As national measles vaccine shortage extends another month, some travel to U.S.

Health Advice

April 21, 2024admin

As national measles vaccine shortage extends another month, some travel to U.S.

A national shortage of measles vaccines will continue for at least another month.

That means most people born before 1970 won’t be able to follow public health advice and get a shot before travel outside Canada — unless they cross the border to get the shot.

Some New Brunswickers have been doing just that, according to Joleen Fowler, a pharmacy technician at Walgreens in Calais, Maine.

“We’ve had a few people come over and ask, you know, if they were able to get it from us, and we were able to oblige,” she said.

Merck, Canada’s supplier, had expected the shortage of its MMR II vaccine, for measles, mumps and rubella, for the private market such as travel clinics, to end by April 19, but now lists May 15 as the estimated end date on Health Canada’s Drug Shortages website.

Merck has also posted an anticipated shortage of its ProQuad vaccine from April 26 until Aug. 30. ProQuad is used for the prevention of measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox in children between 12 months and 12 years old.

An increase in demand for measles vaccines, due to a rise in cases and outbreaks across the country and the world, led to the shortage, Merck Canada said in an email to CBC News Friday.

Remaining doses of the company’s measles vaccines are being reserved for publicly funded childhood immunization programs.

Working to ensure consistent supply for public programs

Asked whether Merck still expects to be able to fully meet the demands of these public immunization programs, the company replied via email: “We continue to work diligently with all relevant stakeholders, including provincial and federal health authorities, to provide a consistent supply of MMR®II vaccines in a timely manner.

“Our priority remains firmly focused on ensuring the availability of this vaccine to

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Health Advice

January 23, 2024admin

Glaucoma Awareness Month: Medical expert’s advice on how to prevent vision loss from Glaucoma

Glaucoma, often referred to as the “silent thief of sight,” is a serious eye condition that can lead to irreversible vision loss. In an effort to raise awareness about this prevalent eye disease, the month of January has been designated as Glaucoma Awareness Month. This observance aims to educate the public about the importance of regular eye check-ups, early detection, and preventive measures to safeguard vision.

Here’s a guide on how to prevent glaucoma and why awareness is crucial.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterised by damage to the optic nerve, often caused by elevated intraocular pressure. The optic nerve is essential for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss and, in severe cases, blindness.

Risk Factors for Glaucoma

1. Age: The risk of developing glaucoma increases with age, especially after the age of 40.

2. Family History: A family history of glaucoma raises an individual’s susceptibility.

3. Race: People of African, Hispanic, and Asian descent are at a higher risk.

4. Medical Conditions: Conditions such as diabetes and hypertension can contribute to the development of glaucoma.

5. Eye Trauma or Surgery: Previous eye injuries or surgeries may increase the risk.

6. Prolonged Steroid Use: Long-term use of corticosteroids can elevate intraocular pressure.

Preventive Measures for Glaucoma

1. Regular Eye Exams: Comprehensive eye exams, including measuring intraocular pressure and assessing the optic nerve, are vital for early detection.

2. Know Your Family History: Being aware of your family’s eye health history helps in understanding potential risks.

3. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: A balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoiding smoking can contribute to overall eye health.

4. Protect Your Eyes: Use protective eyewear when engaging in activities with potential eye hazards.

5.

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Health Information

October 28, 2023admin

‘Preserve those special small moments’: Movember men’s health awareness month organiser on his app to capture family memories – and key health information

Nicholas Worley hasn’t shaved for a while. The Hong Kong resident is preparing his moustache for Movember, the annual event that shines a light on men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

Cultivating a ’tash is a way to support Movember, a global movement which this year marks its 20th anniversary. Much has happened since its seeds were sown by mates downing beers at a pub in Melbourne, Australia, in 2003.

It has helped fund more than 1,300 men’s health projects globally and was the catalyst for the world’s largest prostate cancer registry network, which now has more than 200,000 men from 23 countries enrolled.

It’s also been a driving force behind the channelling of almost US$350 million into more than 600 biomedical research projects for prostate and testicular cancer.

Worley at a Movember event in Hong Kong in 2012. Photo: courtesy of Nicholas Worley

Since incorporating mental health issues such as suicide in 2006, the movement has united experts, funded bold new approaches and embraced fresh perspectives all built around “getting men talking”.

