April is indeed a busy month, adding?é?áAlcohol Awareness Month?é?áto the list?é?áof health observences.
Drinking one glass of wine per day has been clinically proven to provide health benefits. But what are the risks of drinking more than one glass on the weekend?
Brush up on facts about alcohol to help keep you and your loved ones safe.
Also, learn where Louisiana stands in drunk driving statistics.
<
Along with minority health awareness, library workers, STDs and organ donation, April 2009 is also Occupational Therapy month.
Occupational therapy enables people of all ages live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, prevent?óÔé¼ÔÇØor live better with?óÔé¼ÔÇØinjury, illness, or disability. It is a practice deeply rooted in science and is evidence-based, meaning that the plan designed for each individual is supported by data, experience, and ?óÔé¼?ôbest practices?óÔé¼?Ø that have been developed and proven over time. (AOTA)
The 2009 OT Month theme is autism. The American Occupational Therapy Association provides some useful resources on autism at their site PromoteOT.org
Here at LSUHSC we have an active Department of Occupational Therapy. In 2008 OT students volunteered to rebuild houses in the Broadmoor area. You can find other newsworthy events from LSUHSC OTs on the department news page.
April is a popular month for health observances, including National Minority Health Awareness Month sponsored by the US Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Minority Health. Preconception is the theme for 2009 with the slogan “Ordinary couples don?óÔé¼Ôäót plan their pregnancies. Be extraordinary!”
National Minority Health Month
Today is National Library Worker Day as declared by the ALA-APA (American Library Association-Allied Professional Association). It is a day for library staff, users, administrators and friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. So come by and give your favorite library worker a pat on the back.
Library Worker Day logo
Originally posted on April 4th, but it turns out I got the date wrong. National Library Worker Day is on April 14th this year.
Did you know. . .
?óÔé¼?ó More than 98, 000 people are in need of an organ for transplant.
?óÔé¼?ó In 2007, nationally, 52,869 people were added to the organ waiting list. 905 of these cases were in Louisiana.
?óÔé¼?ó One organ donor has the power to save up to nine lives.
More interesting statistics are available.
Organ donation and procurement can be a confusing and overhwhelming topic so take a minute and learn the facts. The best way to raise awareness about organ donation is to talk about it with others.
Louisiana hospitals are setting a great example by jumping on board to increase Louisiana?óÔé¼Ôäós donor registry by the end of 2009.
Join Louisiana in making an effort to save a life! It’s easy.
World Health Day (WHD) has been observed on April 7, since 1948 under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization .
This year?óÔé¼Ôäós theme, ?óÔé¼?ôSave lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies?óÔé¼?Ø, brings attention to the importance of health facilities and readiness of health workers during times of disasters.
Read more about WHD at: http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/whd/
National Public Health Week is April 6 -12, 2009.
?óÔé¼?ó U.S. life expectancy reached a record high of 78.1 years but still ranks 46th (of industrialized nations).
?óÔé¼?ó Baton Rouge ranked 4th for AIDS case rates among the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2006; New Orleans ranked 8th.
?óÔé¼?ó Minorities experience a disproportionate burden of preventable disease, death, and disability compared with non-minorities.
All of us have the potential to greatly improve our population?óÔé¼Ôäós health. Join the National Public Health Week Organization and the American Public Health Association in promoting their campaign ?óÔé¼?ôBuilding the Foundation for a Healthy America?óÔé¼?Ø locally as well.
Everyone knows the old adage that “laughter is the best medicine.” What better time to test this hypothesis then during National Humor Month? There are over 200 articles in PubMed related to the sense of humor.
Sponsored by the American Association of Endodontists, Root Canal Awareness Week provides an opportunity to dispel long-standing myths about root canal treatment and increase understanding of the procedure as one that is virtually painless. The week also seeks to raise awareness of endodontics as a specialty and highlight the importance of endodontists, the dentists who specialize in root canal treatment.
http://www.aae.org/patients/pressroom/RootCanalAwarenessWeek.htm
March 24th is World TB Day. Although TB rates continue to decline in the United States (according to the CDC), the pace of that decline is slowing. Louisiana continues to have a higher than average number of cases. And while it didn’t rate a special Google logo, World TB day is featured from their search page.
Every March the American Dietetic Association sponsors National Nutrition Month. One fun feature of their website is a fad diet timeline; I don’t think I would have wanted to try Lord Byron‘s vinegar & water diet (1820) or the sleeping beauty diet (1976) which featured heavy sedation for several days.
If you’re like me, Monday mornings are the days you really want to celebrate Sleep Awareness. National Sleep Awareness Week is March 1-8, 2009: a public education, information, and awareness campaign that coincides with the return of Daylight Saving Time, the annual “springing forward” of clocks that can cause Americans to lose an hour of sleep from the NHLBI.
