Can Exercise Relieve Nasal Congestion?

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Jacob Lobosco

Mild to moderate physical exercise can temporarily relieve nasal congestion. A runny nose often occurs because of irritation in your nasal passages. This can occur due to a variety of causes, including sinus infections, airborne substances such as smoke or strong perfumes, and allergies.

Exercises such as push-ups can provide quick relief by opening your nasal passages and reducing inflammation that may be affecting them. However, this may not be the best approach in all cases.

Relieving nasal congestion through light exercise can be helpful when your symptoms are not severe and are limited to your nose, throat, or other parts of your head. However, if you’re experiencing symptoms that are worse or occurring in other parts of your body, such as a fever, fatigue, chest congestion, or muscle aches, it may be best to rest and avoid unnecessary exertion.

Additionally, physical exercise may even be a contributing factor to your nasal congestion in certain cases. If you have asthma, for example, your congestion may be a result of exercise-induced asthma, which causes your airways to constrict in response to hard physical activity.

Before exercising with nasal congestion or a cold, you should talk to an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT), also known as an otolaryngologist, to determine the cause of your congestion and whether physical exercise may help or harm your symptoms. An otolaryngologist can also prescribe decongestant medication or recommend alternative methods of relieving your congestion that may be safer for you, such as:

Using a humidifier
Taking a hot shower
Drinking more water throughout the day
Applying a warm compress to your face

If you’re experiencing nasal congestion, you can find an otolaryngologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (718) 206-7110.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Stomach Flu

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Andrew Rubin

Gastroenteritis, or the stomach flu, is a very contagious bug that is common in our region beginning in the fall and winter months.

The stomach flu attacks your intestines causing the following symptoms:

Watery, non-bloody diarrhea
Abdominal cramps and pain
Nausea, vomiting or both
Occasional muscle aches, headache, and low-grade fever

Gastroenteritis is typically spread through the sharing of food or drink with someone who is infected or sharing other items with them such as utensils or towels. Children can also spread the illness by placing their hands in their mouths after touching contaminated items or surfaces.

Symptoms usually appear within one to three days after exposure and can range from mild to severe. Typically symptoms last only a day or two, but in some cases, they may persist for up to ten days.

The main complication from viral gastroenteritis is dehydration — a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals. If you’re healthy and drink enough to replace fluids you lose from vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration shouldn’t be a problem. However, infants, older adults and people with suppressed immune systems may become severely dehydrated when they lose more fluids than they can replace. Hospitalization might be needed so that lost fluids can be replaced intravenously. Dehydration can be fatal, but rarely.

To avoid catching the stomach flu, it is recommended that individuals wash their hands thoroughly, use separate items around the home, disinfect all potentially infected items and surfaces, and keep your distance from those who are infected.

If you do contract gastroenteritis, follow these tips:

1) Let your stomach settle. Stop eating solid foods for a few hours.
2) Try sucking on ice chips or taking small sips of water. You might also try drinking clear liquids or broths or non-caffeinated sports drinks. Drink plenty of liquid every day, taking small, frequent sips.
3) Ease back into eating. Gradually begin to eat bland, easy-to-digest foods, such as ginger ale crackers, toast, gelatin, bananas, rice and chicken. Stop eating if your nausea returns.
4) Avoid certain foods and substances until you feel better. These include dairy products, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and fatty or highly seasoned foods.
5) Get plenty of rest. The illness and dehydration may have made you weak and tired.

For babies and young children, seek medical care if vomiting is frequent, there hasn’t been a wet diaper in 6 hours, has bloody stools, if diarrhea is severe, cries without tears, and if they are unusually drowsy, sleepy or unresponsive.

See a doctor if you become dehydrated (characterized by excessive thirst, dry mouth, dark yellow or no urine, severe weakness, change in mental status or dizziness), if symptoms persist for over 24 hours, if you are vomiting blood or have blood in your stool, or if you have a temperature of 104 degrees or above.