“Mo bros”, as they are called, and their sisters, are encouraged to take action and get men talking about men’s health. It’s much needed.

Speak up, guys. We’re all hurting during Covid-19 – want to talk about it?

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men aged 15 to 39, while more than 1.4 million men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020, a number expected to increase to 2.3 million globally by 2040.

In Hong Kong, more than 30 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every month. It is the third-most common cancer in men.

Worley has been supporting the Movember movement since 2010. “I organised some of the first gala parties in Hong Kong,” says the

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Department Health

June 23, 2023admin

Minden to get new urgent care clinic a month after emergency department closes

Haliburton Highlands Health Services permanently closed Minden's emergency department on June 1, 2023. The Ontario government is providing funding to the Kawartha North Family Health Team to open an urgent care clinic at the same site to provide routine and urgent care to people in the community. The clinic will open on June 30 in time for the Canada Day long weekend. (Photo: Marit Stiles / Twitter) — Haliburton Highlands Health Services permanently closed Minden’s emergency department on June 1, 2023. The Ontario government is providing funding to the Kawartha North Family Health Team to open an urgent care clinic at the same site to provide routine and urgent care to people in the community. The clinic will open on June 30 in time for the Canada Day long weekend. (Photo: Marit Stiles / Twitter)

It’s not a replacement for the now-closed emergency department, but Minden is going to have a new urgent care clinic as of the end of June.

The Ontario government announced on Tuesday (June 20) it will be providing funding to the Kawartha North Family Health Team to open an urgent care clinic to provide routine and urgent care to people in the community.

According to the Kawartha North Family Health Team, urgent care services are for people who have unexpected but non-life-threatening health issues that usually require same-day treatment.

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The clinic will open in the former location of the Minden emergency department at 4575 Deep Bay Road, which Haliburton Highlands Health Services permanently closed on June 1 due to a lack of staffing after providing six weeks’ notice to the community.

Despite petitions and protests from Minden-area residents and local politicians urging a moratorium, the emergency department was closed, with all emergency services consolidated at the Haliburton hospital — located a minimum 25-minute drive away from Minden.

On May 31, the Kawartha North Family Health Team put forward an expression of interest to the Ministry of Health for funding to operate an urgent care clinic at the former Minden emergency department site.

“As a resident of Minden Hills myself, I realize the limitation of our resources and how stretched health care providers are, especially during the busy summer

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Health Advice

June 6, 2023admin

Hip-Hop Stars Give Advice on Grieving For Mental Health Awareness Month – Billboard

As we close Mental Health Awareness Month, Billboard is focusing on grieving, after the hip-hop community has suffered so many tragic losses over the last few years. As Black men continue to become susceptible to gun violence, many artists have begun opening up about the importance of therapy — or at least positively embracing pain, whether that’s through music, journaling or even getting a tattoo that pays homage to your lost ones.

See latest videos, charts and news

Billboard spoke to Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, Joey Bada$$, and G Herbo about what their best advice is for overcoming a loss and moving forward. See what each man said below.

Swizz Beatz

I think the best thing is to take the time that’s needed. To figure out how you want to grieve. I’m still not over [DMX]. I still have moments, but I’ve got to a good space because X actually came to me and let me know that he was okay. I couldn’t even listen to [“Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”] I wasn’t even prepared for it. It just breaks me up. I’m like, “Damn.” It’s the only song to ever do that. All the other songs, I’m cool. [That song] is like a trigger for me. Then he came and kinda was like, “I’m good.” I seen the whole s–t.

You just gotta be open-minded. Grieving has no ending to it. It’s like when a person comes to your mind like, “Damn.” Sometimes I just have to have a moment to be like, “Damn.” I don’t even feel like he’s gone though. I be like, “X really not here.” Taking the time out to think about that is crazy, sometimes. I start thinking about the s–t we was about to do. The things we

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Health Advice

May 8, 2023admin

‘You’re not alone’: CNN Heroes share advice for Mental Health Awareness Month

Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with a trained counselor or visit the Lifeline site.

CNN
—

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and this year it seems to coincide with a flurry of violent headlines. For many, this constant bad news adds to the stress of everyday life, which may already feel overwhelming.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, each year in the US, one in five adults experience mental illness and one in six children aged 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder. That’s millions of people. In 2021, less than half of adults received treatment.

