Love your liver! World Hepatitis Day July 28th
It is estimated that there are almost half a million Australians living with hepatitis B or C. Close to 1,000 Australians die each year due to viral hepatitis; urgent action is required to prevent these deaths. Ensuring all Australians with chronic hepatitis B and C are diagnosed, undergo regular liver check-ups and receive appropriate treatment is critical to avert a liver disease crisis in Australia.
World Hepatitis Day in Australia is coordinated by Hepatitis Australia and conducted under the umbrella of the Love your Liver campaign.
Visit Hepatitis Australia and Love Your Liver website for more information.
July 25-31 is national pain week
National Pain Week 2016 – “you look good, how do you feel?”
Led by Chronic Pain Australia, National Pain Week promotes four core aims.
1. To de-stigmatise the experience of chronic pain.
2. Promote current thinking to explain chronic pain to the wider Australian community.
3. Create healing relationships between the person in pain and their pain clinician’s.
4. Reduce the isolation and suffering of people in pain.
Visit Chronic Pain Australia’s website for more information.
If you suffer from chronic pain, make an appointment with our doctor to discuss management, treatment and support. Phone 8038 1070 or book online.
Wear your pyjamas for National pyjama day 22 july
National Pyjama Day is all about wearing your best bedtime attire to help The Pyjama Foundation raise much-needed awareness and funds for children in foster care.
By wearing your favourite PJ’s and by making a donation, you’ll be helping to make a difference to the lives of foster children.
With the money raised from National Pyjama Day, you’ll be helping the Pyjama Foundation offer learning skills to more than 1000 children, fund educational resources and help provide stable, positive relationships.
So gather around your friends, colleagues, students and family and be a part of Australia’s largest Pyjama Party!
For more information visit the Pyjama Foundation website.
try quitting smoking this winter
Its winter now, and a good time to try quitting smoking!
Smokers are far more susceptible to upper respiratory infections, which tend to strike in winter. Even if you’re a social smoker, now’s a good time to quit and clear your airways.
There are a variety of support services available for people who want to quit, such as;
Speak to your doctor today for information and support – make an appointment on 8038 1070 or online.
5 tips for staying healthy this winter
With the shorter days and colder weather there is a tendency to stay indoors where it is warm, becoming less active and eating more unhealthy foods.
For healthy living this winter, make sure you:
- Wash hands: Sounds simple but it’s the number one way to stop the spread of germs. Experts recommend washing hands every few hours and in particular after using the toilet and before meals. Give them a wash after touching someone else’s phone or keyboard at work.
- Get vaccinated: The seasonal flu jab provides 12 months of cover against the major strains of flu. Its the most effective form of protection against influenza.
- Eat well: Keep your immune system in shape by making sure you’re eating a healthy diet. For your body to be able to respond to infection, it needs to have enough protein, so enjoy lean meat, fish and poultry.
- Stay hydrated: Drink at least eight glasses of water each day. If cold water is unappealing when its cold outside, try boiled water with a slice of lemon. The moisture will also help make mucous membranes, including those in your sinuses, more resistant to bacteria.
- Rest up & keep exercising: Regular sleep is vital to staying healthy. Don’t let yourself get run down. Those who aren’t well rested are more likely to get sick. You may not feel like exercising when its cold outside, but your will stay fitter and healthier if you do, try swimming in an indoor pool or exercising at the gym instead of outside.
Diabetes Awareness Week 10-16 July
If you have any concerns, see GP at Waitara Medical by making an appointment.
You can book your appointment online by visiting www.waitaramedical.com or call Waitara Medical at 80381070
Are you travelling to Brazil for Rio 2016 Olympics?
Are you travelling to Brazil for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August?
Make an appointment with your doctor today to discuss travel vaccinations and ways to stay healthy and enjoy the games! Remember! You may need more than one dose of a travel vaccine, so see your doctor 8 weeks before your trip begins.
