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August 25, 2024, 'Celebrating National Dog Day... on Monday'!

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'Celebrating National Dog Day... on Monday'!

There's nothing like the wag of a tail to brighten your day. From big to small, fluffy to sleek, dogs bring joy and love to our lives.


No one can win hearts like man’s best friend and in honor of this bond between man and canine, National Dog Day is celebrated.



Take time to appreciate the love and value that dogs bring to our daily lives, and to do your bit for homeless and abused dogs the world over. From keeping us safe working for the emergency services to supporting people who are blind, deaf, or disabled, dogs do a lot for us humans, and this is an opportunity to give something back.

Read More Here. . . 

'The Weekly DoctorDoug Report'

Paradise Valley Medical Clinic,

Douglas M. Lakin, M.D.

Kaitlin A. Kraemer, PA-C

9977 N 90th Street, Suite 180, Scottsdale, AZ 85258

480.614.5800 (phone), 480.614.6322 (Fax)

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Telehealth Visits


Dr. Lakin is using ZOOM,

FACETIME and WHATSAPP to connect with you

for a 'Telehealth' visit if needed.

You can connect using your iPad, iPhone, Android phone, a laptop, or a PC with a camera.

‘THE WEEKLY DOCTORDOUG REPORT’

August 25, 2024


THE CURRENT COVID STRAINS ARE VERY CONTAGIOUS AND PRESENT THROUGHOUT ARIZONA… WE ARE SEEING SEVERAL EACH WEEK, MOST DUE TO TRAVEL OR LARGE EVENT ATTENDANCE.

 

IF YOU GET SICK AFTER TRAVEL OR ATTENDING A BIG GATHERING… DO A COVID TEST. ALL STANDARD COVID TESTS WORK TO IDENTIFY THE CURRENT STRAINS.

 

ALL DOING WELL.  BE PROACTIVE TO PREVENT NEED FOR HOSPITALIZATION. PROTECTION IS UP TO YOU AND NOW IS A PERSONAL DECISION. DO WHAT MAKES YOU COMFORTABLE.

 

DATA 100% SHOWS THAT GOOD MASKS MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT, BUT THEY DO REDUCE RISK OF EXPOSURE AND INFECTION.



  • I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH… IF YOU DON’T WANT COVID FROM TRAVEL… WEAR A MASK IN THE AIRPORT CROWDS AND ON THE AIRPLANE (UNTIL 10,000 FEET)… THIS IS NOT AS ESSENTIAL AS IT WAS WHEN COVID WAS MORE SEVERE… BUT IF YOU WANT TO AVOID INFECTIONS IN GENERAL DURING TRAVEL... IT’S A RECOMMENDATION.


  • EVEN SELECTIVE MASK USE WORKS WELL… SUCH AS ONLY IN CROWDED SPACES IN THE AIRPORT, AND DURING TRAVEL ‘TO’ YOUR DESTINATION, SO THAT YOU ARE NOT ILL DURING YOU VACATION/TRAVEL TIME.  LESS IMPORTANT WHEN YOU RETURN FROM VACATION.


  • GET BOOSTED IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO…PARTICULARLY OVER AGE 65 WITH HEALTH ISSUES OR OVER 75 WITHOUT HEALTH ISSUES.  EVERY 6 MONTHS IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THIS GROUP. 


  • IF YOU WERE BOOSTED IN MARCH/APRIL… MAXIMUM PROTECTION IS TO GET ANOTHER SHOT IN SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER WHEN THE NEWEST/UPDATED VERSION IS AVAILABLE


  • FLU SEASON IS BEGINNING… FLU SHOTS IN SEPTEMBER FOR OUR NEXT, UPCOMING FLU SEASON

 

  • VERY LITTLE RSV IN THE VALLEY. IF YOU HAVE HAD AN RSV VACCINE, CURRENT RECOMMENDATION IS THAT YOU DON’T NEED ANOTHER FOR TWO YEARS.



IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A COLD OR RESPIRATORY INFECTION RIGHT NOW…. YOU MAY WELL HAVE COVID. PLEASE DO A COVID TEST TO CHECK AT HOME.  

 

ALMOST ALL DOING WELL, BUT WE ARE SEEING A FEW PEOPLE NEED THE HOSPITAL TO RECOVER. 

 

THE CURRENT COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE.

 

  IT IS KEEPING PEOPLE FROM HAVING A MORE DIFFICULT TIME WITH INFECTION AND KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL.

 

I RECOMMEND THE COVID BOOSTER GENERALLY FOR THOSE OVER 65. BUT…


  • I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A BOOSTER FOR THOSE 80 & OLDER.


  • I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE BOOSTER FOR THOSE OVER 65 WITH HEART FAILURE, SIGNIFICANT LUNG CONDITIONS, AND DIABETES.

