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PAGE 14, JANUARY 5, 2009, THE ISLANDER
(News to Q-CeCv
The Best is Yet to Be
By Clark Gillespie M.D.,
Professor Emeritus, the University of Arkansas
There’s no fun in funeral
Two unwelcome gifts that we have
been given this year are exceedingly
dangerous to our senior wellbeing
and even to our senior being alto
gether!
So it behooves us to live somewhat
more carefully for a while in order
to make 2009 live - period! What we
are facing is an influenza warm up
and further, with a potential attack
of the norovirus (stomach flu). First,
let’s see to the real flu.
Our annual clash with influenza
has begun and it is now proven to
be lightly present in many states
but only in two — Texas and Virginia
— has it made real headway so far.
The month coming up, however, is
when we shall see how active this
virus will become - an epidemic or
just a light sweep.
No matter which route it takes, we
seniors need to avoid it in every way
that we can. Fortunately, this year’s
main viral load (HINT) has been
correctly incorporated into the vac
cine, so that our vaccination should
provide good protection.
Unbelievably, however, at this
writing only about one third of us
needing vaccine protection (and we
are deeply into that group) have
been vaccinated. There is still time
to get the vaccine and with it, some
delayed protection. We all need to go
for it even though such protection is
diminished by this late timing and
by our age.
Incidentally, of the two flu modi
fying drugs — Tamiflu and Relenza,
only Relenza seems to have any
beneficial effect this year. The virus
apparently has grown cozy with
Tamiflu and that drug is thus no
longer regularly therapeutic.
” St. Simons
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Familiar. Friendly.
Like Family,
over 40 year^J
For everything from greeting cards
and beauty products to prescription
drugs and over-the-counter
medications, we hope you’ll continue
to make us your first choice. We
certainly appreciate your business.
Tommy Bryan - Pharma cist/Owner
Andy Ledford - Pharmacist
Longview Shopping Center
Frederica Rd • St. Simons Island
912-638-8676
Open Seven Days
Our very best approach to man
aging this virus is to give it a wide
berth. Someone saddled with influ
enza, or something that they recently
touched has to transmit this string
of foul virus molecules to us. A little
farther along and after we have
looked at the norovirus, we’ll make
a pass once more at our protective
stance — which is just about the
same for both viruses.
The norovirus — which is real
ly a family of similar viruses that
can all change form (mutate) easily
and thus make vaccines almost a
useless approach, are working their
way around the world, including our
American world.
The stomach flu — which is their
signature designation — is particu
larly prone to strike with force in
confined communities — like cruise
ships or nursing homes — not a
very comparable set of examples!
Stomach flu produces nausea, vomit
ing, stomach distress, and diarrhea.
Sometimes these symptoms may be
very distressful and even deadly if
untreated.
Infection transmission is achieved
by close contact with an already
infected individual or by clothing or
other material contaminated by the
vomit or excretions of an infected
individual.
Symptoms usually appear within
24 hours of infection and those so-
burdened are contagious throughout
the several days of active illness
and for at least another three days
afterwards.
Treatment is limited to rest, iso
lation, symptom medication, and
fluid replacement. If vomiting and
stomach distress should be severe,
intravenous fluid and electrolyte
replacement must be undertaken to
prevent extreme, but rare complica
tions - even death.
Again, prevention is the treat
ment of choice. For the norovirus,
close contact of any sort with the
sufferer must be avoided, and their
vomit and excretions must be scru
pulously flushed away while any
contact cloth or clothing absolutely
isolated. Anything they use must be
kept isolated, and they themselves
must not share in any household
activity — particularly in food prepa
ration - until at least four days after
the illness has subsided.
For general protection against
both of these predators, avoid public
contact and exposure of all kinds
No hand contact or shaking. If you
brave church, think of all the hands
that your pastor has grasped before
it is your turn.
When a supermarket trip is
unavoidable, rub the cart handle
with the store’s hopefully supplied
antiseptic wipe or bring your own
— you absolutely don’t want to know
what wretched things have been
cultured from such handles. In that
regard avoid touching door or rail
handles, elevator buttons, or any
other avoidable public source of con
tact.
Keep your hands away from your
face — particularly your mouth, nose,
and eyes Unless it is critical, avoid
the offices of we doctors which at
this time are places where already
sick people have to congregate and
sneeze and cough and spread.