TOP 10 SLEEP MYTHS
from “Your guide to healthy sleep” PDF — National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute – NIH Publication No. 06-5271 (November 2005). http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.pdf
Myth 1: Sleep is a time when your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation.
No evidence shows that any major organ (including the brain) or
regulatory system in the body shuts down during sleep. Some
physiological processes actually become more active while you
sleep. For example, secretion of certain hormones is boosted,
and activity of the pathways in the brain needed for learning and
memory is heightened.
Myth 2: Getting just 1 hour less sleep per night than needed will not have any effect on your daytime functioning.
This lack of sleep may not make you noticeably sleepy during
the day. But even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to
think properly and respond quickly, and it can compromise your
cardiovascular health and energy balance as well as the ability
to fight infections, particularly if lack of sleep continues. If you
consistently do not get enough sleep, eventually a sleep debt
builds up that will make you excessively tired during the day.
Myth 3: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.
Your biological clock makes you most alert during the daytime
and most drowsy at night. Thus, even if you work the night
shift, you will naturally feel sleepy when nighttime comes. Most
people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately
timed cues?óÔé¼ÔÇØand even then, by 1?óÔé¼ÔÇ£2 hours per day at best.
Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust to a
dramatically altered sleep/wake cycle, such as you encounter
when traveling across several time zones or switching from
working the day shift to the night shift.
Myth 4: People need less sleep as they get older.
Older people don?óÔé¼Ôäót need less sleep, but they often get less sleep
or find their sleep less refreshing. That?óÔé¼Ôäós because as
people age, they spend less time in the deep, restful stages of
sleep and are more easily awakened. Older people are also
more likely to have insomnia or other medical conditions that
disrupt their sleep.
Myth 5: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue.
Not only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality
of sleep. Some people sleep 8 or 9 hours a night but don?óÔé¼Ôäót feel
well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep
is poor. A number of sleep disorders and other medical conditions
affect the quality of sleep. Sleeping more won?óÔé¼Ôäót
alleviate the daytime sleepiness these disorders or conditions
cause. However, many of these disorders or conditions can be
treated effectively with changes in behavior or with medical therapies.
Myth 6: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends.
Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep
debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. This
pattern also will not make up for impaired performance during
the week because of not sleeping enough. Furthermore, sleeping
later on the weekends can affect your biological clock so that
it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday
nights and get up early on Monday mornings.
Myth 7: Naps are a waste of time.
Although naps do not substitute for a good night?óÔé¼Ôäós sleep, they can
be restorative and help counter some of the impaired
performance that results from not getting enough sleep at night.
Naps can actually help you learn how to do certain tasks quicker.
But avoid taking naps later than 3 p.m., as late naps can interfere
with your ability to fall asleep at night. Also, limit your naps to no
longer than 1 hour because longer naps will make it harder to
wake up and get back in the swing of things. If you take
frequent naps during the day, you may have a sleep disorder
that should be treated.
Myth 8: Snoring is a normal part of sleep.
Snoring during sleep is common, particularly as a person gets
older. Evidence is growing that snoring on a regular basis can
make you sleepy during the day and more susceptible to diabetes
and heart disease. In addition, some studies link frequent snoring
to problem behavior and poorer school achievement in
children. Loud, frequent snoring can also be a sign of sleep
apnea, a serious sleep disorder that should be treated.
Myth 9: Children who don?óÔé¼Ôäót get enough sleep at night will show signs of sleepiness during the day.
Unlike adults, children who don?óÔé¼Ôäót get enough sleep at night
typically become more active than normal during the day.
They also show difficulty paying attention and behaving properly.
Consequently, they may be misdiagnosed as having attentiondeficit
hyperactivity.
Myth 10: The main cause of insomnia is worry.
Although worry or stress can cause a short bout of insomnia, a
persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night can be
caused by a number of other factors. Certain medications and
sleep disorders can keep you up at night. Other common
causes of insomnia are depression, anxiety disorders, and
asthma, arthritis, or other medical conditions with symptoms that
become more troublesome at night. Some people who have
chronic insomnia also appear to be more revved up than
normal, so it is harder for them to fall asleep.
Friday, February 6th is National Wear Red Day, when Americans nationwide wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.
Around town, local ladies will attend American Heart Association’s annual Go Red for Women luncheon and fashion show. Additionally, Macy’s will give all-day in-store savings & online discounts to customers wearing red February 5-8th.
In Louisiana, 35 percent of all deaths are a result of cardiovascular disease, and more women than men die from heart problems. You can find more information on heart disease in the Louisiana Health Report Card (pdf).
What is your risk for heart disease? Find out with the American Heart Association’s online heart checkup.
Quicklinks▼
Careers
Citrix Storefront
Contact
Donate
Find Employees
LSU Health New Orleans
Intranet
Moodle
myLSUHSC
Office 365
OWA Email
Patient Care
Remote VPN
Self Service
LSU Health New Orleans