Are You Taking a PDI Medication?

What is a PDI medication? PDI stands for Potentially Driver Impairing. Some medications can cause attention problems, blurred vision, nausea, sleepiness, or slowed reaction time as side effects. Those difficulties can cause problems if they occur while you are driving.

Many common medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, have PDI side effects. These include amphetamines, antidepressants, antihistamines, muscle relaxants, prescription pain medications, and sleep aids.

A US nationalsurvey by AAA found that in a single 30-eay period:

•  Almost half of all those surveyed had taken one or more types of PDI medications within 2 hours of driving.
• Almost two-thirds of those taking two PDI meds drove within 2 hours of the dose.
• Almost three-quarters of those taking three PDI meds drove within 2 hours of taking them.

 The survey also found that:

• Over a third of those taking antihistamines or cough medicines were driving within 2 hours.
• Almost two-thirds of those taking antidepressants were driving within 2 hours. 
• Nearly three-quarters of persons taking amphetamines drove within 2 hours.

You may not be aware of the danger of driving when these medications are prescribed. These types of side effects are listed on the packaging and the enclosed data sheet for pills. But how many people bother to read all that? Your doctor should also warn you when giving the prescription, yet up to half of drivers said their doctor had not mentioned anything about side effects.

Consider your meds list before you pick up the car keys the next time. You may need to have a designated driver when taking certain medications. Other options include asking your doctor for an alternative prescription, or if you can take a lower dose or change the schedule for when you are taking the meds during the day.

Don’t put other drivers and yourself at risk. Check whether it is safe to drive when you are taking each of your medications. 

April 10 is National Donate Life Blue & Green Day

There are many reasons why someone might need a transplanted organ, eye, or tissue. It might be because of an accident, a disease, or a congenital condition.The need for donated organs is great. There are over 100,000 people on the US organ transplant waiting list.

Everyone is a potential donor. Your race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status don’t matter. Your blood type and body size will be matched with the person needing a transplant. All major religions support organ donation as a charitable act. There is no cost to the donor’s family, and they can receive emotional support.

The colors of the Donate Life awareness ribbon are blue and green. Consider signing up to be a donor on Friday, April 10.

To register in the US:

•  Select “yes” to organ donation on your driver license
•  Sign up at https://RegisterMe.org
•  Find your state registry at https://www.organdonor.gov/sign-up

To register in some other countries: 

• In the UK, sign up at https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/donate/
•  In Canada, sign up at https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/healthy-living/blood-organ-tissue-donation.html
•  In Australia: https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today
•  In Germany: https://organspende-register.de/erklaerendenportal/
•  In France, Portugal and Spain, you are automatically considered a donor, unless you opt out.

Each donor can help many people. An organ donor can save 8 lives by donating their heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines. A tissue donor can help 75 people by donating bone, tendon, veins, arteries, heart valves, nerves, skin, and corneas.

It is especially important to understand that although organs are not matched between the race of the donor and recipient, compatible blood types and tissue markers are more likely found among persons of similar ethnicity. Donor diversity is necessary because persons of minority ethnicity make up a larger proportion of the donation waiting list then their proportion in the general population.

Click here for information, free downloadable resources, and social media covers on National Donate Life Blue & Green Day:

https://donatelife.net/how-you-can-help/national-observances-celebrations/blue-green-day/

Click here for information on National Donate Life Month:

https://donatelife.net/how-you-can-help/national-observances-celebrations/ndlm/

You can also visit the April is National Donate Life Month poster set on Healthinfo Island. Here is the SLURL:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

Be a hero. Register as a donor today.

Displays and Exhibits for Healthinfo Island for April 2026

In Second Life, you can teleport to any of the eight displays and exhibits 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.

Lyme Disease
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24

April is IBS Awareness Month
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

Sjogren's Syndrome
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24

Alzheimer's Disease
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

April is National Donate Life Month
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

What Art is the Ankle
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/24/23/30

Nail Fungus
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32

Thank you to Mook for assistance with the posters this month.