While most people will recover from a stomach virus after 24 – 48 hours, in some severe cases it may be necessary to go to the nearest emergency room. If you would like to schedule an appointment with a physician at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-7001.

Jamaica Hospital’s Cure Violence Program Receives Over $1 Million to Address Gun Violence in our Community

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Michael Hinck

Congratulations to the Trauma team at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for being awarded over $1 million by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for the continuation and expansion of the hospital’s Cure Violence program. The goal of Cure Violence program is to fund anti-violence community groups in their efforts to steer young New Yorkers away from violence and gun use.

In 2021 Jamaica Hospital created the VETO (Violence, Elimination and Trauma Outreach) program to provide a comprehensive and patient centered approach to victims of gun violence. The VETO team engages patients who are victims of gun violence, develop specific care plans to address social determinates of health, and follow them until all of their care plan goals are met.

The VETO program was awarded the Marla Becker Scholarship from The HAVI foundation for new and emerging HVIP’s, connecting us with HVIP’s in Philadelphia and our community for consultation in structuring our hospital-based violence intervention program.

In addition, Jamaica Hospital has also formed partnerships with numerous community organizations including violence interrupter groups to address the issue of gun violence in our community.

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Jacob Lobosco

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that 153,020 cases of colorectal cancer will appear in 2023.

Someone with this form of cancer may only begin to experience symptoms from stage two onward, with many cases only presenting symptoms in the third and fourth stages of the disease. When symptoms appear, they typically include changes in bowel habits and stool consistency, bloody stool, chronic abdominal pain, and unexplained weight loss.

The primary risk factor for colorectal cancer is age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend regular screening for this form of cancer starting at age 45. However, if you’re at higher-than-average risk for colorectal cancer, screening may need to begin at an earlier age.

Other risk factors include:

Inflammatory bowel disease
A family history of colorectal cancer or polyps
Certain genetic syndromes such as Lynch syndrome
Obesity
Alcohol consumption
Tobacco usage

Aside from improving lifestyle factors such as physical activity levels and nutrition, the best way to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer is to keep up with regular diagnostic screening. Procedures for screening include:

Stool tests: These tests check for blood or changes to your DNA in your stool. The guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) which check for blood, are performed annually. The FIT-DNA test, which checks the DNA in your stool, is performed every three years.

Flexible Sigmoidoscopy: This test checks for polyps and cancer inside the lower third of your rectum and is performed every five years or every 10 years if you receive a FIT annually.

Colonoscopy: A standard colonoscopy checks for polyps and cancer throughout the rectum and the entire colon, allowing your doctor to spot and even remove most of them. This is performed every 10 years for people with an average risk of colorectal cancer. Alternatively, a virtual colonoscopy, which produces images of the entire colon using X-rays, can be performed every 5 years.

You can receive a colorectal cancer screening from a gastroenterologist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Ambulatory Care Center. To schedule an appointment, please call (718) 206-7001.

March is National Kidney Month

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Andrew Rubin

March is National Kidney Month and the National Kidney Foundation is urging all Americans to give their kidneys a well-deserved checkup.

The kidneys are two fist-sized organs, located just below the rib cage, in your lower back. The left kidney is on the left side of the spine and the right kidney is on the right side of the spine. Blood flows through the kidneys many times a day. They maintain overall health by serving the following functions:

Filtering waste out of 200 liters of blood each day
Regulating of the body’s salt, potassium and acid content
Removing toxins from the body.
Balancing the body’s fluids
Releasing hormones that regulate blood pressure
Producing an active form of vitamin D that promotes strong, healthy bones
Controlling the production of red blood cells

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Control, some quick facts on Kidney Disease are:

Kidney disease is the 9^thleading cause of death in the country.
More than 26 million Americans have kidney disease, and most don’t know it.
There are over 95,000 people waiting for kidney transplants.
Currently, more than 590,000 people have kidney failure in the U.S. today.
Risk factors for kidney disease are hypertension, diabetes, family history, and age over 60.

