“I’m interested in women’s health because I’m a woman. I’d be a darn fool not to be on my own side”Maya Angelou *
Women’s health encompasses a wide range of physical, mental, and reproductive well-being throughout different life stages. It includes essential aspects such as menstrual health, pregnancy, menopause, and conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease, and breast cancer, which affect women differently than men. Access to preventive care, screenings, and education on nutrition, exercise, and mental health is crucial for overall well-being. Addressing gender-specific health concerns and promoting equitable healthcare access can improve quality of life and longevity for women worldwide.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Florence Rolston,MD to talk about a topic that we are both passionate about which is Women’s Health. In Part 1 of a year long series about women’s health we discussed multiple topics that affect women’s health.
First part What you should know about Mammogram screening. Who should get a mammogram screening? When should you get a mammogram screening?Why should you get a mammogram screening?
A woman scratches her legs with redness, irritation and pimples from insect bites. Close-up. The concept of protection against mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.
Is Lyme Disease only a summer thing? The answer is No, Lyme disease is not just a summer issue, though the risk is highest in late spring and summer. The black-legged tick (deer tick), which spreads Lyme disease, can be active whenever temperatures are above freezing. In warmer climates, ticks can be a risk year-round. Even in colder areas, mild winter days can bring out ticks, so it’s important to take precautions whenever you’re in tick-prone areas. Read up on an article I wrote back in 2012 when my daughter starting experience symptoms in December and was not diagnosed until March. Lyme Disease, an Accidental Diagnosis
Lyme Disease: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention, and Treatment
3d rendered close up of a tick on the skin
What Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and, in rare cases, Borrelia mayonii. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks (also called deer ticks). If left untreated, Lyme disease can lead to severe complications affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system.
How Is Lyme Disease Transmitted?
Lyme disease spreads through the bite of an infected tick. Ticks become infected when they feed on infected animals, such as mice or deer. Humans typically get bitten in wooded, grassy, or brushy areas where ticks thrive.
Ticks are most active from late spring through early fall, but in some regions, they can remain active year-round, especially in mild winters.
Symptoms of Lyme Disease
Lyme disease progresses in stages, and symptoms vary depending on how long the infection has been in the body.
Early Stage Symptoms (3–30 Days After a Tick Bite) • Bullseye rash (erythema migrans) – a red, expanding rash that may resemble a target • Fever and chills • Fatigue • Headache • Muscle and joint aches • Swollen lymph nodes
Later Stage Symptoms (Weeks to Months After a Tick Bite) • Severe joint pain and swelling (Lyme arthritis) • Neurological issues, such as facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy), numbness, or tingling • Heart palpitations (Lyme carditis) • Dizziness or shortness of breath • Inflammation of the brain or spinal cord (in rare cases)
Diagnosis and Treatment
Doctors diagnose Lyme disease based on symptoms, exposure risk, and sometimes blood tests. Early-stage Lyme disease is typically treated with a short course of antibiotics, such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime. Most patients recover fully if treated early.
If Lyme disease is left untreated, it can lead to chronic symptoms that require extended antibiotic treatment.
Prevention Tips
Since Lyme disease is caused by tick bites, prevention focuses on reducing tick exposure: • Avoid tick-prone areas: Stick to trails and avoid tall grass or brush. • Wear protective clothing: Long sleeves, long pants, and light-colored clothing can help spot ticks. • Use insect repellent: Products containing DEET or permethrin can deter ticks. • Perform tick checks: After spending time outdoors, check your body, clothes, and pets for ticks. • Shower and wash clothes: Taking a shower and putting clothes in the dryer on high heat can help remove or kill ticks.
What to Do If You Find a Tick
If you find a tick attached to your skin: 1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. 2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure—avoid twisting or jerking. 3. Clean the bite area with alcohol or soap and water. 4. Dispose of the tick properly by flushing it or sealing it in a bag. 5. Monitor for symptoms of Lyme disease and contact a doctor if needed.
Conclusion
Lyme disease is a serious but preventable illness. By taking precautions in tick-prone areas and recognizing early symptoms, individuals can reduce their risk of infection and complications. If you suspect a tick bite and develop symptoms, seek medical attention promptly.
We are now at the beginning of the beginning for addressing the virus. I have a slightly contrarian view of our new national approach to combating the Covid-19 pandemic through the vaccination strategy. Conventional wisdom indicates that we vaccinate the people most at risk in our society to prevent needless death and suffering in the vulnerable cohorts; elderly, infirm and people with co-morbidities.
While I understand this approach and the scientific data that supports these interventions, I would ask the question, what happens to the young who are at risk for Covid-19 infection and those infected who will suffer unknown impacts to their health status going into the future?
I am of the age and health designation that I will be one of the first to get the opportunity for vaccination. I have a vested interest. My wife, who is younger, will fall into the category of being next in line but she may have a co-morbidity that will make her eligible for earlier vaccination. I am concerned for her health. I have two daughters in their twenties that will be the last to receive the Covid-19 vaccination. I worry for their health and futures. I raise the question; is the risk for delaying vaccination to our young too great, to the overall well being of the country and world at large? What will happen if we inherit a world of sick young people who will impact our healthcare capacities for a disproportionately longer period of time if they were to be infected, survive but develop chronic illnesses secondary to the disease? What happens to our workforce? What happens to our economy?
I would hope that we will have an approach that addresses this conundrum in public health safety and future impacts on the economic viability of a world with sick young people needing health resources for a long time and not being able to work due to illness, reducing tax dollars into our national coffers, further impacting our country’s future ability to serve our population. We need more Covid-19 vaccines now and a wider distribution to a more varied base of recipients without age considerations. We must save our future by saving our young.
