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Breastfeeding Awareness Walk shines light on a healthy, natural activity

7/30/2019

Breastfeeding Awareness Walk shines light on healthy, natural activity

By Taylor Shultz

Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed your baby and it ensures that babies get what they need. There are also great benefits to the mother if she chooses to breastfeed.

The biggest issue that surrounds breastfeeding is the lack of support. A nursing mother needs continuous support from family, friends and even medical staff. According to Lynne Ryan, breastfeeding coordinator at Monongalia County Health Department’s WIC program, most women are able to breastfeed with good support because it is a learned skill.

On Wednesday, Aug. 7, the 12th Annual Breastfeeding Awareness Walk will be held at West Virginia University’s Erickson Alumni Center from 5-7 p.m. The doors will open at 4:30 p.m. Free on-site parking will be available.

This event is open to the public and is all about raising awareness and support for breastfeeding mothers. There will be food and activities for everyone. Some of these include a baby crawl, drawings for prizes, face painting and visits from Monti Bear, WVU Medicine Children’s mascot, and Cooper, West Virginia Black Bear’s mascot.

For the first time, a Daddy Olympics event will be held. Dads will compete by using dolls in a series of activities, such as changing a diaper. The winning dad will get a prize. “Dads’ support with breastfeeding is so important,” said Ryan, who is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

Each child in attendance will win a book or a small item and everyone has a chance to win prizes throughout the event. This year, prizes include two jogging strollers, a car seat and a pack-and-play.

Dr. Emily Nease, a pediatrician and an IBCLC at WVU Medicine’s Pediatric Clinic, will be the speaker for this year’s walk.

This event, held in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month, is very important because misinformation still exists when it comes to breastfeeding.

Did you know there is a law that protects mothers when breastfeeding in public? It is called the West Virginia Child’s Right to Nurse Act. It allows women to breastfeed their child in public anywhere that the mother-child pair are authorized to be.

Federation legislation protects a woman’s right to pump when she goes back to work. “In an eight-hour workday, three 15-minute breaks usually take care of it,” Lynne said.

The walk is presented by the Monongalia County Breastfeeding Taskforce. The group provides breastfeeding support for Monongalia County and consists of lactation consultants, midwives, obstetricians and pediatricians from MCHD WIC, WVU Medicine Children’s, Mon Health Medical Center, Cardinal Pediatrics and West Virginia Healthy Start’s HAPI Project.

It is important to know where you can get help when breastfeeding. There are many locations that provide breastfeeding support, such as, hospitals, pediatric offices, support groups, lactation groups/consultants and WIC. In fact, all six of MCHD WIC’s locations—in Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Harrison, Doddridge and Taylor counties—offer free breastfeeding classes that are open to the public, not just to WIC clients.

This walk is another way to meet people and to potentially create your own support group. It is a way to get everyone together and talking. This may even be the first time a woman breastfeeds in public. What a great place to be your first time!

Since having support available, local WIC numbers of breastfeeding mothers have increased. In 15 years, the duration rate of mothers who breastfeed at least during a baby’s first six months has increased from 20 percent to 34 percent, which is almost at the national level.

Aside from raising awareness about breastfeeding support, it is important to know the great benefits breastfeeding offers both the mother and baby.

For the baby, breast milk gives them all the nutrition they need. It’s the most natural food you can offer your baby. Breast milk is also easily digested. The child gets sick less often and it helps with facial and oral development.

For mothers, breastfeeding helps them get back to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, increases hormones that are calming and helpful to a new mother and it reduces the risk later in life for breast, ovarian and uterine cancers as well as with osteoporosis.

Remember to stop by the 12th Annual Breastfeeding Awareness Walk on Wednesday, Aug. 7 to support breastfeeding mothers and to have a chance to win some great prizes.

Taylor Shultz is an intern in the public information office at Monongalia County Health Department.

World Hepatitis Day illustrates that more people should be tested for the viral illness

7/24/2019

World Hepatitis Day illustrates that more people should be tested for the viral illness

Hepatitis is on the rise nationally and especially in West Virginia. Viral hepatitis is one of the biggest global health threats of our time. It causes 1.34 million deaths a year.

July 28 is World Hepatitis Day. According to the World Hepatitis Day’s website, 300 million people are living with viral hepatitis and are unaware of it.

MCHD Clinical Services offers free testing for hepatitis and can also help with referrals for care. If you think you or a loved one may be one of the millions of people who are unaware of having hepatitis, consider making an appointment for testing.

There are five different types of viral hepatitis, which is a liver infection. The three that are most common in the United States are A, B and C. The less common ones are D and E.

