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Mosquito and Tick Bites: What You Need to Know

Prevention and treatment, from our infectious disease experts

Enjoying summer means spending time outside – which means bugs. Two bugs, in particular – mosquitoes and ticks – are cause for concern, since they can spread diseases. Here’s the scoop on summer’s most annoying pests.   Prevention If you’re going to be out and about, especially in wooded or grassy areas, you should dress appropriately, says Madiha Tahir, MD, of The University of Vermont Health Network - Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. Dr. [...]

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COVID-19: Hitting Close to Home

What we do now determines if our hospitals will get overwhelmed

As COVID-19 cases surge in our region, many people are worrying about where they might contract the virus. In reality, you may only need to go as far as your own home. For most of us, our guard is up once we leave our home. We are on high alert, taking many precautions to reduce the risk of getting sick. Yet, the number of positive COVID-19 tests in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties is rising at a troublesome rate. As of Thursday, December 17 in Clinton County alone, the seven-day rolli [...]

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The Diabetes Guessing Game

Expanding Our Knowledge About Types and Treatments

Written by: Ashley Williams, PA in Endocrinology It sounds like a bad joke, “Three people walk into a clinic. One pulls out an insulin pump, the second a bottle of pills and the third a carrot. When the front desk staff asks what they are there for they all respond, 'Diabetes.'” This depicts the great variation in types of diabetes and treatments for the disease.  Treatment is not quite as simple as it used to be. Since the discovery of insulin in 1922, w [...]

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Vein Finder Provides Comfort For Youngest Patients

The Difference Your Donations Make

Mindy LaPier, RN, CVPH Labor and Delivery: “It’s always hard for parents to have to sit there and watch their baby be stuck with a needle, whether it’s for blood work or an IV, and sometimes it takes multiple tries." “If you can’t get it in, you can’t give them their antibiotics, you can’t start any treatment without having their lab values, so you just keep trying and trying and trying." Now, the vein finder gives patients and emplo [...]

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Bouncing and Playing in the Backyard, Safely

The school year is ending and many summer camps and childcare programs remain closed prompting families to get creative in the way they entertain their children. Home playsets, trampolines, bounce houses, and public playgrounds are popular ways to keep kids moving. As I see more and more of these popping up in backyards, now seems like a good time to talk about safety.   Trampolines and bounce houses are fun and present a great way for kids to expe [...]

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Talking to Your Children About COVID-19

It feels like the COVID-19 virus has turned our world upside down. Schools are closed, leaving teachers across our region teaching their lessons in front of a computer or smartphone instead of a classroom. Restaurants are only offering take-out or delivery. There are even digital signs on the highway telling us to stay home. As a region, we’ve fought through natural disasters like the Ice Storm and Tropical Storm Irene. We’ve come back from national tragedies like the 9/11 terrori [...]

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Winter Is Coming… And So Is the Flu

An article from the UVM Health Network 2019 Flu Education series

With Lewis First, MD, University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group Chief of Pediatrics, University of Vermont Children’s Hospital   If you haven’t noticed, fall is underway. Parents often comment to me that time simply flew by. And speaking of flu, what better time to remind parents about flu shots for their children and what the flu is and is “snot.” After all, “‘tis the sneezin’.” There are more than 200 viruses that cause th [...]

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The Danger of Heatstroke

The Danger of Heatstroke The temperature inside your vehicle can rise almost 20º F in just 10 minutes. Within an hour, it can be more than 40º higher than the outside temperature. Along with the vehicle temperature rising, body temperature rises and can quickly reach dangerous levels. Little bodies heat up fast, making babies and young children particularly at risk. It won’t happen to me Who leaves a child alone in a car? Over half of the children who died in a hot car w [...]

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