Mark the date for an important cause and lots of fun
Coming tournament set for May 4th at Rockwind Community Links with proceeds to help Lea County seniors in need. To register visit Rockwind for a form, or call 469-475-4181 to have a form sent via email.
‘SUPER’ excitement
Hobbs great-grandmother celebrates Patriots’ win
Virginia Owen, 97, of Hobbs is Ashlee Auld Schneider’s great grandmother. Virginia, who loves Tom Brady and thinks he is cute, is a big supporter of the New England Patriots. Her picture from game day has been sent to Brady and the Patriots in hopes that he will reach out to one of his oldest and biggest fans and make her day.
Tax season is here
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) workers are helping seniors at Hobbs Senior Center, and other Senior Centers in the area. Seniors are encouraged to begin gathering items needed for tax preparation including; Picture ID, Secial Security Card, SSI, Annual income, Any IRA or Interest accounts, Medicaid, Medicare cards, and a 1095 form if you have one sent to you.
What’s sending everyone to the doctor in Lea County?
There seem to be four main health problems around Lea County at this time.
■ The Flu
■ Tummy Bug
■ Strep Throat
■ Upper Respiratory Problems
All of the listed health problems share a common bond – germs from sneezing and coughing in the air you breathe wherever you are such as shopping, eating out, or visiting. and the germs left behind as people come and go when they are out and about that can transfer these health problems to you. There is something you can do to lessen your exposure.
Shopping and eating out:
Wash your hand often, use antibacterial hand sanitizer the minute you leave a store cleaning your hands as well as your keys, your purse strap, and your steering wheel.
Your friends and family:
Spray antibacterial on your door knobs, fauets, chair arms, or anything guests in your home might have touched while there.
Masks:
Many seniors are wearing dust masks to avoid catching airbourn illnesses.
Fruit and vegetables:
Wash your fresh fruit and vegetables when you get home from the grocery store as… many hands may have touched them.
Buffet lines:
Utensils At buffets pose a risk as hundreds of residents handle the handles serving up food as they go through a buffet. You then handle the spoon and ladle handles and now have the germs of every hand of those in line on your hands. The best way to combat the germs is to have your hand sanitizer handy to use before you begin eating after you have filled your plate.
Heart disease No. 1 cause of death in NM
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reports the leading cause of death for both men and women in the state is heart disease – this as the department raises awareness of American Heart Month in February. “Heart health should never be ignored by New Mexicans,” said Department of Health Secretary Designate Kathyleen Kunkel. “Heart disease not only can cost you your life but an unhealthy heart also adds to the estimated $1.8 billion dollars spent every year in our state on heart disease-related medical bills.”
Over the last 10 years, heart disease has been responsible for an average of 3,406 deaths per year in New Mexico. In 2017, it accounted for 21 percent of all deaths in the state.
Heart disease is preventable, and you can make healthy changes to lower your chance of developing it. Risk factors include:
■ High blood pressure
■ Smoking and second-hand smoke exposure
■ Diabetes and prediabetes
■ High cholesterol
■ Unhealthy diet
■ Physical inactivity
■ Being overweight or obese
■ Excessive alcohol use
FDA warning:
Antibiotics that can cause low or high blood sugar or coma
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is strengthening the current warnings in the prescribing information that fluoroquinolone antibiotics may cause significant decreases in blood sugar and certain mental health side effects. The low blood sugar levels can result in serious problems, including coma, particularly in older people and patients with diabetes who are taking medicines to reduce blood sugar. FDA is making these changes because their recent review found reports of life-threatening low blood sugar side effects and reports of additional mental health side effects.
■ Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics
■ Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
■ Levofloxacin (Levaquin/Quixin)
■ Gatifloxacin (Tequin)
■ Moxifloxacin (Avelox)
■ Ofloxacin (Ocuflox/Floxin/Floxacin)
■ Norfloxacin (Noroxin)
We are requiring these updates in the drug labels and to the patient Medication Guides for the entire class of fluoroquinolones. This affects only the fluoroquinolone formulations taken by mouth or given by injection. Blood sugar disturbances, including high blood sugar and low blood sugar, are already included as a warning in most fluoroquinolone drug labels; however, we are adding that low blood sugar levels, also called hypoglycemia, can lead to coma.
Across the fluoroquinolone antibiotic class, a range of mental health side effects are already described under Central Nervous System Effects in the Warnings and Precautions section of the drug label, which differed by individual drug. The new label changes will make the mental health side effects more prominent and more consistent across the systemic fluoroquinolone drug class. The mental health side effects to be added to or updated across all the fluoroquinolones are disturbances in attention, disorientation, agitation, nervousness, memory impairment, and serious disturbances in mental abilities called delirium.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are approved to treat certain serious bacterial infections, and have been used for more than 30 years. They work by killing or stopping the growth of bacteria that can cause illness. Without treatment, some infections can spread and lead to serious health problems.
~Judy Hanna
