healthy

Hyperlipidemia, when is 202 a bad number?

High cholesterol. Have you ever been visiting and someone starts talking about cholesterol numbers? You think why do I care about these numbers. I eat well, I don’t over indulge, that must, mean that my numbers are good.

dice, game, craps-568059.jpg — DON’T ROLL THE DICE WITH YOUR HEALTH!

While we think that we do not need to know, those numbers. It is very important, to know those numbers. When you have high cholesterol, this means there is a higher chance of plaque in the blood vessels. Let’s think about those old water pipes the ones that get rust built up in them. Those pipes work, for a while. Eventually, we start tasting the rust in the water. As time goes on, we might see some rust particles in the water. If nothing is done, they will start getting clogged as the rust builds up, then one might crack.

anatomy, blood, vessel-156854.jpg — What is in your blood vessels?

That is what it is like with the plagues in our vessels. Over time they clog, when they clog it is not normal for the vessel to crack, but the clog stops blood flow. We have oxygen in our blood, so no oxygen either. When tissues do not have oxygen, they die. This can be the cause of a heart attack or stroke. Other ways that plaques can cause heart attack or stroke is that the plague can flake off, flow through the vessels until, they get to one that is to small. It will block off the blood flow.

So, when your provider says your cholesterol numbers are high, listen. There are many treatments that can include exercise, diet, medications to help with decreasing these numbers.

Hyperlipemia or high cholesterol can be hereditary. There are those folks who cannot change their genes. Mom or Dad, grand parent, great grand parent who have high cholesterol no matter what they do, is rare but happens. Do your best still to try to keep these numbers in a good range.

EXERCISE

Exercise: We tend to believe that exercise is hard. I can’t lift my arm, little alone weights. I can’t walk, my yard is all up hill. It is to hot or to cold. We can come up with half a million excuses to not get up and do something. Did you know that 30 minutes a day is beneficial. Simply get up and move. You can walk around your home. Even if it is small. You can walk in place; you can go up and down stairs in your home, if you have them and you’re physically able. Do something, here is a link to my week 1 blog on exercise for those who have difficulties with exercises. Also, check out week 2, 3, and 4.

EATING RIGHT

Diet: low cholesterol diet include:

*Choose healthier fats

*Limit food with cholesterol

*Eat plenty o soluble fiber

*Eat losts of fruits and vegetables

*Eat fish that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids

*limit salt

*Limit alcohol

According to health.harvard.edu

*Oats

*Barley and other whole grains

*Beans

*Eggplant , okra, Avocados

*Nuts

*Vegetable oils, Olive oil

*Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits

*Foods fortified with sterols and stanols: sterols and stanols help block your bodies absorption of cholesterol.

*Soy

*Fatty fish

*Fiber supplements

www.mayoclinic.org/disease-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192

MEDICATIONS:

The most common medications are statins. These medications are able to make the plaque pliable. When the plague is pliable it is less likely to scale or flake off. It also helps to lower the cholesterol in the body. You should avoid taking with fiber, oat bran, pectin this may decrease the absorption of the medications. Also, it is noted widely that if taking a statin medication to avoid grapefruit juice as it can increase the bioavailability of medication increasing the risk of muscle pain(myopathy) and rhabdomyolysis. If your primary care provider suggest for you to start a statin medication and you start to have leg pain please contact their office and let them know.

We discussed three ways to help keep your cholesterol numbers in a good range. This can help prevent other health conditions. Please contact your primary care provider before starting any exercise program. This is not medical advice. This is for informational purposes only. Please contact your primary care provider with additional questions about any of this information.

We still need to be washing our hands!

Reminder to wash your hands. We are getting back to somewhat normal life. Please keep the habit of washing your hands.

Several months ago when Covid 19 was just starting in the US, we were all washing our hands. We were counting to 20, or singing the ABCs, or happy birthday (hopefully in our heads). We were using hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. We were being clean. Are you still doing these things or have you given away back to old habits.

It seems that Covid 19 is still rising in some areas. Is this because we are testing more? Is this because we are getting back to business as usual? Is this because we are not wearing mask in public? Is this because we are not washing our hands as much? Whatever the cause or combination of the causes, we are only able to control what we do. Here is my last post on hand washing and which is still relevant today.

