Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/category/life/health-notes/)
With the flu season upon us during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is doubly essential to lessen the risk of getting the flu. In a typical year, flu is seen from fall to early spring, with varying degrees of severity.
Even before COVID-19, healthcare providers were seeking better ways to increase the availability of care, especially for those who had difficulty traveling to an appointment.
As we walk tentatively into the summer months, we are faced with the great desire to go back to normal as well as hesitation to trust that all is well. Cautious optimism seems to be the healthiest way to move forward, always with an eye and ear to new developments.
What just happened? Is it even possible to describe the last two months and the impact the global pandemic has had on each of us, our communities, the state, the nation and the world?
The last few months have felt as though we are living in a science fiction movie. Facts and opinions change so rapidly that by the time you read this, new information will have replaced it.
Visitors are always a bright spot when you are not feeling well. Perhaps even more special is a visit from a very large soft dog who patiently allows you to pet his thick fur and look into his understanding eyes.
The U.S. prides itself on being advanced in the field of medicine and health. We have eradicated many diseases that once caused mass destruction.
It is difficult to imagine a time without computers or smartphones. I recall heading to college with an electric typewriter feeling fortunate as typing would be so much easier than with a manual machine.
The current trend to be on reduced-carbohydrate diets, such as the keto diet, has made us all junior nutritionists discussing ketosis and what it takes to put our bodies into and out of that state. The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that involves drastically reduced carbohydrate intake and replaces it with fat.
Over the last six years much has been done to identify, understand, educate and treat the epidemic of opiate addiction. Initial statistics were startling.