 

CONSIDER BOOSTING WITH THE NEW COVID VACCINE TO REDUCE RISK OF COVID AND TO REDUCE COVID SYMPTOM SEVERITY. NEW COVID VACCINE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER




Read Dr. Lakin's Full Report Here

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

 

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

 

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19 Podcast

August 23, 2024


'Covid Vaccine Update'


In this addendum to Episode 164, Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the approval of the 2024-2025 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

CLICK HERE FOR DR. OSTERHOLM'S PODCAST

According to Dr. Osterholm……



  •  GET YOUR LATEST AVAILABLE BOOSTER IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD COVID OR IT’S BEEN LONGER THAN 4 MONTHS SINCE YOU HAD COVID YOURSELF


  •  A GOOD MASK, N95 OF KN95, DOES HELP REDUCE TRANSMISSION…. USE IT AT HIGH-RISK LOCATIONS


  • GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION


  • VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION. ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT


  • BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.


  • ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON IT…BUT USE IT.


Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection. Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

New Covid Shots Are Coming Available.

Here’s What Experts Say About

When To Get Yours

Newly updated vaccines against Covid-19 will be in pharmacies soon, just as the US is experiencing a surge of infections. But is it a good idea to get in line for a new shot pronto, or should you wait a few weeks to get optimal protection against a possible winter wave?


Experts say it depends on your health, whether you’ve recently had Covid-19, which vaccine you plan to get and when it’s convenient for you.


“It’s not a straight answer, quite frankly,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, a distinguished professor of medicine at Emory University and expert on infectious disease.


We’re in the midst of a of a huge wave. Many people, including yours truly, have recently had Covid,” he said.


For that reason, he’s going to hold off on getting the updated shot.

“If you had it in the last three months, I would wait. There’s no need to get a vaccine, because you have, in a way. You’ve been ‘vaccinated’ by the by the current strain,” he said.

Read more here

Free At-home COVID Tests From the US Government Are Back. Here's How To Get Them


Every American is eligible to receive a free kit with four tests.

 The Biden administration this week relaunched the website where Americans can once again order free at-home COVID tests.


The website had been shut down since June but came back online just as updated COVID vaccines rolled out across the country.


Here's how to order the tests and why you should not throw out old ones.


How to order free COVID test kits through USPS


Visit COVID.gov/tests and you will see instructions directing you to a website run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to order a kit that comes with four tests.


You don't have to pay for shipping. Just provide your name and address to place the order.

Read More Here

Teens and Kids With Long COVID Are Showing

Surprising New Symptoms

Rose Lehane Tureen is one busy teenager.


The 16-year-old is class president, an Irish step dance champion, singer, cross-country runner and straight-A student at her high school in Maine.


Her accomplishments belie the reality that she suffers from a debilitating headache that has lasted for more than four years, one of the several long COVID symptoms she's endured since an infection in March 2020.


At the beginning of her illness, Rose went to the emergency room half a dozen times and was hospitalized twice with dizziness and blinding head pain. She also had red and swollen fingers, toes and ears; peeling skin; joint pain; problems controlling her temperature and terrible dreams.


She lost years of her life to long COVID and is trying to make up for it.

“I had to decide if I wanted to wither away on the couch in the dark or push through and do things that made me happy,” she said. "I'm reclaiming what it's taken and trying to live my life."


Read more here. . .

After you received your COVID or any other vaccination outside our office, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.




What we need:

  1. Your name
  2. Name & date of vaccination received
  3. Brand name
  4. Lot number if available
  5. Which dose you have received


Email Us Your Vaccine Info Here

What Is West Nile, The Virus That Sent Dr. Anthony Fauci To The Hospital?


Y

Of all of the viruses that Dr. Anthony Fauci studied during his decades serving as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, it was West Nile that landed him in the hospital recently.


Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to the Biden administration, was home on Saturday, according to his spokesperson. “A full recovery is expected,” the statement read.


What is West Nile, and how are people infected?

It’s mosquitoes — particularly Culex mosquitoes — that spread the virus.


Since West Nile was first detected in the U.S. in 1999, it’s become the most common mosquito-borne illness in the country.


The bugs become infected when they bite sick birds, then spread the virus to people through another bite.


Cases tend to peak in August and September, often following rainy seasons. The bugs lay eggs in standing water.

Read more here

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

 

Our office is using techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

  • Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and

particles in the office.


  • High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate

bacteria and viruses in the air.

  

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE  

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

 

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

 

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

 

DR. LAKIN WILL CONTINUE ‘TELEHEALTH’ VISITS WITH FaceTime, WhatsApp or ZOOM WHEN NEEDED.


Dr. Lakin's Info For COVID-19 Kit &

Recommended Treatments



SUMMARY OF A COVID KIT & CHECK LIST:

 

This is what you should have at home to prepare for possible COVID, to monitor yourself if you were to get infected:

DIGITAL ORAL THERMOMETER: MANY BRANDS ARE FINE…HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

CLICK HERE

PULSE OXIMETER:  TO CHECK OXYGEN LEVELS. MANY BRANDS ARE FINE...HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE:

CLICK HERE

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

 

  • TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE
  • Sudafed 30mg tablets
  • Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets
  • Robitussin DM syrup
  • Imodium AD



Read More Here

'Marley & Me'


Marley is a yellow lab adopted by John Grogan (Owen Wilson), a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife (Jennifer Aniston).


Their idea was to give them a taste of parenthood, but the dog proved to be a hyperactive handful. He wreaks havoc, gets kicked out of obedience school and gets even worse when the children begin to arrive, yet becomes an indispensable part of the family.


An adaptation of John Grogan's bestselling memoir about an incorrigible Labrador retriever.


Stay Safe!