Symptoms of kidney disease include:

Swelling of the face, hands, abdomen, ankles, and feet
Blood in the urine
Puffy eyes
Painful urination
Increased thirst
Fatigue

Often times, kidney failure can be prevented or delayed through early detection and proper treatment of underlying disease such as diabetes and high blood pressure which can slow additional damage to the kidneys.

If you are 18 years or older with diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or a family history of kidney disease, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor and ask that you be screened for kidney disease.

If you would like to make an appointment to have your kidney’s checked, you can call Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Ambulatory Care Center at 718-206-7001 for an appointment.

What is an Elimination Diet?

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Jacob Lobosco

Foods that you’re allergic to can cause you to experience a variety of symptoms, including gas, bloating, nausea, or diarrhea. While these types of problems are rarely life-threatening allergic reactions, they can cause significant discomfort and disruption in your daily life. However, you may not know for certain which exact foods are causing these reactions. An elimination diet can help you identify them.

Elimination diets involve removing, then later re-adding, certain foods from your diet which are suspected to be the cause of allergic reactions. This diet is typically only maintained for a brief period of up to six weeks.

An elimination diet is typically divided into an “elimination” phase and a “reintroduction” phase. During the elimination phase, potential allergens are removed from your diet. These typically include foods such as:

Nuts
Seeds
Legumes
Dairy products
Starchy foods
Caffeinated drinks
Spices
Meat
Fish
Sugary products
Certain fruits and vegetables

During the reintroduction phase, you once again start to eat each food group you’ve cut out of your diet. Each of these groups is individually re-introduced over the course of up to three days, providing adequate time to watch for potential symptoms.

Different versions of the elimination diet, such as the low-FODMAPs diet (which targets short-chain carbohydrates), only remove specific food groups. Alternatively, varieties such as the fasting elimination diet, which involves only drinking water for up to five days, may be more extreme than the standard version.

No matter which version of the elimination diet you plan to try, you should only do so under the supervision of a medical professional. The re-introduction of food allergens can potentially cause anaphylaxis, a severe reaction that causes airways to swell and restricts your breathing. Extreme varieties such as the fasting elimination diet can be especially dangerous to your health without the guidance of a doctor.

If you suspect you have a food allergy and plan to follow an elimination diet, schedule an appointment with a registered dietician at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Outpatient Nutritional Services Department by calling (718) 206-7056.

Multiple Allergies and the Symptom Threshold

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Everyone has their own unique combination of allergic triggers and not all of them are obvious. You may be sensitized to several allergen sources, but your sensitization may not be enough to trigger symptoms when you are exposed to only one of them. But when you encounter multiple substances you’re allergic to at the same time, they can add up, and you may start experiencing symptoms, such as itchy eyes or a runny nose.

Determining if you’re allergic and identifying your allergic triggers can help you stay below your symptom threshold—the point where you start experiencing allergy symptoms.

Most people with allergies—up to 80 percent—are allergic to multiple allergens. And for some of these people; symptoms may appear only when they encounter two or more things they’re allergic to at the same time.

Minimizing your exposure to your allergic triggers may help lessen or eliminate your symptoms. For example:

• You could have a low-level allergy to dust mites, mold, and grass pollen. During large parts of the year, you’re exposed to dust mites and mold but may have little to no symptoms.

• But in the spring, when pollen is in the air, you may experience symptoms. You then might think that you have only a pollen allergy. But without a test you won’t know for sure.

Your best defense against your allergic symptoms is to know what’s causing them and to avoid those triggers. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to cut everything you’re allergic to out of your life. You’ll just have to reduce your exposure enough to get below your symptom threshold—the level where you start to experience symptoms.

One of the best ways to find out what’s causing your allergic symptoms is to get tested. There are several different options for allergy testing, including blood tests, skin-prick tests, food challenge tests, and allergy provocation tests. Together with your healthcare provider, you can decide which test is best for you. After your elected allergy test is performed, the results are reviewed by your healthcare provider alongside your medical history to help establish an accurate diagnosis. 

