Medical Preparation for Stormy Weather

 Be organized and keep it simple.  When preparing for any weather emergency, this is important to do especially when it comes to your health.  Anxiety and uncertainty in this flight or stay adrenaline pumping situation can decrease your awareness of what you really should be doing to stay healthy and safe.  Taking care of yourself is primary to sustain weather hazards. 

These tips will help you prepare.

• stay well rested 
• avoid unnecessary distractions
• know the facts, be present and up to date on storms and emergency preparation by reading and listening to lectures 
  
• prepare and check medical provider list to include your primary care doctors including specialists, nearest urgent care community health centers and hospital
• contact electric company to help with medical provisions like home oxygen should power failure occur
• contact community emergency services for listing if medical condition requires extra attention
• prepare food and water stock for two weeks or more
• freeze water for ice enough to fill two or more coolers
• keep prescription medication current with adequate supply for two months
• stay informed with neighbors and community resources
• get batteries for lights, radio, fans, medical devices like glucometer, blood pressure monitor
• charge all sources of power for telephones, limit use and keep turned off if not in use

Prepare yourself first, and plan before the storm arrives. Check and update your plan monthly. Stay healthy and safe.  Best health!

Holiday Hypertension Healers

 Make less stress, tolerate even less.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Meditate daily.

Eat heart healthy food.

Exercise at least fifteen minutes or more a day in your best way.

Pursue enjoyable hobbies that you like.

Sleep soundly at least eight hours per twenty-four.

Let love keep you healthy.

Smile a lot.

Pray often.

Own a blood pressure device and /or an application on a phone.

Check your blood pressure at home. 

Give a blood pressure monitor as a gift.

Use positive kindness as daily medicine.

Best health!

MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: hypertension 

Your Medical History and Medical Prevention Guidelines

Preventive health guidelines were developed to improve one’s health using things that prevent disease and detect it early.  They are based on credible research in which the criteria have been studied extensively.  The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is a leading resource for preventive health guidelines along with doctor specialty organizations like the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics.  There are so many that it can become confusing as to what you should do.  Like one size fails to fit all so do the guidelines. How will you know what you need and when you need it?

 
Use your medical history as your guide in deciphering through different health organization guidelines.   Though they may address the same thing, there will be similarities and differences.  If you have a history of cancer, you may want to get a mammogram or colonoscopy more often. If there is a family history, you may want to get tests sooner than the guidelines suggest.  Abnormal physical exam findings warrant testing regardless of guidelines.
 
Be sure to review guidelines from different organizations. This gives you a broader view of what you need.  Look at the pros and cons as they fit you.  Focus on those that concern you and your condition.  Discuss them all with your doctors and healthcare providers to plan your guidelines. Your medical history is your guide to the guidelines right for you.  Best health!

Maximize Great Mental Health

Good health includes mental health.  You can be healthier without anxiety and depression that diminishes good mental health.  This is so important in the formative years.  It is during this time of infancy and childhood that mental health starts developing.  During this time, it is important that good healthy things are happening.  Children need love and care all the time, but in these years much more is medically necessary.  This is important for healthy mental development.

Today's anxiety provoking atmosphere promote poor mental health especially in schools.  School attendance should be a pleasant, safe experience fit for learning. The mind needs this to learn and develop.  Today schools are "forced" to counter arm with physical enforcement measures to prevent unhealthy armed attacks.  This is far from the ideal learning environment for teachers and students as is thinking about this all day at school.  Good healthy thoughts and actions are indicated to prevent school dropout, substance abuse, suicide and more.

Mental health for adults and children must be healthy.  More school mental health programs would be healthier than any type of violence or tools thereof.  Today's youth are diagnosed with mental health (anxiety, depression, ADHD primary) issues at average age of 14 or younger. The stress associated with going to school and learning is plenty without any distractions, or unhealthy behaviors. 

Healthy suggestions include healthy behavior in the home.  The family is vital to maximizing mental health.  Seeking professional health for each family member as well as the family can help.  Absence of unhealthy, harmful behavior is necessary.  Decrease watching any programs on any platform with violence (even cartoons, video games) and persistently negative behavior.

