Trips, Slips and Helpful Tips

With our ice covered sidewalks and streets, it’s no wonder falls are a big problem this time of year. But, even when the snow and ice melt, the risk is still constant. Each year an estimated 37.3 million falls are severe enough to require medical attention. In fact, globally, falls are a major public health concern. About 424,000 fatal falls occur each year, making it the second leading cause of unintentional injury death, after road traffic injuries.*

Most Common Fall Injuries

Head injuries

Fractures, sprains, torn tendons and ligaments.

Neck, back and spine injuries

Broken hips or broken pelvis

Preventing Falls

Start with your shoes

High heels, poorly fitting shoes or those with slick soles are almost certain to increase your risk for a fall especially on the many icy patches here in Minnesota during the winter months. Make sure you wear properly fitting sturdy shoes with nonskid soles.

Have you fallen before?

Take a second look at areas where you have fallen before to make sure you’ve done everything you can to prevent it from happening again whether that means putting salt down on the sidewalk or, if inside, would a railing or carpet help?

What medications are you taking?

Make a list of your prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements. Your doctor can review your medications for side effects and interactions that may increase your risk of falling.

What health conditions do you have?

Certain eye and ear disorders may increase your risk of falls. Be prepared to discuss your health conditions. Your doctor may evaluate your muscle strength, balance and walking style (gait) as well.

Look around your house and lighten it up

It’s important to make sure your house is well lit. As well, check that your home isn’t filled with the following hazards known to cause falls:

ü  Bubbling carpet or loose floorboards

ü  Electrical cords and phone cords near traffic areas

ü  Clothing, dishes, food and other necessities in hard-to-reach places

ü  Spilled liquids, grease or food

ü  Bathtubs or showers without nonslip mats or stickers

Exercise 

Physical activity can go a long way toward fall prevention. With your doctor's OK, consider activities such as walking, swimming or tai chi — a gentle exercise that involves slow and graceful dance-like movements. These exercises reduce the risk of falls by improving strength, balance, coordination and flexibility.

Five Facts You Need to Know About Heart Health

Did you know that 1 in 31 American women dies of breast cancer, while 1 in 3 women dies of heart disease? February is Heart Health month, let’s take this time to discuss heart health. Here are 5 facts that you need to know about heart disease:

1.    Heart disease causes 1 in 3 women’s deaths each year, killing approximately  one woman every minute.

2.    Ninety percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart  disease.

3.    Only 1 in 5 American women believe that heart disease is her greatest health  threat.

4.    Since 1984, more women than men have died each year from heart disease.

5.    In 2013, Minnesotans experienced almost 45,000 acute heart disease  hospitalizations.

The facts don't lie, heart health is a huge deal. Do you know the major signs of heart attacks in women? Check out these telltale signs of heart attacks in women:

1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

It's never too late to start taking care of your heart! For these and other facts about heart health, check out the American Heart Association!

The Biggest Loser- The Urgency Room Edition

Our Vadnais Heights crew is participating in the Biggest Loser! Unfortunately we will not be on the actual show (NBC, call us!), but the competition is still cutthroat. Contestants are competing to win a whopping $120 and the glory of calling themselves the Biggest Loser. The winner of the competition will be determined by who loses the largest percentage of body weight.

The 90 challenge started on January 8^th and will end on April 8^th. The eight contestants all have different approaches to winning and keeping the weight off for good. One contestant is doing several rounds of the 21 Day Fix in hopes to melt the weight right off. Several contestants have taken the old fashioned approach of eating better and running. Another contestant has joined Weight Watchers to help lose the pounds. In the end it doesn’t matter what weight loss regiment has been followed, it only matters who has lost the largest percentage of body weight.

