Category Archives: Health and Wellness

200 New ‘Nightmarish’ Reasons to Wash Your Hands

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New nationwide testing in 2017 uncovered 221 instances of unusual resistance genes in what is known as “nightmare bacteria,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) monthly Vital Signs report, released last week. Germs with unusual antibiotic resistance (AR) include those that cannot be killed by all or most antibiotics, are uncommon in a geographic area or the U.

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S., or have specific genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.

Examples of AR germs include: Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), Candida auris, and certain types of nightmare bacteria such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).

“CDC’s study found several dangerous pathogens, hiding in plain sight, that can cause infections that are difficult or impossible to treat,” said CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat, M.D.

With spring break in full effect and peak travel season on the horizon, the timing of this new information should be noted by businesses and the public, since AR has been found in every state and can spread between facilities and even people without symptoms of infection.

The CDC warned that germs “will continuously find ways to resist new and existing antibiotics” and that it is currently impossible to stop new resistances from developing. Recent nationwide infrastructure investments in laboratories, infection control, and response are enabling aggressive investigations to keep resistance from spreading in health care settings.

According to the CDC, a hard-to-treat germ that spreads easily was found in 11% of screening tests among subjects who displayed no symptoms. The nightmare germs sicken 2 million Americans and kill 23,000 every year. Additional study findings showed that:

  • One-in-four germ samples sent to the AR Lab Network for testing had special genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.
  • Further investigation in facilities with unusual resistance revealed that about one in 10 screening tests, from patients without symptoms, identified a hard-to-treat germ that spreads easily.
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    This means the germ could have spread undetected in that health care facility.

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  • For CRE alone, estimates show that the containment strategy would prevent as many as 1,600 new infections in three years in a single state—a 76% reduction.

The CDC’s rapid response Containment Strategy is launched at the first sign of unusual resistance. Recent cases were found and isolated in Tennessee, after a patient received health care outside the U.S.; and in Iowa, when a nursing home patient was diagnosed with an AR germ that spread to five other people. Follow-up assessments revealed the outbreak had been contained.

To mitigate the risk of contracting these germs, employees should:

  • Inform your healthcare provider if you recently received health care in another country or facility.
  • Talk to your healthcare provider about preventing infections, taking good care of chronic conditions and getting recommended vaccines.

CDC recommends practicing good hygiene, such as keeping hands clean with hand washing or alcohol-based hand rubs, and keeping cuts clean until healed.

Nat. Work Zone Awareness Week Targets Construction Zone Safety

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Hazardous work zones continue to affect the careers and companies of employees in the U.

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S. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 765 work zone fatalities in 2016, which marked a 7% uptick from the previous year. In 2015, in addition to motor vehicle-related fatalities (the majority of which were in construction zones), 35,500 people were injured in work zone crashes, as reported in the 2017 edition of the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts.

To mark the beginning of the road construction season and to prevent further incidents, the 19th annual National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) has launched and will run through April 13. Organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, this year’s campaign is “Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility,” and aims to encourage safe driving through highway work zones.

The week kicked off today in host state, Illinois, at the Peoria Street bridge over Interstate 290 at the Jane Byrne Interchange reconstruction project in Chicago. Joined by the DOT, as well as other national and local partners, Illinois will hold events to raise awareness for safe driving practices in work zones. The Illinois DOT’s page states:

The Jane Byrne Interchange work zone emulates the Department’s goal toward a multimodal transportation system and reinforces the message that driving habits impact motorists, cyclists, workers and pedestrians. Whether you choose to drive, walk, bike or take public transportation, remember this year’s theme… Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility.

One of the campaign’s nationwide events, Go Orange Day, is scheduled for April 11. Roadway safety professionals across the country are encouraged to wear orange to show their support of work zone safety, call attention to the dangers they face and honor the families of victims who lost their lives in work zones. In observance of Go Orange Day, the American Traffic Safety Services Association will host a Facebook Live event tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. (EST) to discuss the importance of work zone safety.

The NWZAW page has several resources for businesses, including this year’s toolkit, NWZAW poster, and other information to help get started. The toolkit includes customizable employer launch letters and press releases, fact sheets, event planners and interactive employee presentations.

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Suggested Go Orange Day and National Work Zone Awareness Week activities include:

  • Posting social media announcements with #NWZAW and #Orange4Safety; and distributing NWZAW fact sheets and posters.
  • Telling friends and family. Commit to telling at least three people about NWZAW and Go Orange Day, including statistics and information about work zone safety. By spreading the word in your circle, you will have a ripple effect that will make your community more aware while in work zones.
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  • Thanking a roadway worker. While it is not appropriate to pull over in a work zone to share your thanks, if you see a roadway worker out in the community, or know one that lives in your community, be sure to thank them for the work they do each day to maintain our roadways.

Black Coffee Blues

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If a new court decision in California is enforced, baristas will have to place another label on cups next to customers’ names—a cancer warning.

Last week, a Los Angeles Superior Court proposed a decision against coffee makers in a lawsuit that has been brewing in courts for years. The Council for Education and Research on Toxics claim that by selling coffee with trace amounts of acrylamide—a chemical classified as a carcinogen, but one that occurs naturally from the roasting process—retailers are exposing consumers to a health hazard. This would ultimately put sellers in violation of California Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires businesses that expose customers to hundreds of chemicals to post warning labels notifying them as such.