Healthy thoughts and actions are indicated versus negative, unhealthy unrewarding behavior.  Maximize mental health with goodness for less anxiety, depression and unhealthy feelings. "Don't worry about a thing.  Every little thing is going to be alright." Best health!

Your Health Budget: Medication Affordability and Rising Healthcare Prices

The 2021 United States median income was about $45,760.  This amounts to about $3,813 per month.  After taxes this could be about $2542 per month for basic living expenses including rent/ mortgage; utilities; food; clothing; schooling; transportation; healthcare; insurances healthcare, home(s), car(s); and for other family necessary needs.  Ten percent of this ($254) could be just one of several medicines you take. Add more medication and it can easily become 20%. For patients below the poverty level, those with lowest average yearly salary of $18,074, especially those who are disabled or over 60 on Social Security Supplemental Income, this may be difficult.  

Patients have concerns about necessary medication, prescription or non-prescription, that they are unable to afford.  These include price, real necessity (i.e., other treatment options), and good treatment for that which it was given.  Will it control, make better, and cure their malady without side effects?  If it fails, the patient may get sicker as well as financially unstable.  

The days of patients taking everything the doctor prescribes or says are fewer.  Patients have become empowered in all ways especially with responsible self-care and health literacy.  Once diagnosed, or even prior to seeing the doctor, patients are able to immediately look it up and learn more about their condition(s), medication used for treatment, newest treatment options, specialists, special therapists, and so much more.  This helps you get the best treatment at prices that fit your budget.

Remember to discuss medication money issues with your healthcare providers.  They will be sure to help find affordable resources for you.  Also discuss, other treatments like proper nutrition and physical therapy which can done in your home.  This makes it easier and allows it to be continued more effectively.  Find what works best for you.  Best health!   

Good Health and Money

Saving money is healthy and good way to promote good health and wellness. Health prices are escalating more rapidly than prices of other services right now.  There are some things you can do to help avert financial stress. This can include:

·       Shop around for best care and prices.  Your insurance company may cover a diagnostic test with partial payment. This may be higher than the actual charge if you pay yourself.  Call places in your area that offer the same test to check for prices that are cheaper and fit your budget.  If your health insurance deductible is a hefty $6,000 or more, this may fail to be attained.  Paying out of pocket may come out less expensive than $6,000.

·       Cook at home.  Home cooked meals are healthier and cheaper.  You can get more meals from unprepared and uncooked grocery items.  The average cost of one restaurant meal without drinks is about $30.  The grocery equivalent would be two or more good, healthy meals cooked to your taste and perfection.

·       Use cheaper non-prescription medication.  There are many over the counter medication that can do the same as more expensive, newer drugs.  Many of these were prescription medication at one time.  They may be safer as well since they have been in use for a longer time and been proven effective.

·       Exercise at home.  Create your own exercise plan.  Use exercises you learned in school physical education classes.  Simple stretching, arm rolls, jumping jacks, deep knee bends, sit-ups, and more.  Walking and running on land or in the pool are good aerobic activities.  Exercise can also be done in bed and in a chair.

·       Read more.  The cost to read is better health, more knowledge, and more information of your choice.  The actual cost of reading material can be as free as you make it using the library and Internet.

·       Develop a home entertainment program.  Your choices of your interests have proven to be healthier.  There is less stress over programs and their content.  If it must include television, make your own library with your preferred DVDs and TV sticks that attach to the television.  This works on your schedule. It is free of thoughtless commercial time, unpleasant images, and loud opinions that take away from a program’s content.  Cutting the cable cord can be healthy and good for wellness as well as a big money saver.

·       Take more staycation.  Vacations at home and nearer to home can be much healthier, cheaper, and less stressful.

·       Try to buy mainly that which is necessary leaving the desired for another time when extra money is available.  Reward yourself every now and then but stay within your means.

·       Save consistently.

For more ways to save money check out “10 Money Saving Medical Tips” http://bit.ly/1Gt4f8I .  Best health!

