Category: A Healthier Community

The Hidden Culprit That Might be Changing the Color of Your Toddler’s Poop

Many moms are obsessed with the color of their toddler’s poop. But, did you know that the color of your child’s poop can hint at what’s going on in his or her body?

Last year, my 1-year-old son’s poop had changed to an odd, sandy-white color I’d never seen before.  I did what all parents do: a quick Google search. As a result, I was convinced that my little boy suffered from a life-threatening liver disease.

Not quite. A call to the pediatrician’s office revealed that the likely culprit was the antibiotic the doctor had prescribed for my son’s ear infection.

Antibiotics kill the bacteria that make you sick. But, ironically, the medicine can also kill the good kinds of bacteria that keep you healthy. That’s probably why my son’s poop had turned an odd color.

The dangers of antibiotics

Before our little poop adventure, I never thought twice about antibiotics. Since then, I’ve learned that antibiotics can have some pretty serious side effects, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

What’s even scarier is the growing worldwide health crisis around the misuse of antibiotics and the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. One-third of antibiotics prescribed in Upstate New York are unnecessary, according to data from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

The issue?  Antibiotics are often prescribed to treat illnesses caused by a virus: flu, common cold, most cases of acute bronchitis, etc. But antibiotics won’t help people with a virus. They help people with illnesses caused by bacteria, such as strep throat, whooping cough, and urinary tract infections.

As more people overuse antibiotics, the bacteria in your body that haven’t been killed by the drug can become resistant to the medication.  This results in “superbugs” that cause life-threatening infections that can’t be treated with antibiotics.

This puts the entire community at risk of having antibiotics that don’t work.

Do you need antibiotics?

So antibiotics can be good – and bad? It’s all very confusing.  Here is some advice on determining whether you need (or don’t need) antibiotics.

  1. Get educated. Learn about antibiotics, the conditions for which antibiotics are often prescribed, and whether the antibiotics are able to help:
    1. To learn more about whether you should take an antibiotic for ear infections, eczema, and pinkeye, go to ChoosingWisely.org.
    2. ChoosingWisely.org also has information on whether you should take an antibiotic for the flu, colds and other respiratory illnesses.
    3. For general information about antibiotics, go to CDC.org.
  1. Take your medication as directed. One of the most important things you can do if you are prescribed an antibiotic is to take ALL of your medication and don’t skip doses.

“Too often, patients stop taking antibiotics when they begin to feel better and save the remainder of the pills for the next time they’re sick,” explains Martin Lustick, M.D., Corporate Medical Director at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “This is a big contributor to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

  1. Talk to your doctor. Your physician knows you best and will be able to offer the best advice. Watch this video to learn about four questions to ask your doctor:

  1. Trust your doctor if he or she says that an antibiotic isn’t needed.

“When the doctor says that an antibiotic isn’t needed,” said Lustick, “know that he or she is making the decision not to prescribe antibiotics by keeping the patient’s health and the health of the entire community in mind.”

A love/hate relationship

A friend of mine recently described her love/hate relationship with antibiotics.

She loved how the drugs cured her daughters’ ear infections, but hated how the drugs seemed to wreck her oldest child’s digestive system. Her daughter suffered from a continuous cycle of ear infections, antibiotic regimens, and irregular bowel movements.

She didn’t know for certain that her daughter’s digestive issues were related to the antibiotics. But given antibiotic’s reputation for causing these issues, it was hard for her not to make that association.

So what do you do if you need an antibiotic, but want to lessen its side effects?

Here are some recommendations from the Cleveland Clinic:

  1. Probiotics. Talk to your doctor about whether you should take probiotics. Antibiotics can cause people to have stomach problems, including diarrhea, cramping, and gas. The reason? The drugs can kill the good bacteria in your intestines that are critical to digestive health. Probiotics may return that bacteria to your body, potentially curing or lessening your stomach issues. You can take probiotics through supplements or foods such as yogurt.
  2. Foods. If certain foods upset your stomach even when you’re not on antibiotics, it’s even more important to avoid them when you’re on the drugs. Antibiotics may only worsen your normal stomach problems.
  3. Take your antibiotics as directed. Carefully read the directions to see whether antibiotics should be taken with or without food. You might get an upset stomach, for example, if you take an antibiotic on an empty stomach when the directions tell you to take the drug with food.

Remember my son and his oddly-colored poop? The nurse suggested I add Culturelle, a powdered probiotic supplement, to my son’s milk, to add more good bacteria back into his body. And within a week, his poop was back to normal.

Is 6 hours of Sleep Like not Sleeping at all?