In his proposed decision, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Elihu Berle wrote:

“Since defendants failed to prove that coffee confers any human health benefits, defendants have failed to satisfy their burden of proving that sound considerations of public health support an alternate risk level for acrylamide in coffee.”

Should the decision go into effect, businesses that fail to provide the warning notice will be subject to a fine of up to $2,500 a day for each violation.

This news has California’s coffee drinkers, sellers and roasters boiling. After all, people have been imbibing the dark nectar of the gods for hundreds of years and very few, if any, causal connections have been made between it and cancer.

On March 29, the National Coffee Association (NCA) released a statement in response to the ruling and dispelled the notion that coffee can be cancerous:

The industry is currently considering all of its options, including potential appeals and further legal actions. Cancer warning labels on coffee would be misleading. The U.S. government’s own Dietary Guidelines state that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that coffee does not cause cancer. Study after study has provided evidence of the health benefits of drinking coffee, including longevity—coffee drinkers live longer.

Retailers have some options in reaction to the developments. Last year, Bloomberg reported that the “few coffee sellers that have settled rather than keep fighting,” were hopeful that “people in California are so accustomed to seeing the signage that they will tune it out.” In October 2017, Starbucks and some other retailers preemptively placed warnings signs in stores—which may serve as a hedge against fines for millions of cups of coffee sold over several years.

Sellers could create cups specially marked for California sales, which may disrupt its supply chain and increase costs. They could also opt not to sell in California at all, which is unlikely, since the state’s economy is booming with coffee suppliers. With nearly 75% of California’s population being older than age 18, millions of dollars in per-cup sales may hang in the balance.

The decision is not final, however. In the NCA’s statement, president and CEO William “Bill” Murray said: “Coffee has been shown, over and over again, to be a healthy beverage. This lawsuit has made a mockery of Prop 65, has confused consumers, and does nothing to improve public health.”

For further insight into the unintended consequences of Proposition 65 and other well-intentioned regulations visit here.

Limit Heart Attack Likelihood with Safe Snow Shoveling

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With the northeast hammered by its fourth major snowstorm this month, businesses and property owners in many areas are digging out, breaking out the salt pellets and shovels (just when they were hoping to stash them for the next eight months).

The risk of myocardial infarction rises during snowstorms, especially for someone who is not already physically active. According to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, snow shoveling leads to about 100 deaths and 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies each year. That is why, to be safe, you and your maintenance worker, or team, should consider some hazards before a dig-out and clearing.

The biomechanics of shoveling are unlike general cardiovascular exercise. In contrast to running or walking, shoveling puts much more stress put on the upper body, as Popular Science noted:

Each time you thrust the snow, the arms rise high, increasing blood pressure further. In addition, you typically perform the Valsalva maneuver: a natural tendency to generate lots of chest pressure without exhaling breathing out (like tennis players do when they hit a ball, or when you push hard against something). This further increases blood pressure.

The American Heart Association (AHA) warns that the potentially lethal combination of intense physical exertion paired with the cold temperatures increases the heart’s workload to sometimes dangerous levels. Some of the AHA’s tips for an incident-free shovel session include frequent breaks, avoiding alcohol and large meals before and after shoveling. The AHA also recommends that you:

  • Use a small shovel or a snow thrower. The act of lifting heavy snow can raise blood pressure during the lift. It is safer to lift smaller amounts. When possible, simply push the snow.
  • Learn the heart attack warning signs and listen to your body. Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, have it checked out. Carry your cellphone in your pocket and call 911 immediately if you experience any signs of a heart attack.
  • Be aware of the dangers of hypothermia. Heart failure causes most deaths in hypothermia. To prevent hypothermia, dress in layers of warm clothing, which traps air between layers forming a protective insulation. Wear a hat because much of the body’s heat can be lost through the head.

Snowy weather often means we don’t always get the nutrients we need from nature. We normally get our daily dose of vitamin D from the sun—which promotes calcium absorption in the stomach and is needed for bone growth and remodeling—but between grayer skies and our need to dress in layers, it may also be advisable to drink a glass of milk or take a supplement to get your dose. Accuweather also cited new research that “decreased exposure to sunlight may factor into the wintertime heart attack equation.”

As the air gets colder, people bundle up before spending time outdoors, leaving less skin to be exposed to the UV rays which aid in the body’s vitamin D production. A vitamin D deficit can accentuate the inflammation of the arteries.

The Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) recommends that you:

  • Take a few minutes to stretch. Shoveling snow is a workout so you need to stretch to warm up your muscles particularly because you are shoveling snow in the cold weather. Stretching before you start shoveling will help prevent injury and fatigue.
  • Push don’t lift. Sounds like something a high school wrestling coach may say but if you push the snow to the side rather than trying to lift the snow to remove it, you exert less energy thereby placing less stress on your body.
  • Drink up! Water that is. SIMA recommends taking frequent breaks and staying hydrated. You should drink water as if you were enduring a tough workout at the gym or running five miles.