Your Health Plan: Take Good Care of Yourself

 Start your day out in good health.  Make self-improvement and healthcare maintenance your first priority.  When you do this, you will find that good health is worth it.  Each person has a different level of good health and should do their best to stay as healthy as they can be.  When you take care of yourself with proper nutrition, rest, and other good health habits, it is less likely illness will occur.

Poor health costs more than feeling poorly.  The extreme high money cost can add to that.  In addition, limits on certain coverages like three pints of blood, and $50,000 lifetime maximum on some health services especially for those with chronic diseases and pre-existing conditions, are likely to slow progress of getting better if illness occurs while you wait a year or save more money.  It is important to focus on preventive medical services as well as positive healthy lifestyle for early disease detection and diagnosis can lead to prompt treatment.  This is why self-care health helps pay for good health and more financial stability.

Your health is your responsibility.  Be dedicated to good health.  Make healthy self-care a daily habit.  Best health!

Healthy Life Lines: Hypertension Healers

Make less stress, tolerate even less.

Learn relaxation techniques.

Meditate daily.

Eat heart healthy food.

Exercise at least fifteen minutes or more a day in your best way.

Pursue enjoyable hobbies that you like.

Sleep soundly at least eight hours per twenty-four.

Let love keep you healthy.

Smile a lot.

Use positive kindness as daily medicine.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Did you know that your blood pressure changes every second? This change depends on what you are doing, thinking, and feeling.  This is one reason to get your blood pressure checked more often than your routine doctor visit.  You may discover that your blood pressure is normal more often during your waking hours, and that high blood pressure occurs only certain times.  These times are often stress related.

One of the best ways to see what stressors cause your blood pressure to be high (or low) is with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. ABPM is simple to do for patients.  Own a blood pressure monitor of your choice be it arm or wrist.  These are quite inexpensive and affordable.  Use it to check your blood pressure three times a day and at times of your choice. 

Record your daily readings for at least a month. Review your recorded readings.  This will show you patterns of your blood pressure.  Certain times of day almost every day or on some days note the times it is abnormal.  For instance, every Monday it is high, and by the weekend it is normal.  Those first days of the week especially during work hours is one of the main times it reveals itself.  Listen to it! You may also find stressful situations like pain, anxiety, and even healthy excitement can lead to high blood pressure. 

As you see the patterns, you become more mindful of what induces hypertension. Often times you may have certain symptoms that correlate.  Find ways to decrease those moments.  For example, many patients get an extra bump up in blood pressure from watching violent video content regardless of the source.  When you wait to see the doctor just getting ready may be a high blood pressure trigger.  

Share your information with your doctor.  Together you may find more normotension than hypertension.  This can be confirmed with a cardiology referral for evaluation and formal ABPM.  Check yourself and get yourself checked.  Best health!  For more information:  MY PATIENT HANDBOOK: hypertension 

Healthy Happens

Hopeless health.  Aching always. Stress distress.  How would you feel if you were portrayed like this day after day?  Do you think you would feel good or better?  Allowing this type of visual, spoken, and audible content into your mind can make you feel less healthy and delay healing.  Scientific study after study has been studied to prove this.  Continued repetition, visualization, and listening to such words brings out unhappiness and increases stress.

To maintain good health you must be thinking, watching, and listening to favorable feedback. Hopeful happiness.  Discomfort dunked down.  Relax and rest.  This helps your health much more and improves your overall outlook. Healthy happens. Best health!

Culinary Medicine Makes Healthy More Wealthy

Cooking is good medicine.  What you cook is better medicine.  Culinary medicine can help you get better and stay healthy.  The healthy food plus cooking adds to great, healthy feelings.  This is what more doctors and healthcare providers are studying to recommend for their patients.  More residency training programs are including culinary medicine in their school curriculum.  

Food as medicine is hardly a new treatment.  Hippocrates quoted it thousands of years ago.  Research continues to show that proper nutrition with natural foods keeps low risk for disease lower, and it also keeps high risk conditons from progressing and perhaps even occurring. Starting before birth is the optimal time.  Early good nutrition is important.

Make your healthy more wealthy by learning to prepare healthy meals.  This begins with education and action. Best health!