Have you ever wished there was a big sign outside the restroom that flashed “DID NOT WASH HANDS”? Most of us think of hand washing after using the restroom. However, do you wash them correctly? Most people do not! I have read up to 95% of people, wash their hands incorrectly. What is proper technique? Here is a video to watch.

Unfortunately, it takes a major health scare, like coronavirus, to encourage us to WASH OUR HANDS. Since we were little, we have heard wash your hands. All through elementary school, middle school, high school we were told to wash our hands. We taught our children the same thing. So now let’s get to the reason behind washing our hands.

Handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is a way to scrub germs off of your hands. You should wash your hands:

Before and after eating
After using the restroom
Before and after cooking (especially raw meat)
After changing a baby diaper
After petting animals
When visibly soiled
Visiting elderly family either at their home or the hospital
Any other time you think to wash your hands.
Pretty much after any activity.

Hand washing is the most effective form of staying healthy. It helps prevent spreading infections such as diarrheal illnesses and respiratory illness. There have been many studies about hand washing and found that most people do not take the time to wash hands properly. Most give the reason “I don’t have time to spend 20 secs washing my hands”. Especially caregivers who go from one patient to another. This prompted the invention of hand sanitizers as they can be used in place of soap and water, during most situations. Hand sanitizers are hanging on the walls in most public areas. You wave your hand, and a palm full of sanitizer is released. You then can rub hands together until it is dried. Read the recommendations, as most say that you should still use soap and water every so many times of using sanitizer.

The coronavirus is among us and most likely a large percentage of us will get exposed. The best practices to help stop the spread is social isolation and hand washing. The CDC has this information about hand washing in PDF forms, PDF handouts you can print to use at home and office to help with education and remind others to wash hands.

I found a great article from the Minnesota Department of Health about what type of soap to use, plain or antibacterial, liquid or bar, and when should you use hand sanitizer. These are a little different from what the CDC states in the above video, but both offer great information.

Thanks for taking time to read or reread about hand washing. I challenge you to WASH THOSE HANDS FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS with soap and water. In all the scenarios listed above and any other time you think of it. Let’s stay clean! Whether Covid, flu or any other illness, clean hands are a main habit of defense.

3 things to help you stay healthy both physically and mentally during the corona virus.

Keeping healthy both physically and mentally.

In the last few months, our lives have done a 180. We have gone from moving about as we wish, to staying at home mandates. What was just an issue in China, is now here on our land. This is undoubtedly one of the hardest times we have seen. What a response we have seen, with others helping others.

Over the next several weeks, we will continue to need to stay home as much as possible. We will have to only go to the grocery store, gas station, pharmacy and doctor offices. During this time our normal social interactions will be greatly decreased.

Humans need social interactions, we depend on them to learn, love, and share. We love our families. However, being with only them, can become very irritating over time. Not being able to get out and do things can weigh on our mental health. Even the strongest mentally healthy folks can have anxiety and depression symptoms in these times.

What can you do to help yourself during these times?

First, stay healthy. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds. Read my hand washing blog here. Keep your family healthy by not getting out in public and possibly being exposed to the Corona virus. Simple things, like disinfecting your hard surfaces, cooking at home, keeping up on housework can all help you to stay healthy.

Second, learn, read, work on a hobby, teach others by writing or making a video. Find a reason to get up and do something every day. If we allow ourselves to just lay around, and not have a reason to get up, we can start feeling depressed. We can start having issues with anxiety. We have to be proactive and keep doing our daily task. Even though many are home working or laid off right now. This is the time for ourselves. Remember all those things you have said “I will do that when I have time”? This is the time!

Third, DO NOT allow all of this to take over your world. The corona virus is scary. It is happening. It is very contagious. We need to take it seriously. However, do what you can to keep calm during this time. If you need help, ask for it. There are others who can help you. If you are elderly, or you are immunodeficient allow others to help. This virus is not discriminatory, it will take any host that it can find.

I challenge you to check in on others (via phone) if you are able to help them. If you deliver needed items, drop them off at the door. If you need something, please reach out to your local community center, family, school district, or church family to let them know what you need. Please stay safe at home as much as possible. If you do get sick, contact your primary care provider by phone first, and follow their recommendations. While there are more testing sites available, talk with your primary care office first.