Hepatitis A is spread when a person ingests the virus from objects, food or drink that are contaminated by small and undetected amounts of stool from an infected person. It can also be spread by close personal contact with an infected person, such as, sex or caring for someone who is ill.

Washing your hands is a big part of preventing the spread of hepatitis A. It can be spread by many ways, some of which you might not think about. An infected person could be preparing your food without good handwashing and passing the virus along. Hepatitis A could even be spread by passing around a joint that is contaminated.

Hepatitis A is preventable; there is a vaccine. People who should get vaccinated are all children at age 1, people who are at an increased risk of infection, people who are at an increased risk for complications of hepatitis A and anyone who wishes to obtain immunity against hepatitis A.

There has been an ongoing hepatitis A outbreak in West Virginia, mainly due to the current opioid drug addiction crisis.

People who use drugs—injection and non-injection drugs—have a higher risk for hepatitis A. Homeless people, men who have sex with men, travelers to countries where hepatitis A is common and people working with nonhuman primates are also at a higher risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hep A can range from a mild illness that could last for a few weeks to a severe illness that could last several months. Hepatitis A may cause death, although that is rare. Unfortunately, the death rate and hospitalization rate from hep A with this outbreak is higher than usual, because a lot of immune-compromised people are infected.

In West Virginia, nearly half of the 2,528 people who are part of the hepatitis A outbreak have been hospitalized. Fifty-five percent of them also are co-infected with hepatitis C; 10 percent are co-infected with hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is spread when an infected person’s blood, semen or other body fluids enter the body of a person who is not infected. This could occur during birth, sex with an infected person, by sharing needles or direct contact with blood or open sores.

Hepatitis B can also be a short-term, or acute, illness or can be a more serious and chronic condition. An acute infection can lead to a chronic infection, which is lifelong. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to many other serious health problems such as, liver damage, liver cancer and death.

Like hepatitis A, hepatitis B is also vaccine preventable. Other ways to prevent hepatitis B include using condoms with sexual partners, avoiding direct contact with blood and illegal street drugs and covering all cuts carefully.

Hepatitis C is spread by contact with an infected person’s blood. According to the CDC, most people today become infected with hepatitis C by sharing needles or other equipment to prepare or inject drugs.

Out of the three most common hepatitis viruses in the United States, hepatitis C is the only one without a vaccine. But it’s the only one that has a cure, albeit an expensive one. The most effective way to stay protected is avoiding using of illegal drugs, which is the most common route of transmission. Needle exchange programs also help reduce the spread of hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C can also last a few weeks or develop into a lifelong illness. If it develops into a chronic illness, more health issues can develop.

Hepatitis D and E are not that common in the United States. Hepatitis D is transmitted through percutaneous or mucosal contact with infectious blood and only occurs in people who are infected with the hepatitis B virus, according to the CDC.

Hepatitis E is transmitted from the ingestion of fecal matter that is usually due to contaminated water supply in countries with poor sanitation. Pregnant women are more likely to experience severe illness and death if infected with hepatitis E.

If you think you are at risk for hepatitis, you can take the CDC’s five-minute risk assessment by clicking on this link.

Let’s all work together to raise awareness, take a risk assessment, seek care if needed and help find those “missing millions” who are unaware that they are living with viral hepatitis.

Taylor Schulz is an intern in the public information office at Monongalia County Health Department.

It's almost time for Give Kids a Smile: The Sequel!

7/17/2019

It's almost time for Give Kids a Smile: The Sequel!

By Mary Wade Triplett

Kids cartoons play on the TVs and colorful helium balloons decorate the hallways.

A festival or fair? No, this is the scene during MCHD Dentistry’s Give Kids a Smile!

The event, which provides free dental checkups to children up to the age of 18 without insurance, is usually held annually on the first Friday in February as part of a national effort launched by the American Dental Association.

This year, however, thanks to funds provided by Your Community Foundation of West Virginia, MCHD Dentistry will be holding GKAS 2019 II: The Sequel, on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

This is just in time for back-to-school, so kids can be sure to return to class with pearly white smiles and healthy teeth.

Dr. Dan Carrier of MCHD Dentistry explains the festive atmosphere.

“We’ve got balloons, we’ve got stuffed animals. We give out a lot of free stuff. We just want to make it enjoyable and hopefully encourage the parents that this is a relationship—whether it is here at our office or with another dentist—that we want to maintain for the child.”

This makes a lot of sense. Children who have a positive experience at their early dental appointments are not only more likely to get into the habit of practicing good oral hygiene, but they’ll also be more apt to see a dentist on a regular basis.