Covid Caution Healthy Life Lines

Wash your hands often.

In high-risk areas if unvaccinated or vaccinated, wear a mask.

Keep safe distance to task.

Give it all you got, get a shot!

Boost immunity with healthy food.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Thank you.

Medical Preparation for Stormy Weather

 Be organized and keep it simple.  When preparing for any weather emergency, this is important to do especially when it comes to your health.  Anxiety and uncertainty in this flight or stay adrenaline pumping situation can decrease your awareness of what you really should be doing to stay healthy and safe.  Taking care of yourself is primary to sustain weather hazards. 

These tips will help you prepare.

• stay well rested 
• avoid unnecessary distractions
• know the facts, be present and up to date on storms and emergency preparation by reading and listening to lectures 
  
• prepare and check medical provider list to include your primary care doctors including specialists, nearest urgent care community health centers and hospital
• contact electric company to help with medical provisions like home oxygen should power failure occur
• contact community emergency services for listing if medical condition requires extra attention
• prepare food and water stock for two weeks or more
• freeze water for ice enough to fill two or more coolers
• keep prescription medication current with adequate supply for two months
• stay informed with neighbors and community resources
• get batteries for lights, radio, fans, medical devices like glucometer, blood pressure monitor
• charge all sources of power for telephones, limit use and keep turned off if not in use

Prepare yourself first, and plan before the storm arrives. Check and update your plan monthly. Stay healthy and safe.  Best health!

Home Health Helps Heal

Did you know that most Medicare expenses are utilized in the last year of life?  This fact has become more recognized as patients find themselves financially unable to afford proper services to maintain an independent quality of life.  In addition, many over 60 years of age have multiple chronic conditions.  Aging plus chronic conditions that may have become disabling can make health diagnosis and treatment less effective yet more challenging to all healthcare providers.  This also includes family and non-family caregivers who must give up their time, job, etc. to help with care that is unaffordable on a fixed income.

Home based health care is on the rise as the population ages.  More patients than ever before are transitioning to healthcare in their homes including primary care provider visits, tests, and treatment. Studies have found that home health care keeps people healthier and out of the hospital.  It is only natural that the best place to heal and recover is home.


Hospital discharge planning has prepared you for your return home. Most of your care and treatment can be at your home. The old-fashioned housecall remains an important part of medical care.  Most of all it provides continuous continuity at a time when you are unable to physically go to your healthcare providers office.  This is further enhanced with modern technology such as telemedicine.  The convenience and quality time spent with patients in home care lets the doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, nurse, and other ancillary providers see you in your natural environment of everyday living.


Home health care includes personal care, too.  Often this service is necessary for help with bathing, dressing and activities of daily living.  Cooking and light housekeeping are just a few of the other services that may be offered.  Patients are able to recover comfortably and quicker when this type of home assistance is included.  Though rarely covered by regular insurance, it is an important part of any home care plan.  Saving money over the years for home personal care should be included in your financial plan especially long term.


Many primary care providers do well care in the home, too.  Minor medical maladies and routine medical care are easily rendered during a house   call. Timely appointments can be made to fit your schedule. As this method of direct primary continues patients are seeing better health outcomes especially after hospitalization.  Readmissions within thirty days are less likely.  Best of all the patient feels better and recovers more quickly.  Home based health care provides greater continuity of care and active, current communication for the patient and all those involved. Get better, stay better at your house.  Best health!

Maintenance of Healthcare for Continuity

Healthcare providers are lifetime givers of healthcare.  While many patients and their families attempt to provide this level of care, it is very difficult.  It is usually a sudden life threatening or termonal illness that causes many to be aware how this changes lives.  Family members who have help all along can be suddenly displaced by those who have failed to provide care due to lack of money incentives and other responsibilities.  This creates lack of continuity and knowldge during a vulnerable moment for those who have provided continuous care. 

It is usually a delayed emergent medical crisis that awakens the uninvolved to terminal illness reality especially when the current caregivers have exhausted themselves.  Studies show that the majority of cases leave the patient and other caregivers in this quandry especially if one has terminal disease like dementia.  Once this is recognized by the least active caregiver of years, attempts are made to discredit the current ones with false often untrue allegations especially if money is involved. 

