January 22, 2023, National Hot Sauce Day!


'National Hot Sauce Day'


Are you more of a Tabasco person, or are the spicy chili peppers of Southeast Asia the ones that get your mouth watering? Should hotness be combined with salty flavors or rather sweet ones?


Whatever you believe and whatever your preferences, if you are one of those people who feels that “spicy” is never quite spicy enough, National Hot Sauce Day is the perfect day for you!


Read more here. . . .


Your Weekly COVID-19 Updates

Paradise Valley Medical Clinic,

Douglas M. Lakin, M.D.

Kaitlin A. Kraemer, M.S., PA-C

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

480.614.5800 (phone), 480.614.6322 (Fax)

Visit our Website
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ATTN PATIENTS:

Dr. Lakin is using FaceTime ,
WhatsApp and Zoom to connect with you
for a 'Telehealth' visit. You can connect using your iPad, iPhone, Android phone, a laptop, or a PC with a camera.

Please watch these videos so you can be prepared and know how to connect with Dr. Lakin for a 'Telehealth' visit.

CLICK ON THE PICTURES
FROM THE DOC

January 22, 2023


WITH BARRETT JACKSON, THE PHOENIX OPEN, AND THE SUPERBOWL CROWDS STARTING TO COME TO THE VALLEY……… CONSIDER WEARING A GOOD MASK (KN95 OR N95) SELECTIVELY AT BUSY LOCATIONS TO STAY HEALTHY.

 

CONTINUE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE AND GO OUT AND ABOUT AS YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE…… AND YOU SHOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING SO.

 

FLU AND RSV ARE ON THE DECLINE AND LEAVING THE VALLEY. MASKING IS NEEDED LESS BUT CONSIDER FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS.

 

COVID REMAINS STABLE IN ARIZONA AT MODERATE LEVELS. COVID IS INCREASING IN SEVERAL AREAS IN THE EAST COAST.

 

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GET ANOTHER COVID BOOSTER. DATA CONTINUES TO SUPPORT IT’S USE AND BENEFITS.

RECENT CONCERNS ABOUT STROKE RISK WITH THE PFIZER VACCINE ARE BEING INVESTIGATED BUT DO NOT, AT THIS TIME, SEEM LIKE THEY WILL BE A ‘REAL’ FINDING.  WE WILL AWAIT THE FINAL ANALYSIS, BUT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF MAJOR RISK FROM THE CURRENT VACCINATION.

  

FLU IS WANING.  IT IS LATE FOR FLU SHOTS…. YOU CAN GET IF YOU WANT, BUT FLU SEASON IS RESOLVING.

 

COVID REMAINS FAIRLY COMMON....…. OUR PATIENTS ARE DOING WELL.

 

FLU IS DROPPING BUT STILL AROUND, THE SEASON WAS A NORMAL FLU SEASON …JUST STARTED EARLY. THIS IS GOOD NEWS. FLU IS ON THE DECLINE.

 

RSV IS DECLINING IN ARIZONA…. WE HAVE SEEN A FAIR BIT OF UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTION THAT IS NOT FLU AND NOT COVID…

 

HOW TO MANAGE AT THIS TIME FOR HOLIDAY GATHERINGS:  

 

PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE GETTING TOGETHER AND THEY SHOULD GET TOGETHER.

 

TO REDUCE RISK....HERE ARE SOME IDEAS TO CONSIDER:

 

GET YOUR COVID BOOSTER …TOO LATE FOR THE FLU SHOT.

 

DO NOT ATTEND GATHERINGS IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING WELL. ASK OTHERS NOT TO ATTEND IF THEY ARE NOT FEELING WELL.

 

KEEP AIR MOVING IN GATHERING AREAS. VENTILATION...BY NATURAL MEANS OUTDOORS OR WITH FANS, CAN BE HELPFUL.

 

CONSIDER HAVING GUESTS DO COVID TESTING PRIOR TO GETTING TOGETHER.  THIS IS NOT PERFECT, BUT IT CAN REDUCE RISK SOMEWHAT. IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING.

 

WEARING A HIGH-QUALITY MASK AT GATHERINGS IS GOOD IF YOU ARE TRAVELING AND WISH TO AVOID INFECTION FOR THE HOLIDAYS.  IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR THOSE WITH TRULY REDUCED IMMUNITY...THOSE RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY, THOSE WITH SEVERE LUNG DISEASE, AND THOSE RECOVERING FROM RECENT HOSPITALIZATION.


**Read Dr. Lakin's Full January 22nd,

Comments. . . CLICK 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

January 12, 2023



https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-122-shutting-down-misinformation


(Same as last week's... New podcast next week!)


"Shutting Down Misinformation"

In "Shutting Down Misinformation," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the state of the pandemic in the US and around the world, China’s struggle to keep up with its dramatic rise in COVID cases and deaths, and the vaccine misinformation that is spreading on social media.