As the competition heats up and the New Year wears on, who will be able to stick to their diet and who will cave to the cookies in the break room? Only the scale will tell…

Winter Break Fever

We all remember counting down the days of school until winter break as a child. With a week or more off of school and the added excitement of the holidays there is a chance that the change in a child’s routine could compromise their health. If your child comes down with a fever during their winter vacation there are a few things that you can remember when you are caring for them.

The higher the temperature does not mean the more serious the illness in most cases. Some illnesses do not cause a fever at all.  It is important to take the age of the child into consideration when understanding the severity of a fever.  Call your pediatrician or seek medical attention for children 3 months of age and younger with a rectal temperature of 100.4 and above.  As infants and children get a little older you can take their behavior and activity level into account when understanding the severity of their fever. 

While they can be scary, fevers are normal reactions for children and the body’s internal mechanism for fighting infection. Children, especially younger kids, are likely to get fevers as their bodies are still learning to control and adapt themselves. Some fevers are even caused from overheating while playing and exercising.

There are a number of ways to reduce a mild fever in children at home.  Children 6 months and older can use a pain reliever such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, always consult your pediatrician with specific dosing questions or instruction. Baths are also a great way to lower a child’s body temperature but can be counterintuitive.  You may think a cold bath will be just the thing to calm them down but that is the opposite of how you should respond. Surprisingly, a simple warm bath will help to bring their temperature down and is often one of the best remedies for relieving a fever.  Remember to offer plenty water and liquids to avoid dehydration and always encourage as much rest as possible.

Winter break is one of the most blissful times of the year for a child. If they come down with a fever keep these things in the back of your mind. For more detailed information from one of our doctors watch the following video about fevers in children.

Top Dangers Threatening To Take the Happy out of your Holidays

Nothing makes you more of a Grinch during the holidays than a trip to the Emergency Room when you should be home enjoying good food, family and friends. Unfortunately, accidents are very common during the holiday season, for a variety of reasons. Here are the top concerns you should steer clear of if you don’t want to have a Ba Humbug attitude about the holidays this year.

Falls

About 5,800 individuals are treated annually in hospital emergency rooms for injuries sustained from falls involving holiday decorations.  This can include putting lights up on the house or reaching to far on the ladder to get the star on the top of your tree.

In addition, 4,000 people a year are treated in emergency rooms for injuries associated with extension cords.  Half of these injuries involve fractures, lacerations, contusions, or sprains as a result of people tripping over the cords.

Carbon Monoxide poisonings

Carbon Monoxide claims an average of 430 lives in the United States per year. These are preventable deaths. Make sure you install at least one smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home and near bedrooms.

Fires

About 30% of all home fires and 38% of home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January, and February.  The United States Fire Administration (USFA) says these fires happen for a variety of reasons cooking, heating, and open flames, all which increase during the holidays. Watch all fires and do not cook or handle an open flame if you have been drinking in excess.

Decorations

With all their shine and glitter holiday decorations are especially tempting to infants, who can quickly choke on items like tinsel, small ornaments, tiny pine cones and pieces from nativity scenes. Be sure to keep all such hazards well out of the reach of children; this includes popular holiday food items like nuts and hard candies, too.

Mistletoe
Poinsettias are often regarded as the most poisonous holiday plant, but contrary to popular belief these plants are actually not toxic to people. Mistletoe, on the other hand, is poisonous. Eating any part of the mistletoe plant, but particularly the berries and leaves, can lead to gastrointestinal upset, while some varieties contain toxins that can lead to blurred vision, blood pressure changes and even death. 

  

Toxic Candles, Sprays and Lights

Do you ever stop to consider what is in the smoke that burns from your candles? They can release hundreds of chemicals, including cancer-causing benzene, into your home's air every time you burn them. This is particularly true of scented candles, as the fragrance oils often contain phthalates, which have been linked to numerous hormonal disruptions, breast cancer, early or delayed puberty and more. Spray on snow is also hazardous as it contains acetone and methylene chloride (a probable carcinogen).