The Lesson of Thalidomide for Covid19, Look Before You Leap – My youngest daughter will say in the most excruciating terms that I am old, especially when I am trying to make a point based on some ancient piece of information that I remember to support an argument I am trying to win. She calls me ‘Lesson Plan Dad.’ It’s not a term of endearment. I usually go off and shake my head because she will sometimes ignore me or dismiss me from existence. But a funny thing happened as she was going out recently, she whispered to me before I had a chance to ‘advise her’ about following Covid19 precautions, “don’t worry Dad, I remember everything you said I had to do to remain safe. I hear your voice all the time.” This pleased me to no end because, 20 years after the death of my own Mother, I still hear her ‘voice’ warning me and giving me good advice. I’m sure some of you have that same experience.
The proverb, ‘Look before you leap’ has been a form of advice that has been given for centuries. This proverb was first noted in a 1380 manuscript and then captured in a collection of English proverbs by John Heywood in 1546; describes unintended actions and reactions that can lead to untoward results. The first use of this term in America is associated with a failure in diplomacy in the late 1600’s that occurred in New England during the time of the colonists and a war that caused significant damage of property and loss of life for both the Native Americans and many colonists who had previously coexisted uneasily (King Philip’s War). As defined, both sides in this tragic circumstance did not take-into-account all the consequences of their actions and could not avert the turmoil which befell them all.
In 1957 West Germany, a medication that was hailed a wonder drug and was marketed as a treatment for, nervousness, anxiety and morning sickness and distributed over the counter (OTC), turned into a nightmare for the German people. Many side effects of this medication included horrendous birth defects in the guise of malformation of the limbs, still born babies, tumor development and many other conditions. This medication was named Thalidomide. This drug was prevented from being introduced to the American market by a pharmacist, Frances Kelsey at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because of her concerns for the safety of our population. Because of the horrific birth defects noted in the so called ‘Thalidomide Babies,’ greater constraints and regulatory oversight of medications before their use in the public space has become one of the hallmarks of our American medical and pharmaceutical model. Appropriate oversight by the FDA has saved lives. We are looking before we leap!
During these dangerous times, in the Age of Covid19, our well-founded fear and concern for the lives lost and the lives at risk could have the effect of eroding the lessons of the past when it comes to the manufacture and distribution of a vaccine before the necessary due diligence has been implemented. I understand this rush for a cure, but I am reminded and informed about the possible consequences of not performing the work needed to safeguard ourselves from a malady of our own making. There is a reason why there isn’t a Corona vaccine in the world’s arsenal, its hard to create. Mutagenesis (DNA mutations that are engineered secondary to induction by an external factor) and Carcinogenesis (the result of agents capable of developing malignant tumors by inducing cellular changes) are the untoward effects that can result from the introduction of an external, uncontrolled factor into the population. I am not a fear monger, nor am I a scientist, microbiologist or anything remotely approaching an expert in the field on immunology or virology. I am a nurse by profession with a healthy appreciation for the rule of unintended consequences.
Let’s do this by the book! I am informed by the ethical boundaries of not experimenting on animals and conducting animal studies but in this most hazardous of times, please employ ethicists to conclude if utilizing an animal for determining if generational impacts can be averted in the human hosts who will be the final recipients of any vaccine that is developed can be averted. I am not a ‘Night of the Living Un-Dead Roach Avengers’ kind of guy but take a look at our oceans and see the harm we have done by introducing plastics to that environment and see the fish that have plastics in their systems that we are eating now. You get my point. There are potential downstream repercussions to our actions that must be considered and explored. For our children’s sakes, let’s not muck this up any worse than it already is by allowing political expedience to be determinative for the science that is necessary to figure this out and arrive at the best course of action to take.
Can you see the future? It is daunting. I see a change in some privacy protections regarding Covid19 status. Pre or Post Covid19 infection certifications. A loss of some HIPAA protections in the guise of Public Health prerogatives. Let the lawsuits proceed! What will be the civil liberty concerns as this pandemic changes the social structures of our future. Before going into a restaurant will you have to show your Covid19 certification? When you enter a hospital or go to an Emergency Room, will your Covid19 status dictate which door you enter. As a Black man who understands the ramifications of bias, my experiences extend to the general public: will my Covid19 status determine my access to jobs, travel, opportunity. Will dating apps now reveal the Covid19 status of the prospective date?
I know this seems absurd on the face of it but you would be surprised what fear will do to a society (see the Red Scare period of our country’s history). If and when a vaccine is developed, will the anti-vaccine crowd be denied access to public schools upon refusing to use it. Will you be able to refuse the vaccine based on religious grounds? There are public health laws that allow the incarceration of individuals that pose a threat to the general public, will this happen here if an individual is presenting symptoms but refuses to self-isolate? Get used to proximity tracking of your travel in cities based on your Covid19 status. Our days of innocence are over. We will not be able to look down on the political decisions of the leadership of China in their authoritarian way of governance to control their populace. Can that happen here? And be cautious America, be on guard for the hardline, authoritarian political leaders who will want to control many aspects of your life based on your Covid19 status. Any excuse for power-grabbing is fair game in the post Covid-19 age.
www.hamptonsmouthpiece.com
Will Covid19ism become the new racism? Or will all this fade as we get accustomed to this new reality. Our norms will change, are changing already.
Handshakes are a thing of the past, doorknobs will disappear (who wants to touch those anymore?). We will wash our hands more as a result which is a good thing and anyone entering our homes will be expected to wash their hands immediately (I suspect there will be a decrease in seasonal Influenza). We have to be alert to the possible erosions to our privacy and freedoms. I am all for testing , but please maintain my privacy. I know that a balance will have to be found to protect my individual privacy and the protection of the public and my neighbors. I just want to give you some food for thought.