Those inexperienced, uninvolved seeking self gain intentions for whatever reason do so at the cost of the patient's quality of life.  Studies show this unhealthy behavior may lead to more unhealthy behavior compromising the demented patient, and previous caregivers who really care. It is usually a delayed emergent medical occurence like altered mental status, dehydration, infection that awakens those actively and inactively involved to terminal illness reality.

Be a lifetime caregiver instead of waiting for devastating disability and demntia to be diagnosed in your loved ones. Best health! 

Covid Caution Healthy Life Lines

 Wash your hands.

Wear a mask.

Keep safe distance to task.

Give it all you got,

Get a shot.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Thank you.

Covid Crisis Call to Action

During these times of a pandemic, more precise, valid , reliable information is necessary. Medical and health channels would be optimal. This post was originally written in 2007. It is fifteen years later during a global crisis.  Lttle has changed. The content back then was more plentiful. There is still hope this will become a reliable resource for patients, doctors, and all healthcare professionals.  

Medical information on TV is limited and stagnating. Sixty seconds on the news. Two minutes on the talk show after commercials on prescription medication. Outdated show on this channel, and outdated repeat on that channel in between the new show. Watch some on this channel then click and click to different channels to connect your medical news for today.

Remember the crawler at the bottom of the screen. Oh, you missed that there was a bird flu outbreak in Pakistan today, and that HPV vaccines will be required for teen women (what about the men?). These are the ways we learn about some of the most important news we should know. It concerns our health and public safety.

If only we had a dedicated medical TV CNN (instead of just Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s excellent show on early weekend mornings, or his occasional special). You know, like the sports channels by sport, the cartoon channels by age (and now one for the boomers!), the movie channels, government channels, and on and on. Where is the “MTV” of medical channels? Discovery Health has been carrying the TV health media for years. There should just be more!

The TV box is probably the most used medium by which folks get their news and information. It is certainly a way to get information to people. The most used information source is one of the least used by the cutting edge medical field. This was noted in my research paper, “Building an American Health System”, in 2002. This is 2007, and it’s pretty much the same, maybe even less.

A medical TV channel (actually several would be optimal) would be great! A daily health news show would be a great start towards 24-7 medical TV. Envision yourself clicking to the heart channel, or to programs with content about specific diseases. You could learn more about that high blood pressure you are trying to control, and how you can monitor it at home. Topics on maintaining good health, and prevention of disease would be a click away. And if you missed a show, it would be shown again and again.

Health and medical coverage on TV is surely lacking in this consumer driven health conscious society. We can watch as much sports, cartoons, movies, news as we want, but we still have to piece together our medical news and supplement it with the written word, or health care providers’ spoken word. And radio.

Great health is true wealth. Medical TV would make us even richer.

Medical Tips for Storm Preparation

Be organized and keep it simple.  When preparing for any weather emergency, this is important to do especially when it comes to your health.  Anxiety and uncertainty in this flight or stay adrenaline pumping situation can decrease your awareness of what you really should be doing to stay healthy and safe.  Taking care of yourself is primary to sustain weather hazards. 

These tips will help you prepare.

• stay well rested 
• avoid unnecessary distractions
• know the facts, be present and up to date on storms and emergency preparation by reading and listening to lectures 
  
• prepare and check medical provider list to include your primary care doctors including specialists, nearest urgent care community health centers and hospital
• contact electric company to help with medical provisions like home oxygen should power failure occur
• contact community emergency services for listing if medical condition requires extra attention
• prepare food and water stock for two weeks or more
• freeze water for ice enough to fill two or more coolers
• keep prescription medication current with adequate supply for two months
• stay informed with neighbors and community resources
• get batteries for lights, radio, fans, medical devices like glucometer, blood pressure monitor
• charge all sources of power for telephones, limit use and keep turned off if not in use

Prepare yourself first, and plan before the storm arrives. Check and update your plan monthly. Stay healthy and safe.  Best health!