Category: health care

  • Beat the Heat with Cold Snap and Common Sense

    Beat the Heat with Cold Snap and Common Sense

    Sena likes to be out in the garden no matter how blisteringly hot it is. A few days ago, she was planting some yellow coreopsis and lantana, whatever that is. It was 82 degrees and with the heat index (about 60% humidity), it felt like 86 degrees. Later in mid-afternoon it rose to 95 degrees…

  • Maybe I Should Be More Optimistic About Humans

    Maybe I Should Be More Optimistic About Humans

    I read the Psychiatric Times article “How Psychiatry Has Enriched My Life: A Journey Beyond Expectations” by Victor Ajluni, MD and published on July 4, 2023. It was like a breath of fresh air to read an expression of gratitude. Just about everything I read in the news is negative. At the end of the…

  • What’s Up with Seasonal Vaccines This Fall?

    What’s Up with Seasonal Vaccines This Fall?

    I just read an interesting article in JAMA on this fall’s Covid-19 vaccine. Most of it is from the FDA meeting in June (Rubin R. This Fall’s COVID-19 Vaccines Will Target Omicron XBB Subvariants, but Who Needs Them Remains to Be Seen. JAMA. Published online July 05, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.10053). One expert was quoted, indicating that there will…

  • Motivate to Get Moving Your Way!

    Motivate to Get Moving Your Way!

    Need a little help to get started with exercising for your total health? See the video below:

  • Move Your Way Motivator

    Move Your Way Motivator

    Need a way to motivate you to get more exercise? See the HHS Move Your Way activity planner by clicking the badge below.

  • Sena Tries Miracle Whip on Braunschweiger!

    Sena Tries Miracle Whip on Braunschweiger!

    The other day, Sena suggested we have a soup and sandwich dinner. We both had a Braunschweiger sandwich on toasted bread, with onions—and Miracle Whip! Sena suggested the adding the onions and toasting the bread. She also decided to try the Miracle Whip spread. I chose the soup, which was so spicy we needed a…

  • Move Your Way!

    Move Your Way!

    I saw the HHS Move Your Way campaign regarding the new strategy on encouraging older people to exercise, namely the Midcourse Report: Implementation Strategies for Older Adults. There are many ways to get and stay fit. We could all do better, including me. I exercise pretty much daily for about 30 minutes. Following that, I…

  • Raccoon in the Mulberry Tree

    Raccoon in the Mulberry Tree

    I was not sure what exactly I saw this between 6:30 and 7:00 this morning shaking the mulberry tree branches in our backyard. It seemed too big to be a squirrel and I dismissed the thought, telling myself that it was most likely the usual squirrel getting its mulberry breakfast. Just prior to this incident,…

  • Selected Highlights of CDC ACIP Meeting on Covid-19 Vaccines

    Selected Highlights of CDC ACIP Meeting on Covid-19 Vaccines

    Today I’m highlighting a few items of interest to older adults from the summary slide set on Covid-19 vaccines presented on June 23, 2023 at the CDC ACIP meeting last week. Information for other age groups are included in the slide set. Covid-19 continues to be a major health threat for the population, especially older…

  • Covid-19 Variants in the News

    Covid-19 Variants in the News

    Sena alerted me to a CBS news item with the headline “CDC tracking new Covid variant EU.1.1.” The story seemed a bit misleading because the FDA just announced approval of vaccines for XBB.1.5. beginning in the fall. I checked the CDC Data Tracker for variants and noticed XBB.1.5 is still the most common Covid-19 subvariant…