Lack of sleep isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a public health problem. If you have trouble falling asleep at night or staying awake during the day, you’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in four American adults has a sleep or wakefulness disorder.

Was it the wine I drank with dinner? I didn’t think I napped that long. Is it because I didn’t run today? I never followed up on that project. What’s that noise? I need chapstick. WHY CAN’T I SLEEP?  

I almost always get a full eight hours each night, so having days when I’m running on six hours isn’t ideal, especially since I become a groggy, grumpy, downright miserable human being if I’m not well-rested. Luckily this doesn’t happen often.

But for those who are clocking four or six hours on the regular—WAKE UP!—you need more sleep! Take it from the researchers who found that participants getting four hours of sleep a night for two weeks functioned like a person who hadn’t slept for 48 hours. And those who got six hours every night over a period of two weeks performed like those who had been awake for 24 hours.

The Science Behind the Sleep Study

Forty-eight people joined a study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. The point of the study was “to inform the debate over whether human sleep can be chronically reduced without consequences.” Essentially, do humans really need eight hours of sleep?

Researchers split test subjects into four groups—those who slept eight hours, six hours, or four hours every night for two weeks, and those who stayed awake for three days straight. Each person was measured on sleepiness and how well their brain worked. Here are a few examples of the kinds of testing participants underwent:

  • For reaction time, subjects were measured on how quickly they could respond to a visual stimulus. Curious about the test? Get your reaction time here. Apparently my alertness may be suboptimal and I should consider medical evaluation—hmm, interesting.
  • To measure sleepiness, subjects were asked to rate how sleepy they felt using a scale from 1 to 7. For example, at 9 a.m., I was a “1” or “Feeling active, vital, alert or wide awake.” Then at 3 p.m. I was a “4” or “Somewhat foggy, let down.” Then at 11 p.m. I was a “6” or “Sleepy, woozy, fighting sleep; prefer to lie down.”

As you can imagine, the well-rested group that got eight hours a night for two weeks did significantly better than any of the other three test groups which had their sleep restricted. But the surprise lies in how the group sleeping four or six hours per night thought they were functioning.

Which brings me back to why you need more sleep if you’re only getting four or six hours each night. According to the study, not only did participants function as poorly as people who had been awake for 48 or 24 hours straight, but participants were more tired than they thought they were.

In other words, not enough sleep can be just as dangerous as having no sleep at all.

Dr. Matthew Bartels, a chief medical officer at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, who was not involved with the study, agrees with the study’s findings. “Sleep is absolutely essential for mental alertness and better physical health,” he stated. “I think most people can relate that when you get a good night’s sleep, you feel better and are more alert.”

Get Out of Sleep Debt

There’s no easier way to get all of the positive benefits of sleep—stress relief, restored energy, improved mood, the ability to think clearly or fight off infection—for such little effort. If you’ve been skimping, not only are you more tired than you think you are, but according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, you’re putting your body at risk for having heart disease, high blood pressure and other medical conditions that develop over the long run.

The good news is that if you haven’t been getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep, you can pay it back to yourself slowly and over time. To get out of “sleep debt,” common methods include going to bed earlier or taking short naps to compensate, but weekend catch-up is not advised.

 Going to bed earlier doesn’t necessarily mean moving your bedtime back two hours. Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each weeknight. If your typical bedtime is 11 p.m., go to bed at 10:45 p.m. on Monday, 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday—and so on. Come Saturday morning, you will have made up almost three hours of sleep.

I know new parents are probably tired of people telling them this, but if at all possible, try to sleep when your baby does (even if that means going to bed at 8:30 p.m.!). I realize that this is much easier said than done!

And if you’re pro-nap like me, limit daytime napping to less than one hour. “It’s certainly OK to take naps from time to time,” says Bartels. “But the long-term solution is to get the proper number of hours of sleep at nighttime so you aren’t disrupting your sleep cycle.”

Good Sleep Hygiene

If you have trouble falling and staying asleep, you may need to consider making sleep hygiene a habit. Everyone can benefit from it.

For example, the Sleep Foundation suggests avoiding bright lights (including cellphone and TV screens) 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Other recommendations include:

  • Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends
  • Doing a relaxing activity, such as reading before bed
  • Exercising at a time that works for you
  • Creating a Zen bedroom by dimming the lights, turning the thermostat down and having plenty of cozy blankets
  • Make one of 11 easy snacks to help you sleep better

If all else fails, Bartels suggests talking to your doctor. “If a patient is having trouble falling and staying asleep, I question the cause,” he said. “Is there another condition that could be causing the sleepless nights?”

