The following is from CDC.gov:

Having diabetes shouldn’t stop you from enjoying holiday celebrations and travel. With some planning and a little work, you can stay healthy on the road and at holiday gatherings with friends and family.

The most important step in managing diabetes during holiday travel and festivities is preparing. Know what you’ll be eating, how to enjoy a few traditional favorites while sticking with a healthy meal plan, and how to pack necessary supplies for a trip, and you’re all set to celebrate!

Feasts and Parties

Before you go, take these steps to make sure you stick to your healthy meal plan.

• Eat a healthy snack to avoid overeating at the party.
• Ask what food will be served, so you can see how it fits into your meal plan.
• Bring a nutritious snack or dish for yourself and others.

You don’t have to give up all of your holiday favorites if you make healthy choices and limit portion sizes. At a party or holiday gathering, follow these tips to avoid overeating and to choose healthy foods.

• If you’re at a buffet, fix your plate and move to another room away from the food, if possible.
• Choose smaller portions.
• Choose low-calorie drinks such as sparkling water, unsweetened tea or diet beverages. If you select an alcoholic beverage, limit it to one drink a day for women, two for men, and drink only with a meal.
• Watch out for heavy holiday favorites such as hams coated with a honey glaze, turkey swimming in gravy and side dishes loaded with butter, sour cream, cheese or mayonnaise. Instead, choose turkey without gravy and trim off the skin, or other lean meats.
• Look for side dishes and vegetables that are light on butter, dressing and other extra fats and sugars, such as marshmallows or fried vegetable toppings.
• Watch the salt. Some holiday favorites are made with prepared foods high in sodium. Choose fresh or frozen vegetables that are low in sodium.
• Select fruit instead of pies, cakes and other desserts high in fat, cholesterol and sugar.
• Focus on friends, family and activities instead of food. Take a walk after a meal, or join in the dancing at a party.

Traveling for the Holidays

Leaving home to visit friends and family means changing routines. Make sure you remember to take care of your diabetes while traveling. Check blood glucose (sugar) more often than usual, because a changing schedule can affect levels.

Remember Your Medication

• Pack twice the amount of diabetes supplies you expect to need, in case of travel delays.
• Keep snacks, glucose gel, or tablets with you in case your blood glucose drops.
• Make sure you keep your medical insurance card and emergency phone numbers handy, including your doctor’s name and phone number.
• Carry medical identification that says you have diabetes.
• Keep time zone changes in mind so you’ll know when to take medication.
• If you use insulin, make sure you also pack a glucagon emergency kit.
• Keep your insulin cool by packing it in an insulated bag with refrigerated gel packs.

On the Road and in the Air

Get an influenza vaccination before traveling, unless your medical provider instructs otherwise. Get the flu shot, not the nasal spray.

• Wash hands often with soap and water. Try to avoid contact with sick people.
• Reduce your risk for blood clots by moving around every hour or two.
• Pack a small cooler of foods that may be difficult to find while traveling, such as fresh fruit, sliced raw vegetables, and fat-free or low-fat yogurt.
• Bring a few bottles of water instead of sweetened soda or juice.
• Pack dried fruit, nuts, and seeds as snacks. Since these foods can be high in calories, measure out small portions (¼ cup) in advance.
• If you’re flying and do not want to walk through the metal detector with your insulin pump, tell a security officer that you are wearing an insulin pump and ask them to visually inspect the pump and do a full-body pat-down.
• Place all diabetes supplies in carry-on luggage. Keep medications and snacks at your seat for easy access. Don’t store them in overhead bins.
• Have all syringes and insulin delivery systems (including vials of insulin) clearly marked with the pharmaceutical preprinted label that identifies the medications. Keep it in the original pharmacy labeled packaging.
• If a meal will be served during your flight, call ahead for a diabetic, low fat, or low cholesterol meal. Wait until your food is about to be served before you take your insulin.
• If the airline doesn’t offer a meal, bring a nutritious meal yourself. Make sure to pack snacks in case of flight delays.
• When drawing up your dose of insulin, don’t inject air into the bottle (the air on your plane will probably be pressurized).
• Stick with your routine for staying active. Make sure to get at least 150 minutes of physical activity every week. Ten minutes at a time is fine.

