.
Wash your hands frequently.
Clean skin injuries and keep them covered until they are healed.
Prevent infections by caring for chronic conditions and getting recommended vaccinations.
Know the potential signs of sepsis.
If an infection seems to be getting worse, seek medical attention immediately.

For additional information, please see:

Sepsis- Symptoms, causes and risk factors:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sepsis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351214

Sepsis Awareness Month

https://www.sepsis.org/get-involved/sepsis-awareness-month/.

Monday, September 2, 2024

Displays and Exhibits for Healthinfo Island for September 2024

You can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits using the SLURLs in this post. 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.

Information on climate change is here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

QUICK QUIZ
Can you:

give 3 ways to reduce the risk of having an aneurysm?
explain how climate change impacts noncommunicable diseases?
describe 2 unusual types of synesthesia?
determine whether ophthalmologists, opticians, and optometrists are all eye doctors?

Find the answers to these questions and more in this month's set of posters.