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

Learn About Website Accessibility… From Songs???

Thomas Logan of Equal Entry has completed an intriguing project: he has created 86 songs that teach about website accessibility. The result is the WCAG AI Accessibility Album. The album explains the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in music that’s engaging, memorable, and fun. Through AI-generated music and guided by human insight, these compositions show how accessibility can initiate new ways of learning. Learn about the album here: https://equalentry.com/album/

Benefits of an Active Lifestyle

There are lots of reasons to exercise regularly and maintain an active lifestyle. Here are a few:

• Improved Cardiovascular Health - Regular physical activity improves vascular structure and function. It increases “good” HDL cholesterol and reduces “bad” LDL cholesterol.  Aerobic exercise reduces plasmatriglycerides. These improvements reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke.
• Weight Control - An active lifestyle promotes weight control by increasing daily caloric expenditure. Resistance trainingand aerobic exercise together reduce fat and increase lean muscle. Increased muscle mass increases resting metabolic rate, which makes it easier to maintain a lower weight.
• Improved Sleep - Regular exercise can improvesleep quality and increase deep sleep duration. An active lifestyle boosts melatonin and reduces stress, helping you fall asleep faster.
• Reduced Health Risks - Being active every day reduces the risks of health conditions such as cancer, depression, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

 Along with all the above benefits, an active lifestyle is a lot of fun. 

What’s Wrong with the “R-word”?

The word “retard” (accent on the second syllable) is a verb. It has been in use for at least six centuries to mean to delay, hold back or slow up something. It applies to things like accomplishments, developments or progress.

As with other verbs such as accept, damage, and embarrass, the verb “retard” can become the root word of adjectives by adding -ed (e.g., accepted, damaged, embarrassed, retarded). Verbs can be made into nouns by adding –(t)ion or -ation (e.g., dehumanization, exclusion, marginalization, retardation). Some verbs can also be used as nouns (e.g., bully, damage, respect).

In the early 1900s, intelligence testing was created in order to categorize individuals who might have cognitive developmental delays. “Mental retardation” began to be used as a medical diagnostic term for individuals with lower IQs at about the same time. The wording meant that these people had a slowed mental development.

Then “retard” (accent on the first syllable) became a pejorative noun and “retarded” an insulting adjective. Research in 2010 showed that 92% of youth ages 8-18 years had heard the word “retard” used as a put-down. Other research then showed that about half of YouTube videos used that term negatively.

Why is the pejorative use of “retard” or “retarded” to describe someone a problem? This harsh, harmful slur insults, demeans, and excludes people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is a form of harassment that reinforces negative stereotypes, encourages bullying and exclusion, and damages self-esteem. It is an ableist slur.

What terms are preferred? Replace the pejorative use of the words “retard” and “retarded” with more respectful words. To describe an individual, person-first language focuses on the person, not the disability. Say “person with an intellectual disability” or “person with a developmental disability.” The acronym IDD is used to indicate “intellectual and developmental disability.”

Instead of saying an activity, object, or person is “retarded,” use words such as absurd, mistaken, ridiculous, or worthless. Those adjectives are more descriptive and exact, and far less insulting.

“Rosa’s Law” was passed in 2010 to remove these insulting words from US federal health, labor, and education policy. It required changing references to “mental retardation” to a new designation as “intellectual disability” or “intellectual disabilities.” This legislation respects the dignity and right to inclusion of persons with IDD.

What can you do to promote elimination of this derogatory term? Spread the Word to End the Word is a Special Olympics and Best Buddies effort to raise awareness of the impact of the “R-word” on people with intellectual disabilities. Their website offers several suggestions about how to counteract this slur, stop bullying, and promote inclusion.

To learn more about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, please visit the Healthinfo Island poster set titled March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month at the following SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24 

March is Reading Month

Reading is a healthy hobby. Did you know it can increase blood flow in the brain, reduce stress, and even improve your writing and conversation skills? And yes, listening to audio books also counts as reading.