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Questions & Answers

2011-21012 Influenza Season: Disease Activity

What sort of flu season is expected this year?

Flu seasons are unpredictable in a number of ways. Although epidemics of flu happen every year, the timing, severity, and length of the epidemic depends on many factors, including what influenza viruses are spreading and whether they match the viruses in the vaccine.

Will new strains of flu circulate this season?

Flu viruses are constantly changing so it’s not unusual for new flu virus strains to appear each year. For more information about how flu viruses change, visit How the Flu Virus Can Change.

When will flu activity begin and when will it peak?

The timing of flu is very unpredictable and can vary from season to season. Flu activity most commonly peaks in the U.S. in January or February. However, seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May.

What should I do to prepare for this flu season?

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. For information about which viruses this season’s vaccine will protect against visit Vaccine Selection for the 2011–2012 Season. Getting the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year is always a good idea, and the protection you get from vaccination will last throughout the flu season.

How effective is the flu vaccine?

Inactivated influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary from year to year and among different age and risk groups. For more information about vaccine effectiveness, visit How Well Does the Seasonal Flu Vaccine Work?

Will this season’s vaccine be a good match for circulating viruses?

It’s not possible to predict with certainty which flu viruses will predominate during a given season. Flu viruses are constantly changing (called drift) – they can change from one season to the next or they can even change within the course of one flu season. Experts must pick which viruses to include in the vaccine many months in advance in order for vaccine to be produced and delivered on time. (For more information about the vaccine virus selection process visit Selecting the Viruses in the Influenza (Flu) Vaccine.) Because of these factors, there is always the possibility of a less than optimal match between circulating viruses and the viruses in the vaccine.

How do we know if there is a good match between the vaccine viruses and those causing illness?

Over the course of a flu season CDC studies samples of flu viruses circulating during that season to evaluate how close a match there is between viruses in the vaccine and circulating viruses. In addition, CDC conducts vaccine effectiveness studies to determine how well the vaccine protects against illness. However, it’s important to remember that even during seasons when the vaccine is not optimally matched to predominant circulating viruses, CDC and other experts continue to recommend flu vaccine as the best way to protect against the flu.

Can the vaccine provide protection even if the vaccine is not a “good” match?

Yes, antibodies made in response to vaccination with one strain of flu viruses can provide protection against different, but related strains. A less than ideal match may result in reduced vaccine effectiveness against the variant viruses, but it can still provide some protection against influenza illness. In addition, it’s important to remember that the flu vaccine contains three virus strains so that even when there is a less than ideal match or lower effectiveness against one strain, the vaccine may protect against the other two viruses. For these reasons, even during seasons when there is a less than ideal match, CDC continues to recommend flu vaccination. This is particularly important for people at high risk for serious flu complications, and their close contacts.

In what years was there a good match between the vaccine and the circulating viruses?

In recent years the match between the vaccine viruses and those identified during the flu season has usually been good. In 17 of the last 21 U.S. influenza seasons the viruses in the influenza vaccine have been well matched to the predominant circulating viruses. Since 1990, there has only been one season (1997–98) when there was very low cross–reaction between the viruses in the vaccine and the predominate circulating virus, and three seasons (1992–93, 2003–04, and 2007–08) when there was low cross–reaction.

What is CDC doing to monitor vaccine effectiveness for the 2011–2012 season?

CDC carries out and collaborates with other partners within and outside CDC to assess how well flu vaccines work. During the 2011–2012 season, CDC is planning multiple studies on the effectiveness of both the flu shot and the nasal–spray flu vaccine. These studies will measure vaccine effectiveness in preventing laboratory confirmed influenza among persons aged 6 months and older, now that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended annual vaccination for everyone in this age group.

What actions can I take to protect myself and my family against the flu this season?

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. In addition, you can take everyday preventive steps like staying away from sick people and washing your hands to reduce the spread of germs. If you are sick with flu, stay home from work or school to prevent spreading influenza to others.

Where can I find information about vaccine supply?

For information about vaccine supply this season, please visit Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Supply for the U.S. 2011–12 Influenza Season.

Is there treatment for the flu?

