Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/58981
6A Daily News – Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Vitality & health (MCT) — You can't pre- vent every trip to the emer- gency room, but simple steps can keep you safe — or keep you alive when the worst happens. Americans made more than 119 million visits to emergency rooms in 2006, according to the National Hospital Ambulatory Med- ical Care. Among the most common causes cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are trauma, abdominal pain, chest pain, fever and acute upper respiratory infection. To find out how to cope with those issues, we turned to experts. To help you keep out of the ER, they say you should be getting ongoing care from a primary physician who may be able to catch small problems before they escalate. At the same time, they echo the position of the American College of Emergency Physicians: Don't hesitate if you are experiencing bleeding you can't stop, gaping wounds, breathing troubles, chest pain, extreme pain, vomit- ing that will not stop, extremely high fever or sui- cidal thoughts. In addition, they note that the danger signs for children sometimes vary from those for adults; par- ents should consult with their pediatricians for symptoms that warrant an ER visit, such as any fever in a baby less than 3 months old. When it comes to pre- venting and coping with the most common ER prob- lems, here's the advice we received from Dr. Matt Bush, Medical City Dallas Hospital's Medical Director of Emergency Services; Dr. Ketan Trivedi, emergency department medical direc- James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophthalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-4:30pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114 Avoid the ER with advice from ER doctors MCT photo From left,Warrett Kennard, a surgeon at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano, and his daughter, Nicole Kennard, are taught the proper way to administer CPR by Janet Bigej-Cerqua while attending a free CPR class at the hospi- tal in Plano,Texas. tor at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center; and Dr. Halim Hennes, medical division director of pedi- atric emergency medicine at Children's Medical Cen- ter. Trauma Prevention: Use bike helmets, seat belts and motorcycle helmets when you ride. Watch children in grocery carts to make sure they don't fall. Be wary of sharp objects. Practice safe- ty measures around swim- ming pools. ER: Before heading to the Immobilize broken arms and legs with a straight object wrapped alongside the bone with a bandage. Create a sling for an arm with a large cloth pinned with a safety pin over the shoulder. Put an ice pack on any area that is swelling. Stop bleeding with pres- sure. Apply gauze and wrap the bandage around the LASSEN MEDICAL GROUP Expands Red Bluff Urgent Care to 7 days a week. www.lassenmedical.com 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive (530) 527-0414 gauze. Be aware that anyone taking blood thinners is at increased risk for excessive bleeding and should share that information with the ER staff. Know the signs of con- cussion and get checked out immediately if the person shows signs of headache, nausea, confusion or slurred speech after hitting his head. Use CPR immediately on someone who doesn't have a pulse. Each second without oxygen can cause permanent damage to the organs. Chest pain Prevention: Maintain a healthful lifestyle, and don't be a weekend warrior who exercises inconsistently. See your family practitioner regularly and be aware of your stroke and heart attack risk. Sweating and short- ness of breath are red flags for a serious problem. Before heading to the ER: Call 911 and go in an ambulance, where techni- cians can help if your con- dition worsens. Baby aspirin helps thin the blood, which can avoid clots in most cases but can make things worse if the problem is aortic dissection, or bleeding of the main artery from the heart. Abdominal pain Prevention: Make good food choices, because abdominal pain can be caused by indigestion. If it is, over-the-counter stom- ach medication may offer relief. Pain can also be caused by food poisoning, appen- dicitis, diverticulitis, inflammation or colitis. Expectant mothers should ask about a possible ectopic pregnancy. If a head injury is involved, let the ER staff know immediately, as this could be a sign of a fatal blood clot. Before heading to the ER: If you're vomiting, stay hydrated. Drink a half- ounce of clear liquid every 15 minutes and continue as long as it stays down. Take ibuprofen and aspirin for pain and fever as needed. Respiratory