January 2018 - On Call Medical Clinic

Bad Habits The Flu- How to Avoid

bad habits the flu

Bad Habits The Flu- The flu season is here and when we catch it we start question who and where we picked it up.

Here are some bad habits that are putting us at risk every day.

Putting Your Purse or Back Pack on the Floor

Putting a purse or backpack on the floor is just an open invitation for unhealthy bacteria, especially if you drop it in a restroom or restaurant, and then place it on your kitchen table or counter. If you’ve already done this, and your purse is made from fabric or leather, like most, you need to look for an appropriate disinfectant that will work on the fabric without ruining it.

Forgetting to Wash your Thumb when Washing your Hands

While washing your hands is the most obvious germ-killing trick, there’s one common mistake that most people forget washing your thumbs. Since this finger touches some of the germiest surfaces it’s not one to ignore.

Toothbrushes

Flu, staph, strep, e-coli, and yeast commonly live on toothbrushes. Keep toothbrush covered and be sure they are not touching someone else’s.

Kitchen & Bathroom Handles

We normally clean door knobs, but we often forget kitchen cabinet handles, range knobs, and bathroom cabinet handles. You should give them a good wipe down at least every other day, and daily if you know someone in the house is sick with the flu. There are some great wipe products you can use.

Wearing Your Shoes Inside Your Home

Shoe soles have literally been everywhere and when you wear them inside, you track that onto your floors are carpets. Take them off at the door when entering your home.

Eating Lunch at Your Desk

It has been proven that your desk is 100 times dirtier than the average toilet seat. So, when eating lunch go to the breakroom and wipe the table with a disinfectant. This is much easier than trying to sanitize your desk area.

Changing Your Sheets

Sheets harbor germs, which means whoever is sharing your bed is going to be susceptible to any virus you may have brought into the house, and vice versa. The longest you should wait before changing out your sheets is two weeks, but weekly is better.

We at On Call Medical Clinic hope this information was helpful. We collected this information from the Good Housekeeping website. Remember if you have the flu, we are here 7 days a week to help. Our trained medical staff along with our equipped facility can help quickly diagnose your illness and prescribe the best treatment. Please visit our website at www.oncallclinic.com to learn more about all the services

How Do I Improve My Metabolism?

metabolism

How Do I Improve My Metabolism?

There is some good news. Even though you may have inherited slow metabolism from your parents, research indicates that this can be changed. Dr. Gary Hunter PhD, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that strength-training just a couple of times a week can reverse 50% of your slow metabolism that comes with age.

Here are some tips to help improve your metabolism.

Change your exercise regimen.

The next time you run, swim, or even walk, ramp up the intensity for 30-second intervals, returning to your normal speed afterward. Using this strategy will help you consume more oxygen and make your cell powerhouses, the mitochondria, work harder to burn energy, explains Mark Hyman, MD, an integrative and functional medicine specialist in private practice in Lenox, Massachusetts. “You increase the number of mitochondria and how efficiently they burn throughout the day,” he explains. This way, you can exercise for less time than it takes to plod along at the same pace and still get great results.

Get your Omega-3

Why does eating lots of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, herring, and tuna) help amp up metabolism? Omega-3s balance blood sugar and reduce inflammation, helping to regulate metabolism. They may also reduce resistance to the hormone leptin, which researchers have linked to how fast fat is burned.

Build Some Muscle

Not only does muscle weigh more than fat, but it uses more energy, too. The average woman in her 30s who strength-trains 30 to 40 minutes twice a week for four months will increase her resting metabolism by 100 calories a day. That means you’re resetting your thermostat to keep running at that rate even on the days when you don’t make it to the gym, Hunter explains.

Drink Green Tea

Green tea has long been heralded for its antioxidant polyphenols. But new evidence shows the active ingredient, catechin, may crank up metabolism. Researchers conducted a series of studies in dieters and found that those who went green lost more weight than those who didn’t, suggesting that catechins may improve fat oxidation and thermogenesis, your body’s production of energy, or heat, from digestion. But how much do you have to drink? According to one study, if you drink five eight-ounce cups of green tea a day, you can increase your energy expenditure by 90 calories a day.

We at On Call Medical Clinic hope you enjoyed these tips. They were from the health.com website that has even more tips. Remember if you have a minor injury or illness we are here for you 7 days a week. Flu season is bad this year, so drop by if you need a flu shot. Please visit our website at www.oncallclinic.com to review all our medical and skin care services we offer.

Aging Broken Bones

broken bone

Falls are serious at any age, and breaking a bone after a fall becomes more likely as a person ages. Many of us know someone who has fallen and broken a bone. While healing, the fracture limits the person’s activities and sometimes requires surgery. Often, the person wears a heavy cast to support the broken bone and needs physical therapy to resume normal activities.

Even though bones do not break after every fall, the person who has fallen and broken a bone nearly always becomes fearful of falling again. As a result, she or he may limit activities for the sake of “safety.” Among Americans age 65 and older, fall-related injuries are the leading cause of accidental death.

Several factors can lead to a fall. Loss of footing or traction is a common cause of falls. Loss of footing occurs when there is less than total contact between one’s foot and the ground or floor. Loss of traction occurs when one’s feet slip on wet or slippery ground or floor. Other examples of loss of traction include tripping, especially over uneven surfaces such as sidewalks, curbs, or floor elevations that result from carpeting, risers, or scatter rugs. Loss of footing also happens from using household items intended for other purposes – for example, climbing on kitchen chairs or balancing on boxes or books to increase height.

A fall may occur because a person’s reflexes have changed. As people age, reflexes slow down. Reflexes are automatic responses to stimuli in the environment. Examples of reflexes include quickly slamming on the car brakes when a child runs into the street or quickly moving out of the way when something accidentally falls. Aging slows a person’s reaction time and makes it harder to regain one’s balance following a sudden movement or shift of body weight

We at On Call Medical Clinic are glad to share this information with you from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases website. We at On Call Medical Clinic are here to help if you break a bone. Our trained staff and facility are prepared to handle most broken bones and help you to a quick recovery. Please call us at 228 818-5155 if you fear you have broken a bone and need immediate help. Also please visit our website at www.oncallmedical.com to learn more about all the medical services we offer.