Health News

By MICHELLE INGLE, Kootasca Head Start

School is back in session and many parents are having a hard time getting their kids to go to bed at night. Every parent knows that their children need a good nights sleep. Surprisingly, many parents don’t realize how much sleep their children actually do need in order to function at their optimal level.

The Arrowhead Regional Development Commission’s Area Agency on Aging is offering free on-site health insurance counseling at the Northome VFW Building/Temporary Library Location, Northome on first Tuesday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. Assistance regarding benefits, appeals, forms, Medicare Savings Programs and the Prescription Drug Program applications, sorting and organizing of Medicare statements and supplemental statements is provided.

Q. I usually get a bit light-headed when I stand, but this feeling is much worse when I get up from the dinner table. I don’t drink. Any ideas?

A. There’s a possibility you have “postprandial hypotension,” or, in layman’s language, low blood pressure after a meal. This is a senior malady; few younger people experience this. Other possible symptoms include dizziness, blurred vision, nausea and fainting. I recommend going to a doctor to have your symptoms checked.

By MICHELLE INGLE, Kootasca Head Start

While everyone knows that smoking is bad for the smoker, many people don’t think about the effects that smoking indoors can have on children and other family members.
Not only should people not smoke in their homes, they should also not smoke in their cars. The following is some information from the United States Environmental Protection Agency:
• Breathing smoke from someone else’s pipe, cigar or cigarette can make you and your children sick.

By MICHELLE INGLE, Kootasca Head Start

More than 50,000 children are treated each year in emergency rooms for accidental ingestion of medications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The following are some things that parents and other adults can do to stop this from happening.
• Keep all medications out of the reach of children. This includes over-the-counter medications and vitamins.
• Always buy medications that have a child-proof cover.
• After taking medication, always put the cover back on tightly.
• Store medications in a locked cabinet.

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota has recorded its first human West Nile cases of 2008.
The state Health Department says the cases involve a man in his 60s in Clay County, and two people under the age of 20 in Becker and Carver counties.
All three experienced onset of symptoms in early to mid July. They were later diagnosed with West Nile fever, a milder form of the illness, and are now recovering.

With summer in full swing, ticks and mosquitoes are out in Borderland. A record number of tick-born illnesses were reported to the Minnesota Department of Health last year. Health officials are warning that prevention of bites is vital in protecting against disease.
Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, said the cause of the record number of cases could be more people being exposed as they do outdoor activities, more infected ticks, or a combination of both.

Tick-borne illnesses

Alternative healing modalities offer a perspective on health with a focus on prevention through a comprehensive approach of body, mind and spirit.
Four practitioners of yoga, tai chi, massage therapy, Reiki, biofeedback and essential oils have recently begun to offer their techniques at Dancing Sky Wellness, located at Faith United Church at 1001 5th St.
To make an appointment call 286-5464 or visit online at www.dancingskywellness.com.

Veterans fight to have Parkinson’s declared service connected to Agent Orange

U.S. Military Veterans With Parkinson’s Disease, an organization of about 150 members, is saying the Department of Veterans Affairs should recognize that exposure to Agent Orange and other pesticides during their service has a plausible connection.
They want Parkinson’s added to the VA’s “presumptive list” of Agent Orange connected illnesses.

Heart Disease Risk Assessment Program now available at the Duluth Clinic

If the old adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” still holds true today, then Ben Franklin would be pleased with the Women’s Heart Disease Risk Assessment Program at the Duluth Clinic — International Falls.
Designed for women, but also open to men, it is an affordable and less complicated program for testing and consultation on heart risk and health prevention.