Healthy & Happy

‎1 in 3 adults age 65 or older will fall and 2 million will be treated for fall related injuries. Learn to prevent falls from the Center of Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/features/OlderAmericans/

Time for flu shots – Check out the Town of Greenwich Department of Health’s Flu Clinic Schedule http://ow.ly/2JZPp

Did you know that sometimes a person whose ability to communicate can’t speak, but they can sing what they want to say? It’s true. We’d heard this and we checked it out with Eleanor Mirne, the speech and language pathologist who was featured on the March 10th Sterling Health Show. You can hear this show by going to www.sterlinghealth.com and clicking on the WGCH Radio Show link.

Think of the applications this can have for someone whose had a stoke or a traumatic brain injury and has become aphasic! Can you just imagine how frustrating it would be not to be able to express yourself verbally, or to understand anything someone was saying to you? I find it absolutely fascinating to think that some of these people might be able to get around this major challenge by singing, even if they were off key, and I wonder how many have tried this to see if it would work for them.

There are so many different reasons a person’s ability to communicate can become impaired or lost, and as many ways to work therapeutically with them. This condition, called aphasia, can mean an inability to verbalize speech, or the inability to comprehend what someone says to you, or a mixture of both. To learn more about aphasia check out this website: http://www.aphasia.org/. Sometimes speech imperfections are a small issue and at other times the pathology is very severe. We hear people every day who exhibit minor speech imperfections and we’ve undoubtedly heard people whose speech is so severely affected from a disease process that it’s difficult to understand them. We hope you know that you don’t need to be a patient in a hospital, nursing home or home care program to be helped by the services of a professional speech and language pathologist, the more accurate term for what many refer to as a speech therapist.

You may not make the immediate connection but yes, the month of March, which is National Nutrition Month every year, and speech therapists do go together more for some people than for others. Anyone who has suffered a significant stroke, people with neurological disorders, children with developmental disorders, and people who have chronic illnesses that have progressed to their later stages may have had to avail themselves of the expertise of a speech therapist for swallowing problems. Many people with swallowing problems don’t even realize they are having a problem! They compensate for their deficit in their food choices and in other ways.  If you can’t swallow properly your nutrition is going to suffer, as may your health or your very life!  If you think you or a loved one has a problem with swallowing, follow up. You can also check out http://www.eatright.org/nnm/ for more information on nutrition, National Nutrition Month, and for good nutritional guidance for everyone.

So how does the speech therapist help someone with a swallowing problem? You can listen to the Sterling Health Show where this was addressed by Speech and Language Pathologist, Eleanor Mirne. See http://www.sterlingcare.com/ and click on the 1490 WGCH radio show link for March 10^th 2010. You’ll see it is not a simple thing. First an in depth evaluation is conducted to assess the swallowing process from the vantage point of each stage. Stop for a minute and think of all the things that happen in your mouth and throat each time you have to swallow. Swallowing involves your brain, your tongue, your cheeks, the muscles and nerves in your mouth and throat, and so much more. Your timing, your ability to chew effectively and move food about in your mouth, and your automatic reflexes are important, especially your gag reflex. For most of us swallowing is an automatic process, but when it isn’t it’s a significant problem! Your solution may be found in altered food consistencies, where food is placed in your mouth, how you are positioned, along with so many other factors. If you or someone you love has a caregiver, and you or they have a feeding plan as a result of swallowing problems, it is essential that all facets of that plan of action are being meticulously followed so check it out, ask questions and remain aware of what needs to be in place.  Check out this WebMD site to see the scope of swallowing problems and the range of treatments that can be employed, including the services of medical practioners and speech therapists. http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/swallowing-problems

With a quarter to a half of our medications being derived from plant-based substances, apparently a plant can be a medicine. You may not have known that a well known cholesterol lowering drug, as well as other “statins”, originates from a Ming Dynasty form of rice. St John’s Wort was described as a “beautiful bouquet of plants and chemicals working together” and it is, we learned, effective in helping people with some types of depression. That is about the most enticing description of a medicinal we’ve ever heard! It just might also be the British accent influence of Dr. Joe Feuerstein, a recent medical guest expert on the Sterling Health Show on 1490 WGCH, who discussed this topic. The Doc directs Stamford Hospital’s integrative medicine program, which you can check out at http://www.stamfordhospitalintegrative.com/. He also practices holistic medicine at the Boyd Center for Integrative Health in Greenwich, which you can learn more about at http://www.wicc600.com/Experts/ExpertDrBoyd/tabid/233/Default.aspx

