National Epilepsy Awareness Month Has Arrived!

National Epilepsy Awareness Month kicks off with a new campaign by the Epilepsy Foundation, a year long effort to attack the condition on multiple fronts. Education, research, fighting discrimination for people with seizures and highlighting stories of survivors of epilepsy.

The campaign is called #DareTo, and it’s going to be pretty easy to spot. Public service announcements will feature spokespeople and celebrities with epilepsy. There are campaign features showcasing the work of artists who are epileptic.

#DareTo is tailored to reach those afflicted with epilepsy. Regrettably, there is still some stigma attached to people who have seizures: they live in anxiety of when/if a seizure might occur. In addition to the dangerous nature of the condition itself, there is the potential for embarrassment, public humiliation and inopportune timing. Seizures can scare people besides those who are stricken with them.

#DareTo seeks to eliminate that. No one should be ashamed of an illness. Public awareness is key, and there are numerous outreach programs on offer. Learn how those with epilepsy have turned what could be construed as a handicap into the source of great strength and resolve!

For those afflicted with seizures, management is key. There are numerous medical and cognitive treatment options available. Everyone who is epileptic, or has a loved one who is, deserves to avail themselves of all the information at their disposal.

For some medication is the answer. Others have found success with a VNS, vagus nerve simulation, the applying a device that sends electrical pulses to the vagus nerve. Still others find results from a careful diet, good exercise and various techniques designed to minimize stress.

Even if you are not yourself an epilepsy sufferer, there are many ways for you to get involved. The Epilepsy Foundation has an extensive list of volunteer activities, forums, and fundraising opportunities. Check it out and make a difference this November!

National Chiropractic Health Month

Sure, it’s rarely life and death. But the fact remains that back and neck pain is a huge, well … pain for millions of Americans. Latest estimates have right around 1 in 2 Americans experiencing back pain sometime during the year. About 31 million suffer from lower back pain alone. And at some point, 80 percent of us will be bearing, or bending, under the strain of a pulled muscle, bum alignment or the excruciating pain of sciatic nerve pinching.

For lots of us, this will be an unpleasant or inconvenient interlude, putting a crimp on the quality of life for a bit and then hopefully going away. For others, back and neck pain is a chronic condition, debilitating and insufferable. Regardless of which camp you fall into, a qualified chiropractor can bring hope and healing.

That’s why Scrubin is taking this opportunity to alert you to National Chiropractic Health Month. A chiropractor is a trained health professional who generally uses manual adjustments of the spine to treat neuromuscular disorders. Chiropractors examine the patient, make the diagnosis, apply the appropriate treatments and then detail a continuing plan of action for the patient. That can involve stretches, exercise or ergonomic fixes as simple as recommending a new desk chair or back support. Through chiropractors, millions of people have found relief from back and neck pain without having to resort to risk-laden surgeries or a regimen of medications.

And when it comes to that last benefit, a chiropractor’s care can really make a difference, because dependency on pain killers is becoming a real public health crisis. For many the addiction to pain killers begins legitimately, often as a result of attempts to treat back pain. These might mask the pain for a while, but do nothing to treat the condition itself. The cycle begins where more pills become necessary to combat pain that refuses to stay gone for good. This unfortunate by-product of a legitimate attempt to treat back and neck pain sufferers is a particular focus of this year’s National Chiropractic Month.

Chiropractic treatment is drug-free and surgery-free, as well as an organic and lifestyle enhancing treatment option. Learn more about it this October, and click here to find a doctor of chiropractic in your area. Maybe you yourself will find the relief you deserve!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month means Awareness and Advocacy

This is the big one. Scrubin is a committed, long-term supporter of breast cancer research, and we look forward to the day when a cure is found. Just page down through our product lines and you are sure to find that many of our nurses’ scrub sets, tops, pants and lab coats, not to mention accessories, are adorned with themes concerning women and the fight against this disease. The pink ribbon means something to us, and we hope it means a lot to you too.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been a cornerstone event in women’s health issues since its founding in 1985. Over the years it has grown in stature and impact. The NFL now decorates its fields and uniforms with pink for the month. Tokyo Tower is lit up in pink every year. The National Race for the Cure, an event begun in Dallas with participation of less than 1,000 people, now has about 1.5 million runners and walkers yearly, spread over 100 cities. The Susan G. Komen 3-day “For the Cure” walk, an event to raise funds to find the cure, takes place in countries the world over. Every year the events and public outreach during October grow, which is good news for those advocating not only for research, but also for self examinations, annual mammograms and other preventive measures.

In fact, the awareness month was originally started to promote mammography to foster earlier detection of the disease. That is still at the core of educating the public: women need to be tested early and often. Mammograms can show pre-cancerous conditions and allow women and their doctors to take appropriate steps from there. Mammograms can detect the cancer in its earliest, localized stages, greatly improving the rates of successful treatment and full recovery. This is a disease that will eventually strike more than one in 10 women, so every edge is necessary in fighting it.

This year, we have some good news to report: The rates for breast cancer have been dropping in the new millennium, after rising for the previous two decades. Clearly smarter health decisions and the rise of awareness on the part of women for early screenings (sign up for a screening reminder here, thanks to the American Cancer Society) and tests have had a big impact. And with improved treatment options, breast cancer has a better survival rate than it once did.         

But this is still a disease that strikes nearly 300,000 women a year in the United States alone. And, more than 40,000 women are expected to die of breast cancer this year in America. That is simply unacceptable. We cannot stop until we find the cure!

The widespread popularity of Breast Cancer Awareness Month means there are more outlets than ever for you to make a difference. So whether its running a marathon, signing up for a fundraising walk or helping out at a women’s health clinic, be sure to do your part to stop breast cancer in its tracks!

Here’s some more info about how you can get involved: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month

Show your support by wearing Breast Cancer Awareness scrub tops and accessories: http://www.scrubin.com/breast-cancer-awareness