So what’s the difference between four hours, six hours and eight hours of sleep? Besides the obvious time and cognitive effects, Bartels says the quality is just as important as the quantity. “There are phases of sleep needed to ‘reset your clock,’” he said. “When you get the optimal hours, your body has time to move through the sleep stages and benefit from the regenerative effects of sleep.”

12 Family-Friendly Apple Farms in Upstate New York

My toddler began his first apple picking trip by collecting the rotten fruit off the grass, offering them to me in his tiny palm and asking, “this?”

“No, sweetie,” I replied, gently knocking the mushy fruit out of his hands. “Try these.”

I pointed to the McIntosh hanging on a low branch by his head. He reached up and plucked a small one off the branch, dumping it into my bag. He zig-zagged through the trees, grabbing at the low-hanging fruit within his reach.

This apple farm had all the important features – a fenced-off area with chickens, a baby pig and goats; a store to buy little donuts and apple cider and a bright blue tractor trucking visitors to orchards of McIntosh and Spartan apples.

Matt picking apples. (provided by Joy Auch)

Matt picking apples. (provided by Joy Auch)

Before we left for the tractor ride back to the farm store to purchase our bounty, my little one did something he hadn’t done before. He grabbed an apple and took a bite and then another. It was the first time he willingly ate an apple.

Loving the sweet, tart or crisp apple

Apple picking isn’t just an active outing with lots of walking and hauling.  It may also foster a child’s love of the sweet, tart or crisp and always healthy apple.

“This is such a wonderful family bonding experience that is also exercise and healthy eating in disguise,” said Patricia Salzer, a registered dietitian and an Excellus BlueCross BlueShield workplace wellness consultant.

Apples are guilt-free because they have just traces of fat and sodium and no cholesterol. The skin of the apple is loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants. Adults and children alike can benefit from eating apples, whether they consume them out of hand, paired with peanut butter or baked in a wholesome fruit crisp with oats and nuts.

Apple farms of Upstate NY

Are you ready to embark with family or friends on one of the most quintessential fall activities?

If so, here’s a short list of apple orchards in upstate New York near Binghamton, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica. My co-workers recommended many of these orchards as their go-to fall family fun places:

A list of apple picking opportunities in New York or any state can also be found at pickyourown.org

Please follow COVID-19 precautions while enjoying your visit to the apple orchard. For more information, contact your local apple farm. 

Sneak more apples into your meals

You’ve picked bushels and bushels of apples. Now what?

Salzer offers these tips as ways you can incorporate more apples into your daily diet:

  • Make a fruit salad with a mixture of your favorite fruits. Or, add apples to your vegetable salads.
  • Add apples to your cereal, yogurt, pancakes or oatmeal.
  • Add apples to winter squash soup or grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches. Roast  them alongside chicken or pork.
  • Make an apple crisp with whole-wheat flour, oats and walnuts.

Keep apples visible in your kitchen so you’re more likely to eat them or store them in the front of your refrigerator. Better yet, swap out the cookie jar for a bowl of apples

Some tasty apple and other fall recipes are available on the Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Pinterest page at pinterest.com/excellusbcbs. Love pumpkin? Check out Five Pumpkin Breakfast Recipes for Fall.

I Never Saw a Tick on Me. But I Still Caught Lyme Disease.

I never saw it on me.

After years of walking the dog, hiking and trail running, I was trained to look for ticks. But I still didn’t spot it. Then I noticed a painless rash on my leg. I thought it was a bug bite, or skin irritation. I thought nothing of it.

I began to feel tired and developed a low-grade fever, but I still didn’t equate these symptoms to my bug bite from a tick I didn’t see, until I noticed the expanding redness around the bite.  The bite had also formed the “bull’s eye” or “target” look of Lyme disease.

By the time I saw my physician, the bull’s eye appearance was gone, but the red rash had spread. The rash looked like a common skin infection.  If I had not told my physician of the bull’s eye rash, we would have missed or delayed my Lyme disease diagnosis.

Notice I said “we.” Your doctor alone can’t diagnose a bite or rash he or she never observed. That’s why it’s important to actively participate in your health and diagnosis.

5 Essential Steps When Checking for Lyme Disease

Not all people with Lyme disease develop the bull’s eye rash. But if you do get it, measure the red patch around the bite to see if it’s expanding:

  1. Mark the edges of the patch
  2. Measure and record the patch’s height and width with a ruler
  3. Repeat the next day. Give these numbers to your physician.
  4. Take pictures of the rash and share with your doctor.
  5. Make a note if you experience fever, energy loss, and unusual joint stiffness. These are all common symptoms of early Lyme disease.

