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Health Tips for the New Year World Immunization Week is an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrate the achievements of immunization programs and their partners in promoting healthy communities. Diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, polio, measles and whooping cough were mostly wiped out in the US through excellent immunization programs.  Unfortunately some of these are coming back as more parents choose to withhold vaccines. Whooping cough and measles outbreaks in recent years exemplify this problem. Whooping cough (pertussis) is a very contagious disease that can be deadly for babies. It is spread […]

STIs/STDs A sexually transmitted disease (STD) is an infection caused by bacteria or a virus. It is also known as a sexually transmitted infection. STDs are spread by oral, genital, or anal sex. Some examples of STDs are chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. HIV and viral hepatitis are the most common sexually transmitted infections. If you are sexually active, getting tested for STDs is one of the most important things you can do to protect your health. Make sure you have an open and honest conversation about your sexual history and STD testing with your doctor and ask whether you should […]

Alcohol And Your Health Drinking too much can harm your health. Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years. Further, excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2010 were estimated at $249 billion, or $2.05 a drink.  What is a “drink”?  In the United States, a standard drink contains 0.6 ounces (14.0 grams […]

WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH? Your local health department’s mission, generally speaking, is to promote the public’s health. Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or recurring through implementing educational programs, recommending policies, promoting healthy lifestyles, assuring a safe environment and through the detection and control of infectious diseases. In contrast, clinical professionals like doctors and nurses, focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured. It is important to note that Kentucky is one of the unhealthiest states in our nation; but, a few healthy lifestyle choices could change this. First, eating normally proportioned helpings of […]

NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH: America, Take the Test! During National Nutrition Month®, celebrated each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics encourages everyone to “Put Your Best Fork Forward” by making small, healthy shifts in food choices when cooking at home. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making small changes to eating patterns to include healthier ingredients while cooking at home. Choosing a variety of healthful foods across and within all food groups helps reduce the risk of preventable, lifestyle-related chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. “Evidence shows that making dietary and lifestyle changes can prevent […]

World TB Day is March 24th March 24th has been designated World TB Day in order to raise awareness and support for worldwide TB elimination efforts.  This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB.  TB has not disappeared – worldwide it still kills approximately a million people a year. Fortunately, the rates in the United States have declined steadily since the 1990s, after a brief resurgence.  In 2015, 9,563 individuals were diagnosed with active TB in the US, of those 67 were in Kentucky and 3 were in […]