Grundy County Health Department
1716 Lincoln / Trenton, MO 64683
PH: 660.359.4196 FAX: 660.359.5470
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Grundy County Health Department 1716 Lincoln / Trenton, MO 64683 PH: 660.359.4196 FAX: 660.359.5470
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Public Health PostJanuary - March 2008
Contents Food Safety During A Power Outage
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people of every age from two through 33 years old. Increasing safety belt and child safety seat use has tremendous potential for saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing the economic costs associated with crashes. Approximately 70 percent of those who die in Missouri traffic crashes are not wearing their safety belts. Safety belts are considered one of the most important safety devices in your vehicle, and using them correctly and on every trip is the most effective way to reduce injuries and death in a crash. Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates automobile occupants are 45 percent more likely to survive a crash if they are wearing their lap and shoulder belts correctly; pickup truck and light truck passengers are 60 percent more likely to survive a crash when buckled up correctly. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety advises all Missourians to "Buckle Up, Arrive Alive." Safety Belts To be effective, safety belts must be worn correctly. The lap belt should be worn low and snug across the hips. The shoulder belt should be placed over the shoulder and across the chest. Safety belts that ride up against your stomach or across your neck (instead of your shoulder) may not protect you in a crash. Never place the shoulder belt under your arm or behind your back -- this could result in serious or fatal injury. Pregnant women should always wear safety belts with the lap belt as low as possible across the hips throughout pregnancy. Safety belts can be dangerous for small children. Safety belts that are in the wrong position may hurt your child in a crash, or they may not hold them in the vehicle seat. Young children should be placed in the appropriate child safety seat until they are over 4 feet 9 inches tall and have outgrown the limits of their safety seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that children 12 and under ride in the back seat. That's the safest place. Chapter 307 of the Missouri Revised Statutes requires all adults riding in the front seat of a car, pickup truck, sport utility vehicle or van to wear safety belts. Children ages eight through 15 must always wear safety belts. A law enforcement officer can stop you and issue you a citation for no other reason than noncompliance with this law. Air Bags Safety belts should be worn in combination with air bag systems. They keep your body in the safest position so an air bag can do its job.
The Grundy County Health Department is focusing on reducing unintentional injuries for its Maternal & Child Health contract and participates in a regional coalition effort to reduce injuries and fatalities on area roadways. For more information about traffic safety, visit www.modot.org or www.savemolives.com.
From the Missouri Department of Transportation
Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that affects a growing number of people. But diabetes can be controlled. It can even be prevented! What is diabetes? Your body needs energy. It turns much of the food you eat into glucose (sugar) for your body to use as energy. The pancreas, an organ near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin. Insulin helps glucose get into your body's cells. When you have diabetes, your body doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin very well. But, your body continues to convert the food you eat into glucose, so guess what happens? Your body has too much blood sugar. This is diabetes. Diabetes is a serious disease. If it is not controlled, it can lead to serious consequences. What are signs and symptoms of diabetes? Some people with diabetes will not experience any symptoms while others will have one or more of the following:
Am I at risk of developing diabetes? The following characteristics make people more likely to get type 2 diabetes:
What are the serious consequences of diabetes? Diabetes can affect many parts of the body. It can lead to serious complications such as blindness, kidney damage, loss of teeth, heart attack, stroke, and lower-limb amputation. To prevent these problems, people need to learn to control their diabetes. How can diabetes be controlled? Diabetes cannot be cured. But it can be controlled. People with diabetes and their health care providers can work together to control their levels for blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol (blood lipids). People with diabetes need to receive other important preventive care practices like foot exams, eye exams, dental exams, and flu and pneumonia shots. They need to check their own blood sugar as their doctor recommends. They need to get a special blood sugar check called an A1C (A-one-C) two to four times a year. They need to keep their weight down and be physically active. Can diabetes be prevented? Some of the risk factors listed above cannot be changed, like your age or your family history. Other things you can change, like how much you weigh, how much you exercise, and what you eat. Any change you make for the better can help you delay or prevent getting diabetes. For more information about diabetes visit www.cdc.gov or www.dhss.mo.gov.
