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Does your toothbrush have fecal matter on it? Gulp.

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

Brush your teeth twice a day. Brush after sugary snacks. Replace your toothbrush occasionally.  

 

Toothbrush care seems simple, right? Actually, there is more to it, and some of the things you have been doing could lead to disgusting results we don’t want to think about.  

 

Take our quiz to learn more. 

 

For more tips on taking care of your toothbrush and mouth, talk to your dentist, who you should see at least twice a year.  

References:

Penn Medicine

CDC (Centers for Diseases Control)

American Dental Association

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Does your toothbrush have fecal matter on it? Gulp.

Toothbrush care seems simple, right? Actually, there is more to it, and some of the things you have been doing could lead to disgusting results we don’t want to think about. Take our quiz to learn more. 

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Why do I need a colonoscopy?

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

It’s not something we like to talk about – unless you’re a kid who likes bathroom humor – but it’s an important topic. Paying attention to our bowel movement health and getting recommended colonoscopies can help find cancer earlier.   

While colon cancer screenings are effective tools for helping detect and prevent cancer deaths, diet and weight control can help prevent it in the first place. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits and maintaining a normal weight appears to help protect against colon cancer, as well. 

Here are recommendations from the American Cancer Society: 

Weight: While being overweight or obese increases the risk of colorectal cancer in both men and women, the link seems to be stronger in men.  

Physical activity: Being more active lowers your risk of colorectal cancer and polyps.  

Diet: Overall, diets that are high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low in red and processed meats, probably lower colorectal cancer risk, although it’s not exactly clear which factors are important.  

Alcohol: Several studies have found a higher risk of colorectal cancer with increased alcohol intake, especially among men. It is best not to drink alcohol. For people who do drink, they should have no more than one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men. 

Not smoking: Long-term smoking is linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer, as well as many other cancers and health problems.  

The bottom line is do everything you can to reduce your risk.  “Colon cancer is a silent killer,” said Stephen Ulrich, M.D., board-certified family practice, Perry County Family Practice, New Lexington, Ohio. “By the time patients notice blood in the stool, weight loss and unexplained abdominal pain, the cancer may have already spread to other organs and invaded the wall of the bowel. The result is a colostomy (a bag attached outside the body for bowel function.)”  

However, this can be avoided with adequate screening for colon cancer. The gold standard for colon cancer screening is a colonoscopy, which is recommended at age 45 if there are no other risk factors. If there is a family history of colon cancer or its precursor (colon polyps) in your family, your primary care provider may recommend earlier screenings. 

So, while it’s not typically a topic discussed at the dinner table, it’s a subject that needs shared to help save lives.  

For details on how a colonoscopy is performed, click here. 

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Why do I need a colonoscopy?

It’s not something we like to talk about – unless you’re a kid who likes bathroom humor – but it’s an important topic. Paying attention to our bowel movement health and getting recommended colonoscopies can help find cancer earlier.   

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Have the vision to keep your eyesight

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

As we age, it is natural for our health and senses to decline. So, if you want to keep your vision strong to see your grandchildren, retirement sunsets and the things on your bucket list, follow the guidelines below to keep your eyes healthy and seeing all they can. 

 

Wear sunglasses 

The benefits of sunglasses go far beyond fashion. Look for sunglasses that block 99 to 100 of UV-A and UV-B radiation.  

 

Watch your blood sugar 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 90% of blindness caused by diabetes is preventable. The general rule of thumb is to keep your A1C below 7%. However, based on other health factors, you may have a different goal. Talk to your doctor for recommendations on preventing and living with diabetes.  

 

Refocus  

Staring at a computer screen, TV or reading for several hours can take a toll on your eyes. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, you should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.  

 

Eat more than carrots 

In addition to carrots, research has shown eating lots of fruits and vegetables, including spinach, kale and collard greens, is good for your eyes. The CDC also refers to studies that say fish high in omega-3 fatty acids is beneficial. Try salmon, tuna and halibut.  

