Fever and Malaise: Flu or New Disease

Fever. Chills.  Malaise. Myalgia. Loss of appetite.  Cough.  These symptoms are consistent with the flu syndromes such as influenza.  They may also be signs of new inflammatory disease like infection in the body. Cancer and rheumatological disorders that include connective tissue diseases and arthritis may also present in similar fashion. Flu symptoms usually resovle in about ten days to two weeks.  Complications from the flu like pneumonia are likely to cause worsening of symptoms accompanied by new symptoms.

Flu precautions include:

• frequent hand washing especially after contact with others
• avoid those who have flu-like symptoms
• cover your mouth when you cough
• eat nutritious foods especially those that are specific for immunity and healing
• stay well hydrated
• get flu shot before flu season starts
  

These preventive measures are important for staying well and healing.  If your symptoms persist or worsen in any way follow-up with your healthcare provider that initially diagnosed you. Telemedicine health visits help contact avoidance while getting appropriate medical care for you.  Healthy self care, prevention, and avoidance are primary. Best health!

Healthy Life Lines

Live healthy.  Live simply.  "Healthy Life Lines: Simple Tips to Improve Your Health" http://amzn.to/2nLf1u0 consists of one line health tips for better health and wellness. These tips will encourage you to live a lifestyle of good health.  "Healthy Life Lines: Simple Tips to Improve Your Health" is available FREE on Kindle Unlimited.  "Healthy Life Lines 2" coming soon!

Healthy life lines include:

• Be literate in health.
• Focus on prevention to avoid intervention.
• Constantly do things to improve your health.
• Embrace healthy routines.
• Limit and avoid multitasking.
• Find funny and laugh daily.
• Keep a health diary.

Best health!

Blood Pressure Home Checks

Do you know your average blood pressure reading? Do you know a normal blood pressure should be? High blood pressure, also called hypertension affects 1 in 3 adults worldwide.  It affects more people than any disease in the world. Untreated hypertension leads to unhealthy feelings and symptoms.  It causes heart disease, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, poor circulation, and more. 

A normal reading is 120/80 with borderline at 130/85 to 140/90.  For more accurate measures of your blood pressure and what affects it, you should do home blood pressure monitoring. Buy a blood pressure monitor for home use. Wrist and arm monitors are available in many stores on and off line. Record your blood pressure readings daily starting with morning, midday, and night. Make a note of your activity and how you are feeling. You may notice that extreme anxiety makes it go up. The correlation to your pressure will help you manage the things that make it go up. Share your results with your doctor so medication and lifestyle changes can be made if necessary.

You may find that while your blood pressure is high in the doctor's office, it may be normal in everyday activity. Remember, the doctor's result is a one time reading every one to four or more months. With normal home results, and high results at your doctor visits you may have "white coat" hypertension. There is much controversy over whether this should be treated. Check with your primary care doctor and cardiologist.

If your blood pressure is borderline at 130/85, you want o start a low salt, low fat diet. One of the best is the DASH diet. Integrating healthy food. exercise, weight control, and stress reduction in your treatment plan improves the way you feel and controls blood pressure. For higher blood pressure readings over 140/90, medication may be necessary. Be sure to take your home blood pressure results in to your doctor. This will help in deciding on the best treatment for you. Best health!

White Coat Hypertension: Is It Really High Blood Pressure?  http://bit.ly/1cGaeMj

Money and Your Medication

The 2015 United States median income was $56,516.  This is $4719  a month.  After taxes this is approximately $3140 for basic living expense including rent/ mortgage, utilities, food, clothing, healthcare, insurances (home. car, health, etc.), transportation, taxes, and miscellaneous.  Ten percent, $314, could be the price of one medicine you need.  If one of your medication cost this much it is one-tenth of your income.  If you are one other medication , you could be paying as much as 20% just for medication. 
Are you having concerns that your $314-a-month medicine your doctor just prescribed is unaffordable? Is it worth it to overextend your budget?  Can you really afford it?  Do you really need it?  What else must you think about cutting back on?  These are just a few of the thoughts that run through a patient's mind when faced with the dilemma of high prescription prices.  A bigger concern is if the medicine will work and make them better.  If it does not they are possibly sicker plus out of money to pay for the medicine and treatments that do work.


Long gone are the days when patients take everything the doctor gives them or says to them as the final say.  Patients have become more empowered in all ways, but especially with health information.  Once diagnosed you can look up almost everything on your diagnosis including medicine side effects, new treatment options, and even an actual surgical procedures. Multiple treatment options are available that may work better than just prescription or non-prescription medication at much less cost.


When you get that expensive over-your-budget medication, discuss it with your doctor before you get price shell shock at the pharmacy counter.  Many doctors have access to medication prices, and may be able to prescribe something affordable within your budget that will help you.  If you have access to Internet while at your appointment, you can look it up via your local pharmacies website, and/or drug price check websites.  Discuss this and other alternative integrative treatment options with your doctor to find what works best for you and your pocketbook.  Best health!