Pets and COVID transmission

For the past few months, Sun Citians have been trying to practice six feet of social distancing as they travel through their daily activities outside of their homes.

Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are asking pet owners to take precautions with furry members of their household.

A probe into homemade masks

Are all masks effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19?

Self-isolating presents a great time to get a pet

On October 10, 2011, I wrote a H&W column titled “THAT BLACK CAT MAY CROSS YOUR PATH,” a Halloween story. Due to the U.S. Recession in “full swing” at the time, large numbers of animals were being returned to shelters, with their owners unable to afford them. At that time, half of the 6-8 million animals in shelters were being euthanized.

COVID-19 fact vs. fiction

The large amount of information shared on our corona virus pandemic is presenting many dangerous myths currently being circulated. Here are 5 of these suspect stories that might help you stay safe in this dangerous news environment.

Organizations like the McHenry County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs (SCC), have been at the front lines in destigmatizing mental illnesses, and improving the lives of those afflicted by them, for decades.

The Coronavirus vs. the flu

Both infectious respiratory diseases with similar symptoms, the COVID-19 and the flu virus can appear to be similar, but are the result of different viruses. Here are similarities and contrasts between the two high impacting illnesses now spreading throughout parts of the U.S. and the world. The source of this info is Dr. Lisa Maragakis of John Hopkins Medicine.

Staying healthy in the winter months, part 2

As seen in Part 1 of this 2 Part Series on WINTER HEALTH AND SAFETY PROBLEMS, certain unique situations can occur during the Midwest’s long, cold, and dreary weather to challenge our residents’ health and safety. This brief Part 2 will explain a few top safety precautions to take while living in Sun City this season.

The Coronavirus and its possible spread throughout the world

Just a few weeks ago, scientists were hopeful that the new coronavirus would stay within the boundaries of China. Now they know that, at best, its spread can only be minimized. Governments around the world are guardedly planning for the worst scenarios.

Heed the stats

Todd Kane, a Sun City resident, had an observation.

“Our house backs up to Del Webb Blvd and a day doesn’t go by where I don’t see two or more ambulances and fire trucks go by. Kathy O’Toole, Sun City Fitness Manager, explained that Sun City generates well over 1,000 ambulance calls a year and that a vast majority of them are the result of falls in the house. The EMT told me that, by his observation, that those numbers are directionally correct, maybe even higher. Kathy thinks that anything the fitness department can do to improve strength and balance in our community’s residents would help to reduce those numbers.”

Staying healthy in the winter months, part 1

Did you know that seniors run a higher chance of getting health problems in the long drawn out weather conditions of the winter months? These issues might include hypothermia, frostbite, health issues while shoveling snow, falls on ice, auto accidents, and fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. Be prepared to avoid these problems by taking precautions ahead of time.

2020 resolutions, part 2: Saying yes to positivity

Becoming an optimist in 2020 will have many valuable health results for your body and mind.

In their shoes

Walking around with a set of specialized sunglasses over your eyes and fluffy gloves with rubber bands around your fingers looks strange, but serves a purpose. This is the method in which you can personally experience what life is like for someone with dementia.

Dr. Jennifer Stelter gives lectures on what it’s like “In Their Shoes,” as she did recently at Alden of Huntley where Stelter serves as operations director of clinical programs.

2020 resolutions, part 1: Saying no to negativity

Let’s try a resolution for 2020, to combat the constant stream of bad news involving politics, world military combativeness, economics, and health. Sun City: Let’s go on a Low-Bad or Positive Diet of Thinking!

The malady of insomnia

The most common disorder of sleep difficulties is referred to as insomnia. It should be noted that the following famous individuals share this serious problem: Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, Jennifer Aniston, and Amy Poehler, to name only a few. This malady may occur with difficulties of falling or staying asleep, waking too early, being unable to return to sleep, or having a poor quality of restorative sleep.

The five stages of sleep

Health Central Guide’s article titled “Insomnia 101” discusses the importance of a good night’s sleep. The publication informs us that “Sleep is as important to our lives as the food we eat and the air we breathe.”

How to get a good night’s sleep

Reader’s Digest’s (May, 2019) “Get the Sleep You Need” Article by Samantha Rideout and Corey Whelan gives us strategies for developing consistently good sleep habits. Are you aware that, besides the terrible feeling of sleep tiredness, continued sleep deprivation can lead to depression, diabetes, stroke, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, heart attack, and cancer?

An interview with a local clinical trial participant

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to participate in a medical study examining the effectiveness and safety of a test or treatment being considered to help a certain group of people? I recently interviewed a local senior who joined a study whose underlying purpose is to determine the effects of diet upon cognitive ability. He will remain anonymous, as will the study’s name, due to the confidentiality of the project and the length of the ongoing clinical trial with results still to be determined.

Diet right, part 4: Portion control

Because (as of September 2019) adult obesity rates have reached 31.8% in Illinois alone, I have found it necessary in my past 3 health articles, to assume the topic of popular U.S. weight loss diets. Joining the Fasting, Keto, and Paleo diets in this issue is the Portion Control Diet. Perhaps the easiest to follow of the four dieting lifestyles, the Portion Control Diet, for the most part, can be adapted to your own way of eating, provided you make healthy choices.

Diet Right, part 3: The popular Paleo Diet

This diet was developed by Loren Cordain, PhD, a researcher at Colorado State University, who began studies in the 1970s. According to Dr. Cordain, the Paleo diet is the way humans were initially genetically designed to eat.

Diet Right, part 2: Delving into the Ketogenic Diet

According to Bill Turner’s recent article (Summer 2019), “Food For Thought” in “At The Lake,” a Geneva Lakes Area Magazine, the Keto Diet (a modern day version of the Atkins Diet) depends on our daily food intake going away from their high use of carbohydrates and instead going towards high-quality fats and proteins usage.

Diet right, part 1: Assessing the primary types of diets

My recently published story on the FASTING Diet has motivated me to continue the diet theme throughout my next three H&W articles. Each proposed change in your eating habits attempts to inform readers of a variety of ways to eat healthier and maintain/lose weight.

The fasting cure

Fasting is one of the largest weight-loss and maintenance trends to arise in recent years. In 2018, it was the eighth most-Googled diet in America. Wall Street Journal’s writer and professor at Berlin’s Charite’ University Medical Center, Dr. Andreas Michalsen, has done extensive follow-up exploration on intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating. He calls it not just another fad diet.

The urgent need to prevent falls

According to the National Council on Aging statistics, every 11 seconds an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall. The council also states that 1 in 3 seniors, about 12 million, fall each year in the United States. More stats reveal that over 1/2 of all falls occur at home.

Osteoporosis, part 3: Symptoms, Detection, Treatment, and Research Programs

Centegra Health System informs us that, often called a silent disease, osteoporosis may not be detected until a senior’s “bones become so weak that a sudden strain, bump, or fall causes a hip to fracture or a vertebra to collapse.”

My own experience has taught me that after a fall, collapsed spinal vertebrae may initially be felt or seen in the form of severe back pain, loss of height, or spinal deformities such as kyphosis (severely stooped posture).