Tag: vaccinations

A variety of everyday health concerns . . . from the Fair!

Healthy Matters LIVE from the Minnesota State Fair!

Last Sunday I joined 197,890 of my closest friends at the Minnesota State Fair.  Along with the best radio person in the business, Denny Long, I did a live, in-person broadcast of Healthy Matters.  This was our 451th (!) live broadcast and my 9th year doing it from the state fair. I’m serious about the 197,000 figure.  That is literally the number of people who attended – on just this one day – the country’s second-largest state fair (Texas is bigger but also runs twice as long).

To all of you who came out to see the show in person, thank you!  It was great to meet people from all over the region . . . Moose Lake, Lonsdale, St. Louis Park, Woodbury . . . . but for those who didn’t make it last week, you have another chance!  Come out to the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday, Sept 3, at 7:30 a.m. and say hi!  We’ll do the show live from the veranda at the WCCO radio booth.  If you come up and introduce yourself, I’ll put you on the radio and you can ask a health question.  The WCCO radio booth is easy to find on Carnes Ave between Nelson and Underwood.  It’s right by the Ye Olde Mill and right next to a Sweet Martha’s cookies.

As always, you can listen to podcasts of all previous shows by going to the WCCO website. Continue reading “A variety of everyday health concerns . . . from the Fair!” →

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There’s a virus in my carry-on: Travel Medicine

Earth_Eastern_Hemisphere
Source: NASA

There is almost nothing I’d rather be doing than going places all over the world.  In fact, I am usually planning the next trip while I’m on the way home from the current one.  And if you are fortunate enough to have the means and freedom to travel – this post is for you!  (Important to note, I think, that not all people have the privilege of world travel due to lack of freedoms, economic realities, and so forth).

I think international travel is one way in which we can come together with people who are different than us.  Learning other cultures, visiting other places, perhaps being the one in the minority (racially, culturally) in a strange new land.  These are good for us.  It’s hard to judge other people when you’ve visited their awesome country!  I’ve met some of the most interesting, perplexing, lovely, hospitable people when abroad.  And our Earth has the most breathtaking natural wonders!

Just for kicks – to get you thinking . . .

  • What’s the weirdest place you’ve been to?  I think for me it may be Cappadocia, in Turkey.

    Cappadocia_Chimneys_Wikimedia_Commons (2)
    Photo: Benh LIEU SONG via Wikipedia Commons
  • What’s your most favorite place to visit?  Me:  Paris.  No contest

    Palais_Luxembourg_Sunset_Edit
    Photo: Benh LIEU SONG via Wikipedia Commons
  • What’s the most life-changing place you’ve been to?  Me:  West Bank, Palestine.  I’ll tell you about it sometime.
Sunset in the West Bank.
Sunset in the West Bank.

And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in all this travel enthusiasm.  In 2014, over 1.1 billion people traveled overseas to somewhere in the world.  Billion with a B.  Something like 8 million people fly every single day, spending $2.6 billion every day, or about $30,000 per second.

No wonder the TSA lines require patience of biblical proportions.

Klondikers_buying_miner's_licenses_at_Custom_House,_Victoria,_B_C,_Feb_21,_1898_(HS85-10-9774)_(cropped)
TSA line?

In this post I’m going to cover Travel Medicine and health.  Read on for:

  • General health tips prior to travel
  • Links to resources for travelers.  Look for the most important link below.
  • A few disease-specific issues.  Yes, I’ll talk about our new friend, Zika.

Here we go . . .

Continue reading “There’s a virus in my carry-on: Travel Medicine” →

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