Said one mother whose son went home with clean teeth and a toothbrush attached to a balloon following a previous GKAS: “I think you need to teach them early, because you get one set of teeth and it is very important. He loves doing it and it’s something that we can do together.”

Whitney Holmes, one of MCHD Dentistry’s registered dental hygienists who has cleaned her fair share of teeth during nine previous GKAS events, has followed the progress of one young patient.

“I can distinctly remember a very special girl who I got to see the past few years,” Whitney said. “She first came in shy and anxious for her appointment.”

After several appointments in one of MCHD Dentistry’s bright and cheerful operatories, which each feature TVs and up-to-date cleaning and X-ray equipment, that has changed, Whitney noted.

“With each passing year, she has gotten more comfortable and her hygiene has greatly improved. She now has no dental anxiety, enjoys coming to see us, and we’ve gotten to watch her grow up. She is actually going to college for medical assisting in the fall!”

Kids who attend Give Kids a Smile! will receive a cleaning and fluoride treatment as well as oral health education by a hygienist and an exam by Dr. Carrier. While the cleaning is key, the fluoride treatment helps prevent cavities so future visits are easier and less invasive.
Fluoride really can help kids maintain healthier teeth into adulthood.

And the oral health education, which includes advice on how to brush and floss at least twice daily and to avoid tobacco products, helps children learn how to help themselves.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 5 children ages 5 to 11 years of age have at least one untreated decayed tooth, as do about 1 in 7 adolescents ages 12 to 19 years old. Those numbers double for children from low-income families compared to higher income households.

Dental assistant Velvet Urgo not only works at MCHD Dentistry but she also travels around on the mobile MCHD Smile Express. The “Smiley” dental staff so far has mostly traveled around to schools in counties as far away as Braxton to treat children all over North Central West Virginia. Velvet has seen her fair share of ways that dental care can really impact a child’s life and health.

“Give Kids a Smile! is one of my favorite days of the year,” Velvet says. “For some patients, it is their first visit, establishing a dental home, which is very important. We always strive to make it a positive experience and it is always fun to see them leave with a smile on their face!”

Children who are treated during Give Kids a Smile! must have an appointment. You can make one by calling 304-598-5108.

Mary Wade Triplett is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.

Schedule back-to-school vaccines now to beat the rush

7/10/2019

Schedule back-to-school vaccines now to beat the rush

By Mary Wade Triplett

Sure, summer is the time to have fun in the sun. But why wait until August to schedule your children’s back-to-school vaccines? Avoid the rush and make an appointment now, either with the student’s pediatrician or with Monongalia County Health Department’s Clinical Services.

Students need vaccines at various ages. Schoolchildren require immunizations when they are entering pre-school and kindergarten as well as seventh and 12th grades.

Children ages 4 to 6 years old should get their second dose of chickenpox and MMR, which protects them from mumps, measles and rubella; their fourth dose of polio vaccine; and their fifth dose of DTaP, which prevents diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, or whooping cough.

MMR has become an even more important vaccine with a measles outbreak sweeping the nation. Currently, there are about 1,100 reported cases in the United States of the illness that had been declared eradicated in 2000.

Luckily, because of tough vaccine laws that do not allow for religious exemptions, West Virginia is one of 22 states with no reported cases. Other than Ohio, however, all states that border West Virginia have been affected.

Teens and pre-teens should get three vaccines before the new school year: meningococcal conjugate vaccine to protect against meningitis and blood infections, or septicemia; Tdap, the vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough for anyone over the age of 6; and Gardasil to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV).

The CDC recommends that both girls and boys get the HPV vaccine at age 11 or 12. Those who get the vaccine in that age range only need two doses. Children older than 14 years require three shots to be given over six months. Also, three doses are still recommended for people with certain immunocompromising conditions ages 9 through 26 years.

And we know the HPV works as cancer prevention. The CDC recently reported that cancers caused by the HPV virus are on the decline since the introduction of the HPV vaccine 13 years ago.

Also, the CDC recommends that just about everyone over the age of 6 months get an influenza vaccine annually. These are generally available at your pediatrician’s office, at area pharmacies and at the health department in the fall.

Vaccines are an important tool in keeping children healthy. Take advantage of any visit to the doctor—checkups, sick visits, even physicals for sports, camps or college—to ask the doctor what vaccinations your child needs.

Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to prevent several diseases. They are thoroughly tested before licensing and carefully monitored even after they are licensed to ensure that they are safe. The benefits of vaccination far outweigh any potential risk of side effects. All vaccines used in the United States require extensive safety testing before they are licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Schools are a prime venue for spreading many vaccine-preventable diseases and school-age children can further spread disease to their families and others with whom they come in contact. Being vaccinated helps stop the spread of disease to family, classmates and others in the community.

