National Influenza Vaccination Week: Have You Gotten Your Flu Shot?

Influenza. Sounds kind of exotic, at least until you know better: It’s the flu. Not exotic at all, but something quite common, and a potentially deadly illness we’ve all dealt with either ourselves, or as we’ve cared for someone who’s come down with it.

Even though the flu remains common, it really shouldn’t, because of the widespread availability of a little thing called the flu shot. Most every pharmacy has them on offer, as well as major store chains and even grocery outlets — pretty much anywhere that has pharmacy services. And yet far too many people still refuse to take advantage of the inoculation, come down with the dreaded flu (or influenza), and simultaneously expose those who are vulnerable to a higher likelihood of contracting it as well.

Flu season kicks off during October and is approaching its peak during the holidays, which is the absolute worst time to be flat on your back for a week or two. So this is a fitting time of year to get the word out: Dec. 6-12^th brings us National Influenza Vaccination Week. As healthcare professionals, we have a duty to educate the people around us, so here are some talking points for those cases who don’t think they need a shot, or are afraid of the vaccine because of all the misinformation that’s out there.

The Centers for Disease Control recommendation is that everyone older than six months get a yearly flu vaccination. There are deaths from the flu every year in America; children are especially vulnerable. It’s more than just a bad couple or three days of fever and a sore throat — it can be, and often is, fatal.

Speaking of children, and to repeat: infants under the age of six months, fragile and susceptible to just about anything that comes along, are not eligible for the flu vaccination. They depend upon the rest of to ward it off, thus limiting their exposure.

Now there are criticisms of the flu vaccination, the main one being that it doesn’t always prevent the flu. There is some truth to this. The 2014 flu vaccination was considered not as effective as it could have been. The reason is that there are several strands of influenza, and different strands spring up all the time. The vaccination takes several months to prepare, and the compound is based around strands the CDC early in the year predicts will be most prevalent once flu season rolls around. No batch of the flu vaccination can take care of them all, and there is some educated guessing involved.

But it remains the medical consensus that the flu vaccination makes a huge dent in the population of flu sufferers every year. And a healthier person means a healthier chance for the people around him or her. So if you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, by all means do so. And if you’re still shopping for that hard-to-buy-for person, a flu shot may not be a conventional stocking stuffer, but a healthy and happy winter season vs. a stretch in bed, or even a few days in the hospital, is a very nice present to receive.

Don't Let Holiday Eating Pack On The Pounds

The very idea of eating healthy around holiday time sounds not only impossible, but also pointless. For many of us, food is one of the great pleasures this time of year — unless you are going to be subsisting on a diet of candied yams, stuffing, and honey-banked hams in the balmy summer months.

We like our holiday treats, we like the big meals, the buttered rolls, the desserts … and then the other desserts. Yes, we know it perhaps isn’t the best stuff for us, but c’mon already, ’tis the season. We’d no sooner do without Thanksgiving leftovers than we would autumn foliage, and Christmas dinner is just as eagerly anticipated as opening gifts.

OK, fair enough. Nonetheless, we also definitely don’t like the feeling of being sluggish and dazed from too much grub, and none of us like the post-holiday hangover that comes crashing in right around Jan. 2: some extra pounds, and pants that if they fit at all, do so rather snugly.  So begins the next season: one of harsh New Year’s resolutions — involving pricey gym memberships, personal trainers, and meals portioned out to the gram. (“Another sliver of kale, anyone?” “No, no, I couldn’t possibly!”)

So feasting at this time of year leads unfortunately to famine tomorrow. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We could all enjoy the holidays, and the foodstuffs that come with them, if we just practiced a modicum of restraint and balance.

Rotate out some of the more caloric-busting dishes with healthier alternatives. Instead of cream-based soups or heavy stews, do a soup that is broth-based, done with vegetable stock. Avoid undue snacking from the chip or nuts dish, and pass on the cheese ball. There will be plenty to eat — no need to gorge on the starters.

At the same time, don’t use the holidays as an excuse to come off your normal eating routine. If you are one to wake up and eat a grapefruit or bowl of bran cereal, continue to do that. You’ll find your appetite is subtly sated when the main event comes around and you are less likely to stuff yourself to the breaking point if you aren’t ravenous when the turkey touches the table.

Also go easy on the alcohol; booze is loaded with empty calories and nothing is so sure to bring on the bloat as a couple too many beers or cocktails.

And finally, don’t just sit there. Get up, take a walk after a meal (or before), introduce some holiday dancing to the festivities. Make those calories work for you, and in the process work them off a little.

Just a few small adjustments can make a world of difference in staving off post-holiday blues for your body. Tailor your holiday festivities accordingly, and it might save you from having to tailor your favorite trousers afterwards.

One more thing: Happy Holidays from all of us at Scrubin Uniforms! We greatly appreciate your business, and look forward to serving you in 2016!

November Is American Diabetes Month — Get Involved

At Scrubin, we are involved with getting the word out about many great causes and organizations. One of the biggest for us is American Diabetes Month.

This is a disease which has been forefront of the public consciousness for some time, and with good reason. Diabetes numbers 30 million Americans among its sufferers, both adults and children. And it is estimated that more than 80 million more are “pre-diabetic” and at heightened risk to develop type 2 diabetes. If the disease is not at epidemic levels, it is not far from it.

Our diets are all too often composed of an excess of sugars, fats, cholesterol and sodium. While public awareness seems to be rising in this regard, it is still a widespread fact that much of our food is packaged and processed, and therefore potent as delivery systems for excesses of sugar. This is to say nothing of our affection for sodas and sugar-laden energy drinks.

Now, while a healthy, informed diet is not enough to stave off diabetes in every case, the simple fact is that eating healthier — limiting sugars, basing meals around protein and essential vitamins and roughage — would slash the percentage of our population who have type 2 diabetes by a tremendous degree. This is a particularly urgent matter in regards to our young people. The rate of growth for the disease in children has burgeoned by more than 33% in the past couple of decades.

Sure, there are several factors at work in this rising figure, but most researchers agree that the majority of the growth is directly tied to the rapidly escalating rates of childhood obesity. Healthy diet, regular exercise: these are the enemies of Type 2 diabetes. Make sure your kid has both!

Another unfortunate fact about our food consumption and diabetes: it is often more expensive and more difficult in the United States to eat healthy. Cheaper foods are typically mass produced, therefore usually have a lower price tag. And these are the very foods prevalent with trans-fats, sodium, high fructose corn syrup, dyes and excess sugars. As such, our more impoverished communities have been particularly hard hit by the growing rate of diabetes in the society. American Diabetes Month has a variety of outreach effortsintended to educate all our communities communities about the very real dangers of the disease.

Think you might be at risk? Your doctor can ease your fears, or get you on a path of treatment if there’s a problem.  He or she will perform a simple glucose test. If diabetes is indicated, then immediate steps can be taken: regular monitoring, insulin treatment, strict diet and life-style changes.

If you rate as pre-diabetic, then you and your health-care professional can design a firm plan to tackle the potential risk before it becomes a difficult reality.

Diabetes in America is on the rise, unfortunately, but we can make November of 2015 the moment when we turned back the tide!