10/25/23 Newsletter

WARM UP:

One Joke: 

Why didn't the brain want to take a bath? (Answer at bottom)

One Fact: 

A cough can travel as fast as 50mph and expel 3,000 droplets, but a single sneeze can clock in at 100mph and create 100,000 droplets! Tropical storm force winds straight from your body!

One Quote:

“I live to enjoy life by the littlest things, feeling the grass between my toes, breathing fresh air, watching the wind sway the trees, enjoying the company of loved ones, a deep conversation, getting lost in a good book, going for a walk in nature, watching my kids grow up.

Just the feeling itself of being alive, the absolute amazing fact that we are here right now, breathing, thinking, doing.”​

– Marigold Wellington

One Guess…Name That Disease: (Answer at bottom)

  • Description: This fluid filled cyst typically forms within the cervical or thoracic spinal cord causing compression and injury to the cord and or nerves

  • Signs and Symptoms: The patient can experience headaches, muscle weakness, numbness and tingling of the extremities, balance issues, and in severe cases loss of bowel or bladder control.

  • Diagnosis: MRI is the most reliable way to make the diagnosis. Associated with Chiari malformation type 1, spinal cord tumors, spinal cord injuries, and meningitis.

  • Treatment: Surgery is usually recommended only for cases that are symptomatic and/or progressive. Treatment can involve restoration of normal CSF flow by treating the underlying cause or direct drainage of CSF.

  • Prognosis: In severe cases, the patient may get progressively more symptomatic and develop severe disability without treatment.

Wikimedia Commons

HEALTHCARE HEADLINES:

** Better health care for the homeless? New changes to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement allow for providers to get reimbursed for care of patients without permanent homes. The new rule will allow doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to “provide preventive, screening, diagnostic, and/or treatment services to unsheltered homeless individuals.”

** The AI will test your voice for diabetes now. A recent study showed that a 10-second smart phone recording can be up to 89% accurate in diagnosing type 2 diabetes, using the pitch and intensity of a patient's voice to make the determination. In a related finding, just two servings of red meat per week can increase your likelihood of developing diabetes.

** Drinking water from almost half the faucets in the United States contain “forever chemicals,” per the US Geological Survey.

TOGETHER WITH VERB:

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WATER COOLER WONDERS…the stuff we found interesting this week:

** Pictures: Check out these beautiful portraits made out of pebbles.

Justin Bateman

** Conversation Starter: Which Pixar movie (besides Up) is most likely to make you cry? (If you didn’t get teary during the beginning of Up, skip this question because you have no soul.)

** Learn: Your last birthday card sound a little too good? How to tell if something is written by AI.

** Books: Reader’s Digest named its 100 best books of all time. How many have you read?

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS:

As we prepare to “fall back” and turn our clocks back an hour on November 5th, some of us may be struggling with seasonal light variations and how it affects the quality of our sleep.

If you want to ensure a good night’s sleep, remember 3-2-1 and 4-7-8!

The 3-2-1 Method for sleep hygiene:

  • 3 hours before bed: stop eating for improved digestion.

  • 2 hours before bed: stop drinking liquids to prevent waking up to go to the bathroom.

  • 1 hour before bed: stop using phones, computers, television, or other screens to promote brain relaxation.

Don’t have issues falling asleep, but waking up in the middle of the night?

Try out the 4-7-8 Method for falling back asleep:

  • 4 seconds: breath in (through your nose)

  • 7 seconds: hold breath

  • 8 seconds: breath out (through your mouth)

  • Repeat x 4

THANKS FOR READING!

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Joke Answer: It didn’t want to get brainwashed!

Disease Answer: Syringomyelia