The Flu 411

Now that the blissful days of sun, surf and sand are over, here in New England we are lucky enough to experience the beauty of fall.  Although we enjoy the leaves changing color and pumpkin flavored everything, fall also means something not as enjoyable: The Start of Flu Season.

Over the past few years, it seems that the hype of the flu shot has been dramatized.  From children to the elderly, people ask themselves “Will the flu shot give me the flu?” “I’ve never gotten the flu shot or the flu before, so why do I need to get the shot now?” 

The answers to these questions are: the flu shot will NOT give you the flu, and yes, you DO need the flu shot.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, all children ages 6 months or older be immunized against influenza as soon as the vaccine is available.  Getting the flu shot is the best way to protect yourself and others against the seasonal flu. 

Each year between 3,000 and 49,000 people in the US and approximately 500,000 worldwide die from the flu and its complications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seasonal flu vaccines reduce the risk of illness in those vaccinated by about 60%.

As we fall back into our favorite season, it’s important to remember to wash our hands frequently, get plenty of sleep and most importantly, get the flu shot!

 

Stay healthy!

Ashley

 

References: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/03/health/better-flu-vaccine-fauci/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Make Your Zzz's Count

According to the National Sleep Foundation, 41% of Americans are report sleeping problems.  Are you part of that 41%?  Not getting a good night’s rest can lead to serious health problems. Heart attack, stroke and weigh gain could be caused by lack of sleep.  To avoid feeling tired and sluggish during the day, follow these 5 easy steps on how to get a restful night’s sleep!

1.) Relax your mind.  Worrying about work, bills and family before or in bed can lead to an uneasy night.  Try keeping a pen and paper on a nightstand and write down a “to-do” list for the next day to help keep your mind clear. 

2.) Put the iPhones and tablets away!  The light from your phone, electronic device and even the television can interrupt your natural ability to fall asleep.  It’s best to keep these distractions out of the bedroom. 

3.) Keep cool.  Keeping the temperature in the bedroom between 68-72 degrees is best.  If your body temperature is cool, you will most likely be able to fall and stay asleep through the night.

4.) Save your coffee for the morning.  Consuming caffeine, alcohol or nicotine before bed might not cause you to not FALL asleep, but it will cause you to not STAY asleep.  These stimulants take hours to wear off and interrupt your body’s natural feeling of being tired at night.

5.)  Make a bedtime schedule and stick to it.  Whether it’s taking a warm bath or reading your favorite novel, doing relaxing activities before bed will improve your quality of sleep.  Also, try going to bed around the same time every night, so after some time, your body will automatically recognize when you’re sleepy.

Regardless, listen to your body and remember that with a good night’s sleep you will be healthier, more active and ready to take on whatever your day has to offer!

Sweet dreams,

Ashley Fishback

 

References: The Pulmonary Press August 2013

Good Sleep Hygiene

Oxygen Cylinder Duration App Review

A few weeks ago I was told about a new app that calculates oxygen tank durations. Immdeitely thinking it would help me, I pulled out my phone, went to the app store and downloaded it. The name of the app is O2 to Go. It's put out by Responsive Respiratory. Responsive primarily manufactures oxygen tank regulators. As the app was downloading, I thought to myself "I'll never again be scrambling for a tank chart or trying to make some crazy calculation based on tank volume". As I would soon discover there was a slight problem with this theory. Using charts and doing calculations was all I knew. After nearly 6 years in the industry those things have been ingrained in me. Basically what happened was two minutes after I would figure out how much O2 a patient had remaining I would remember the app. That being said let me tell you about the app.

The O2 to Go app has four tabs on the bottom labeled; home, equipment, cyl-fil system and contact us. If you're going to use this app on a regular basis the home tab is where you're going to live. No pun intended. The equipment and cyl-fil tabs basically advertise Responsive's product line. I will say rather unobtrusively for a free app. The contact us tab is self explanatory.

The home tab is the tank duration calculator. The calculator asks you to make selections in four categories. First being O2 device. The O2 device is the regulator type. For example, a 5:1 ratio or a pedi regulator. The second category is liter flow. The liter flow options will change based on what "O2 device" is selected. The third and fourth categories are cylinder size and cylinder % full. I'm impressed with the amount of options in the cylinder size section. They have a couple tank sizes that I've never seen before. Cylinder % full keeps is simple. The options are; full, 75%, 50%, and 25%. The down side to keeping it simple is when a patient tells you they have a third of a tank left. This did happen to me. So I simply rounded down to 25%. When the tank lasts a little longer, the patient will be happy.

A couple of side notes. You must fill the first category to fill the second and so on. The results of the calculation will automatically appear in a blue box labeled Cylinder Duration. The app is available for iphone and android. Just search Responsive Respiratory in the App Store or Android Market. As you may have guessed I did break my habit of looking at charts. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think of the app.

Reviewed By

Dana Lesperance

North East Sleep Society Meeting 2011 with Pictures

Hello

We at Absolute Respiratory Care would like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth at NESS this past Friday and Saturday. It was great meeting so many people who are as passionately involved in the sleep industry as we are. Some of the people we met and spoke with were from Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York. All of the New England states were well represented, including many familiar faces from "lil' Rhody". Certainly we all know how valuable continued education is. The conversations we had about everything from patient care to random tricks of the trade are truly priceless. I know we will be adding a few of your tips to our repertoire. Hopefully some of you gained a tidbit or two from us as well. If you got your picture taken with the hand mask, thanks for being a good sport! Scroll down and find yourself.

Thanks,

Dana Lesperance

Medicare Coverage Guidelines For Sleep Therapy Change Again.

Medicare has recently changed the guidelines for continued coverage on sleep therapy equipment. Most of us are familiar with the coverage guidelines instituted by Medicare a while back. If your not familiar or just forgot here is the gist of it. Sleep Therapy patients must use their cpap 4 hours a night, 70% of nights within a 30 day period. Compliance reports are generated by the patients cpap machine that show if the patient has in fact used their machine enough to qualify for continued coverage. They also must have a face to face visit with their physician during the second or third month after being set up. During the visit the physician must document an improvement of symptoms. This process can be challenging for patients because it needs to be done within 90 days.
This is where the new piece to the coverage guidelines comes in. If a sleep therapy patient doesn't meet the above stated criteria and wishes to continue trying cpap they must go for another sleep study. The reasoning behind the new study is to help determine why the patient was unable to become compliant within in the 90 days. Secondly new findings may be made after the new study that could lead to a different form of treatment like Bilevel.

Community Outreach Help From 2-1-1

There is a great program in our area called 2-1-1. It's a toll free multilingual service provided by the United Way. When you call 2-1-1 you can get a variety of information that can help you in every day life or during a crisis. 2-1-1 is in operation 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The vast amount of services you can get connected to include; Alzheimer's resources, child care services, disability services, health care, legal assistance, senior services and volunteering. For a full list of services call 2-1-1 or visit www.211ri.org if you are in Rhode Island. In Massachusetts call 2-1-1 or visit www.mass211.org. In Connecticut call 2-1-1 or visit www.211ct.org. Thanks for reading I hope you can utilize the 2-1-1 at some point. The
2-1-1 truly is a great way to get connected and get answers.

Post By
Dana Lesperance