To schedule an allergy test at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718-206-7001.

Employee Spotlight Shines on Melissa Nolan, EMT, and Emergency Management Planner

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Andrew Rubin

This month, we are proud to shine our Employee Spotlight on Melissa Nolan, EMT, and Emergency Management Planner.

Melissa has been with Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for five years. She grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and still resides there. Melissa attended elementary school at St. Margaret of Cortona, high school at Saint Vincent Ferrer, and received her Bachelors of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Communication and Media Management from SUNY New Paltz. Melissa received her EMT certification from Montefiore Hospital – Wakefield campus.

In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She likes to go with them to sporting events, concerts, and Broadway shows. She also enjoys travelling with her family. One of her most memorable vacations was a Mediterranean cruise around Italy, France, and Greece. She is now planning to take a trip to Nashville.

Melissa likes different types of food, especially Italian, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese. She enjoys all types of music, and listens to everything from Elvis and the Rat Pack to the Beatles, Motown, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Miley Cyrus and Lizzo. Her favorite sports teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees. Being of Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian and Irish descent, she roots for their national teams during the Soccer World Cup but her favorite is the Brazilian team.

She enjoys working at Jamaica Hospital because she feels that her mind is challenged at least once a day and with that comes the opportunity to learn and expand her knowledge. Melissa likes being part of the Emergency Management Department because it plays such an important role in helping to keep the hospital functioning well, especially during times of crisis.

Melissa’s priorities in life include making sure that her family is well cared for. She also believes it is important to lend a helping hand to others so that they can achieve their goals.

We are fortunate to have Melissa as a part of our team and look forward to her continuing to work with us for many more years in the future.

National Organ Day

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Andrew Rubin

On any given day, an average of 20 people die in the United States while waiting for a life saving organ transplant. There are currently over 120,000 people in the United States who are awaiting an organ donation that could potentially save their lives.
These are the five most common donations that are desperately needed to save lives:

• Organs
• Tissue
• Marrow
• Platelets
• Blood

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center supports organ donation. To find out how you can register to become an organ donor, go to www.liveonny.org for more information.

3 Mental Health Tips for Online Dating

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Jacob Lobosco

If you’re looking for love this Valentine’s Day, you may be using online dating apps as part of your search. The odds of success may be in your favor, as most couples today first meet online, but if you aren’t careful, your approach to online dating could be harmful to your mental health.

People with pre-existing mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety may experience symptoms as a result of the way many major dating apps work. Most apps display photos of users along with information about their personalities. Users may develop negative thoughts about their body image or about themselves in general if they aren’t getting many responses to their profile.

On the other hand, while a high number of responses may provide an initial sense of validation, it can quickly turn negative if potential connections or conversations come to a quick or unexpected end. Negative feelings can also occur after first dates if the person you met decides to “ghost” you, never responding or asking to go out with you again.

To stay mentally healthy despite these potential bumps in the road of your online dating journey, you should:

Set limits on the time you spend on each app: The unhealthy effects of online dating apps can increase as you spend more time on them at the expense of other activities. Set a time limit of about 30 minutes each day or limit your number of swipes for each app. Take a break to do something else after finishing your time with one app if you plan to use another.

Make genuine connections your goal: It can be easy to swipe thoughtlessly on a high volume of profiles, resulting in either a low number of matches or conversations that lead nowhere. Don’t swipe just to see how many matches you can get; use online dating apps as a tool to meet people you can genuinely connect with based on your true personality.

Avoid online dating on bad days: If you are in a negative frame of mind due to the events of your day or are experiencing sudden symptoms of a mental health condition, avoid online dating apps for that day entirely, as they can do more harm than good to your self-esteem and self-image in these moments.

If you’re experiencing mental health problems that are interfering with your ability to make connections with other people, romantic or otherwise, you can find help from a therapist at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s Mental Health Clinic. To schedule an appointment or learn more, please call (718) 206-6160.