Just stay home — but if you do have
to go out anywhere, wash your hands
instantly and thoroughly when you
get home with regular (not antibi
otic) soap. Wash them regularly dur
ing the day — even if you don’t go out
— but always at once when returning
home from anywhere.
Finally, avoid going to the hospi
tal if you possibly can. For instance,
it is often necessary to go to the hos
pital for a test which may be a part
of a routine work up - and so that is a
visit and procedure you can delay.
Marvelous as our hospitals are,
the disorders that congregate there
— like the two we have been talking
about - are best left alone.
However, always avoid any heal
ing institution of any kind that, on
admission gives you little ID card on
a string and asks you to tie it to your
big toe! □
Prostate Health topic of upcoming free lecture
Southeast Georgia Health System
will present “Prostate Health” as
part of the Health System’s ongoing
series of free community lectures
on Thursday, January 8, at 7 p.m.,
in the Linda S. Pinson Conference
Center on the Southeast Georgia
Health System Brunswick Campus,
2415 Parkwood Drive.
The speaker for the event is board
certified urologist James M. Muse
Jr., MD. Following his lecture, Muse
will answer questions from the audi
ence. Light refreshments will also be
served.
The next two lectures are:
• “New Year’s Resolution: Manag
ing Your Blood Pressure and Choles
terol”
Speaker - Internal medicine spe
cialist Richard Ceniza, MD
Thursday, January 15, 6 p.m. at
Southeast Georgia Health System
Camden Campus Cafeteria Confer
ence Room, 2000 Dan Proctor Drive,
St. Marys
• “Healthy Aging”
Speaker - Family medicine physi
cian John Blumer, MD,
Thursday, January 22, 7 p.m. at
Linda S. Pinson Conference Center,
Southeast Georgia Health System
Brunswick Campus, 2415 Parkwood
Drive, Brunswick
To reserve a seat for this free
community lecture or any other lec
tures in the series, please call 912-
466-5160 or register online at www.
sghs.org and click on the Calendar of
Events. □
SGHS program receives ACR Accreditation
The nuclear medicine program at
the Southeast Georgia Health Sys
tem Brunswick Campus has been
awarded a three-year term of accredi
tation as the result of a recent survey
by the American College of Radiology
(ACR). Nuclear medicine is a spe
cialized area of radiology that uses
very small amounts of radioactive
substances to examine organ function
and structure.
“The ACR Accreditation is a rigor
ous review process and validates that
our facility meets nationally accepted
standards of care,” said intervention
al radiologist Terry Reynolds, MD,
chief, Department of Radiology for
the Brunswick Campus. “Patients can
rest assured that they are getting the
best care from a compassionate group
of professionals using the latest test
ing equipment and techniques.”
James Conlan, MD, a member of
the Brunswick Campus medical staff,
served as the supervising radiologist
for the accreditation process, said the
ACR has the most established and
widely recognized accreditation pro
gram. “ACR Accreditation is the gold
standard for any nuclear medicine
program. Our participation provides
a solid foundation for our continuous
commitment to improving outcomes
and patient safety.”
The ACR, headquartered in Reston,
Va., awards accreditation to facilities
for the achievement of high practice
standards after a peer-review evalu
ation of the practice. Evaluations are
conducted by board-certified physi
cians and medical physicists who are
experts in the field. They assess the
qualifications of the personnel and
the adequacy of facility equipment.
The surveyors report their findings
to the ACR's Committee on Accredi
tation, which subsequently provides
the practice with a comprehensive
report.
In addition to the ACR Accredita
tion, Karen Beaver, director of Imag
ing Services at the Health System’s
Brunswick Campus says the Nuclear
Medicine Department is licensed by
the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources Radioactive Materials Pro
gram. “We are licensed by the DNR
and are surveyed by them every two
years to makes sure we are stor
ing and handling all of our radioac
tive materials properly,” Beaver said.
“Having this oversight, as well as
having the ACR Accreditation, allows
our patients to feel confident that
they are getting safe, effective care.”
For more information about the
nuclear medicine program at South
east Georgia Health System, visit
www.sghs.org.
For more information about ACR,
contact Shawn Farley at 703-648-
8936 or sfarley@acr.org. □