Three Things That Limit Your Risk of the Flu

Flu shot Photo by Hyttalo Souza on Unsplash

California-based emergency medicine physician Dr. Zachary Lutsky spent 12 years as an attending physician at a level 1 trauma center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Board-certified in emergency medicine, Dr. Zachary Lutsky maintains a professional interest in a range of public health matters, including the flu epidemic.

Whether you’ve gotten a flu shot or not, there is not 100 percent guarantee that you will be protected from the virus come flu season. However, there are several behaviors that reduce your risk of the flu. Below are a few examples:

Don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth
Even if you wash your hands regularly, they won’t remain clean at every point of your day. Because of this, always avoid touching your eyes, mouth, and nose since these are the areas of your body that most easily absorb germs. This is particularly true when you’re in a public place.

Skip the crowds
Completely isolating yourself from other people during the flu season isn’t realistic, but you should stay away from crowded places as much as possible. Crowded places, particularly places with a large number of the elderly or children, present a high risk of contracting the flu. In situations when you cannot avoid crowded spots, make sure you carry hand sanitizer and keep your distance around sneezing individuals.

Disinfect common surfaces
Computer equipment, phones, and other common surfaces at your workplace are breeding grounds for germs. To limit your exposure, make sure these areas are kept clean and disinfected, and avoid using a coworker’s phone or desk, if you can. At home, regularly clean kitchen counters, bathrooms and any other locations that come into contact with noses or mouths.

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Basic First Aid Following a Gunshot Wound

A former attending emergency medicine physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Zachary Lutsky has been practicing medicine for more than 10 years. Over the course of his career, Dr. Zachary Lutsky has managed and treated patients suffered from a variety of traumatic injuries, including gunshot wounds.

Although many people never have to deal with a gunshot wound, knowing a few basic first aid techniques for promoting survival following such an injury is important. As soon as you or someone near you is shot, the first step is to always get to safety and call 911. Once this is done, focus on stopping the bleeding. While gunshot wounds primarily cause internal damage, external bleeding is the only aspect of the injury you can help with if you’re untrained.

With gunshot wounds, the bleeding is typically coming from a hole. Using a clean cloth, gauze, or any other fabric available when a kit is not present, place pressure directly on the wound. For wounds that are deep, pack some of the cloth into the wound. Make sure the entire wound is sealed by the fabric and do not reduce pressure until paramedics arrive on the scene. Further, don’t be scared about using your knee to provide even more pressure if the wound is still bleeding.

In addition to applying pressure directly to the wound, use a tourniquet when the wound is on a limb. Place the tourniquet about two to three inches above the wound and pull it as tight as you can. When properly placed, these devices are usually very uncomfortable and even painful, but they can be essential for stopping the bleeding from a wound. It’s important that you remember to only use a tourniquet when it’s a professional one. Since improvised tourniquets often fail, it’s better if you apply continuous pressure directly to the wound instead.

Heart Disease Lower, Stroke Risk Higher for Vegans and Vegetarians

Human head nerves model Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash

Emergency medicine physician Zachary Lutsky, MD, has served as an attending physician in the emergency department at such institutions as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Santa Clara Valley Medical. Through these roles, Dr. Zachary Lutsky has become familiar with such things as stroke prevention and recognition.

According to research from the University of Oxford, the risk of heart disease in people who have a vegan or vegetarian diet is about 22 percent lower than people who eat meat. This benefit is also seen in pescatarians, who eat only fish, though at a reduced incidence of a 13 percent lower risk of heart disease.

Unfortunately, this benefit could come at a cost. Both vegans and vegetarians were about 20 percent more likely to experience a stroke than people who ate meat. Specifically, they had a higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke, a specific type of stroke associated with greater amounts of damage than ischemic strokes. Not only that, but hemorrhagic strokes were more deadly.

To get these results, researchers examined nearly 48,200 individuals with no history of stroke or heart disease. Of these, 16,254 people were vegans or vegetarians, 24,428 ate meat, and 7,506 only consumed fish. Each group was followed for 18 years, and the researchers tracked the number of stroke and ischemic heart disease that occurred during that time.

At the end of the follow-up period, there were 2,280 cases of heart disease and 1,072 cases of stroke. Based on the results, about 10 more meat eaters out of 1,000 people develop heart disease over 10 years. Meanwhile, about three more vegans and vegetarians out of 1,000 subjects experienced stroke over the same period. While more research is needed, it’s believed that the increased risk of stroke is linked to a lack of essential nutrients in vegans and vegetarians.

When a Swollen Ankle Requires Medical Attention

Stretching Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash

Emergency medicine practitioner Dr. Zachary Lutsky has served as a staff physician and an attending physician at high-traffic emergency departments in California, including Cedars-Sinai and the UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Zachary Lutsky possesses more than 20 years of experience treating patients with severe and acute symptoms.

Swollen ankles, like many other sudden onset symptoms, can signal an underlying medical emergency. A trip to the emergency room is in order if a swollen ankle indicates any of the following:

– Blood clot. If swelling is restricted to one leg and is accompanied by a mild fever or pain, a blood clot may be the reason. Blood clots that originate in the legs can travel through the bloodstream and cause a potentially fatal embolism.

– Kidney failure. Under-functioning kidneys can cause the body to retain fluid and trigger swelling in the ankles, feet, and legs. Other indications of kidney problems including weight gain and appetite changes.

– Infection. If the ankle swells after an injury, the swelling could be the result of a bacterial infection. Elderly patients may also be at risk of contracting septic arthritis, an internal infection, in the ankle joint. Tell-tale signs include tenderness, fever, and odor.