Public Health – Page 2

Health Care is a Human Right

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

We live in a world that can feel very divided. There are things that all humans have in common, though. We all get sick. Sometimes, the cure is bed rest, other times it might be antibiotics.

Most, if not all of us, have gotten injured badly enough to require medical care. Some people require surgery – to remove impacted wisdom teeth, set a broken leg, remove a rupturing appendix, or to give birth via caesarian section.

Health care is a human right. Every human has the right to have all of their physical and mental health care needs taken care of. This isn’t just my opinion. It is a concept that has been around for a very long time.

Andrew Yang wants Medicare for All. Here’s how it gets paid for.

Andrew Yang is running for president as a Democrat in 2020. He is an entrepreneur who has some excellent ideas about Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All. In this blog post, I’m going to focus on his Medicare for All plan (which could also be called single-payer or universal health care).

Out of Spoons, Public Health 1

America Needs Universal Health Care

It has been called “Single-Payer Health Care”, “Medicare For All”, “Medicaid For All”, and “Universal Health Care”. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom all have Universal Health Plans.

America Needs Universal Health Care.

This blog post has a timeline of information about the Universal Health Care in the United States of America. It includes studies that show it can work better than our insurance-based system, ideas for implementing it, and how it would help people.

Out of Spoons, Public Health 1

Measles Spreading is the Fault of Anti-Vaxxers

In 2015, there was a measles outbreak in the United States (and other countries) that began when someone who had the measles visited Disneyland in California. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that measles had been eliminated from the Americas (the entire land mass that stretches from Canada to Chile).

But now, measles is back because people are choosing not to vaccinate their children against a dangerous, and preventable, childhood disease. In this blog, I will present facts about measles and the MMR vaccine. This blog also contains a timeline of the measles cases and additional contextual information.

Continue Reading “Measles Spreading is the Fault of Anti-Vaxxers”

Out of Spoons, Public Health 0

Things to Know About the 2017 – 2018 Flu Season

Every year, some people get infected by a flu virus. The strains tend to vary from year to year. The 2017-2018 flu season was especially nasty and dangerous.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that the single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year. Good habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent flu.

This blog will be updated when I find additional, relevant, information about the 2017-2018 flu season.

Continue Reading “Things to Know About the 2017 – 2018 Flu Season”

Out of Spoons, Public Health

A Timeline of the Spread of the Zika Virus

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Sexual transmission of Zika is also possible.

People who become infected with Zika can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and malaise or headache. These symptoms typically last for 2 to 7 days. Pregnant women, or women who want to become pregnant, must make an effort to avoid becoming infected by Zika. The Zika virus is also a cause of microcephaly and Guillian Barré syndrome.

Out of Spoons, Public Health 1

Measles Outbreak – Just the Facts

You may have noticed that a lot of the people whom you are connected to through social media have started talking about measles. This is not entirely unexpected, considering that there is measles outbreak happening in the United States (as well as several other countries). Measles is a topic that people tend to have very strong feelings about. As a result, the information you’ve come across online could be a mixture of facts, emotional outbursts, and misinformation.

The internet is an excellent resource for finding information about a specific topic. Unfortunately, the very nature of the internet also makes it extremely easy for people to pass around misinformation (often without the person realizing that the information is incorrect).

The facts end up scattered across the internet, on a bunch of different websites, that are not directly connected to each other. In this blog, I will provide the facts about measles and the MMR vaccine (from credible sources). I will also update the blog with new information about confirmed cases. My goal is to have a “one-stop” resource for people who are seeking facts about the measles outbreak.

Continue Reading “Measles Outbreak – Just the Facts”