There are such a variety of different botanicals, herbs and essential oils in use by so many people, including teas, tinctures, roots, capsules, powders, poultices, ointments and tablets, to name but a few forms, and many can be purchased over-the-counter. This makes it so important for people to understand them and to know when they should be seeking the advice of an expert on this topic before taking some of the over-the-counter preparations. Some of them just don’t mix well with each other or with some traditional medications and some, according to Dr. Feuerstein are best used under medical oversight. We previously hosted Dr. Henri Roca of the Greenwich Hospital’s Center for Integrative Medicine who discussed a broad application of holistic medicine approaches other than botanicals, so we are rich in resources and holistic medicine sites from which to seek care and counsel on the non-traditional forms of medicine. You can hear both Dr. Feuerstein and Dr. Roca’s very interesting programs by accessing www.sterlingcare.com and clicking on the WGCH radio show link.

Did you know that between 25 and 40% of all prescriptions are originally plant-based? This is actually the oldest form of medicine! The first codified recording of plants was the Ebers Papyrus from Egypt. It dates back to 1500 B. C and is the oldest surviving written record of medicinal plants. The March 17th program on the Sterling Health Show hosted Dr. Joe Feuerstein, Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stamford Hospital’s Tully Center. He referred to it as the PDR of the past. For the non-medical amongst us, that’s the Physicians Desk Reference on medications. You can research the history of botanical use by checking out this really interesting site that offers you an interactive perspective for study: http://www.csh.umn.edu/modules/botmed/history/hs12.html. Using your mouse and a catchy on-line gadget lets you move along an annotated time line of botanical milestones.

Do you want more botanical, herbs and essential oils history? Cave drawings in southern France actually depicted about 100 different forms of herbs. Hypocrites classified and addressed the merits of over 200 plant species. If you’re into the history of medicine or the topic of botanicals, herbs and essential oils, check out the March 17, 2010 radio show link on www.sterlingcare.com.

We all seem to be hearing a lot more lately about the benefits of botanical-based products and their health, wellness, and mental health benefits. The terms supplements, essential oils, herbs, vitamins and minerals are widely used terms, but not always correctly used terms. The Sterling Health Show on 1490 WGCH, the Greenwich AM radio show that we host weekly, clarified this with a phenomenal guest expert, Dr. Joe Feuerstein. Aside from directing Stamford Hospital’s Integrative Medicine program he also works with the Boyd Center for Integrative Medicine in Greenwich. His beautiful British accent was a definite plus. The good doc noted that his intrigue with this topic is not surprising since the British follow a European medical tradition which is historically less resistive to the non-traditional uses of varied types of botanicals and medicinals and this is actually taught in medical school. The trend is now also growing here in America. It made for a really interesting discussion. Check it out at the www.sterlingcare.com website!

O. K. You’ve been diagnosed; you hurt all over every day and all day; you can’t sleep well; you may be sensitive to noise, light or temperature extremes; and you may feel like you’re in a fog…and the list goes on and on.

So what can you do to feel better? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers a lot of suggestions including learning how to get a better night’s sleep. (The Sterling Health Show on1490 WGCH addressed this issue on 2.24.10 and you can re-hear it by going to www.sterlingcare.com and clicking on the WGCH box for that date.) NIH also suggests exercise, lifestyle and work adjustments, and improved dietary habits. Check out their informative site at http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Fibromyalgia/default.asp#g to see their suggestions.

Dr. Mark Brodsky of the Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness at Stamford Hospital’s Tully Center spoke specifically about Fibromyalgia on the Sterling Health Show with Steph and Steve on 3-3-10. You can hear his whole talk on this topic on http://www.sterlingcare.comand learn how holistic medicine and integrative medicine diagnoses the condition and treats the patient with Fibromyalgia. This healing form uses approaches from old and new world medicine, and treatment modalities that cross many cultures, to bring pain and symptom relief. How does, mental imagery, aroma therapy, acupuncture, pressure points therapy and healing touch sound to you? Steve and I also previously hosted Dr. Henri Roca of the Greenwich Hospital Center for Integrative Medicine on 2-3-10 who spoke more broadly on the topic of holistic and integrative medicine approaches for a range of issues and health problems. You might want to check out that one, too, along with Greenwich Hospital’s Integrative Medicine services. http://www.greenhosp.org/medicalservices_integrative.asp