difficulty Prevention: Be aware of triggers for breathing prob- lems — smoke or allergies — and avoid them if possi- ble. People with asthma and chronic obstructive pul- monary disease, or COPD, are at the greatest risk for respiratory difficulty. If you have signs of bronchitis, see your family practitioner before it leads to pneumo- nia. Before heading to the ER: People with breathing conditions should use an inhaler and go to the doctor immediately for treatment. Stay calm, as hyperventila- tion can aggravate the prob- lem. fitness Not better together (MCT) — Think of your stomach as one big test tube. Maybe you drop in a vitamin or herbal supplement each morning. Maybe a cholesterol-lowering statin or a blood- pressure drug. Perhaps an infection-fighting antibiotic or allergy-relieving antihistamine. And you wash it down with fruit juice or milk or coffee. That may not always be a good thing because some foods and beverages — from chocolate and caffeine to dairy and alcohol — as well as dietary supplements (vitamins, herbals, etc.) and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can interact with prescription drugs when they land in your gut. Those interactions may affect the ability of the drug to work as it should. Or that mix may cause unwanted side effects. With some tetracyclines, for example, you may need to avoid dairy products at the time you take the drug. If you take digoxin for your heart, you may need to steer clear of St. John's wort and large amounts of black licorice (that con- tains glycyrrhizin). Take ACE Inhibitors to lower your blood pressure? Go easy on high potassium foods such as bananas, oranges and green leafy vegetables. And depend- ing on the statin you're taking — there are many different types in this class — you may need to avoid grapefruit. Such drug, food and supplement interactions become especially important as the number of drugs taken increases. Shiew Mei Huang, acting director, office of clinical phar- macology at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, cites a survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found in the population 57 and older in the U.S., "at least 80 per- cent use at least one prescription drug. Half of them use OTC drugs. And some use dietary supplements." Says Huang, "What is important in that report is that almost 30 percent use more than five drugs. And among those who take a prescription drug, half of them take either OTC or dietary supplements. "It is the dietary supplements we have to be very careful (about)," she adds, and doctors need to be told about them. Hartmut Derendorf, a professor who heads the pharma- ceutics department in the University of Florida's College of Pharmacy in Gainesville, might agree about the role dietary supplements play. "Sometimes they look alike and patients think they are medications like normal medications. But dietary supple- ments are not required to be investigated and tested with the same rigor," he says. Because your age, gender, medical history, etc. can affect how a drug interacts with other substances in your gut, "there are no general rules," says Derendorf. "The key is for patients to be very open, to work with their pharmacist and physician and tell them about the use of supplements and also look for the specific food interactions that are known for the medication that they are using." That's crucial because guidelines can change. The FDA regularly releases food-and-drug interaction consumer updates that are prompted by a variety of factors, Huang explains, including the recent grapefruit juice-statin update issued last month. So what should you use to help the med- icine go down? Stick to a plain glass of water, say experts. Now Accepting NEW Patients. No referral needed in most cases. ALLERGY Clinic with Diane Kinney, PA-C Kylie Carreras, LVN NOW OPEN! Red Bluff Call NOW to schedule an appointment 528-1220 RED BLUFF 331 Elm Street Timothy Frantz M.D. Board Certified Otolaryngologist 2138 Court Street 222-5115 REDDING Every Wednesday March 21 & 28 redbluff.mercy.org Visit redbluff.mercy.org or scan this code with a QR reader app on your smart phone to learn more information. Diabetic Education 12:30pm-4:30pm • March 21 • Columba • 529-8026 Grief Support Group 3:00pm-5:00pm • Thursdays • Coyne Center • 528-4207 Auxiliary Easter Sees Candy Sale March 29, Hospital Main Hallway, call 529-8002 1010 Jefferson St., Red Bluff 527-7800 Pine Street Plaza 332 Pine Street, Suite G Red Bluff, CA Stacy L. Garcia Hearing Aid Dispenser Lic. #7440 (800) 843-4271 Complete Dental Care • Cosmetic Dentistry • Adults And Children • New Patients Warmly Welcomed! www.MooreandPascarella.com