According to Dr. Osterholm……


  • CHINA IS BEING DEVASTATED BY COVID RIGHT NOW. NEW VARIANTS WILL LIKELY ARISE AND CIRCLE BACK TO THE USA. BOOSTING REMAINS THE BEST APPROACH + MASKING.
  • 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 THE J&J VACCINE IS PICKING UP STEAM AND GIVES SOLID LONG-TERM PROTECTION.
  • 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 THIS TEST IF YOU HAVE CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS.
  • MASKS OF THE KN95 AND N95 VARIETY CAN BE HELPFUL. CLOTH MASKS AND SURGICAL MASKS ARE CURRENTLY NOT AS EFFECTIVE WITH DELTA VARIANT 
  • THE THREE/FOUR/FIVE VACCINE REGIMEN IS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HOSPITALIZATION. DEATHS AMONG THE VACCINATED ARE MASSIVELY REDUCED.
  • GET YOUR BOOSTERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE



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


After you received your COVID vaccinations, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



BUT FIRST.......

PLEASE COMPLETE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO US!

What we need:

  1. Your name
  2. Date vaccination received
  3. Brand name
  4. Lot number if available
  5. Which dose you have received


**Email your COVID vaccine completed info HERE


Flu, COVID-19 and RSV Are All Trending Down For the First Time in Months

A rough respiratory virus season in the US appears to be easing, as three major respiratory viruses that have battered the country for the past few months are finally all trending down at the same time.


A new dataset from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the number of emergency department visits for the three viruses combined – flu, Covid-19 and RSV – have dropped to the lowest they’ve been in three months. The decline is apparent across all age groups.


Measuring virus transmission levels can be challenging; health officials agree that Covid-19 cases are vastly undercounted, and surveillance systems used for flu and RSV capture a substantial, but incomplete picture.


But experts say that tracking emergency department visits can be a good indicator of how widespread – and severe – the respiratory virus season is.


Read more here. . . .

Mask Policy in Our Office

At our office, we are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will strive for ways to keep our patients and staff safe.



We recommend that all unvaccinated and vaccinated patients and visitors entering our office cover their nose and mouth at all times.


To prevent further spread of the Delta & Omicron variants, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on March 21, 2022, to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19.


We have a limited supply of paper masks and will make these available to patients while they last, however, we encourage you to bring your own facial covering.


What Doctors Wish Patients Knew About COVID-19 Reinfection

At this point in the pandemic, almost everyone in the U.S. has had COVID-19—whether they know it or not. But something more alarming is happening: A growing number of people are getting reinfected with SARS-CoV-2.


While many people assumed that getting infected meant higher protection from future encounters with the virus, the latest wave of COVID-19 cases shows that reinfections are becoming more common with newer variants—such as the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron—contributing to second or even third infections. And as SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve and behave more like its closely related cousins that cause common colds and infect people repeatedly throughout their lives, physicians are urging patients not to let their guards down.


The AMA’s What Doctors Wish Patients Knew™ series provides physicians with a platform to share what they want patients to understand about today’s health care headlines, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this installment, two physicians took time to discuss what patients need to know about COVID-19 reinfection.

They are:

  • Nancy Crum, MD, an infectious disease physician at Avita Health System in Galion, Ohio. Dr. Crum is also an alternate delegate in the AMA House of Delegates for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
  • Rambod A. Rouhbakhsh, MD, a faculty physician and program director at the Forrest General Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program and the principal investigator for Hattiesburg Clinic MediSync Clinical Research. Hattiesburg Clinic is a member of the AMA Health System Program.



Read more here. . . .

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.
We Are Here to Serve!
 
Our office is using all techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 
·       Temperature checks of all patients and staff.
·       Masks for all people in the office.
·       Cleansing of hands and surfaces repeatedly.
·       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:

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Thermometer-Reading-Waterproof-Indicator/dp/B087T3S4TR/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=THERMOMETER&qid=1597159324&sr=8-6

 

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

https://www.amazon.com/Innovo-Fingertip-Oximeter-Plethysmograph-Perfusion/dp/B07YVGZPRZ/ref=sr_1_20?dchild=1&keywords=PULSE+OXI&qid=1597159388&sr=8-20

 

OTHER ITEMS FROM THE HOME MEDICAL KIT:

 

·       TYLENOL, ADVIL, OR ALEVE

·       Sudafed 30mg tablets

·       Chlorpheniramine 4mg tablets

·       Robitussin DM syrup

·       Imodium AD


**CLICK HERE TO READ COMPLETE INFORMATION


'Matt Damon Sweats From His Scalp While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones'


Matt Damon is an Academy Award-winning actor who has been in some of the most iconic films of the past 25 years—from Good Will Hunting to Saving Private Ryan, to the Bourne film series and many more.


His latest is the Tom McCarthy–directed crime drama, Stillwater, which is out now.


But how is he with spicy food? Find out as Damon takes on the wings of death and discusses his vast filmography, his love for Bill Burr, and his showdown with Phil Jackson at the 2008 NBA Finals.


Stay Safe!