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There are zero cases of COVID-19 in Carter County. However, last Friday Fallon County saw its first case and Tuesday, Wibaux County its. As of Tuesday, there were 1,952 cases of COVID-19 in Montana with 1,034 active cases. Some Carter County residents were close contacts of the Fallon County case. A close contact is defined as a person who has been less than six feet away from a person with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes. A close contact is notified of this by their local...
Often, women are more concerned about taking care of others than taking care of themselves. I know I do – I do my best to make sure my daughter has clean clothes, food she’ll eat, things to do. Now that she’s a tween, she is pretty good at taking care of herself. But there always seems to be something or someone else to be concerned about. But, to properly care for others, we women must make ourselves our number one priority! If we fall ill or get hurt, who will take care of the house, the kids, our significant other, our w...
As of April 28th, Carter County had zero cases of COVID-19, and Montana had 451 cases; of those cases, 356 have recovered. On April 22nd, Governor Bullock held a press conference that laid out plans to reopen Montana. Carter County Board of Health held a meeting on April 24th and decided that Carter County will follow the Governor's directions for reopening. Phase one of reopening began on April 26th, with churches having services. Retail stores reopened on April 27th, and...
There is an overwhelming amount of information available that is related to COVID-19. Following are some guidelines all residents should practice. First, social distancing – keeping six feet between you and everyone else. Washing your hands, and not touching your face are essential to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. These preventative measures should be practiced at all times, especially when leaving your home. Secondly, follow the directions of Carter County Public H...
Depression and anxiety are the two most common mental health disorders, and every person will experience one or both at some point in their life. Some people experience depression or anxiety over a short period, while others have a lifelong diagnosis. Occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. We all experience anxiety at some point, like before a big test, a job interview, or before making a big decision. However, anxiety disorders involve more than temporary fear. Those with anxiety disorders experience anxiety lifelong,...
A virus is an infectious microscopic organism which invades a living organism, such as humans, animals, bacteria, and plants, and uses those host to replicate. There are a multitude of different viruses. Many viruses cause diseases in humans, such as influenza, the common cold, chicken pox, AIDS, and rabies. Fortunately, for many common viruses there are vaccines available that humans can get to prevent infections. However, there are not vaccines available for all viruses, especially new ones, like the one that causes the...
February is American Heart Month! Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Every year, the deaths of 1 in 4 men and women are caused by heart disease. The term "heart disease" actually encompasses many different conditions – heart defects you are born with (congenital heart disease), coronary artery disease (plaque buildup in arteries), heart rhythm problems, weak heart muscle, diseases of the heart valves, and others. Heart disease, especially in t...
The holiday season can be extra stressful for adults and children with the change of routines and the extra demands of our time. We are running around trying to make sure we have the right presents for each family member and friend and our kids’ friends and teachers. Then there are the Christmas programs at school and church. Oh, wait, don’t forget about the Christmas parties at work and with friends. And, we have our regular activities to fit in there – work, cleaning the house, dishes, laundry, cooking, etc. Excess stres...
Viruses can cause a host of different illnesses, from the common cold to influenza, to hand-foot-and-mouth disease, to Ebola. Viruses are fascinating little particles. Scientists have debated whether viruses are living or non-living organisms for decades! Scientists have a list of criteria used to determine if an organism is living or non-living. One of the criteria is that living things have cells. Well, viruses do NOT have cells. They have a protein coat that protects their genetic material. Another criterion is that...
It’s that time of year… time to get your flu shot! Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. Respiratory means it’s an issue with lungs and breathing. Influenza (sometimes called the Flu) symptoms can be mild or severe. Symptoms start abruptly, not gradually. A person infected with the influenza virus could experience fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, severe body or muscle aches, headache, and extreme fatigue. Some people may experience vomiting and diarrhea, this is more common...
In 2016 suicide was the 8th leading cause of death in Montana; 267 deaths were attributed to suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This ranks Montana FIRST out of all the United States in suicide rates (25.9 suicide deaths out of 100,000 people)! This is one time where we DO NOT want to come in first. Alaska and Wyoming are 2nd and 3rd; whereas New Jersey comes in last at 7.2 deaths out of 100,000 people. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States! Suicide is defined as the...
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house was such a loud racket; dad was snoring with his mouth open wide, and I just couldn’t hack it… Snoring can be funny or really annoying, but it can also be a symptom of an underlying health condition: Sleep Apnea. Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. The pauses may only last a couple of seconds, but can be frequent. When your breathing pauses or becomes shallow, most often you move fro...
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Breast cancer has touched the lives of many of us; whether you are a breast cancer survivor, in the midst of breast cancer treatment, or have a loved one who has been diagnosed. For women in the United States, breast cancer is the second most common cancer, with skin cancer being the first. However, breast cancer can occur in men as well, but it is rare. Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. Cancer occurs when there are abnormal changes in the genes that are...
It’s that time of year… time to get your flu shot! Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. Respiratory means it’s an issue with the lungs and breathing. Influenza (often called the flu) symptoms can be mild or severe. Symptoms start abruptly, not gradually. Some symptoms a person infected with the influenza virus could experience are fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, severe body or muscle aches, headache, and extreme fatigue. Some people may experience vomiting and diarr...
Where did August go? I’m sorry, August got away from me, and I didn’t get an article in the paper. However, now you will be fortunate enough to read two articles from me this month! The kids are back in school, and with the start of school comes school sports! I’m so excited, because my daughter is in the 5th grade this year, and starts volleyball. So, I’ve got my car fueled up and my running shoes on to keep up with her! However, along with school sports, inevitably also come concussions. You may have heard in the past th...
One thing I hear frequently as a nurse when visiting with patients is, “I’m going to talk to my doctor about getting off of some of these medications!” Well… okay, but (1) Why do you want to stop medications if they are controlling your chronic health condition? And (2) What lifestyle changes have you made in order to convince your Primary Healthcare Provider (PCP) to discontinue or stop a medication? This really starts with you! No PCP is just going to say, “Okay, yeah, let’s just stop that medication which is controlling...
Yay!!! Summer is finally here!!! Alright, I know it’s felt like summer for the past month, but now that it’s officially here, I’m going to talk about skin cancer and SUNSCREEN! The primary use of sunscreen is to prevent skin cancer. However, using sunscreen is NOT just a summer time thing. You can even get skin damage on a cloudy day; that’s because the Ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun are what cause skin damage, and clouds don’t block UV rays. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer. Every year in the United States, n...
Its spring time and more of us are outside now then we have been for months. It was a long winter… This beautiful time of year it is more likely for us humans to encounter one of those cute little Disney animals, like raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. However, those cute little critters could carry a very dangerous virus. RABIES!! Rabies is most often transferred through the saliva of a rabid animal by a bite; whether that’s a human or another animal being bitten. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre...
I recently attended a continuing education class via tele-medicine on “Three things you can do right now for your own wellness.” The class was great! Usually, continuing education is a bit on the dry side, but this presenter was outstanding. Not only did he have a great personality, but he provided a great message! The three things he listed were basically what everyone else lists for improving health and wellness: manage stress, eat well, and move more! During this continuing education, the presenter gave an example of man...