The Grundy County Health Department hosts a regular speaker that
is a Certified Diabetes Educator, for more information about this service,
Information from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Food Safety During A Power Outage Last year's ice storm left many people without power for hours or days. Here are some guidelines about food safety during an emergency when power is lost. Leave the Freezer Door Closed: A full freezer should keep food safe about two days; a half-full freezer, about a day. Add bags of ice or dry ice to the freezer if it appears the power will be off for an extended time. You can safely refreeze thawed foods that still contain ice crystals or feel cold to the touch. Refrigerated Items: These foods should be safe as long as the power is out no more than about four to six hours. Discard any perishable food that has been above 45° F for two hours or more and any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture. Leave the door closed; every time you open it, needed cold air escapes, causing the foods inside to reach unsafe temperatures. If it appears the power will be off more than six hours, transfer refrigerated perishable foods to an insulated cooler filled with ice or frozen gel packs. Keep a thermometer in the cooler to be sure the food stays at 45° F or below. Never Taste Food to Determine Its Safety: Some foods may look and smell fine, but if they've been at room temperature longer than two hours, bacteria able to cause foodborne illness can begin to multiply very rapidly. Some types will produce toxins, which are not destroyed by cooking and can possibly cause illness. Use a Thermometer: Keep an appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer at all times to see if food is being stored at safe temperatures (34° to 45° F for the refrigerator; 0° F or below for the freezer). The key to determining the safety of foods in the refrigerator and freezer is how cold they are. Most foodborne illnesses are caused by bacteria that multiply rapidly at temperatures above 45° F. This information is from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Visit their website regarding the safety of specific food items at www.dhss.mo.gov.
When the weather is extremely cold, and especially if there are high winds, try to stay indoors. Make any trips outside as brief as possible, and remember these tips to protect your health and safety: Dress Warmly and Stay Dry Adults and children should wear:
Be sure the outer layer of your clothing is tightly woven, preferably wind resistant, to reduce body-heat loss caused by wind. Wool, silk, or polypropylene inner layers of clothing will hold more body heat than cotton. Stay dry--wet clothing chills the body rapidly. Excess perspiration will increase heat loss, so remove extra layers of clothing whenever you feel too warm. Do not ignore shivering. It's an important first sign that the body is losing heat. Persistent shivering is a signal to return indoors. Avoid Exertion Cold weather puts an extra strain on the heart. If you have heart disease or high blood pressure, follow your doctor's advice about shoveling snow or performing other hard work in the cold. Otherwise, if you have to do heavy outdoor chores, dress warmly and work slowly. Remember, your body is already working hard just to stay warm, so don't overdo it. Understand Wind Chill The Wind Chill Index is the temperature your body feels when the air temperature is combined with the wind speed. It is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the effects of wind and cold. As the speed of the wind increases, it can carry heat away from your body much more quickly, causing skin temperature to drop. When there are high winds, serious weather-related health problems are more likely, even when temperatures are only cool. Avoid Ice Walking on ice is extremely dangerous. Many cold-weather injuries result from falls on ice-covered sidewalks, steps, driveways, and porches. Keep your steps and walkways as free of ice as possible by using rock salt or another chemical de-icing compound. Sand may also be used on walkways to reduce the risk of slipping.
From the Centers for Disease Control
In December 2007, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services published its Missouri Senior Report 2007. The report tracks the trends of aging Missourians county by county, comparing older adults in Grundy to those in other counties across the state on a variety of indicators such as health status and housing. Each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the City of St. Louis also receive an overall composite rank, which represents a summary of the overall well-being of seniors in that county. Grundy County’s rank was 49. In Grundy County, people over the age of 65 represented 20.3 percent of our population in 2006. Although our ranking places us in the half of all Missouri counties some of the health statistics are a concern. A large number of our seniors report not getting exercise or not having recommended screening tests.
This information will help policy makers and health professionals
focus their efforts on improving the health of our senior citizens. To view the
report,
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Grundy County Health Department is an Equal Opportunity
Provider.
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