How to Stop Hiatal Hernia Pain

If you have a hiatal hernia, you may be very familiar with the pain eating hot or cold foods may bring. A sudden spasm can send your stomach through the diaphram and cause extreme discomfort. What should you do?

Forget the advice to sit back and relax until it passes. Stand up and stomp. (If you're dining out, you may want to go to the restroom to do this.)

This little maneuver works 99% of the time. If you continue to have problems, a gastroenterologist can advise you if you're a good candidate for surgery.

Nurse Nan

Why is Human Parvo Called Fifth Disease?

With so much discussion of the Coronavirus family, many have questions about the Parvovirus. This virus was not discovered until the 1960s, and is still being researched.

While there are two common forms of Parvo in canines, there is only one common form in humans. These viruses are not zoonotic. In other words, you can't catch Parvo from your dog, nor can he catch it from you.

Parvovirus B-19, the human form, is so named not due to the year it was first discovered, but identified from a label on a patient's blood sample. While many don't use the name Parvo for the human virus, most have heard of Fifth Disease.

According to the CDC, over 50% of adults in the U.S. test positive for Fifth Disease antibodies, so named due to a numerical listing in an old medical text published before the exact virus was discovered. One in five is not ever aware of the Parvo infection, and most suffer only mild respiratory symptoms as well as a face rash at worst.

So while not that serious in humans, Parvo can be devastating to dogs, especially puppies. Have them vaccinated!

Nurse Nan

Stop Using That Bar Soap!

Judging from the amount of bar soap available on store shelves, there are many Americans who still use the product. It's fine to purchase the bars in pretty wrappers to toss amid your bathroom decor, but is it healthy to use every day?

In one word, NO! Contrary to popular opinion, soap doesn't kill germs, it merely washes away the microbes from your hands. Wash your hands with a soap bar and then place the bar in a dish by the sink? When you pick it up to wash the next time, there can be more germs on the wet, slippery bar than on your hands.

God has seen fit to send us liquid soap. Use it!

Nurse Nan

Can Dogs or Cats Contract the Latest Corona Virus?

A disease is deemed zoonotic (pro: zoh-oh-not-ick) if it can be transmitted from a lower species to humans or vice versa. While the current bad boy coronavirus apparently was transmitted originally from a bat to a human, the CDC says this particular strain has not been shown to infect dogs or cats. In other words, it's not like The Stand where future humans will have to live without canine companions.

Nevertheless, enterprising merchants are marketing masks in various sizes made specifically to fit a dog's snoot. Do they work? Looking at the contraptions, it would appear they can protect even from mustard gas, should the need arise. 

In other words, your dog is as likely to contract the new coronavirus as you are to catch feline leukemia. Buy your doggo a can of tennis balls; he'll appreciate it much more. 

Nurse Nan