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UNITED STATES – Summertime, 2024 –  Heat-related illness is the nation’s leader of weather-related fatalities. About 700 people every year die in the United States from exposure to extreme heat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Climate change has caused more frequent extreme weather events like higher temperatures and heat waves; therefore, people are faced with more occasions to develop heat-related illness.

People can overheat very quickly leading to potential health problems. Heat exhaustion occurs to due to loss of water and salt from excessive sweating. Signs include: headache, dizziness, fainting, weakness, heavy sweating, confusion, thirst, nausea or vomiting. People should get out of the heat with any signs of heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is a more severe condition and can be fatal. Sweating stops and the body can no longer remove excess heat. Signs include: confusion, passing out, seizures, and hot dry skin. Anyone with signs of heat stroke should be moved to a cooler place to lower body temperature immediately followed by a 911 call for immediate medical assistance.

Many factors play a role creating heat stress like environmental conditions, physical activity, clothing or protection gear, and individual risk factors. Environmental heat factors include: air temperature, humidity, local radiant heat sources, and air flow. The heat index, commonly used to measure environmental conditions, is determined by air temperature and humidity. An index above 80 is considered to be a significant minimal threshold to develop heat-related illness.

Most outdoor fatalities occur in the first few days of working in hot environments because the body has not built up a tolerance to heat. The lack of acclimatization is one of the major risk factors for heat-stress fatalities at work. Acclimatization is a beneficial physiologic adaptation of building up a tolerance to heat that occurs after repeated exposure to a hot environment.

Millions of workers are exposed to heat in the workplace and may develop heat-related illness in indoor and outdoor environments. A disproportionate number of these jobs are held by persons of color. At-risk indoor industries include: kitchens, bakeries, steel mills, manufacturing with local heat sources, and warehouses. At-risk outdoor industries include: farming, construction, landscaping, and oil operations.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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ASHEVILLE, NC –  May 1, 2024 – The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on April 20^th shows:  

• Hospital admission levels are low in every county in North Carolina, including Buncombe County. They are low in almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. Admissions have decreased in the U.S., North Carolina and Buncombe County from the previous week.
• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, less than 1% of all ER visits

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on April 17^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at the 2^nd lowest level of 5 groups.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, at the lowest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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WASHINGTON, DC – April 10, 2024 – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new drinking water standards for PFAS chemicals on April 9^th. Michael Regan, the EPA administrator, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper spoke at the P.O. Hoffer Water Treatment Facility in Fayetteville, the next day, to talk about keeping people healthier with these new federal water standards. PFAS were manufactured at the Chemours Works plant in Fayetteville and were identified in the nearby Cape Fear River in 2017. The safe drinking water standards set maximum contaminant levels for 6 PFAS chemicals.

PFAS is an abbreviation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are frequently referred to as “forever chemicals” because they decompose very slowly over time. The chemicals are found in many products to make them slippery and resistant to water and oils, including: nonstick cookware, some fire-fighting foams, water-repellent clothing like firefighting gear, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, dental floss and some cosmetics. There are thousands of different PFAS. PFAS have been manufactured since the 1940’s and some are no longer produced in the U.S. because of their known toxicity.

PFAS are found in the soil, water, air, and near landfills, disposal sites, and hazardous waste sites. The chemicals are also found in people, animals, the environment and food products such as fish. Levels of PFAS have been shown to increase over time because they are slow to break down. Some occupations are more at-risk to exposure, like firefighting and industrial workers involved with PFAS manufacturing and processing. People may be at higher risk if they live near landfills, disposal sites, and hazardous waste sites. Pregnant women and children are more frequently exposed to PFAS because they drink a lot of water.

Exposure to PFAS have been associated with harmful health effects in humans and animals. Some examples are: decreased fertility, high blood pressure in pregnant women, low birth weight newborns, behavioral changes, increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer, compromise of the immune system, interference with hormones, elevated cholesterol levels, and increased risk of obesity.

Federal funds will be allocated to states and territories to fund PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems. They will also help private well owners with PFAS contamination. The EPA estimates that between 6-10% of the 66 thousand public drinking water systems in the U.S. exceed the new maximum contaminant levels. The new standards will limit exposure for 100 million people across the country. It is estimated that they will prevent thousands of deaths and thousands of serious illnesses.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

RALEIGH, NC – April 4, 2024 – The latest update of the NC Medicaid Expansion Enrollment Dashboard was on April 4^th. Last month, enrollment in NC increased by more than 31 thousand to more than 416 thousand people. Buncombe County enrollment increased by almost 800 to nearly 10,500 people. It is estimated that a total of 600 thousand North Carolinians will be eligible for ME, with almost 17 thousand from Buncombe County. In 4 months of accepting applications, the state is almost 70% of the way to enrolling all eligible persons and Buncombe County is more than 60%.

