Dr. Deb

April is Alcohol Awareness month and while many are aware of the dangers of alcohol and alcoholism, many adults are not aware of the lies we tell ourselves when it comes to drinking. Are you putting others in danger and not even realizing it?

I am not talking about heavy or binge drinking that effect 15% of the population. I am talking about 50% of adults who ever drink and have no intention or desire to get drunk. We are just hanging out with friends or unwinding at the end of the day. We tell the lie that we don’t want to be drunk so alcohol is not a problem.  “I’m fine.”

Dr. Deb’s List of Common Lies Told About Alcohol

I’m not drunk at a bar ..so I am fine

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I live in Cincinnati and like most Midwestern towns we pride ourselves on being nice and caring people. I was shocked to learn that Cincinnatians are less than half as likely to perform CPR compared to the National Average. Only 11.5% of Cincinnatians know and are willing to perform CPR compared to the national average of 25% according to the University of Cincinnati.

If your family member were having a heart attack, would you know what to do?

Nearly 80% of Heart Attacks occur in the home and most people that survive a heart attack had CPR started before emergency care arrives.

Here is a quick overview that you can do today. Everyone should take a class from the Red Cross who has a plethora of options, but a one-hour class could save a life.

If you are not trained in CPR and see someone go down here is the quick rundown so you don’t just stand there.

CPR Steps

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I’m wearing Red for Heart Health Awareness but one team will be certainly be seeing Red this Sunday when either the Steelers or the Packers are defeated in Super Bowl XLV.  Dramatic losses in Superbowl games actually increased heart attacks, especially in older people and women as published in a study this week in Clinical Cardiology.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women, killing 1 in 3 men and women.  More women die of CV disease than the next 5 leading causes of death combined including all forms of cancer so let me give those Packers and Steelers some advice before the big game that may help save a life.

What are the warning signs of a heart attack?

Most people know about crushing chest pain or “Hollywood Heart Attack” as a sign but only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9-1-1 when someone was having a heart attack. Women are more likely to have surprising symptoms other than chest pain. You may only experience one of the symptoms and if you have already had a heart attack, your next may have different symptoms than the first.

Surprising Signs of a Heart Attack

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I have to be honest. I was never one to get the flu shot. We really never got sick nor had any health problems in my family. I did encourage my husband who has more patient contact but never thought about it for my 4 kids or me.  I knew that sometimes the vaccine was right on and protected against the flu that was going around. I also knew that sometimes it missed and wasn’t even effective in certain years. I just didn’t think it necessary and worth possible down time from the vaccine.

I am not alone. Less than 40% of all health care workers received the H1N1 vaccine last year when it was a pandemic.  It is actually the pandemic that has changed my mind about flu shots. We did all get the H1N1 vaccine in my family and none of us had any side effects. Now, it turns out the H1N1 was not as severe as they first thought but plenty of young healthy people died from it. In fact, it is the youngest and the oldest that are most at risk from the flu. It comes down to the fact that if my child died or was hospitalized over something that I could have prevented, I could never forgive myself. The flu vaccine has a very long safety record so I feel that I should give it to my whole family now.

October marks the official start of flu season, which lasts all the way until May.

5-20% of all people (15-62 million people) will get the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized each year for influenza-related complications. (more…)

Vitamins make me sick. I really don’t like the way they hurt my stomach, burp up later and certainly the color and smell in the bathroom. So the question is do I really need to take them and if I do, which ones?

I do take daily vitamins and give them to my kids even if there is not overwhelming data to support the practice. Ideally everyone should get all their nutrition from a diet rich in fruits, vegetable, fiber and lean protein. We do better than most in getting the fruits, vegetables and fish down but there are still too many drive through dinners in our life.  There is also enough evidence to the benefit of certain supplements that makes me think it worthwhile.

You can spend a fortune on vitamins but my motto is to take the simplest formulation that you are most likely to stick with. If you can’t afford it, tolerate it or fit it into your life then find something else that works. Vitamins sitting on the shelf are certainly of no benefit.

Here are Dr Deb’s recommendations for supplements

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