We can’t all get to our local library on a weekly basis, order lots of books from Amazon, or drive to a monthly book club meeting. Here are some virtual options to sustain your reading habit.

• Open Library (free books through Controlled Digital Lending) - https://openlibrary.org/
• Project Gutenberg (75,000 free epub or Kindle books, digitized older versions) - https://www.gutenberg.org/
• 800 Free eBooks for iPad, Kindle, & Other Devices - https://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks
• READanyBook (many book series) - https://lib.readanybook.com/en/
• 200 Free Textbooks (if you just can’t get enough education!) - https://www.openculture.com/free_textbooks
• The Online Books Page (includes non-English books and lots of book news) - https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
• 1,000 Free Audio Books: Download Great Books for Free - https://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks

Ask your local library if they have a program to lend books online. Many do!

Book clubs are meetings where a group of readers gather to talk about what they have read. These are casual social events, both educational and fun. Book clubs may be single-title, where discussion is of a book that all in the group have read, or they may be multi-title, where each member reads something of interest and shares about it with other club members.  Often hosted by libraries, face-to-face book clubs have been popular for centuries. There are also online book clubs. You can find online clubs that meet on Zoom or other videoconferencing platforms here:

https://bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/online

Some book clubs meet in virtual worlds! A list has been compiled by the Community Virtual Library group here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YWw07Va0y7zVWuQIWaxQtGSDOwqR3-eSrkT_t0Vi474/edit?tab=t.0

Virtual Ability has its own book club, First Sunday VAI Book Club. It meets (you guessed it) on the first Sunday of every month at noon SLT on the patio of the Cape Serenity Library, and it’s open to the public. Here’s the SLURL:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cape%20Serenity/72/113/23

We each read or listen to whatever we want and share why we liked (or didn’t like) a book we read during the previous month. It’s a great way to learn from others about book titles or authors you might want to add to your To Read Soon list.

The Cape Serenity Library is a specialty library. It includes only works written by authors with disabilities. You will find novels, nonfiction, articles, and poetry by SL authors and classical works by authors who you may not have known had disabilities. The collection includes works on notecards, SL wearable books, works at URLs, and even audio books. Come on in and browse the offerings:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cape%20Serenity/79/124/23

For your reading pleasure, there’s a cozy Frank-Lloyd-Wright-style space on Healthinfo Island you might want to check out. Daisyblue’s Reading Room is dedicated to VAI’s first Consumer Health Librarian. Inside the book-themed building you will find comfy chairs where you can relax and read, whether it’s a Second Life notecard, a virtual webpage, or a real life book. Stop by and enjoy the quiet ambience:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/70/189/33

Reading really is good for your health. Learn more on Healthinfo Island this month at the “Why You Should Read More” poster exhibit here:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

For more information on how to celebrate Reading Month, check out this link below:

https://www.rif.org/national-reading-month

March 5 - National Slam the Scam Day

On National Slam the Scam Day on March 5th and throughout the year, the Social Security Administration gives you the tools to recognize Social Security-related scams and stop scammers from stealing your money and personal information. 

Help protect your loved ones and people in your community this Slam the Scam Day by learning about the latest scams. Information can empower you to quickly recognize a scam. Signs of a scam include: 

• An unexpected problem, an offer of a prize, or a benefit increase,
• Pressure to act immediately, and
• A request for an unusual payment like cryptocurrency, gift cards, gold bars, and wire transfers, even with the promise of keeping your money 

Report scams as soon as possible. Victims shouldn't be embarrassed if they shared personal information or suffered a financial loss. We are all vulnerable to scams, and keeping informed is key like sharing a Scam Alert fact sheet which helps to educate others about how to protect themselves.  Report Social Security-related scams to the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (OIG).  Visit www.ssa.gov/scam for more information and follow SSA OIG on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest scam tactics. Repost #SlamtheScam information on social media to keep your friends and family informed and safe. 

