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 […]

Think Toy Safety…By Knowing Toy Dangers When Buying Toys Choose toys with care. Keep in mind the child’s age, interests and skill level. Look for quality design and construction in all toys for all ages. Make sure that all directions or instructions are clear—to you and, when appropriate, to the child. Plastic wrappings on toys should be discarded at once before they become deadly playthings. Be a label reader. Look for and heed age recommendations, such as “Not recommended for children under three.” Look for other safety labels including: “Flame retardant/Flame resistant” on fabric products and “Washable/hygienic materials” on stuffed […]

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 Did you know that roughly 9% of all high school students in Kentucky smoke and 26% use e-cigarettes?  According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Kentucky averages 1,800 NEW SMOKERS each year in children under 18. Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.  There are more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States caused by cigarettes. This is nearly one in five deaths. Per the CDC, smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times,  stroke by 2 to 4 times, and lung cancer by 25 times. If you […]

How to Properly Thaw Food Uh, oh! You’ve arrived home from work 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 […]