On December 1^st, North Carolina officially became the 40^th state to expand Medicaid, the federal program for health insurance for low-resource individuals. ME increases health care access to eligible North Carolinians ages 19-64 and their families with earnings to 138 percent of the federal poverty level based on their household size, up from 100 percent. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) dashboard to track ME enrollment is at medicaid.ncdhhs.gov/reports.

There are many ways to apply for NC Medicaid. Applications can be taken by phone, email, fax, or in person. Buncombe County residents can apply for Medicaid online and at any time at ePASS.NC.gov. Applications can be done in-person at the HHS Building on 40 Coxe Avenue, by calling 828-250-5500, or by mail. A printable application can be obtained online at the NCDHHS website.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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ASHEVILLE, NC –  April 24, 2024 – Respiratory infections, like COVID-19, are prevalent during the winter months. The winter surge of respiratory infections has passed. However, over the past 3 years, COVID-19 infections, unlike other respiratory infections, have also surged in August.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on April 13^th shows:  

• Hospital admission levels are low in every county in North Carolina, including Buncombe County. They are low in almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. Admissions have decreased in the U.S., North Carolina and Buncombe County from the previous week.
• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups.
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina. This is less than 1% of all ER visits, the lowest level of 5 groups

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard for the week ending on April 10^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, at 100% or greater, the highest level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

ASHEVILLE, NC – April 1, 2024 – Grief can affect your mental and physical health particularly after the loss of a member of the family. We can develop such a close relationship to a pet (like a dog or a cat) that we consider our pet to be a member of our family. A feeling of grief in response to the loss of a pet may be similar to the loss of a person. However, the grieving process is different for everyone. According to the American Psychological Association, “grief is the anguish experienced after significant loss.” I definitely think that this applies to the loss of a pet.

Jennifer Breslow, a psychotherapist who specializes in pet loss counseling, said, “The death of a pet is a devastating loss and people often feel overwhelmed by the emptiness and void they feel when their pet is gone.” She added, “Grieving is a process that takes time and is filled with a mess of uncomfortable feelings. But it is temporary and a normal human response to a significant loss.”

I lost my beloved companion Brady on April 1^st at the age of 13 . He was a majestic-looking golden retriever who was always happy to see me with his tail-wagging, infectious smile, and frequent licking. We had many great times together and Brady did some crazy things. After he passed, I read that there is a 61% risk that this popular breed will develop cancer. In 2010, I lost my first golden retriever Rocky to cancer at the age of 11. His passing brought me many days of grief. When I finally got over it, we brought home Brady, one year later.

After age 11, Brady developed 4 different cancers at 4 different times. Three of his cancers got better with surgery. However, the 4^th cancer had the worst prognosis because it was destined to spread.

Amputation and chemotherapy prolonged his life for 8 months. After 1 month recovering, he had 6 good months of being a happy dog. He was running with 3 legs and still had a great life. A second round of chemotherapy was begun after the cancer spread to his lungs one month ago. However, he had severe complications and was unable to walk much. There was a brief improvement, followed by a regression over the final 2 weeks.

It isn’t a good sign when your dog barks to be helped up to go to the bathroom or wants a new location in the yard or the house. When Brady refused to eat his meals, including his favorite treats, we knew that his quality of life had been severely compromised.

When a close relative passes, people pass through the 5 stages of grief as described by the psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. A 6^th stage of grief, ‘finding meaning,’ was described by David Kessler, a grief expert and Kubler-Ross colleague, in 2016. I suspect that these stages are similar after the loss of your pet.

According to Wallace Sife, the founder of the Association for Pet Loss Bereavement (APLB), there are 5 stages of pet grief: 1. shock, disbelief and denial, 2. anger, distancing and alienation, 3. guilt, 4. depression, and 5. resolution.

I feel much better, after having the opportunity to prepare and report this story to you during my grieving process. The ability to communicate with others is a great medicine. If you find yourself like me, feeling down from the loss of a pet, I suggest talking to others and staying active. I will celebrate all the good times that I had with Brady. Boy, was I fortunate to have had such a great companion!

Colleen Roland, a pet loss specialist at the APLB, said that having a pet is “one of the best gifts that life can offer – an unconditional love with an animal companion.”

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour