Community Reminders

  1. The Health Centre is open during the summer on Saturdays, 9am-1pm from July till the middle of September. During these Saturday hours we welcome walk-ins or booked appointments, but are not able to provide lab services.
  2. If you have borrowed any equipment from the loan cupboard and are not using it, please return it to the Health Centre so others may use it.
  3. The Health Centre would welcome the donation of gently used medical equipment in good condition. However we are not able to accept any medical lifting devices or used breathing machines.
  4. September is our AGM. Please remember to renew your membership if you have not done so already. You do need to have a valid membership in order to vote at the AGM.
  5. Please try to make booked appointments at the clinic; we have become very busy and would hate to have to turn you away because we are fully booked.

DIABETES SERVICES

Pender Harbour Health Centre is committed to diabetes education through:

  • On-going funding
  • The availability of two certified diabetes educators
  • Lab services and call back monitoring system to follow blood results meaningful to good diabetes management.

Dianne Paulus, registered dietitian and CDE is happy to meet with you and discuss food management ideas to help you better care for your diabetes.

Nancy Mackay, registered nurse and CDE works along side Dianne and is there to help you through the jungle of diabetes information.

We offer small group or one-to-one information on;

  • foot care
  • blood glucose monitoring
  • recommended schedules for kidney, eye and cardiovascular health
  • encouragement for diabetes “ burn out”
  • medication review and initiation of insulin if prescribed

This team aligns with the Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines and keeps up to date on all diabetes innovations through frequent education evenings. They are founding members of the diabetes educators interest group formed on the Coast five years ago.

So ... If you have been told you have diabetes or prediabetes and would like to take advantage of our service at no cost please phone 604-883-2764 to book an appointment with Dianne and/or Nancy.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

We have a number of valuable programs coming up over the next several months.

  • Back by popular demand, Dealing with Chronic Pain, a 6 week course starts at the end of September, 2011
  • A Bereavement Support Group will meet for 8 weeks, starting mid-October
  • A Healthy Heart Program will start this fall
  • Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions will be offered again in January

Sun Smarts

With summer now upon us and the sun hopefully making an appearance, we can look forward to many days outside enjoying endless activities. We need to remember, however to be aware of the sun and the problems that arise from too much of a good thing.

One of the more immediate and common problems is a sunburn which is skin damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Most sunburns cause mild pain and redness but affect only the outer layer of skin (first-degree burn). The red skin might hurt when you touch it but are mild and can usually be treated at home.

Skin that is red and painful and that swells up and blisters may mean that the skin layers and nerve endings have been damaged (second-degree burn). This type of sunburn is usually more painful and takes longer to heal.

Other problems that can be present along with sunburn include:

  • Allergic reactions to sun exposure or to sunscreen products.
  • Vision problems such as burning pain, decreased vision, or partial or complete vision loss.
  • Heat-related illnesses including heat rash, swelling, fainting, heat exhaustion and sunstroke or heatstroke. Heatstroke is a medical emergency when the body fails to regulate its own temperature and body temperature continues to rise, often to 40.6C (105F) or higher. This can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. For more information on signs and symptoms of heatstroke, please see the BC Health Guide or call 8-1-1 for 24hr health information.

Often environmental and physical conditions can make it hard to stay cool (i.e. dehydration, fatigue, overdressing, exercising, caffeine or alcohol). Many medicines increase your risk of a heat-related illness. If you take medicines regularly, ask your doctor for advice about hot-weather activity and your risk of getting a heat-related illness. Also age, as older adults do not sweat easily and usually have other health conditions that affect their ability to lose heat. Babies do not lose heat quickly and they do not sweat effectively. Obesity. People who are overweight have decreased blood flow to the skin, hold heat in because of the insulating layer of fat tissue and have a greater body mass to cool. Chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, and cancer. These conditions change the way the body gets rid of heat.

Long term problems include

  • Increased chance of having skin cancer.
  • Cataracts, from not protecting your eyes from direct or indirect sunlight over many years.
  • Skin changes, such as premature wrinkling or brown spots.

The severity of a sunburn may be impacted by such variables as:

  • The time of day: most likely between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the suns rays are the strongest.
  • Whether you are near reflective surfaces such as water, white sand, concrete, snow and ice.
  • Altitude: it’s easy to get sunburned at higher altitudes because there is less of the earth’s atmosphere to block the sunlight.
  • The UV index of the day.

Therefore some preventative measures to think about this summer include protecting your skin from the sun, remembering not to stay too long in the sun and using sunscreens and protective clothing to cover your skin.