Do you smoke? If you do, have you considered quitting?

It might seem overwhelming, but if you take it a day at a time, it becomes more manageable.

That’s the idea of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, which takes place this Thursday, Nov. 15.

Smokers are encouraged to avoid cigarettes, tobacco and vaping—which health officials have found to be a not-so-safe alternative to smoking—for a day.

After that, perhaps they would be encouraged to try another day, and then another.

When it comes to West Virginia smokers, there is some good news and some bad news.

The good news: The number of adults who smoke in West Virginia has declined from 28.6 percent in 2011 to 24.8 percent in 2016.

What’s more, health officials attribute this decrease at least in part to teens exposed to anti-smoking programs like RAZE in high school and then aging into adults who didn’t pick up a cigarette habit.

The bad news? West Virginia still has the highest smoking rate in the United States. Kentucky, the commonwealth with whom we often trade this distinction back and forth, is slightly below us at 24.5 percent.

The national average in 2016 was 15.5 percent; 17.5 percent were males and 13.5 percent were females.

Utah comes in with the lowest smoking rate at 8.8 percent, followed by California at 11 percent, the only two states that are under 12 percent.

Most smokers know that it’s not healthy for them, but the extremely addictive quality of tobacco makes it difficult to quit. Here are some fast facts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov):

•    Smoking leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body.

•    More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking.

•    Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

•    Smoking also increases risk for tuberculosis, certain eye diseases and problems of the immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis.

And are you a smoker who also has children? Because, as the CDC also notes, secondhand smoke exposure contributes to approximately 41,000 deaths among nonsmoking adults and 400 deaths in infants each year. Secondhand smoke causes stroke, lung cancer and coronary heart disease in adults. Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle ear disease, more severe asthma, respiratory symptoms and slowed lung growth.

Hopefully, these facts will motivate some smokers to try to quit. There are resources that can help. The West Virginia Tobacco Quitline has enrolled more than 73,000 people for Quitline services since it was started in 2000.

West Virginia's Quitline is free to all state residents over the age of 18. The Quitline offers four proactive coaching calls and unlimited reactive calls. Participants are eligible for eight weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy—patches, gum or lozenges.

And the Great American Smokeout website also offers some tips, both for smokers as well as their families and friends. These include the suggestion to make your home smoke-free and removing all ashtrays and lighters to help a smoker who is trying to quit. More advice can be found here. 

Is this the year you quit smoking? If you start on Nov. 15, then by the time the new year rolls around, you might have to think of another resolution to make. And you will begin 2019 feeling better both physically and emotionally.

So on Thursday, give it a try. Just for a day. And then maybe for another …

Washing your hands well should be a year-round habit. As flu season approaches, it’s even more vital to keep your hands clean to help from getting or spreading illness.  

There are many times to wash your hands, but some of the most important include:

•    Before, during and after preparing food.

•    Before eating.

•    After using the toilet.

•    After blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

•    While caring for someone who is sick.

•    After touching an animal or handling pet food

There are five easy steps to follow when washing your hands to make sure they are properly cleaned. The steps are wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry.

After you wet and lather your hands, you should scrub the soap for at least 20 seconds before rinsing and drying. If you get tired of counting to 20 in your head, hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end two times. Be sure to wash thoroughly, even around the nail area.

Using soap is more effective than running your hands under water because the friction created by rubbing your hands together with soap and water help eliminate microbes from your skin.

Many diseases are spread from not keeping hands clean. Although vaccinations are the best way to prevent diseases such as flu and Hepatitis A, washing your hands can help prevent these infections as well.

Hepatitis A is a communicable disease that can be transmitted from person to person via the oral-fecal route. Individuals get Hep A in unsanitary conditions, including from others who have not washed their hands properly after going to the bathroom. With the ongoing outbreak of Hepatitis A in West Virginia, it is extremely important to take precautionary measures to help prevent contraction of the disease.

If clean water or soap is not available, there are other options that can assist with preventing germs, such as hand sanitizer. Here at Monongalia County Health Department, visitors have the option to sanitize their hands when they enter the door. That’s a great way to help keep the public safe.

If using hand sanitizer, make sure it is an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.

When hands are visibly dirty or greasy, it is important to wash your hands because hand sanitizers are not as powerful and effective.

