Health

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By Ashley O’Flaherty, CMA
Supervisor, Blanchard Valley Medical Practices

Warmer weather and sunshine bring people outside for cookouts, swimming, hiking, and all-around fun. While enjoying the outdoors, we need to be mindful of those annoying little critters known as fleas and ticks. They can be harmful to humans as well as pets. 

Fleas are very tiny insects that jump from host to host and can live on your animals. When your pet is outside, a flea may simply jump on it and stay there when the pet comes back inside. They then can multiply and bite not only the animal, but also humans. Some humans react more severely than others when it comes to bites on the skin. If not caught in time, this can cause a flea infestation. If you encounter a flea infestation, it is best you treat your animal with the appropriate treatment recommended by your veterinarian. 

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By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

The idiom “sweet tooth” describes an individual who craves chocolate, candies, cake, cookies or sweet desserts. Healthcare professionals including dentists warn of the dangers of too much sugar. These include heart disease, obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. An option to reduce sugar intake is a sugar substitute. 

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By William Hogan, MD
Blanchard Valley Pain Management

Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, affecting millions of Americans every year. While conditions like herniated discs, stenosis, and pinched nerves are often the suspected culprits, in many cases, the true source is facet joint pain.

What Are Facet Joints?
The facet joints are small stabilizing joints between each vertebra that allow flexibility and movement in the spine. Like other joints in the body, the facet joints can become inflamed or arthritic, or sustain injury over time from repetitive stress, trauma, or degenerative changes.

Facet joints are well-supplied by medial nerves from the spinal cord. When these joints malfunction and become painful, they can produce significant back and neck pain that radiates into the shoulders, hips, buttocks, or legs.

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By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

The Natural was a 1984 movie based on the 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud about a naturally talented baseball player named Roy Hobbs.  The movie starred many famous actors including Robert Redford, Robert Duvall and Glenn Close. The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards. 

Many drugs originate from natural products including acetylsalicylic acid, which comes from the bark of the white willow tree.  The German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology firm known as Bayer AG was the first to launch acetylsalicylic acid in 1899 as their trademark product known as Aspirin. Bayer is still famous for aspirin today. 

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By Jessica L. Otto, R.T. (R) (M) (CT)
Mammography Tech, EasternWoods Outpatient Center

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world today. Self-breast education and awareness for the public are crucial for each and every one of us in our own personal health. As we go through different phases of life, our bodies are constantly evolving. For all individuals, it should be a key principle to be self-aware of one’s breast health. By being self-aware, we should be able to observe any change that may occur. Noticing any abnormal changes could lead to earlier breast cancer detection. Self-awareness is one of the keys to early detection of breast cancer, as well as self-breast exams, clinical breast exams, and screening mammograms. Detecting breast cancer early often leads to a better prognosis. 

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By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

In 1964, Sam Cooke wrote the powerful soul ballad A Change Is Gonna Come.  Rolling Stone magazine listed this song at number 3 of their top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  

Some significant changes are coming for vaccines including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), flu and COVID-19. 

On May 3, 2023, the FDA approved the GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) RSV vaccine with the brand name of Arexvy.  The vaccine was approved for those 60 years of age and up to prevent RSV lower lung infection.  The GSK vaccine is a recombinant subunit of prefusion RSV F glycoprotein antigen (RSVPreF3) with an adjuvant to enhance vaccine response.  

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