 

Get your dilated eye exam 

According to the National Eye Institute, a dilated eye exam is the best thing you can do to keep your eyes healthy. The exam can detect diseases that don’t have symptoms and enables your eye doctor to treat them earlier, increasing your odds of successfully dealing with them.  

 

Best practices 

As always, if you have concerns about your eye health, contact your eye doctor.  

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Have the vision to keep your eyesight

If you want to keep your vision strong, follow these guidelines to keep your eyes healthy and seeing all they can. 

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Need motivation to exercise? Read this.

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

You have probably heard, “Use it or lose it.” Or “Sitting is the new smoking.” Everywhere you turn, experts encourage exercise. We know it is good for us, but do you know just how good it is? And do you know the immediate benefits?  

In the short term, exercise can:  

  • Help control your appetite. 

  • Boost your mood. 

  • Improve sleep. 

The connection to better sleep is easy. You exercise, you get tired, you sleep better.  

However, exercise can help control your appetite? Research is still delivering mixed results, but multiple studies indicate that exercise, especially longer workouts that are harder to do, often decreases a person’s appetite for hours. You can review one study on the National Library of Medicine website.  

As for boosting your mood, when you exercise, your brain releases the “feel good” hormone dopamine, into your bloodstream, which often makes you feel better. Want to learn more about dopamine? Read this article on Harvard Health Publishing.  

Now that you have extra motivation to exercise, what should you do? For adults, the standard recommendation is 150 minutes of exercise per week. It is easier than you think. You can break it into 30-minute sessions five days a week and still have two days off. For more specifics, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. You will find recommendations for moderate-intensity aerobic (i.e., walking), vigorous-intensity aerobic (i.e., running) and a mix of both.  

For more insight, read this article on Harvard Health Publishing that explains exercise types, including aerobic, strength training, stretching and balance.  

Before starting any workout program, talk to your family doctor for recommendations so you can safely begin at the appropriate level.  

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Need motivation to exercise? Read this.

Everywhere you turn, experts encourage exercise. We know it is good for us, but do you know just how good it is? And do you know the immediate benefits?  

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DASH to lower blood pressure

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

Doctors often suggest patients start following the DASH diet, which isn’t a diet at all. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life.  

 

It’s not just for hypertension (high blood pressure). The DASH plan improves the lipid panel, helps people lose weight and reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.  

 

The plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits and whole grains and includes fish, poultry, beans, nuts and healthy oils. It limits foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats and full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel and palm oils. 

 

The science behind the DASH plan  

The DASH diet has been the subject of several studies funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). One study tested the diet’s health benefits by comparing it with the typical American diet.  

 

Another study, The Premier Clinical Trial, followed three groups that participated in a different program to lower blood pressure, lose weight and improve health. After six months, the participants whose study included the DASH diet had the greatest reductions in blood pressure. 

 

Not sold yet? Take it for a test drive 

Here’s a sample of one day of DASH meals.  

 

Breakfast 

  • 1 cup mixed fruit such as melon and grapes 

  • 1/2 whole-wheat bagel 

  • 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter 

  • 1 cup skim milk 

  • Coffee, tea or water 

  •  

Lunch 

  • Spinach salad: 

    • 3 cups fresh spinach leaves 

    • 1 sliced pear 

    • 1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges 

    • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil 

    • 1 ounce of goat cheese 

    • 3 ounces of cooked chicken 

  • 1 small whole-wheat roll 

  • Water 

 

Dinner 

  • Vegetarian pasta: 

    • 1/2 cup marinara sauce 

    • 1 cup chopped summer squash 

    • 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach 

    • 1 1/2 cup whole-wheat pasta 

  • 1 cup melon 

  • 1 cup skim milk 

 

Snack (anytime) 

  • 1/4 cup trail mix, unsalted 

 

Here’s a tip to make adopting the DASH diet easier:  

The Internet is a fantastic resource for DASH information. You’ll find meal plan ideas like those above, links to sites where you can have personalized DASH meal plans created for you (some for a fee), study information and cookbooks galore.  