Using hand sanitizer can help decrease the number of germs but it will not eliminate harmful chemicals completely. This is why it is extremely important to properly wash your hands whenever you can to have a greater chance of preventing illness.

This flu season, don’t miss out on all the fun fall activities! Washing your hands is a quick and easy step that you can primarily do anywhere. Take simple steps to properly wash your hands to prevent illness not only for yourself but also for those around you

Happy Halloween. Have you gotten your flu shot yet? If not, what’s holding you back?

Public health nurses in Monongalia County Health Department’s Clinical Services program advise people to aim to get vaccinated against influenza by the end of October. Today, obviously, is the last day of October—but it’s still not too late to get your vaccine. It takes about 10 days for the vaccine to become fully effective, and with cold weather setting in and the holidays approaching, it’s a good time to be immunized.

After all, many people gather with extended family at Thanksgiving, a perfect time not only to exchange warm greetings but also germs.

As Dr. Diane K. Gross, MCHD’s regional epidemiologist, recently told a class at West Virginia University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the effects of the flu vaccine do not last from year to year. “You may have some antibody protection” from last year’s shot, but the boost generally waxes and then wanes within about six months. Because of the approaching weather and holiday season, as well as that flu usually is winding down by or in April, that makes October the most logical time to get vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that flu activity is low right now but is expected to pick up in coming weeks. It is recommended that everyone 6 months and older get the vaccine. Children, older people and those with conditions that compromise their immune system are especially vulnerable to flu and should be inoculated.

Also, pregnant women should vaccinate for two—not only for themselves but also for their babies, who cannot get inoculated during their first six months. And, people 65 years old and older might want to consider the Fluzone high-dose vaccine that offers four times the antigen of the standard dose.

In addition to getting a flu shot, there are other actions to incorporate into your life to help you avoid getting sick. These are commonsense habits that people should practice anyway. Wash your hands often and thoroughly with warm water and soap, for about the length of time that it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice. Keep surfaces in your home and office clean. Avoid people who are sick.

If you do come down with flu, ask your doctor about antivirals, especially if you are elderly or have underlying health conditions that could put you at increased risk of severe disease. Administered quickly enough, they can help lessen the length and severity of a bout with flu.

Also, stay home from work. If you really need to seek medical attention, do so, either to get antivirals or if you develop a secondary infection that could require antibiotics. But otherwise, the cure for flu without complications is generally rest, fluids and time. Antibiotics do not help you recover from flu.

If you haven’t gotten a vaccine yet, there is still time. While we don’t encourage people to put it off, we want to make sure they know that we’ll keep giving them for as long as we have them in. Flu season is unpredictable. Sometimes it’s underway by now; other times, it hasn’t hit yet. It can peak in February or March and last into spring.

So strongly consider scheduling your flu vaccine now. But if you don’t and end up regretting it as flu season progresses, give MCHD Clinical Services a call at 304-598-5119.

By Jacob Comer

When I was a kid going out trick-or-treating, my parents always made sure that my siblings and I were safe. They usually gave us costumes that didn’t have masks so we could see clearly. The one year I wore a ninja mask, I couldn’t see out of it very well at all. We learned from that experience.
 
My parents also stayed with us all night while we were out and they always looked through our candy to make sure nothing was tampered with. I was always saddened when they threw out the popcorn balls and other homemade treats we got, but I understood it was for our safety.

This Halloween, roughly 41 million children are expected to go trick-or-treating, according to the United States Census Bureau, and 65 percent of parents don’t discuss Halloween safety with their kids. There are several things that could cause a Halloween night to turn sour: food allergies, lost children, traffic accidents and many more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website features several articles on different ways to be safe on Halloween. Monongalia County Health Department’s Environmental Health program heartily endorses these measures.

About 1 in 13 children have a food allergy, and many popular candies contain some of these allergens, like peanuts and chocolate. To avoid incidents with food allergens, check your child’s candy when you get home and don’t let them eat anything when you’re still out and about. As well, if you are distributing candy, try to include several types of candy that don’t have common allergens. Fun-size Snicker bars are awesome, but they do contain peanuts.