America’s mental health crisis is having a widespread impact that touches everyone.

“One of the things that we underestimate as a society is how our global mental health impacts us as individuals. And we have seen it over and over again as we experience gun violence,” said Michele Neff Hernandez, a 2021 CNN Hero who has helped millions navigate grief and loss through her nonprofit Soaring Spirits. “We can see what happens when people don’t get the help they need; there can be tragic consequences.”

Neff Hernandez is one of many CNN Heroes who have found unique ways to help people with their mental health. Some of them marked Mental Health Awareness Month by sharing advice and insight with CNN’s Elizabeth Belanger about what is working for their communities. Below are edited versions of their conversations.

For Neff Hernandez, whose organization helps widowed people connect with each other in a community of support, it’s important for everyone to know they aren’t alone in their struggle. Mental illness is common, yet the stigma surrounding

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Health Advice

February 7, 2023admin

Heart Health and fitness Month: Information on How to Dwell a Coronary heart-Wholesome Life style

February is heart well being month and Bradford’s Original Bulk Foods and Overall health Nutritional supplement Retailer Nancy’s Nifty Nook has some worthwhile advice on how you can live a heart healthful lifestyle.

Did you know that heart disease is second leading cause of dying in Canada and that one in 12 grown ups aged 20 and above are living with a diagnosed coronary heart sickness? Even far more alarming is that each hour, about 14 Canadian grown ups (about 20 many years aged) identified with heart disorder die. The Govt of Canada has published these figures and other crucial info about heart illness in Canada.

Cardiovascular condition (CVD) is the phrase utilised to include all health conditions of the heart and circulation. Coronary heart disorders and blood circulation disorders have an effect on blood flow as a result of the physique, which consist of the heart and blood vessels to the brain, lungs, kidneys and other areas of the entire body.

What causes heart condition?

Disorders of the heart can be brought on by quite a few variables which include spouse and children background and life-style behaviours. Particular behaviours have been proven to raise the likelihood of coronary heart condition and incorporate but are not confined to:

cigarette smoking

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very poor diet program

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drug use

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deficiency of physical action and/or

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too much liquor use.

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As perfectly, substantial blood stress, obesity and diabetic issues are all risk aspects that can guide to coronary heart disease. It has been pointed out that these well being circumstances are turning out to be more commonplace in youthful grown ups.

Coronary heart illness in males and women of all ages

CVD is the principal cause of dying in guys, but quite a few persons are unaware

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Health Care

January 28, 2023admin

Canada’s premiers will meet next month with hopes of a health-care agreement breakthrough

Paramedics transfer patients to the emergency room triage but have no choice but to leave them in the hallway due to an at capacity emergency room at the Humber River Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Jan. 25, 2022.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Canada’s premiers will meet among themselves next month in Ottawa with new hope that a health agreement can be reached with the federal government before another budget year of funding is locked in, amid growing expectation the Prime Minister will join the gathering.

Since a meeting of Canada’s health ministers ended in acrimony in November, Ottawa has signalled it is willing to negotiate a 10-year health funding deal that will see a hefty increase for both Canada Health Transfer, or CHT, and bilateral financial agreements with individual provinces and territories.

In exchange for billions in new money that provinces and territories have been requesting, they will have to agree to national accountability measures and reforms to improve their health care systems. Quebec and Ontario initially objected to Ottawa’s key demands, but last week agreed to accept the conditions, including the creation of a national health data system.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix, who hosted the November meeting in Vancouver, said a breakthrough is needed before Ottawa tables its next budget, which is expected by early April.

“They’re getting serious. That’s great news,” he said in an interview. “The federal government is now talking about precise and specific proposals to fund health care in Canada. Their share has been declining and was set to decline again quite dramatically, if they had waited through this budget round.”

The meeting of premiers, hosted by Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson, has been scheduled for Feb. 12 and 13 in Ottawa – a location chosen to set the table for a meeting

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Working to ensure consistent supply for public programs

What is Glaucoma?

Risk Factors for Glaucoma

Preventive Measures for Glaucoma

Speak up, guys. We’re all hurting during Covid-19 – want to talk about it?

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