Health on Earth

UN Secretariat Building in NYC, 2001. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Why Should You Care That World AIDS Day Is Tomorrow? Because HIV isn't the only untreatable virus out there. Ebola and Smallpox are two highly contagious viruses. Both have the potential to be lethal. And both are completely untreatable. Yes we have a vaccine to help prevent a smallpox infection (though the majority of our population is now unvaccinated), and when Ebola outbreaks occur we can treat the symptoms. But there is no injection of antibodies that target infected cells to stop the virus before it furthers the infection. Researching HIV and ways to stop such an aggressive virus leads to technology and brainpower to stop other terrifying pathogens- many of which are actually much more virulent and easily transmitted than HIV. Because we shouldn't stigmatize a death sentence. Newsflash! Although sexual contact is the most common method of transmission, sex isn't the only way you can get HIV, a...

How many degrees require continuing education credits? Let’s think about this for a second. Many programs recommend things to continue your expertise in the field- I remember the favorite words “lunch and learn” and breakout sessions. Trade shows are a great opportunity for many to get to know emerging technologies and for companies to showcase all the cool stuff they’ve been working on. In fact, many industries have annual trade shows. There’s the Detroit Auto Show, There’s the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Consumer Electronic Show (CES), etc. Even specific niches of industries offer annual showcases, like the annual “Dreamforce” event that Salesforce.com hosts, or our nonprofit conferences. The American Public Health Association (APHA) hosts a massive meeting each year to showcase incredible peer-reviewed research conducted by for-profit, non-profit, government, and academic communities. This event offers hundreds of breakout sessions, research posters, round-table discu...

I have to thank my husband for using our awesome telemedicine option for a weekend appointment, so we didn’t have to go track down an urgent care center… actually we had to track one down anyways but thanks for the first attempt. Also have to thank him for testing something I’ve been SO excited to see implemented across the nation- unfortunately our experience with telemedicine this time was less than ideal and has made me a bit skeptical. But that’s a story for another post. So my husband caught the dreaded stomach bug that has been shutting down daycares, schools, offices, etc. It came on suddenly and hit him like a freight train, following a large wedding we attended and a training day where facemasks and gloves that have likely never experienced Lysol spray were used. Not surprisingly he was knocked on his bottom and suffering as many Americans have over this winter. To get a little background, stomach bugs like Norovirus have absolutely been on fire this year. We hear all...

Obviously I feel that Public Health is one of the most important fields of work, I have two degrees in it, but yet I feel that it is often forgotten when we think about health in general. We attribute the heath field solely with healthcare, the clinical side of the field. But the public health side of the health field affects everything we do- from washing our hands to legislating indoor air pollutant policies, to community health programs improving youth nutrition and media messaging. There is public health all around you, often times in fields you didn’t even realize were relevant to health. Why is Public Health a forgotten field? Probably multiple reasons. In my opinion, one of the major issues is that the field is so multidisciplinary that when we are talking about a public health mission, we run into issues of “That’s an engineering thing” or “That’s a doctor’s problem”. We lose the cohesiveness of the field when we look at the individual components rather than the problem stat...

Last week my husband was browsing target with our kid after his class at The Little Gym. This kid is never out of energy, so it was a last ditch effort to run an errand and get him a little worn out so that maybe he would nap on the way home. They were checking out the electronics section which is always a dangerous idea, when they saw something actually really cool. It’s called the KidPower band by UNICEF, and is a mini activity tracker for kids. “What toddler needs an activity tracker?” You ask. “What a dumb idea.” Actually, it’s awesome. The band adjusts from a perfect fit on my 18 month old’s teeny wrist to fit a larger child, possibly a teenager’s wrist. But why is it fitting, awesome? Toddlers are full of energy. They never stop moving. What if we could harness their energy and use it for a positive cause? That’s exactly the innovative thinking that got UNICEF here. As you probably know, UNICEF provides aid specifically to children in many developing countries. They reach a ...

Recently a friend of mine took her toddler son to a dentist appointment with a pediatric dental specialist. He was having some strange issues with his teeth chipping away with seemingly no cause. This happened with multiple teeth in a relatively short time period and my friend was very concerned. During the exam my friend mentioned to the dentist that she still nurses once or twice per day and he immediately told her that the results of her still nursing at 20 months was clearly bottle rot (despite her never using a bottle with her son), and the dentist refused to discuss it any further. He stated that the child’s teeth were breaking because she breastfeeds her child in the evening before bed. I am not a pediatric dentist- I have zero expertise regarding children’s teeth. But I remember reading an article from a pretty reliable and peer-reviewed source regarding breastfeeding and teeth, specifically whether or not it caused tooth decay. Troubled by her experience with the dentis...