Also, when your kids are out for the night, try to stay with them if they are young. If you believe they are old enough to go out alone or with friends, give them a flashlight so they can easily find their way around if it gets too dark. A flashlight also lets motorists see them more easily. Put reflective tape on your kid’s costumes so they can be easily seen. Plan a specific route to take for trick-or-treating; being lost is not something you want on your Halloween night.

One of the most important factors to be wary about on Halloween is the expected motorist and pedestrian traffic. With millions of children going out on the same night and all at around the same time, foot traffic can get pretty intense, and children are twice as likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident on Halloween. Be cautious when driving and watch out for children trying to cross the street. As kids go to various houses for trick-or-treating, they’ll be crossing roads often.

Also, 52 percent of motor vehicle deaths on Halloween involve alcohol. Halloween parties are common and so is alcohol at those parties. Be sure to drive responsibly to avoid accidents and to never drink and drive.

Managing both safety and fun on Halloween is easily doable as long as you plan accordingly. Make sure any candy your kids get is safe for them to eat, keep track of your kids and make sure they don’t get lost especially if they are young and be careful to avoid traffic incidents. If you take all these factors into account, then Halloween is much more likely to go wickedly well.

Public health isn’t the most glamorous topic. But it’s something you might appreciate when you eat at a restaurant that has passed its safety inspection. Or drink potable water from your tap. Or live in a world in which smallpox has been declared eradicated.

We haven’t cured influenza yet, but we can help keep you from getting it. That also makes it a great time to remind you to get your flu vaccine if you haven’t done so already; call Monongalia County Health Department’s Clinical Services at 304-598-5119 to make an appointment.

In general, we prevent the spread of other diseases, promote health, protect the public and generally make the world a safer and more pleasant place to live.

National Health Education Week, presented by the Society for Public Health Education, began on Monday. The observation focuses on a different health topic each weekday. These issues are just a drop in the bucket of challenges facing people in today’s world, and they are the ones that the SOPHE leaders have decided deserve your attention in 2018. Here we go:

Monday, Oct. 15—The public health impact of gun violence. In this instance, the focus is on guns kept in the home that children can access. It’s estimated that there are firearms in one-third of United States households with kids 18 and under. Tips include keeping guns and ammunition locked in separate, out-of-the-way locations, with the keys or combinations also hidden. When a gun is not locked up, adult handlers should keep it in their sights. All firearms also should have child-resistant gun locks.

Tuesday, Oct. 16—Health equity and how the impact of inequality impacts us all. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defines health equity as every person having the ability to achieve their greatest health potential regardless of socially determined conditions.

This is one of many areas in which MCHD can help. Ways we can do this include our Clinical Services program that provides vaccinations, Pap smears and breast exams, free testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, free and low-cost birth control options and more.

And MCHD Dentistry, our full-service dental practice, takes Medicaid and CHIP, in addition to private insurance and other forms of payment. Patients can also pay on a sliding-scale fee. Also, MCHD Smile Express, our mobile dental unit, just hit the road last month, visiting schools to treat students who do not have a dentist. Avoiding tooth decay also helps combat chronic conditions that negatively impact health.

Wednesday, Oct. 17—Emerging trends in school health. When it comes to school health, SOPHE’s focus is on tobacco use and vaping. In 2015, according to the CDC, 40 percent of West Virginia high school students reported using a tobacco product, while 18.8 percent of them reported smoking cigarettes.

This is a really important topic in West Virginia, where smoking rates tend to top the charts in the U.S. Not only that, some teens have also taken up vaping. E-cigarettes are just another method to deliver nicotine, and the CDC does not consider them safe.

Thursday, Oct. 18—Technology’s impact on health and the emergence of mHealth. This is referring to technological devices that people can wear to detect and monitor certain conditions, such as heart problems, as well as fitness trackers that let users count their steps and monitor their activity. This is a new field that offers a lot of promise. Look for this trend to improve and make a bigger impact in the future.

Friday, Oct. 19—The impact on environmental health. Poor air and water quality can make us sick. This can include asthma, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the prevalence of asthma in low-income and minority children in the U.S. is disproportionately higher. Also, there is growing concern that new cases are also arising in adults, particularly in the elderly. Clean air and good medical care are key here.

These topics are just a drop in the bucket compared to all the factors that impact our health. You can learn more at SOPHE.