Yes. If you get sick, there are drugs that can treat flu illness. They are called antiviral drugs and they can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They also can prevent serious flu–related complications, like pneumonia. For more information about antiviral drugs, visit Treatment (Antiviral Drugs).

What is antiviral resistance?

Antiviral resistance means that a virus has changed in such a way that the antiviral drug is less effective in treating or preventing illness. Samples of viruses collected from around the United States and worldwide are studied to determine if they are resistant to any of the four FDA–approved influenza antiviral drugs.

What is CDC doing to monitor antiviral resistance in the United States during the 2011–12 season?

CDC routinely collects viruses through a domestic and global surveillance system to monitor for changes in influenza viruses. CDC will continue ongoing surveillance and testing of influenza viruses. Additionally, CDC is working with the state public health departments and the World Health Organization to collect additional information on antiviral resistance in the United States and worldwide. The information collected will assist in making informed public health policy recommendations.

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The following is taken from http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.

Million Hearts is a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are the co-leaders of Million Hearts within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working alongside other federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Food and Drug Administration. Key private-sector partners include the American Heart Association, and YMCA, among others.

Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Million Hearts aims to improve heart disease and stroke prevention by:

• Improving access to effective care.
• Improving the quality of care.
• Focusing more clinical attention on heart attack and stroke prevention.
• Increasing public awareness of how to lead a heart-healthy lifestyle.
• Increasing the consistent use of high blood pressure and cholesterol medications.

Million Hearts brings together existing efforts and new programs to improve health across communities and help Americans live longer, healthier, more productive lives.

• Learn more about the science of Million Hearts in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Check out Million Hearts in Circulation, [PDF-286K] a journal of the American Heart Association
• See the Million Hearts perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine
• See the Million Hearts press release issued on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 [PDF-132K]

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Control your blood sugar before and during pregnancy to help prevent birth defects and other poor outcomes, such as miscarriage or stillbirth.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot use the sugars and starches (carbohydrates) it takes in as food to make energy. The body either makes too little insulin in the pancreas or cannot use the insulin it makes to change those sugars and starches into energy. As a result, the body builds up extra sugar in the blood. Controlling diabetes means controlling blood sugar by keeping it within a certain range by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and taking medicines (pills or insulin) as ordered by the doctor.

How can uncontrolled blood sugar affect my health and the baby?

Your health

The extra sugar in the blood can damage your body’s organs, such as the heart, eyes, and kidneys, if it is allowed to build up in the body too long. It can also cause:

• Increased chance of needing C-section
• Preeclampsia
• Miscarriage or stillbirth
• Early or preterm birth

Baby’s health

• Birth defects
• Extra large baby
• Low blood sugar in infant after birth
• Increased chance of overweight obesity and diabetes in your child later in life

Are there different types of diabetes?

There are three common types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas makes no insulin or so little insulin that the body can’t change blood sugar into energy. Type 1 diabetes must be controlled with daily insulin shots, diet, and exercise.
• Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body either makes too little insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes to change blood sugar into energy. Often type 2 diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly. Some people with type 2 diabetes have to take diabetes pills or insulin or both. 
• Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that is first diagnosed in a pregnant woman. Often gestational diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly, but sometimes a woman with gestational diabetes must also take insulin shots or diabetes pills. Usually gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy, but sometimes diabetes doesn’t go away. If it does not go away, this diabetes is called type 2 diabetes and often can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly.  Many women who have had gestational diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes later. But, if a woman eats a healthy diet, exercises regularly, and watches her weight, she might delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. 

Type 1 often is present before a woman gets pregnant. Type 2 diabetes often occurs after childbearing age although recently more childbearing-aged women are getting type 2 diabetes. If not controlled before and during pregnancy, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause the baby to have birth defects. Uncontrolled blood sugar before, during, and after pregnancy can cause the woman to have problems (or her problems to worsen if they are already present), such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease, or blindness.

What can be done to prevent health problems related to diabetes during pregnancy?