US and Canada Daylight Savings Time Starts March 8

On March 8, most of the US and Canada sets clocks forwardan hour. You know the saying, “Spring forward, fall back.” What effect does losing an hour in your daily routine to the start of Daylight Savings Time (DST) have on your health?

Many people feel groggy or tired when the time changes in spring. Disrupted sleep schedules have negative impacts on the body’s circadian rhythms. Hospital admissions increase at this time of year, as do car crashfatalities. Stress at the start of DST causes elevated production of cortisoland inflammatory markers, with more heart attacks and strokes.

How can you avoid these potentially life-threatening consequences of the switch to Daylight Savings Time?

Officially, Daylight Savings Time (where it is in effect) begins at 2am Sunday morning. It’s probably more efficient to turn your alarm clock ahead at bedtime on Saturday night so you don’t miss out on Sunday morning events. Start shifting your sleep schedule slightly backwards about 2-3 days earlier in the week of the time change. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and heavy meals within 2-3 hours of when you go to bed.

Ensure propersleep hygiene- keeping your bedroom dark, cool, quiet, and free of electronic devices. Get a 10-15 minute dose of morning sunlight as soon as you wake up. If you need a daytime nap because of extra fatigue, make it a short one so it doesn’t interfere with your night’s sleep.

Be prepared to spring forward with energy and good health on the morning of March 8. 

Displays and Exhibits for Healthinfo Island for March 2026

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

March 22 is World Coma Day
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/195/158/22

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/188/181/24

11 Essential Elements in the Human Body
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/172/155/22

Sleep Hygiene
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/114/79/24

Why You Should Read More!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/98/40/26

Don't Ignore These Neurological Symptoms
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/50/28/28

What Wonder is the Wrist
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/24/23/30

Love those Leafy Greens
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/21/63/32

Thank you to Mook for assistance with the posters this month.

What Do Americans Think About Health and Wellness?

Research!America is a nonprofit scientific research advocacy organization with a mission to achieve better health for everyone. In January 2025, Research!America released the results of their survey of the American public about their feelings regarding medical and health research.

Here are some of the results of this survey:

·         Over eight out of ten Americans believe that scientists should inform the public about their research and its impact on society.

·         Over nine out of ten Americans believe that it is important that the US be a global leader in research to improve health, and over six in ten would pay $50 more in annual taxes to ensure this.

·         Over half felt that the COVID crisis helped them better understand how health research works.

·         Over six in ten Americans think their regular health care provider should encourage them to participate in appropriate clinical trials.

A 2025 study, the Axios/Ipsos American Health Index, shows that Americans are looking for clearer information and guidance regarding health and wellness. This study also indicated that trust in federal health agencies is declining, and fewer Americans believe they know who shapes the advice offered by public health agencies.

According to the American Health Index study, the majority of Americans would like to see national health institutions strengthened. Americans feel they don’t really understand public health news stories, but once they are aware of the topics covered, they do care about the issues. Yet the public’s trust in public health agency advice is declining.

Unfortunately, despite the public’s increased interest in better understanding of and potential participation in health and wellness research, this is becoming less likely to happen. Recent terminations of National Institute of Health grants for clinical trial research have affected over 74,000 people who were participating in research studies. The two divisions most impacted by the research cancellations are those funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

The need for continued research in the mental health area is indicated by the increase in symptomsof anxiety and depression, especially among younger adults, and by the recent large increase in the number of mental health diagnoses. Both racialand geographic health disparities have been increasing, and the life expectancy gap between racial groups is widening.

A clinical trial is the main process by which new medications and other medical interventions are evaluated for safety and effectiveness. This process is resource intensive and requires significant time to complete. Maybe instead of waiting for your healthcare provider to suggest your participation in a clinical trial, you could suggest one you are interested in. A good place to learn about existing clinical trials worldwide is at the ClinicalTrials.gov website. You might also want to register your interest in volunteering for a clinical trial at ResearchMatch.