Dr. Curtis McElroy

Category: Preventative Medicine

  • 6 Tips For Preventing The Flu

    The following are 6 tips that will help prevent you from getting the flu this year.

    As the seasons change and we welcome the fall, we also have to think about an old familiar problem that comes around each year – the flu. If you’ve ever had the flu, you know that it can be a miserable experience.

    Many people lose time at work, end up in the hospital, and some even die from the flu each year. But there are many things you can do to prevent coming down with this seasonal ailment.

    Now is the time to create a plan to keep it at bay.

    1. Get Vaccinated. Many people find that the flu vaccine is a good choice to help them prevent the flu. Many health insurance companies provide the vaccine free of charge. You can also get the vaccine at many pharmacies.

    The virus that is used for a vaccine is not live, so this vaccine doesn’t give you the flu. Instead, it helps your immune system to identify the flu and keep it from infecting you when you come into contact with it later.

    2. Avoid Contact. It sounds obvious, but one of the most important things you can do is to avoid contact with someone infected. That may mean staying at least arm’s length away from someone who has symptoms.

    3. Wash Your Hands. Your hands are the most common way that you actually pick up the flu. It can live on surfaces such as countertops and doorknobs. If you get the virus on your hands and then you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth you can become infected. Keeping your hands clean will help you to avoid infection.

    4. Clean Your Environment.  The flu virus can hang out on surfaces in your workplace or home. It’s a good idea to clean surfaces with a disinfectant that has been proven to kill the flu virus.

    5. Keep Your Immune System Strong. An important way you can combat the flu is to keep your body healthy and strong. That means eating nutritious foods, getting plenty of rest, staying physically active and managing stress.

    6. Stay Home If You’re Sick. If you do catch the flu, it’s important to stay home so that you don’t put other people in its path. If you have a fever over 101 degrees F, you should make sure that you keep away from others who are healthy so that they aren’t exposed.

    If you take some basic precautions, you can avoid having to deal with the flu this season. And if you do somehow pick up the flu or another illness, do your part to keep others from getting sick.

  • Is It A Cold Or The Flu

    Is it a cold or the flu is a common question many of us ask this time of year.

    Seeing your doctor and being tested for the flu is the most reliable way to know for sure; however, with the holidays upon us you may feel you are too busy with work, shopping, and family obligations to take time out of your day to see your primary care doctor or visit the local urgent care.

    flu and cold symptoms
    Flu versus Cold

    As the weather turns colder, many people brace themselves for cold and flu season.

    But how do you know if it is a cold or the flu?

    It’s important to know because the flu can be very severe and lead to dehydration and other conditions such as pneumonia.

    First, you should know that both the common cold and the flu are caused by viruses. Antibiotics are designed to treat bacterial infections and are ineffective in the treatment of the cold or flu.

    Tamiflu is a medication that was designed to shorten the duration and severity of flu symptoms.

    If you have a cold, you are likely to experience a sore throat, runny nose, congestion, cough, and possibly low grade fever that may last a few days to a week.

    You are contagious the first few days you have a cold, so if you can avoid going to work and are able to stay home your recovery may be faster and you will avoid spreading it around the work place.

    Flu symptoms are much more severe.

    With the flu, you usually have a sore throat, fever, headache, body aches, congestion, and cough. These symptoms will come on quickly and may persist for a week or longer.

    Elderly patients and patients with a weak immune system should watch their symptoms closely. The flu and even a simple cold can turn into a bacterial infection such as pneumonia or sinus infection. So, if you are having symptoms for an extended period of time, recurrent fevers, coughing up phlegm or nasal discharge that has changed in color you may require antibiotic therapy, so it is best to seek medical attention.

    Another sign to watch for is feeling shortness of breath. This could also indicate that your illness is turning into pneumonia. Pneumonia requires professional care and often requires hospitalization.

    Many people who have the flu also lose their appetite. It’s important to make sure you continue drinking fluids and try to eat something of nutritional value when tolerated.

    If you have the flu, it’s important to stay home while your fever is over 100 degrees F. You’ll want to do your best to get rest, fluids, and use natural remedies that are helpful for treating your symptoms and helping you get through the illness quickly.

    The best way to avoid infection is by washing your hands regularly, sanitizing surfaces, and avoiding people with symptoms. However, it is still possible to contract the flu or a cold despite these precautions and preventative measures.

    Getting the flu shot, unless you are allergic to one of the components of the flu vaccine, should be on your list of task as soon as it is available.

  • Need To Know About Normal Cholesterol Levels

    What Are Normal Cholesterol Levels?

    Cholesterol levels are determined by a blood test showing how much of each type (good and bad) that you have in your bloodstream. Knowing what normal is will depend on your age, your sex and the country you reside in.

    What’s considered to be a good level for a child would be considered off for an adult and vice versa. Some countries measure cholesterol using a different grading (such as the metric system) than other countries.

    Standard is to check the levels in milligrams. You might see a reading that shows 160 mg/dL on your results. That means that your cholesterol is at 160 milligrams in a liter of blood.

    Because of the abundance of fast food and sedentary lifestyles, even young children can become affected with high cholesterol. While some of it can be passed down through the family genes, usually when a child’s weight creeps up to an unhealthy level, they get the same health risks for their heart and other organs that an adult does.

    The damage done to the heart in childhood can cause problems once they grow up. To treat this condition in children, lifestyle changes including diet and exercise are recommended.

    Your doctor will order blood test called a lipid profile to determine your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol levels are viewed as total cholesterol and then broken down by high density lipoproteins (HDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), very low density (VLDL) and triglycerides.

    The desired total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL. If it is and it hovers in the 200-239 range, that means you have some mild health risks. Once the range reaches greater than 240, you have what’s considered high cholesterol and are at a strong risk for developing heart problems.

    The total cholesterol is broken down into the HDL  (good cholesterol)  and should be a minimum of 45 mg/dl; however, the higher the HDL the better. If your reading is below 40 mg/dL, then you don’t have enough HDL in your body to help fight against the LDL cholesterol.

    The LDL level (bad cholesterol) should be below 100 mg/dL especially if you have at least two risk factors for heart disease.  If it’s below 130, your doctor won’t be too concerned but if it starts to go above 160, that’s considered high.

    Your VLDL cholesterol should not be above 30 mg/dL.

    The desirable level for triglycerides is below 150 mg/dL, It is considered a high reading when the level hits any number over 200 mg/dL.

    If you have abnormally high total cholesterol, high LDL cholesterol, or low HDL cholesterol it is imperative that you start taking the steps necessary to improves your cholesterol levels to decrease your risk of developing heart disease.

    Changing your diet and adding a regular exercise routine is a great way to lower your risks. However, if your levels are already much too high, then you may need to take more aggressive steps that include medical therapy to get those levels down as quickly as possible..

Copyright @ 2017 DrCurtisMcElroy