Most Common Health Issues Include:
Traveller’s Diarrhoea – Symptoms include watery diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting. It is caused by consuming food or water contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli, Campylobacter, Salmonella and Shingella. To avoid this, be food and drink aware (no tap water, no ice in drinks, drink and rinse fruit and vegetables in bottled water), perform frequent hand hygiene (soap and water and alcohol based hand rub).
Respiratory Infections – Is expected where large numbers of people gather, crowded environments (such as sporting events, airports, hotels and stadiums) illnesses such as colds, flu and other respiratory viruses can spread quickly. Prevention involves personal hand hygiene (wash with soap and water and alcohol based hand rub), use tissues and dispose of them in bins, and cough etiquette (cough into a tissue or your sleeve).
Dengue Fever – A mosquito borne virus, which causes high fever, body aches, headaches and sometimes a rash. There is no specific treatment, the only prevention is to avoid mosquitos.
Animal Bites and Scratches – If you are scratched or bitten by an animal, you must immediately and thoroughly clean the wound, with clean water (not tap) and seek medical treatment quickly for rabies treatment. You may also need a tetanus booster, if the wound becomes infected, you may also need antibiotics.
Recommended Travel vaccinations:
Routine Vaccines – ADT (tetanus booster) (if not given in last 10 years), Polio, Influenza and Measles/Mumps/Rubella/Varicella.
Recommended for travellers to Brazil –
Hepatitis A: a food and water borne virus, which infects the liver. Single dose of vaccine provides immediate protection for 6-12 months, after which a booster dose provides long-term immunity
Hepatitis B: a highly infections blood borne virus, exposure can come from blood transmission through accidents, injuries, sexual contact and contaminated needles. If you have not been vaccinated for Hepatitis B, you will need 3 doses to be considered immune (which takes 6 months to complete).
Typhoid: a food and water borne bacterial infection. Causes fever, headache, lethargy, weakness, dry cough, loss of appetite. Vaccination is given by a single injection (also available as a combination with Hepatitis A).
Rabies: spread by infected animal bites or scratches. Travellers should avoid contact with wild, stray or domestic animals; especially dogs, cats, monkeys and bats. If you’re going to be working with animals or travelling for longer periods it is recommended to get vaccinated against rabies.
Yellow Fever: is a viral haemorrhagic fever caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a risk for travellers to most areas of Brazil, except coastal regions. Vaccination is recommended if you are travelling to Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Distrito Federal, Goias, Maranhaõ, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins, Bahia, Paraná, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. If you will only be in Rio de Janeiro, you do not need the vaccine.
Zika: there is no vaccine or medicine to prevent Zika. Travellers can protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites, using insect repellent, wear long, light coloured, loose fitting clothing, and ensure accommodation is mosquito proof. Pregnant women should take extra precautions to avoid mosquitoes.
For more information visit Smart Traveller
July 4 -10 is Sleep Awareness Week
Are you getting enough sleep?
Sleep Awareness Week will be raising awareness of the common sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea or OSA and the benefits of treatment. The key message for Sleep Awareness Week is ‘Don’t ignore the (gasping) snore! See you GP now’.
To make an appointment with our doctors to discuss you sleeping problems call 8038 1070 or book online.
For more information about sleep problems visit the Sleep Health Foundation website or speak to your doctor today!
Will you take part in Dry July?
When you’re diagnosed with cancer, it’s hard to find the time or energy to think about anything other than treating the cancer. By giving up alcohol for the month of July and raising funds, Dry July participants help us to ease the burden, reduce stress and add a bit of comfort for those affected by cancer.
Taking part in Dry July gives you the chance to also focus on yourself – notice your own drinking habits and the value of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Its not only about giving up alcohol, but a chance to help raise money and awareness for people affected by cancer.
To register or get more information, visit Dry July website.
Important Note:
Dry July is a fundraising campaign aimed at challenging social drinkers to change their habits for a month and make some healthy lifestyle changes. We would encourage people to drink responsibly and stick to the recommended daily guidelines for the rest of the year. We advise heavy drinkers or people dependent on alcohol to speak with their GP before signing up to Dry July.
Call 8038 1070 to make an appointment with our doctor today to discuss giving up alcohol.