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ByAmandaDonahue FortheTimes-Standard Formorethan80years, Social Security has helped secure today and to- morrow with informa- tion, tools and resources to meet our customers' changing needs and life- styles. These days, with busy schedules and constant multi-tasking, it seems the most common kind of juggling for people is managing the multiple chores and obligations of everyday life. Social Secu- rity created a suite of on- line services that makes doing business with us a snap. The best way to juggle a multitude of Social Secu- rity tasks online is by cre- ating a secure, personal my Social Security ac- count. Creating your own account is easy, and, once you do, you can complete a number of tasks. Check it out at www.socialsecu- rity.gov/myaccount. Your account gives you immediate access to your personal Social Security information. During your working years, you can use my Social Security to view your Social Secu- rity Statement to check your earnings record and see estimates of the fu- ture retirement, disabil- ity and survivor benefits you and your family may receive. Are you already receiving benefits? You can use your online ac- count to immediately get your proof of benefits let- ter, change your address or phone number on our records, start or change your direct deposit, check your benefit and payment information, get a re- placement Medicare card or get a replacement SSA- 1099 or SSA-1042S for the tax season. With a my So- cial Security account you can securely conduct busi- ness in the privacy of your own home. From getting the facts on how to get a replace- ment Social Security card to how to apply online for disability benefits, the place to go for juggling all of the services and infor- mation offered by Social Security is our website: www.socialsecurity.gov. Regardless of how many Social Security tasks you may have, leave the juggling to the jug- glers and take care of business the easy way at www.socialsecurity.gov. Help secure your today and tomorrow. Open a my Social Security account today by visiting www. socialsecurity.gov/myac- count. Amanda Donahue is the Social Security district manager in the Eureka District Office. ON SOCIAL SECURITY Useonlineservicesforgreatereaseofaccess By Kimberly Parker, RN Kaiser Permanente Vacavile Look around and it won't take you long to spot a driver talking or texting be- hind the wheel. Laws that ban holding a phone while driving, as here in Califor- nia, don't seem to stop some people from the practice. Distracted driving is driving while doing an- other activity that takes your attention away from driving. Any distrac- tion can endanger the driver and any passen- gers but also people in other cars or pedestrians nearby. There is data to show how much of a se- rious and dangerous is- sue distracted driving has become. According to a safety survey from the California Office of Traffic Safety, California drivers rank cell phone talking and texting as the biggest safety problems on the road. The National Safety Council estimates more than 340,000 crashes in 2013 involved text mes- saging. Meanwhile, a Univer- sity of Michigan study found a quarter of teens respond to a text mes- sage at least once every time they drive. Twenty percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended multi-message text con- versations while driving. According to Distrac- tion.gov, a government website, teens will look at their mobile device for about five seconds, at var- ious times behind the wheel. At 55 miles per hour, as they have looked away, they have trav- eled the length of a foot- ball field. In a few seconds, lives are permanently changed, or lost forever. All because someone was distracted by their phone. When texting, talking or multi-tasking, the brain of a distracted driver is competing for attention. The driver is not focused on the road. In our fast paced society multitasking is common. As a result, distracted driving has be- come a growing cause of motor vehicle crashes. The prevalence of smart phones and a culture of constant social connection has created a deadly com- bination with motor vehi- cles. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention said younger, in- experienced drivers - those younger than 20 years old — may be at in- creased risk. They have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. April is National Dis- tracted Driving Awareness Month. Distracted driving seems to still be somewhat common despite cam- paigns to educate against it. When getting behind the wheel of a motor ve- hicle there is risk. So the key safety message here is that distracted driving is preventable! Here are a few simple steps we can take to help. Teach teenagers that cell phones and driv- ing, like alcohol and driv- ing, don't mix. Encourage them not to talk or text on the phone while driving, and talk to them about the dangers of distracted driv- ing. Parents can set good ex- amples. Teens look to par- ents as role models. When parents give clear and con- sistent guidance and en- force basic safety rules, they deliver a strong mes- sage. Store cell phones out of reach when driving. Put the phone on si- lent or turn it off so that you are not tempted to re- spond to an incoming call, email or text. Kimberly Parker, RN, is the Program Director at the Level II trauma center at Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center, a partner of the Solano Coalition for Better Health. COALITION FOR BETTER HEALTH Silent cell while driving or trouble looms Did you know that you have more microorgan- isms living on you than you have cells in your entire body? We all know that our bod- ies live in a balance with bacte- ria. A bacterial infection can kill us, but without bacteria we couldn't di- gest our food. But many of us don't realize that we also have plenty of fungi living on and within us. Those of you who have had a yeast in- fection know that these freeloaders can be a nui- sance as well. Yeast is a fungus. Yeast is a single-celled fungus, whereas what we call "fungi" are mul- ticellular organisms. Yeast seems to have a better reputation be- cause it's used to make beer and bread, whereas patients universally cringe in disgust when I inform them they have a fungal infection. Regardless of social acceptance, these organ- isms live on all of us in a delicate balance with the bacteria