News

NATIONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION WEEK Every December we celebrate National Influenza Vaccination Week to remind everyone about preventing influenza, a serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes death. Every flu season is different, and influenza infection can affect people differently, but millions of people get the flu every year, hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized and thousands die from flu-related causes every year. Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to others. Flu season” in the United States can begin as early as October and last as late as May. An annual seasonal flu […]

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988. What is HIV/AIDS? HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus that causes HIV infection. The abbreviation “HIV” can refer to the virus or to HIV infection. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced […]

Managing Diabetes – It’s Not Easy, But It’s Worth It If you have diabetes, you know the day-to-day steps needed to manage diabetes can be hard. Managing diabetes can be easier if you set goals and make a plan. This is important because research has shown that managing diabetes as early as possible can help prevent diabetes-related health problems such as kidney disease, vision loss, heart disease and stroke. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) and the Lake Cumberland District Health Department want you to know that many people struggle with diabetes and you are not alone. Managing diabetes is […]

Smoking…The Deadly Truth Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined.  Astonishingly, 119,000 of Kentucky kids under the age of 18 will ultimately die a prematurely death from smoking this year, according to Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.   3,200 kids in Kentucky start smoking each year. Tobacco smoke is a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals, almost 70 of which cause cancer. The evidence is clear, smoking can be deadly.  Don’t start and be a statistic. If you smoke and want to stop call your local health department or visit our website […]

How to Properly Thaw Food Uh, oh! You’re home and forgot to thaw something for dinner. You grab a package of meat or chicken and use hot water to thaw it fast. But is this safe? What if you remembered to take food out of the freezer, but forgot and left the package on the counter all day while you were at work? Neither of these situations is considered safe, and these methods of thawing may lead to foodborne illness. Raw or cooked meat, poultry or egg products, as any perishable foods, must be kept at a safe temperature during […]