HEALTH, DIET AND NUTRITION FAQ’s

Sound like a sci-fi scenario? – Unfortunately it is too real. A new and very virulent mutant pathogen has infected patients in hospitals in at least 38 states. Because cases of the infection by these bacteria are not reported in many states, the incidence of infection is likely increasing at a much more rapid rate than has been recognized. Alerts have been sent out by the CDC and other offices responsible for communicable disease control in the U.S. This new epidemic strain of anti-biotic resistant bacteria is now suddenly ranked with MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (aka Staph) as the top 2 potentially deadly infections that can be contracted during a hospital visit.

What is this new bacteria? It is actually a common bacteria (a bug) that has caused treatable diarrhea in older patients at nursing homes and in hospitals for years. Clostridium difficile or C.diff. is transmitted through contact with fecal matter, usually from hand or food to mouth. C.diff related diarrhea occurs most commonly as a result of anti-biotic use. When certain anti-biotics are used they kill some of the good bacteria in your body that usually keeps bad bacteria like C.diff from flourishing. (C.diff is resistant to most anti-biotics) Ironically, when you are attacked by C.diff because of the anti-biotics you are taking – you must take a specific anti-biotic to kill the flourishing C.diff. Here-in lies the new problem. A mutant strain of C.diff called NAP1/027 resists all anti-biotics and this bacteria is more toxic. C.diff produces spores when it senses that it is under attack from anti-biotics and these spores are not easily killed by the usual sanitization products used to clean hospital environments. These C.diff spores can remain on hospital surfaces for months and can contaminate food and anything touched by hospital personnel or patients. Contracting C.diff, especially the NAP1 strain can lead to uncontrolled bouts of diarrhea, up to 50 per day, and can lead to more serious, imagine something more serious, like C.difficile associated disease (CDAD) and chronic colon problems.

What can I do about it? Not a lot. But here are a few things which may help you avoid infection:

1) Avoid over-use of anti-biotics. Ask you doctor if anti-biotics, especially any anti-biotic that has been associated with CDAD, is really needed for treatment. Anti-biotic over-use is a major reason that these resistant bacteria are mutating.

2) Wash your hands thoroughly before you put anything in your mouth, especially after visiting a hospital or nursing home.

3) Wear surgical gloves if you are caring for patients with CDAD or diarrhea.

4) Do not let severe cases of diarrhea go untreated by a doctor. Unfortunately, common diarrhea medicines can make c.diff infection worse by stopping the bacteria flushing effect of diarrhea. C.diff infections call for more than over-the-counter medicines.

5) If you suspect a problem, call your doctor, especially if you develop diarrhea after tending to a patient or visiting a hospital setting.

Mark Thevenot(aka Steve Thevenot)authors family-friendly health articles. Visitors to his website, http://www.superrxcard.com, can print a free prescription drug discount card that is accepted at over 60,000 pharmacies.

We all want to live a life that has an impact on the people around us and the family that comes after us. Often times the best way to learn about those around us, our family history and those people that shaped our lives, is by reading their life story. So much can be learned by reading someone’s obituary but that sometimes only scratches the service of how a person lived, what they loved and how much they were loved. An online memorial can help keep a memory alive and help you celebrate the life of a love one.

An online memorial website is more creative than an obituary and is a great way to share memories and celebrate the lives of those who are no longer with us. You can spend minutes, hours or days creating an online memorial for someone you knew and loved. There are many online services that are designed specifically to host such tributes. To get the most out of a life story page, find one where you can share memories, photos, videos and access it from anywhere in the world.

Creating a life story page is simple. It does not take any special computer skills or expensive equipment to put one together. The virtual memorial that you create should remain online for an indefinite period of time. This allows friends, family and even future generations to view the memorial and leave their own personal tributes and condolences. Many services do allow online memorials to be created and password protected, for added privacy.

Grieving over the death of someone you loved is one of the most difficult and emotionally wrenching experiences you will go through in your lifetime. To truly move on from such a powerful and devastating experience, each person must find what allows them to move through their grief. Many activities and coping techniques are found to work for people, but each person will need to find a way to do so in a way best suited for them.