and our own cells. Changing the envi- ronment by killing bac- teria or altering the skin can give fungi an advan- tage to grow in number or in places they doesn't belong. For example, ath- lete's foot is a fungal in- fection initiated by an environmental change. Just like mushrooms, the fungus for athlete's foot grows well in warm, moist environments, like swimming pools or gym showers. If you work out in these areas and then put on a sock and tight shoe, you've now created the same environment between your toes. The fungus feeds off the dead cells of the outer layer of the skin or toenails. But it irritates the surround- ing skin at the same time and can cause the skin to peel, crack, turn red, burn, itch or really itch. This fungal over- growth isn't limited to the feet; it can grow in any warm, moist envi- ronment. Overweight people can get it be- tween folds of fat. Or sometimes it grows in ears. The average per- son can't see inside his or her own ear, so this type of infection is of- ten hard to recognize — patients find them- selves scratching at their ears like mad or abusing Q-tips in an attempt to calm the itch. This sort of infection can be treated by us- ing antifungal creams or drops (for the ears). But the key to preventing re- currence is to alter the environment of the af- fected area. The easiest first step is to just keep the area as dry as possi- ble. Another option is to use vinegar rinses. Vin- egar has been shown to treat minor fungal in- fections and can help re- duce the chance of recur- rent infections. A home- made mixture of equal parts water and vine- gar when used as an ear drop can dry out the ear after swimming and kill fungus. Fungi also live within our gastrointestinal tract. There is plenty of yeast in our mouths and throats. The mouth is al- ways warm and moist — seems like a per- fect place for infections. Yet our body maintains a balance (that can be thrown off). A course of antibiotics, or pro- longed use of steroid in- halers, immune suppres- sion, wearing dentures and other factors can change the environment, creating a usually mild infection called thrush. This is the overgrowth of yeast that often appears as a white coating that sloughs off other times it can cause inflammation and even pain. And fungus resides lower down in our gut. In recent years research has been done to bet- ter define just how much fungus is in our intes- tines. Turns out the per- centage is small, bacte- ria outnumbering fungi about a 100 to one. But those fungi might be an important part of devel- oping immunity. Stud- ies have shown that the fungal community is al- tered within the bowels of patients with inflam- matory bowel diseases. The question is what role does the fungus play, or is this simply a "side ef- fect" of the disease it- self? Considerably more re- search is needed to bet- ter understand the role fungus has in our health; we've defined many in- fectious states, but not fully elucidated how fungus helps us. But the volume of knowledge on such things is mush- rooming. Dr. Salvatore Iaquinta is a head and neck surgeon at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael and the author of "The Year They Tried To Kill Me." HIGHWAY TO HEALTH Fungus among us Research on how body bacteria may be beneficial is growing Salvatore Iaquinta CLIFBOSLERFORTWORTHSTAR- TELEGRAM PHOTO BY JIM GENSHEIMER Athlete's foot is a fungal infection initiated by an environmental change. Newpatientsalwayswelcome! Dr.AuroraBarriga,Optometrist 715 Jackson St., Suite A, Red Bluff (530) 527-9242 Red Bluff Vision Center An Optometric Practice YourFullServiceEyeCareProfessionals Quality Eye Care, Quality Eyewear Come see us for your vision exams and treatment of medical eye problems such as dry eye, allergies, blurred vision and eye injuries. Ocular eye evaluations for diabetes, glaucoma, hypertension (high blood pressure), cataracts, and high risk medications as well. Call to schedule an appointment for you and your family members today! www.redbluffvision.com Please visit our web site at Sponsoredby The Saturday Market SlowFood Shasta Cascade ® Your community YEAR-ROUND Certified Farmers & Artisan Market 8-12:30, every Saturday Home Depot parking lot Springis here! Now opening at 8 a.m. Endsnoring An estimated 80 million people in North America snore. Taking into account the snorer's spouse and children, as many as 160 million people are negatively affected by snoring. Snoring not only interrupts your sleep cycle, it can also be a symptom of a condition called sleep apnea. Fortunately, there are cost-effective oral appliances for snoring and sleep apnea that dentists can prescribe to their patients. Traditional mandibular advancement appliances, such as Silent Night Slide-Link, TAP, EMA, help reduce or eliminate snoring by moving the lower jaw forward, opening the airway to allow air to flow more freely. CALL DR. RANDAL ELLOWAY IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM SNORING OR SLEEP APNEA. HE WILL BE GLAD TO DISCUSS YOUR SYMPTOMS. PROVIDE YOU WITH THE OPTIMUM APPLIANCE TO HELP YOU SLEEP PEACEFULLY AND WITH SECURITY. CALL (530) 527-6777 OFFICE HOURS MON-THURS 8-5 • FRI 8-12. EVERY OTHER WED 10-7 2426 South Main St., Red Bluff CA 5 th Annual Red Bluff Round-Up Blood Drive April13,2016 11:00-6:00 Tehama County Fairgrounds Auditorium Sponsored by the Emblem Club and the Red Bluff Round-Up Association All participants will receive a free Red Bluff Round-Up Ticket! 750DavidAvenue,RedBluff•527-9193• www.tehamaestatesretirement.com findusonFacebook Tehama Estates The areas #1 Senior Housing Provider SeniorRetirementApartments •3DeliciousHealthyMealsEachDay • Daily Housekeeping • 24 Hour Staffing, 365 Days of the Year • Utilities Included (except phone & cable) • Transportation • Fun Activities and Events Call For Rent Special TehamaEstatesProvides: redbluff.mercy.org CommunityDiabetesSupportGroup 6:30pm-8:30pm 4/4 1st Monday Columba 888-628-1948 Overeater's Anonymous 6:30am-7:30pm 4/6 Wednesdays Russell 528-8937 Grief Support 3:00pm-5:00pm 4/7 Thursdays Wright Kristin Hoskins 528-4207 Community BLS 6:00pm-10:00pm 4/12 2nd Tuesday Columba 888-628-1948 (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff $ 25 .00 No Enrollment Fee month Rates as low as HEALTH » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, April 5, 2016 » MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4 ★