Health notes: Pharmacists will evaluate medication interactions
Local residents worried about interactions between over-the-counter and prescription drugs can ease their concerns at a “brown bag day” Wednesday sponsored by the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Spokane.
Pharmacists will be available for one-on-one meetings to evaluate medications for possible drug interactions and also for potential cost-saving alternatives. Sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy, 1620 W. Rowan. Call (509) 327-3388.
Nearly half the U.S. population takes prescription medicines each month, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Millions take over-the-counter medications as well. Often, however, people make errors that can cause problems or decrease the effectiveness of necessary medication.
Most common mistakes are caused by ignoring dosage instructions, changing treatment without consulting with doctors and not communicating openly with medical staff.
Cervical cancer vaccine now available in Spokane
First shipments of a new vaccine that prevents most cases of cervical cancer have arrived and are available at the Spokane Regional Health District.
Gardasil, a vaccine approved recently by the federal Food and Drug Administration, has been recommended for all girls and women ages 11 to 26 and for some girls as young as age 9.
The vaccine protects against four strains of the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease known as HPV, which causes up to 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. The virus also causes genital warts and other cancers in women.
For now, the series of three shots can cost up to $360. An advisory panel of the CDC recommended that it be included in youth immunizations regimens, so it is expected to be covered by insurance. But formal funding has not yet been approved.
The vaccine has been hailed as a breakthrough in women’s health. It is expected to prevent most of the nearly 10,000 new cases and 3,700 deaths to cervical cancer in the U.S. each year.
But it also has engendered controversy among religious groups that have reservations about vaccinating young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. Some worried that it might encourage early sexual activity.
For more information about the HPV vaccine, contact the Spokane Regional Health District at (509) 324-1500.
St. Luke’s to host family fitness day at ballpark
St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute will host St. Luke’s Family Fun and Fitness Day Sunday at the Spokane Indians’ Avista Stadium.
Physical therapists from St. Luke’s will teach proper stretching and warm-up exercises through events titled “Fit for the Fairways” and “Throw Out Injuries.”
Other interactive displays will measure grip strength, teach balance techniques, discuss stress control through biofeedback and measure blood oxygen level without needles.
Separate events for children will be hosted by the Northwest Center for Children’s Rehabilitation at St. Luke’s.
Lori Serbousek, St. Luke’s outpatient physical therapist, will throw out the first pitch. St. Luke’s also will lead fans in the game’s seventh-inning stretch.
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at the stadium, by phone at (509) 535-2922 or by visiting www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com.
New ‘Sit and Be Fit’ series begins production
The nationally broadcast exercise program “Sit and Be Fit,” which is filmed in Spokane, will begin production of a new series of workouts in the KSPS-TV studios this month.
Filming of 20 episodes for the 19th consecutive year of the series will begin July 24 and conclude Aug. 4.
Designed by registered nurse Mary Ann Wilson, “Sit and Be Fit” reaches more than 67 million households on 114 public television affiliate stations. The new season will begin airing on stations nationwide in October.
Sit and Be Fit is a nonprofit agency that promotes the healthy aging of adults and fitness, healing and independence.
To visit Wilson on the set or for more information, contact Gretchen Paukert at (509) 448-9438 or by e-mail at gretchen@sitandbefit.org