Virtual Ability

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Where Are You Germiest?

Normal healthy human skin is inhabited by a wide range of microflora and fauna. The skin microbiome is rich and differs in diversity of species between areas that are sebaceous (like the face), moist (like between the toes) and dry (the forearm).

Students in a genomics course at George Washington University tested the microbiome on various body parts. They took swabs of the belly button, behind the ears, between the toes, on the calves and forearms of 129 adults with healthy skin and tested the samples for bacterial diversity, which is a sign of skin health.

The students found that drier skin (calves and forearms) has more diversity than sebaceous (behind the ears) and moist (belly button, between toes) areas. Perhaps the difference is due to how well those different areas are washed? The lack of diversity may mean a less healthy mix of microbes.

Perhaps our mothers were right to admonish us to wash behind our ears, in our belly button and between our toes.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

TIP- Safe Disposal of Home Health Waste

If you are getting IV medication or chemotherapeutic (Chemo) drugs, check out the following:

Typically your home health nurse will dispose of the most dangerous items, including:

Needles
Syringes
Medication vials
Bags that contained chemo drugs or other medications
All tubing

Do not dispose of this material in your household trash!

If you are self-injecting medication, your waste disposal company should give you a red hazardous waste box. Into this box, carefully place all needles, syringes, and medication vials. DO NOT recap needles unless specifically asked to and shown how to do it safely.

You can safely put into regular household trash other materials from your home treatment, such as wrappings of equipment or informative papers.

Used dressings and other medical wastes should be double bagged, tied, and then placed in your regular household trash.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Tips to Prevent Trips and Falls

Although anyone can fall, some of us are at higher risk, because of age, infirmity or disability.

Here are some things you can do to lower your chance of falling:

• Get your vision and hearing checked regularly.

• Talk with your doctor if you often feel dizzy or faint.

• Falls often happen in the bathroom. Move carefully when stepping into and out of the tub.

• Install a nonslip mat in the tub.

• Place nonslip pads under rugs. Keep clutter off the floors.

• Use a sturdy step stool or step ladder when reaching for items on high shelves.

• Clean up spills as soon as they happen.

For more information:

“Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and Prevention”

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/falls-and-fractures-older-adults-causes-and-prevention

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Displays and Exhibits for Healthinfo Island for March 2024

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 in Second Life, 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