Preventing Lyme Disease

To avoid ticks, cover up with long sleeves and pants when you’re in the woods or in areas with high grass. Use insect repellant.

Ticks can be carried into your yard by your pets, so carefully examine your furry friends.

Even after you leave the woods or a grassy area, you can still prevent Lyme disease by quickly finding and removing ticks.

Here’s how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends safely removing ticks:

  • Take a bath or shower soon after coming indoors to help wash off the tick or find the little insect.
  • It’s not just a country song by Brad Paisley: really check yourself and loved ones for ticks! Use a hand-held or full-length mirror. Parents: Check for ticks under your kid’s arms, around and in their ears, inside their belly button, behind their knees, between their legs, around the waist and in their hair.
  • To remove ticks:
    • Grab the tick with a fine-tipped tweezer. Try to get as close to the surface of the skin as you can get.
    • Pull upward. Use steady, even pressure. If the mouth of the tick breaks off and stays in your skin, try to remove that part with tweezers.
    • Clean your hands and the area of the tick bite with rubbing alcohol, iodine scrub, or soap and water. Then kill it! Submerge the tick in alcohol, seal it in a bag or container, wrap it tightly in tape or flush it down the toilet.

Be Aware. Lyme Disease is Here!

Having been in practice as a chiropractor for 28 years, I saw and diagnosed many of my patients’ skin conditions, referring them on for appropriate care.

But I almost missed this diagnosis.

All health practitioners need to be aware of the early signs and symptoms of Lyme disease. Caught early, the disease is very treatable with antibiotics. Delayed recognitions can trigger life-changing complications. For more information, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov/lyme.

You can catch Lyme disease if you’re bitten by an infected tick.

  • 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported annually in the U.S.
  • About 3,000 cases of Lyme disease were confirmed in New York in 2014, the most recent year for which data are available.

The number of cases is likely higher. Officials believe that only a fraction of illnesses are actually reported.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/humancases.html

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/tables.html

Race Day Checklist – 9 Tips Before Hitting Your Next Starting Line: 5ks, Half-Marathons and Mud Runs

I trained hard for my first Tough Mudder, a mud run through an obstacle course that included barbed wire and dangling electrical wires.

But a bulky T-shirt almost threw me off my game. I was running with a team, and we ordered identical T-shirts. I didn’t try on my shirt until 10 p.m. the night before the race. It was way too big.

Here’s Janette (left) with her Tough Mudder teammates. Her shirt might not look baggy, but that’s because her fellow runner is holding the back of her shirt, so it doesn’t look too big in the photo!

You need to wear tightly fitted clothes to compete in a Tough Mudder. A bulky shirt will slow you down, because it will be heavy with mud and get stuck as you’re crawling through barbed wire.

Fortunately, my boyfriend ran to the store and bought a replacement shirt while I got some beauty sleep before the big event.

No more race day snafus

Learn from me, and don’t go to your next 5k, half-marathon or mud run unprepared! If you bought new running clothes, for example, make sure you try them on long before race day.

I have friends who don’t do anything to prepare for a race other than making sure they’re able to run the distance. Unfortunately, this has caused a lot of problems.

One friend was late to a very popular race, the Turkey Trot.  Because she arrived late, she had to park far from the starting line. When she arrived, the race had already begun, and she was well behind the other participants.  She hated being the very last participant and did not finish very well.

Here are more tips to help you hit that personal record (PR), tackle a marathon, go from couch to 5k and avoid race day snafus:

The week before the run …

    1. Get enough sleep the entire week before your race. You consistently need to receive a solid amount of sleep if you want to perform well. I personally aim for at least eight hours of sleep a night.

The night before the run…

    1. Avoid intense workouts. Take it easy the day before the event so you can perform your best the next day. An easy run or cross-training is OK.
    2. Don’t try any new foods. You don’t want to surprise your body, or your body might surprise you. You don’t have to load up on carbohydrates the day before a shorter race, such as a 5k. But if you do want to increase your carbs for a longer race such as a marathon, make sure you do so the entire week before the race – not just the night before.
    3. Get ready the night before the race. Have your clothes, race packet and gear ready to go.
    4. Set an alarm. Even if you don’t think you’ll oversleep, it’s better to be safe than sorry.  Look up information on the parking situation before you leave for the event.
    5. Have a plan for your phone and keys, whether it’s leaving them with a friend or family member, using a running belt or wearing clothes with pockets.
    6. Hydrate the night before. Keep a water bottle near you and keep sipping. Avoid alcohol.

