Dr. Lori Gore-Green | Women's Health Professional

Dr. Lori Gore-Green's Portfolio of Experience as a Women's Health Professional

The Benefits of Walking in Older Women

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The human body is designed to walk, and this most basic human activity can significantly impact your health throughout life. Scientific research supports the benefits of walking in several ways, so it should be on the list as part of every older woman’s health regime to maintain suitable physical, emotional and mental health.

Walking Helps To Maintain Healthy Weight

A daily walk can help you maintain a healthy weight, so you can avoid many of the health problems related to carrying those extra pounds.

Walking Helps to Strengthen Bones

The action and pressure of walking help strengthen bones, reducing the risk for osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, which are common problems in the older population.

Walking Can Lower Blood Pressure

A good walk can also help to relax blood vessels, which will lower your blood pressure in some individuals.

Walking Reduce Your Risk For Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Colon Cancer

Walking helps to keep blood vessels flexible to carry blood and nutrients throughout the body. This improved circulation can help you to avoid cardiovascular disease and other health problems.

Walking Keeps Joints Flexible

Your walking exercise helps to keep your joints supple and healthy. Walking strengthens the muscles that support joints to experience less pressure that can cause damage to the internal joint structures.

Walking Improves Balance and Coordination

Walking requires coordinated movement and balance as you shift your weight. These are essential skills that will help you to avoid dangerous falls that often occur in older individuals.

Walking Improves Your Energy Level

A body in motion tends to remain in action, and you will find a good, daily walk gives you more energy for other tasks throughout the day.

Walking Improves Your Mood

The action of walking gets you outdoors, moving around, seeing what’s going on in the neighborhood, and encountering neighbors and acquaintances along the way, which helps to stimulate the production of “feel-good” brain chemicals that keep you in a better mood.

Health experts recommend at least 30 minutes of walking per day to enjoy this natural exercise’s benefits. Whether you choose to break up your walking workout into smaller periods or extend it out, you will feel better, look better, and enjoy life more.

The Flu and Pregnancy

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When you’re pregnant, you want everything to proceed smoothly, with no hiccups or hurdles. Getting sick, then, is likely not at the top of your agenda. However, life tends to provide a number of expected twists and tumbles that can upend your plans. Catching the flu while you’re pregnant can seem terrible, but there are plenty of things to take into consideration as you heal and prepare for your baby’s arrival.

 

Immune System

While pregnant, the body’s immune system is weakened. There is a higher likelihood that a flue in a pregnant woman will develop into the more serious condition of pneumonia. Pneumonia can cause respiratory tract issues as well as dehydration; the combination of accelerated effects, if untreated, can result in contractions and premature labor. Ensuring you get plenty of rest, drink clear fluids, and maintain your energy can help you stay healthy and fight off an infection.

 

Medical Treatment

Though you may be wary about getting a vaccine while pregnant, it is completely safe to receive a flu shot while you are pregnant. You should do this at the start of flu season if applicable or at the earliest point in your pregnancy. Getting a flu shot will benefit you as well as your unborn baby; because of the way antibodies permeate the human body, your baby will be vaccinated against the flue for around 6 months after birth.

 

In addition to receiving the flu shot while pregnant, breastfeeding mothers will also experience no negative symptoms should they need the vaccine. Flu shots are the most effective and fast-acting method of preventing you from becoming ill.

 

In addition to vaccines, another treatment option is antiviral medicine that may be prescribed by your doctor. Antiviral medications can make symptoms milder, allow you to heal faster, and prevent severe developments like pneumonia.

 

If you are allowed to take OTC medication like Tylenol or Robitussin, you should consult with your doctor regarding the amounts and limitations of these pills. Some medications shouldn’t be taken at certain points during your pregnancy, so consult with your doctor to identify the most effective way to prevent any negative interactions or side effects from occurring.

 

Unviable Options

Though the nasal spray was once a valued option for the treatment of some communicable illnesses, the spray for the flu is not a suitable choice for a pregnant patient. For this reason (among others), the nasal spray has largely been made obsolete in treatment centers. Because the nasal spray entailed injecting what was essentially a live virus into the body; this is not safe for the patient or the unborn baby, so traditional vaccines or oral medication are preferred.

 

Being sick while pregnant can be distressing. However, catching the flu at this time does not mean you or your child need to suffer. There are treatment options available, both preventative and reactive, to support your immune system and ease your symptoms. Be careful of your interactions with others if you are sick, and take good care of yourself as best you can; with proper self-care and the aid of your doctor, a speedy recovery will be imminent.

4 Reasons to Get Your Flu Shot Today

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Dr. Lori Gore-Green

Pregnant Women : Protect Yourself, Protect Your Newborn

The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends an annual flu vaccine for anyone 6 months of age or older. This includes pregnant women, if there are no contraindications (however, if you are pregnant, make sure to consult with your physician prior to receiving a flu shot). It’s important to note that pregnant women cannot use the FluMist live nasal flu vaccine and must receive the inactivated influenza vaccine. Even with these standards in place, in addition to the vaccine protecting pregnant women against the flu, there’s an added value of protecting their newborn infants for up to the first six months of life. This is great to keep in mind since infants are too young to receive the vaccine themselves. 

Collect Your Paycheck

If someone gave you the choice of getting compensated for your work or staying home, feeling ill and not getting paid or using up vacation days, it’s unlikely that you would choose the latter. Every year, the flu season costs millions of lost work days and billions of dollars. And even though the general public is advised to get the flu vaccine when it first becomes available (generally in mid-August), most people wait until the temperatures drop. Although the vaccine doesn’t always cover every strain of the actual virus, it will undoubtedly provide more protection than not getting vaccinated. And the 2015-2016 vaccine has even been updated with 2 new strains.

Protect Loved Ones and Those at Risk

Every year, thousands of children under five years of age are hospitalized owing to the flu. Young children and those with health problems such as asthma or diabetes are at an even higher risk, because they have a greater chance of developing complications. With this in mind, unless you or your family members are contraindicated for receiving the vaccine, you owe it to others who are at a higher risk, to get vaccinated and prevent the infection of others. 

Inexpensive and Accessible

We are lucky in that we now live in a time when the flu vaccine has never been easier to obtain. Waiting in endless lines and making  follow up appointments are a thing of the past. Now the flu vaccine is available at many pharmacies and large retailers like; Target, CVS or Walgreens. Throughout the country, the majority of pharmacists are licensed to immunize, which means that they can administer the vaccine with little waiting. Furthermore, most pharmacies and clinics accept insurance for the vaccine which translates to little or no copay for you. And even if you don’t have insurance, find out if your local health clinic or retail pharmacy offers free vaccines. If not, however, the average vaccine costs roughly thirty dollars.