Women

1. Plan your pregnancy. If you have diabetes, it is very important for you to get your body ready before you get pregnant.
2. See your doctor. Your doctor needs to look at the effects that diabetes has had on your body already, talk with you about getting and keeping control of your blood sugar, change medications if needed, and plan for frequent follow up.
3. Monitor your blood sugar often. Pregnancy affects your blood sugar control. You will probably need to check your blood sugar more often than when you are not pregnant, as often as 6 to 8 times a day.
4. Take your medications on time. If medications are ordered by a doctor, take them as directed by your doctor.
5. Control and treat low blood sugar quickly. Having tight blood sugar control can lead to a chance of low blood sugar at times. Keep a ready source of carbohydrates, such as glucose tablets or gel or hard candy, on hand at all times.

Follow up with the doctor regularly. You will need to see your doctor more often than a pregnant woman without diabetes. Together, you can work with your doctor to prevent or catch problems early.

Family and Friends 

• Be supportive
• Encourage and support healthy eating and regular exercise
• Exercise with her
• Assist with daily activities to free time for exercising

 Health care provider

• Be encouraging
• Provide easy to read materials to reinforce your education and instructions to her
• Encourage continuing healthy diet and regular exercise after pregnancy
• Follow through on testing women with gestational diabetes after delivery and every 1-3 years 

What is CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) doing?

• Research: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coordinates the Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (CBDRP) to collaborate on the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS is one of the largest U.S. studies looking at the risk factors for and potential causes of birth defects.
• Formative research: Focus groups were conducted among white, black, and Hispanic women with a history of diabetes during pregnancy and their health care providers to determine barriers to glycemic control before and during pregnancy. Information from the focus groups revealed a lack of knowledge and awareness among women, so we created educational materials on gestational diabetes and preexisting diabetes and pregnancy, in both English and Spanish. A national survey was conducted among women with a history of diabetes during pregnancy and their health care providers, which confirmed the findings of the focus groups.
• Health Promotion Programs: NCBDDD established the Lifestyle Intervention for Gestational Diabetes Program among Hispanic Women. The lifestyle intervention will be a 6-month program consisting of monthly in-person educational sessions and biweekly telephone booster calls, which will continue until delivery.

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The studies analyzed sleep surveys of 74,571 adults in 12 states and the results were quite shocking. Almost 37.9% of respondents said they had fallen asleep by accident in the last 30 days. It also showed that 35.3% reported sleeping less than seven hours within a 24 hour period and about one-quarter of these people said they had trouble concentrating during the day. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Another 4.7% said they had nodded off or fallen asleep while driving in the past month. This is a frightening figure since according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, drowsiness or nodding off while driving accounts for 1,550 deaths and 40,000 injuries a year.

The report brought out that people who slept less than seven hours were more likely to have many health issues as mentioned above, compared with people who got seven to nine hours of sleep a night. Increasing sleep time would likely improve everyday functioning, the researchers added. To get a good night’s sleep, it is important to have your bedroom free of cell phones, computers and television. Your bedroom needs to be your sanctuary…a peaceful environment that you can go to and let go of the stresses of your day. You should keep a consistent sleep routine and stay away from performing any activities such as exercise close to bedtime.

Lela McKnight-Eily, a psychologist and epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, and the lead author of one of the reports, said “over the last 20 years there has been a decline in overall sleep duration in adults.” She noted that changing lifestyle habits, including longer workdays and late nights on the computer, have pared away much-needed sleep time. “Within our culture there seems to be a belief that sleep isn’t a part of overall essential health,” she said.

“It is clear that a lot of restorative activities are going on in the body during sleep,” said sleep specialist Dr. Shirin Shafazand, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “We have to make a conscious effort to pay as much attention to sleep as people do to other healthy activities like exercise and eating right, because they are all linked together,” she said.

This information from the CDC has come out at the perfect time since this week, March 7 – 13^th, is National Sleep Awareness Week. Some other great resources that will show you how important sleep is to our health and well being, visit the National Sleep Foundation and the CDC for further information.

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Don’t let the flu catch YOU by surprise this season. Be prepared; get vaccinated today.

After a busy holiday season, you might be reluctant to add one more thing to your to-do list. But it’s worth it.

 ”Getting the flu vaccine is simple, and it’s the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from the flu,” says Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

There is still time to get a flu vaccine to protect yourself and your family. Flu season typically peaks in January or February and can last as late as April or May.