According to a U.S. Environmental group’s study four out of five holiday lights tested contain lead, 28 percent of which contained lead at such high levels they would be illegal to sell in Europe. 

Give yourself a gift this holiday season. Beware of the hazards that threaten to rob you of the joy and relaxation you deserve. An ounce of prevention is worth a lot more than what Santa might bring you.

10 Things You Didn't Know About the UR

There is more than what meets the eye when you come to The Urgency Room. We thought we would create a post for the things you might not know about the UR!

1. Our radiology technicians come from St. Paul Radiology. The wonderful people at the UR take your x-rays and ultrasounds are actually employees of St. Paul Radiology. We who were so impressed with their skills that we wanted to collaborate!

2. Every UR has a candy drawer. The UR and it's employees contribute to the candy drawer to keep it well stocked. When that occasional chocolate craving hits, we are ready!

3. The average patient visit is 90 minutes or less. No matter how serious this injury or illness the UR averages a 90 minute or less from door to discharge. We think that is pretty impressive!
                                            

4. Our staff shares meals on holidays. Even when our employees are working to take care of patients on the holidays, they still get to enjoy a holiday meal with their UR family.

5. We have access to local clinics medical records. With your permission, we can access your electronic medical records from your primary care provider. In addition, your records can then be electronically sent from the UR to your regular doctor for review or follow up care.

6. We have COWs at the UR. Well maybe not actual cows, but we have Computers On Wheels. We have scribes at the UR who go room to room with a doctor and document the visit. The scribes use COWs to make the documentation process more efficient for the patient and provider.
                                                              

7. Woodbury is the only one of our three locations that was created from an existing building and was once a video rental store. After gutting out the building we were able to turn the old video store into a state of the art medical facility. We bet the original builders would have never imagined it was going to become a free standing emergency room!

8. Between the three URs, we go through almost 450 bottles of water per month. The URs have a drink fridge at each location for our ill patients. Though we stock juice, sports drinks and lemon lime soda, water is the number one beverage we go through.

9. The UR has its own YouTube Channel!  You can find our board-certified emergency physicians on YouTube providing educational information on some of the most common things we see at the UR.  Some of our videos have almost 100,000 views!

10. The physicians, PAs and NPs that staff our Urgency Rooms also work in the ERs of 5 of our main Twin Cities hospitals.  You could see your doctor at the UR or working in the ER of Mercy, Unity, Southdale, Ridges and Methodist hospitals.  Needless to say you are in very capable hands during your visit to the UR. We only hire the best and the brightest!

Heart Attack on a Plate? Tis The Season...

It’s certainly the lump of coal among all the presents! Research shows that the death rate from heart attack and stroke tends to spike around the holiday season. The numbers include both fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, as well as a less serious, alcohol-induced condition called "holiday heart syndrome" that causes the heart to beat irregularly.

When you eat a lot of food at once, your stomach expands with your digestive system requiring more blood. If you have coronary heart disease or are at risk for it, overeating (a big Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can top 5,000 calories) can have serious consequences. Triglycerides­—a type of fat in the blood after a large meal—can cause coronary artery inflammation, commonly a prelude to a heart attack. Large amounts of food and alcohol can also cause the release of adrenaline-like substances that can cause a fatal abnormal heart rhythm.

Recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack and getting immediate medical treatment is vital. Here are the top signs of a heart attack, though these may vary between men and women and patient by patient.

• Pressure, tightness, pain, or a squeezing or aching sensation in your chest or arms that may spread to your neck, jaw or back
• Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain
• Shortness of breath
• Cold sweat
• Fatigue
• Lightheadedness or sudden dizziness

Planning is your best weapon against overeating during the holidays. Some helpful tips include, eating a high-protein snack before a party and adding to your exercise routine might help to prevent overeating.

Certainly we all love the delicious dishes and treats that come with holiday celebrations. The key is to enjoy in moderation, don’t over-indulge. Your heart will certainly be thankful that you did.