The morning of the event…

  1. For breakfast, eat whatever you normally would consume before a run and drink water. Toast, fruit, half of a bagel, dry cereal or oatmeal are all great options. Remember to avoid new foods.
  2. Arrive at the race with time to spare. Check in and warm up the same way you normally would before a run.

If things don’t go well, that’s OK. It’s important to embrace the unexpected and be safe. If you’re late to a 5k, mud run or marathon, don’t try sprinting fast to catch up. You wouldn’t want to strain a muscle or slip on wet autumn leaves. No matter what happens, remember to have fun!

Good luck!

Am I Selfish if I Don’t Get a Flu Shot? 3 Unexpected Reasons Why I’m Getting the Vaccination This Year

I don’t like needles, never have. But, every year I’ve gotten a flu shot, because I’ve been told that it’s my best defense against the flu. So I visit my doctor every year, close my eyes, turn my head and wait for the needle to plunge into my arm. Except, last year something different happened.

I still got the flu. Last February, it hit me pretty hard. As a matter of fact, I literally couldn’t sit up for a couple of days. It was frustrating. I couldn’t help but think, “Why get a flu shot if I still get the flu?”

The effectiveness of the flu shot can vary every year, so there’s always the possibility I could still get sick from the flu…again.

Which leaves me with basically two options this year – either get the shot again (and still risk getting the flu) or do nothing (and also risk getting the flu).

But my first unexpected reason for still getting the shot is that even if I get the flu again after getting the shot, the vaccination will probably protect me from developing serious complications, including severe pneumonia and/or a hospitalization.  This is especially true for people who are older than I am and/or battle certain chronic diseases.

It’s not all about the needles

But, what if I avoid the whole “needle thing” this year and not get a shot at all? Is that being selfish? Maybe, and that wouldn’t be good for you or those around you.

We all have a responsibility to protect those who can’t get a shot, but could get seriously sick if they caught the flu. Babies younger than 6 months of age are too young to get the vaccine. People with severe, life-threatening allergies to the shot also can’t get the vaccination.

I don’t want to get the flu and spread it to someone who can’t handle the disease. That’s my second unexpected reason for getting the vaccination.

Just consider these stats:

If more people avoid flu vaccines this season because of needle phobia, those numbers will surely jump. The flu virus spreads too easily and can cause serious health problems for women who are pregnant, the very young or very old and/or those who have a chronic illness or a medical condition that weakens their immune system.

So, it’s not just about me and my dislike of needles. When I get a flu shot, it doesn’t just protect me, it also helps to protect you and those around you.

Well, maybe it’s a little bit about the needles.

I’m also not the only one who hates needles. In an online survey by Harris Interactive conducted for Target Corp., 60 percent of adult respondents said they won’t get the flu vaccination, and about 20 percent of them said it’s because they’re afraid of needles.

For some, the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine was a way around their needle phobia. However, the nasal spray is not recommended for the coming flu season, because it doesn’t offer much protection from the virus, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kids may be harder hit by this recommendation, because the nasal spray accounts for about one-third of all flu vaccines given to children. Yet everyone age six months and older should get the shot, according to ACIP.

Overcoming the fear of needles

I start thinking about the shot at least 24 hours before receiving it. By the time I’m actually in the chair, I’m sure my blood pressure has risen above my normal numbers. All I can think about at that moment is just getting it over with.

If you’re like me and fear needles, here are tips for dealing with your phobia:

  • Distract yourself before and during the shot by listening to music, reading a book or using your phone.
  • Concentrate on taking slow, deep breaths and relaxing the muscles in your arm.
  • Instead of looking at what the health care provider is doing, focus intently on something else in the room. I always look away.
  • You can also ask your health care provider ahead of time about skin-numbing products that may reduce pain if applied about an hour before the shot.

Here are tips specific to kids:

  • Encourage your child to bring a favorite toy or comfort item to the appointment.
  • Be a good role model by staying positive and cheerful during the shot.
  • Remind your child (as well as yourself) that the shot is quick and will keep you healthy for a long time.

My third unexpected reason

You never know when the flu will hit. I got the flu in February.

I mistakenly thought the flu was pretty much done by then. I was wrong. Within just a few hours on a chilly mid-February day, I went from feeling perfectly fine to literally being unable to get out of bed. I felt awful for two straight days and had all of the typical flu symptoms.

Most of the time, seasonal flu activity peaks between December and February, but outbreaks can happen as early as October and last into May. Because you never know when the flu will peak each season, I’m going to make sure I get my flu shot earlier in October. That’s my third unexpected reason for getting the vaccination.

flu-infographic

Don’t let a fear of needles get in the way of doing the right thing for your health and the health of all those around you. This coming flu season, make sure everyone in your family gets a flu shot.