Get a Flu Vaccine Every Flu Season

The best way to protect against influenza is to get a flu vaccine every flu season. Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious complications, hospitalization, or even death. Anyone can get the flu, and getting a flu vaccine is the single best way to protect yourself and your family. Even healthy people can get very sick from the flu and spread it to friends and loved ones. Everyone 6 months of age and older is recommended to get vaccinated against the flu every year.

While flu activity usually peaks in January or February, the flu itself is unpredictable. And although there are many different flu viruses, the yearly flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common that flu season.

So what are your options? If you are afraid of getting the flu shot, consider FluMist®. It’s a nasal spray vaccine and is safe and effective for healthy people, 2 years of age and older.

Important reminder for parents and caregivers: Many children need 2 doses of flu vaccine this season to be fully protected. If a child has not received his/her first dose, get them vaccinated now. For those who have been vaccinated with one dose, parents should check with the child’s doctor to see if a second dose is needed.

Who Is at Risk?

Everyone is at risk for influenza. For millions of people each year, the flu can bring a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, fatigue, and miserable days spent in bed. However, you may not realize that flu also leads to more than 200,000 people being hospitalized from flu complications each year. The flu can also be deadly. Between 1976 and 2007, CDC estimates that annual flu-associated deaths in the United States have ranged from a low of about 3,000 people to a high of about 49,000 people.

Anyone can get the flu, but some people are at greater risk for serious flu-related complications, like pneumonia, that can lead to hospitalization and even death. For those at greater risk for complications, getting the flu vaccine is especially important. People at greater risk include

• Children younger than 5 years old, but especially children younger than 2 years old
• Pregnant women
• People with certain medical conditions like asthma, diabetes (type 1 and 2), or heart and lung disease
• People 65 years and older

It’s also important to get the vaccine if you care for anyone in one or more of these high risk groups, or if you care for babies younger than 6 months because these babies are too young to get the vaccine.

Get Vaccinated – It’s Not Too Late

You and your family can still benefit from a flu vaccine. Make a commitment to your health and to your family’s health by getting your flu vaccine today. Flu vaccines are offered in many doctors’ offices and clinics. Even if you don’t have a regular health care provider, you can get a flu vaccine at other places, like your local health department, pharmacies, urgent care clinics, your child’s school or your workplace. Use the Flu Vaccine Finder to find the nearest location with available flu vaccine.

So don’t let the flu catch YOU by surprise this season; be prepared and make your appointment to get vaccinated today–it’s not too late!

For more information about the seriousness of influenza and the benefits of the influenza vaccine, talk to your family’s doctor or visit www.flu.gov.

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Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Running Time: (1:47) Release Date: 10/30/2009

Lead poisoning is entirely preventable. The key is stopping children from coming into contact with lead and treating children who have been poisoned by lead. Learn more about preventing childhood lead poisoning and National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week activities.

Young children often place their toys, fingers, and other objects in their mouth as part of their normal development, this hand-to-mouth activity may put them in contact with lead paint or dust.

The most common sources of lead exposure for children are chips and particles of old lead paint. Although children may be directly exposed to lead from paint by swallowing paint chips, they are more commonly exposed by swallowing house dust or soil contaminated by leaded paint. This happens because lead paint chips become ground into tiny bits that become part of the dust and soil in and around homes. This usually occurs when leaded paint becomes old or worn or is subject to constant rubbing (as on doors and windowsills and wells). In addition, lead can be scattered when paint is disturbed during destruction, remodeling, paint removal, or preparation of painted surfaces for repainting.

Lead, which is invisible to the naked eye and has no smell, may be found in other sources. These sources may be the exposure source for as many as 30% of lead-poisoned children in certain areas across the United States. They include;

• traditional home health remedies such as azarcon and greta, which are used for upset stomach or indigestion in the Hispanic community
• imported candies
• imported toys and toy jewelry
• imported cosmetics
• pottery and ceramics
• drinking water contaminated by lead leaching from lead pipes, solder, brass fixtures, or valves and
• consumer products, including tea kettles and vinyl miniblinds

For preventative measures and other information continue reading about childhood lead poisoning