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

DASH to lower blood pressure

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life.

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The dos and don’ts of storing medicine and vitamins

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

To store medicine and vitamins in the bathroom or not to store them in the bathroom: that is the question. The medicine cabinet is a staple feature of bathrooms in early 19th century homes, but should we keep our medicine and vitamins there? Doctors and government institutions agree, including the Medline Plus website: Don’t store pharmaceuticals in the bathroom. That is the answer. Read on to find out why. 

According to the FDA, medicine and vitamins need to be stored in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. That’s about the opposite of a common bathroom, where temperatures fluctuate and humidity is high.  

 

Storage conditions are important because it impacts how well medicine and vitamins work, and because the interaction between the pharmaceutical and heat or moisture can result in toxicity when not stored correctly, according to an article from the International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical and Biological Research. For example, in a study on Vitamin E products, the potency was reduced by almost 50% after five hours of exposure to sunlight. 

 

No need to get overwhelmed though. This simple list of dos and don’ts for storing household medicine and vitamins will help clarify: 

Do: 

  • Find a cool, dark, dry place to store pharmaceuticals, such as in a closet or dresser drawer. 

  • Keep them in their original container and remove the cotton ball, which can hold moisture. 

  • Store them out of reach and sight of children, or somewhere they can be locked up. 

  • Follow the instructions on the label for storage conditions and shelf life. 

 

Don’t: 

  • Keep medicine and vitamins in the refrigerator unless the label specifically instructs refrigerated storage. 

  • Store them in a room with heat and humidity, such as the bathroom or kitchen. 

  • Ignore the instructions on the label regarding shelf life and storage conditions. 

  • Leave them out somewhere easy for a child to grab. Approximately 35,000 young children are sent to the emergency department annually because they got a hold of medicine. 

 

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Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

The dos and don’ts of storing medicine and vitamins

This simple list of dos and don’ts for storing household medicine and vitamins will help clarify.

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Can you hear me now? How to protect your hearing.

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

According to the American Hearing Research Foundation, approximately 15% of teens have some hearing loss. They cite high-volume things like concerts, events and electronic devices as the culprits.  

The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that 2.5 billion people worldwide will suffer from some hearing loss by 2050. 

It is time to act.  

There are multiple things you can do to protect your hearing. First, according to the Ear Science Institute of Australia and several other organizations, you should get an annual hearing exam. Hearing loss often occurs gradually, and you may not notice as it happens. As with most things, the earlier you catch it, the easier it is to treat it. And catching it is important. Decreased hearing has been linked to impacting mental health and is a risk factor for developing dementia.  

To protect your hearing, you should also wear earplugs in loud situations like concerts and mowing the grass, to name a few. For details on different types of earplugs and how to insert and care for them, visit the Hearing Health Foundation website.  

Making healthy choices can also help prevent hearing loss. A study from Japan published on the National Library of Medicine website stated that smokers are approximately one and a half times more likely to develop high-frequency hearing loss than nonsmokers. Plus, quitting smoking will help your health in numerous ways. 

Listening to headphones too long and at too loud of a volume is another risk factor for hearing loss. For tips on how to use headphones safely, read our Tips to protect your hearing when using headphones blog.

For additional information on preventing and treating hearing loss, talk to your family physician. 

 

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Sign up for our digital newsletters to receive health tips, recipes, success stories for inspiration and information about new doctors to help you on your journey to better health.

 

 

Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Can you hear me now? How to protect your hearing.

According to the American Hearing Research Foundation, approximately 15% of teens have some hearing loss. There are multiple things you can do to protect your hearing. 

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Outfit the person who has everything with confidence

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

We all have an older person in our life that is almost impossible to shop for. Whether the gift is for a holiday, a birthday, an anniversary or retirement, after a certain age, many people don’t need, or want, anything.  

Here’s a thought. A University of Kansas study of 926 people aged 65 and older found that nearly half had some fear of falling, and 65% of those fearful folks had restricted their activity as a result.  

Other studies report that fear of falling increases the risk of falling because people stiffen and change their gait.  

So how about the gift of confidence? Here are some items that can help balance their fear. (Pun intended.)  

Adaptive clothing  

Clothes and shoes that don’t fit well cause falls. It's easy to take a few steps and trip over excess fabric if pants are too long. Look for adaptive clothing. Adaptive wear provides easy dressing solutions for seniors, the disabled and wheelchair users. An open-back shirt allows the caregiver to dress the senior without making them stand. Open-side pants let a senior dress themselves. Feeling more in control of one’s life is a great gift.  

Adaptive shoes  

Quality shoes that supply comfort and security are important for seniors. Look for shoes that:  

 

  • Have slip-resistant soles for added security and safety with each step. 

  • Are available in wide widths – Terrific for swollen feet or ankles. 

  • Are adjustable, with easy touch closures – Arthritis and diabetes often lead to swelling. Adjustable openings and fasteners support different levels of swelling.  

  • Fit their feet – Shoes that do not fit well are a major cause of falls.  

 

A gift that adds to your loved one’s quality of life is sure to be a hit. 

 

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Sign up for our digital newsletters to receive health tips, recipes, success stories for inspiration and information about new doctors to help you on your journey to better health.

 

 

Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Outfit the person who has everything with confidence

Give the gift of confidence to your loved ones with the help of adaptive clothing. Here are some items that can help balance their fear. 

 

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Tips to protect your hearing when using headphones

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

Technology is great. You can listen to your favorite music, podcast or book almost anywhere with a phone and headphones. While enjoying your entertainment, protect your hearing so you can keep listening to what you want for years. 

 

 

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Sign up for our digital newsletters to receive health tips, recipes, success stories for inspiration and information about new doctors to help you on your journey to better health.

 

 

Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

Tips to protect your hearing when using headphones

While enjoying your entertainment, protect your hearing so you can keep listening to what you want for years. 

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What do you do when a product is recalled?

emily.griffin
Submitted by emily.griffin on

We’ve all seen product recalls on the news or on our social media feeds. Sometimes it’s a food that is at risk for contamination or a product that is defective. A lot of the time, these recalls don’t apply to anything we have in our homes. So, what do you do when something you’ve consumed or purchased is recalled? And what happens if it affects your health? Read on to find out more.   
 

What is a product recall?  

According to the Food and Drug Administration, a recall is a method of removing or correcting products that are iBlock layoutn violation of laws administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of consumer products are also legally required to report products that pose a health or safety risk to the Consumer Product Safety Commission so a recall can be issued.  
 

How do I know if a product I have has been recalled?  

For a regularly updated list of products that have been recalled, visit the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission at cpsc.gov/Recalls. You can also visit FoodSafety.gov specifically for food-related recalls.  
 

What do I do if a product I have has been recalled?  

If you realize a recall involves something you’ve purchased, your next steps will depend on the kind of item it is. If you’ve purchased an item like a children’s toy, an exercise bike or a power tool, check the recall issue for further instructions. If it’s a food recall, don’t eat or open the product, says FoodSafety.gov. Then, check the recall notice to see what you need to do. If you have questions or concerns about the effect of a product you’ve eaten, talk to your primary care physician.  

 

Ready to get healthy?

Sign up for our digital newsletters to receive health tips, recipes, success stories for inspiration and information about new doctors to help you on your journey to better health.

 

 

Genesis HealthCare System’s Health and Wellness content conveniently provides accurate and helpful information. Your health history and current health may impact suggestions provided through our Health and Wellness content. Although we hope this information is helpful, it is not a substitute for your doctor's medical advice. Before making any significant changes, please consult your doctor.

What do you do when a product is recalled?

What do you do when something you’ve consumed or purchased is recalled? And what happens if it affects your health? Read on to find out more.   
 

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