CENTRAL PA HEALTH CARE QUALITY UNIT
NEWSLETTER FOR HEALTHY OUTCOMES
April 2012 - Volume 12, Issue 4
a monthly newsletter provided by the Central PA Health Care Quality Unit
M.C. 24-12,100 North Academy Avenue, Danville, Pa. 17822 Phone: (570) 271-7240 Fax: (570) 271-7241
Website: http://www.geisinger.org/hcqu
Hey, Where's My Waist?
From Berkeley Wellness Alert, January 31, 2012
You may know that having a larger belly puts you at greater risk for a number of medical
conditions. But how exactly do you measure your waist?
People with a lot of abdominal fat (that is, an apple-shaped body) are at increased risk for
cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other conditions. In contrast, a larger hip
circumference (a pear-shaped body) may actually be somewhat protective, especially in women. The
waist-to-hip ratio (WHR)—or even just a waist measurement alone—is thus a good way to assess
your over all health risk, because it takes both factors into account.
It’s not always obvious, however, where
to measure the waist. It may not be
where your belt is, for instance. You
should measure at the narrowest point
between the lower rib and the top of the
hip bone, or at the midpoint in between.
Do not suck in your belly. If you can’t
find the narrowest point (it may be
difficult if you’re very overweight),
measure just above your belly button.
Measure your hips at the widest part of
your buttocks as viewed from the side.
To calculate the ratio, divide the waist
number by the hip number.
A waist-to-hip ratio above 0.9 for men and 0.85 for women indicates
above-average risk; above 1.0 for men and 0.95 for women, high risk.
Measuring just your waist is also an accurate gauge: more than 40
inches for men or 35 inches for women indicates high risk. However,
these are not magical numbers; there’s some evidence that risk starts
to rise before those cutoff points.
Inside This Issue
Where’s my waist?
1
2 Allergies Do’s and Don’ts
3 Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
4 COPD (continued)
The information offered in this newsletter is to increase your awareness of health related conditions and situations and not intended to be a substitute for
professional medical advice. If you believe you or someone you support has a condition, please seek the advice of a physician.
HEALTHY OUTCOMES 1
Allergy Do’s and Don’ts
From MerckSource
DO
Stick to Your Medication Plan
Taking your medicine the way your doctor tells you to may allow you to feel in control of your
health.
Be Aware of Your Symptoms
Pay attention to your early warning signs like sneezing or runny nose. Taking quick action
will help you to stay on top of your allergies.
Avoid Your Triggers
Know and stay away from the triggers that make your allergies flare-up or worsen.
Here are some other things to do depending on the type of allergies you have:
Close the windows in your home and car when the pollen level is high.
Avoid pets or insects such as cockroaches.
Cover your bedding with allergy-proof coverings. This traps dust mites.
Don’t go outside when pollen is high or during smog alerts.
Avoid strong odors and fumes.
Seal basement windows and cracks to the outside.
Avoid cigarette, tobacco, and wood smoke.
Keep your epinephrine auto-injector with you at all times if you have food or insect allergies.
Check the date on your injector to make sure it has not expired.
Take your medicine the way your doctor tells you to.
The fall and summer allergy season will be different based on where you live. The season
may be as long as February to October. Watch for any signs and contact your doctor:
Sneezing
Scratchy throat
Itchiness in the nose
Congestion
Watery/itchy eyes
Runny nose
Itchiness in ears
DON’T
Don’t Open Windows During Summer and Fall Allergy Seasons: Prevent pollen from entering
your home or car. Stay indoors when the pollen count is high (from about 10 AM to 4 PM).
Be around freshly cut grass, rake leaves, or go on hayrides.
Have a basement bedroom.
Have feather pillows or covers.
Allow pets in your bedroom.
Have carpet in bathrooms.
Dry clothes outdoors.
Take more medicine than your doctor tells you to; take your medication the way your doctor
prescribed.
HEALTHY OUTCOMES 2
What Is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease?
From MerckSource
(COPD)
Chronic – It won’t go away; Obstructive – Partly Blocked; Pulmonary – In your lungs; Disease – Sickness.
COPD can mean either chronic bronchitis or emphysema.
Chronic bronchitis (bron-kie-tus): Your airways are swollen. You have more mucus. You get more
infections.
Emphysema (em-fuh-zee-muh): The air sacs in your lungs are damaged or destroyed. Your lungs
become less elastic.
Healthy airways and air sacs in the lungs are elastic. They stretch when you breathe in, like a balloon.
When you breathe out, they bounce back into shape.
If you have COPD:
The walls of your airways are thick and swollen.
Your airways are squeezed by small muscles around them.
Your airways make mucus that makes you cough.
The air sacs in your lungs cannot stretch very much when you
breathe in.
Your air sacs cannot bounce back into shape when you breathe out.
When these things happen, your airways are partly blocked. It is harder for air to get in and out.
Your lungs may feel very full.
COPD develops slowly. Over time, it becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. COPD cannot
be cured. You can do things to manage the symptoms.
What are symptoms of COPD?
You can have COPD for a long time and not know it. You may not notice symptoms until they
keep you from doing things you want to do.
Symptoms of COPD can include:
Constant coughing. People sometimes call this ―smoker’s cough.‖
Shortness of breath when you do activities you used to be able to do.
Lots of mucus.
Feeling like you cannot breathe.
Feeling like you cannot get enough air.
Wheezing.
HEALTHY OUTCOMES 3
Who is at risk?
Your chances of having COPD are greater if:
You are age 40 or older.
You smoke. Nine of every 10 deaths due to COPD are caused by smoking.
You breathe in other things that hurt your lungs, such as:
o
Fumes from chemicals
o
Dust
o
Fumes from cooking stoves or heaters
o
Air pollution
o
Second-hand smoke
What to do if you are at risk
See your doctor right away. Do not
wait until you have breathing
problems or a cough that lasts a long
time. Discuss your concerns and any
symptoms. Your doctor will have
you do a spirometry (spi-raw-muhtree) test. The test is easy to do. You
blow hard into a machine called a
spirometer (spi-raw-muh-tur). The
machine measures how well your
lungs are working.
What to do if you have COPD
Stop smoking. Ask your doctor for help to stop smoking.
Take any medicines the way your doctor tells you to.
Medicine can make it easier for you to breathe.
Talk to your health care provider about pneumococcal disease
and flu and whether you're at risk.
Strengthen your body. Ask your doctor about exercises that
are good for you. Ask about pulmonary rehabilitation (re-habbil-uh-tay-shun). Eat healthy foods to be at a healthy weight.
Pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab)—A program that may help you live better with COPD.
HEALTHY OUTCOMES 4