By providing a place of remembrance for a loved one, a virtual memorial can give the strength to be able to heal and move forward with our lives. When becoming overwhelmed by an emotion, whether it is sadness, regret, guilt, or even happiness at certain memories, visiting an online memorial to the deceased can help. These sites host information about family history, anecdotes about your loved one’s life and pictures of key moments you shared with them. Remembering these things and spending a moment appreciating the times you did spend with them can have a significant effect on your mood and overall long-term healing.

We all create a life story we hope will live on after we are gone and effect generations after us. By writing these stories down for family, friends and sometimes strangers to read, acknowledge and appreciate, we are ensuring that a loved one’s life lives on after death. We all want to celebrate the people who have made a lasting impression on us.

~ Ben Anton, 2008

Online Memorial Services: Celebrate a loved one’s life forever. You are encouraged to read more at Valley of Life, a safe and respectful free memorial web site.

The time after the death of a parent, spouse or other family member can be filled with intense emotions of grief. With the stress of planning a funeral and memorial service, it can be easy to lose track of the business of wrapping up personal affairs and settling a deceased loved one’s estate.

This article outlines some tips to help get through this difficult time and ensure that the surviving family members are prepared to handle any future legal and business issues, quickly and efficiently.

Uncover any last requests:

If you’re lucky, your loved one will have left a detailed, legally certified will outlining burial requirements and distribution of assets. Check with the deceased’s lawyer if you’re unsure whether a will exists. If it doesn’t, talk with family members to see if any last wishes were mentioned.

Set up a financial plan:

Even the most generous of insurance policies and estate settlements are unlikely to last forever, so meet with a financial planner to set up a long-term budget and discuss restructuring any investments to satisfy your financial goals.

Get several copies of the death certificate:

You should get a copy of the death certificate for documentation purposes. There will be several instances in the coming days and weeks in which having a copy of the death certificate will be required. Ensure you have more than one copy of the death record; various institutions will require such documentation for settling an estate and you’ll find maintaining additional copies will help you speed up paperwork.

Below are four examples when providing a death certificate is required:

1. Transporting the body:

In most states, the funeral director will need a copy of the death certificate to legally transport the body to the funeral home and will file the death certificate with the courthouse for legal proof of death. The funeral director will also need a copy of the death record to apply with the health department for a burial transit permit.

2. Claiming a life insurance policy:

If your loved one had life insurance, the life insurance company will require an official certified death certificate as proof of death when a primary or secondary beneficiary submits a claim. Generally speaking, a secondary beneficiary is only allowed to make a claim if the person listed as the primary beneficiary has also died. In either situation, photocopies are considered unacceptable.

If the death was found not to be from natural causes (such as an accident or a homicide), you will also need a copy of the investigative report to be eligible for additional accidental death benefits. Check the fine print of the policy to see if this sort of coverage was provided.

3. Closing bank accounts:

Any existing checking and savings accounts will remain open and any applicable fees will continue to be charged as long as there is money in them—unless you formally close the bank accounts. You will need to bring in a certified death certificate and fill out a Death Notification Form as supplied by the bank to officially close the account and withdraw or transfer any remaining funds.

If the account was a joint account with your name on it, the death notice is more of a formality to make the bank aware that no more deposits will come in under the deceased’s name beyond any related insurance settlements.

4. Transferring retirement benefits:

If you are named as a primary beneficiary on a 401(k), individual retirement account or company retirement plan, supply a certified death certificate to roll the benefits over to a retirement account in your name. If you decide to withdraw the money and place it into a checking or savings account, be aware that you may face a significant tax penalty.

The days and weeks following the death of a loved one can be very stressful. Settling an estate requires the submission of paperwork to each individual institution where an account is held by the deceased. You’ll also need to provide paperwork when requesting a death-related service or benefit. Part of the paperwork requires providing documentation of the death. Death record policies vary, so be prepared to provide an official certified death certificate copy available by mail or in person from the state or county vital records agency where the death occurred. Government-certified copies of a death certificate can also be obtained on an expedited basis through authorized online service providers such as VitalChek.com

Since multiple copies are generally required, you should determine the number of certificates you will need before you place your order and avoid having to duplicate your order or pay separate order processing fees.

Marty Morgan is an advocate for the vital record industry with an interest birth certificate, death certificate, marriage record and divorce record public record searches.