When a child comes down with a disease such as whooping cough or the flu, they may miss several days of school while recovering. A sick child also means that a parent might miss work or other important events.

Vaccines do more than protect your child. Some diseases, like whooping cough and the flu, can be deadly for newborns or babies who are too young to be vaccinated themselves. Parents can help protect the youngest community members from being exposed to vaccine-preventable diseases by making sure their children get all recommended vaccines.

For more information or to make an appointment at MCHD Clinical Services, call 304-598-5119. And if you can’t make it in July, MCHD Clinical Services will be holding vaccine clinics by appointment on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during August until Aug. 23.

Mary Wade Triplett is the public information officer for Monongalia County Health Department.

Don't be chilling when you're grilling. Follow these tips for safe grilling.

7/3/2019

Don't be chilling when you're grilling. Follow these tips for safe grilling.

By Taylor Shultz

It’s summer and that means vacations, cookouts and celebration. We spend a lot of time outside during these months, even eating and cooking. But there can be more risks when grilling food if you are not careful.

Are you grilling correctly?

The first step to ensuring your food grilling safety starts when purchasing food. While planning your event, check the recall list to make sure you are staying away from those items.

Then, while shopping, buy raw meat and poultry last. This will keep your meat as cold as you can and separated from your other food. When you are bagging your groceries and heading for the car, make sure the raw meat and poultry go into individual bags to reduce cross contamination.

Don’t forget to purchase a meat thermometer if you do not already have one. This is an essential tool when grilling.

Go straight home after the grocery store—do your fun shopping first, not when you have meat and other cold food items with you.

Now, we are to the step of preparing to cook those yummy summer foods. If you need to thaw your meat, safely do so in the refrigerator. If you are too hungry to wait for it to thaw in the refrigerator, then you can also safely defrost in the microwave as long as you immediately transfer it onto the grill.

If you are planning to marinade (which is a great idea—yum!), then you want to marinade in the refrigerator, not on the counter. And if you want to use it as a sauce as well, save some in a separate container before you put the raw meat into the marinade.

We are ready to start grilling now!

Okay, not quite. We need to make sure everything is clean and ready to go. Wash your hands with soap and water. Keep your kitchen work surfaces, utensils and brushes clean as well.

Keep a clean plate near the grill, so that when the meat is done cooking it can be transferred from the grill to a plate that is not covered with raw juices.

Okay, now we are ready—for real this time.

Get out your new (or old) meat thermometer, because it is the star of the show when grilling. Meat and poultry may brown quickly and appear done, even when they are not. Using a meat thermometer ensures that they have reached the correct internal temperature.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following are the recommended internal temperatures:

• Grilling:
o 145°F: whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, veal and fish
o 160°F: hamburgers and other ground beef
o 165°F: all poultry and pre-cooked meats, like hot dogs

• Smoking:
o 250°F – 300°F: inside smoker

• After grilling
o 140°F or warmer until it is served

Leftovers are also a part of the grilling experience. Who doesn’t love getting more than one meal out of a cooking session?

Refrigerate leftover meat and poultry within two hours of cooking or one hour if above 90°F. If you choose to freeze leftovers, then they should keep for about four months. Then, when reheating your leftovers, they should reach 165°—use that meat thermometer again.

It is important to cook your food properly, so you can prevent you and your family from getting a foodborne illness. Nobody wants to be sick ever, but especially during the summer months.

So fire up the grill and take advantage of summer while staying safe!

Taylor Shultz is an intern in the public information office at Monongalia County Health Department.

Breastfeeding Awareness Walk shines light on a healthy, natural activity

Breastfeeding Awareness Walk shines light on healthy, natural activity

World Hepatitis Day illustrates that more people should be tested for the viral illness

World Hepatitis Day illustrates that more people should be tested for the viral illness

Taylor Schulz is an intern in the public information office at Monongalia County Health Department.

It's almost time for Give Kids a Smile: The Sequel!

It's almost time for Give Kids a Smile: The Sequel!

Mary Wade Triplett is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.

Schedule back-to-school vaccines now to beat the rush

Schedule back-to-school vaccines now to beat the rush

By Mary Wade Triplett

Mary Wade Triplett is the public information officer for Monongalia County Health Department.

Don't be chilling when you're grilling. Follow these tips for safe grilling.

Don't be chilling when you're grilling. Follow these tips for safe grilling.

By Taylor Shultz

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