Author: Team Shot health

Having a healthy immune system ensures we are protected against germs that can cause illnesses. A weak immune system makes us get sick easily. Vitamins and minerals are important in boosting your immune system. Sadly, many people do not eat sufficient vegetables, fresh fruits, and other foods required to keep them healthy throughout the year. You cannot just pop a vitamin pill, or eat grapefruit or orange and expect a quick flow of vitamin C that will boost your immune system enough to protect you from a cold. Dieticians state that “a healthy immune system is built by a balanced healthy diet taken over time, like preparing for battle when you train your body beforehand so it can withstand attacks from toxins, bacteria, and viruses.” Other lifestyle practices like better sleep and regular physical activity. Here are some of the top vitamins and minerals your body requires to have a strong immune system.

1. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is important for preventing infections or shortening the duration of illness. There are many sources of Vitamin C with citrus fruits standing out. Other sources of vitamin C include spinach, kale, papaya, strawberries, brussels sprouts, and bell peppers. 

Fun Fact: Vitamin C is found in so many foods such that most people may not need to take its supplements unless advised by the doctor.

2. Vitamin E

Vitamin E has similar effects to vitamin C as a strong antioxidant that would help the body in fighting off infections. Vitamin E is a very important vitamin as it is involved in close to 200 biochemical reactions in the body. Vitamin E is found in high-fat plant foods like hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds, and oils like soybean oil, safflower, and sunflower.

3. Vitamin A 

Vitamin A is known to help in fighting infection, and comes in two forms; from plant carotenoids and preformed in animal foods like dairy, meat, and fish. Tuna is one great source of vitamin A available in the preformed state. Colorful plants provide vitamin A carotenoids like dark leafy vegetables, cantaloupe, butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and carrots. 

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin and is one of the most powerful and important nutrients for a strong immune system. The food sources of vitamin D, though limited, include sardines, Tuna, Mackerel, and salmon. Vitamin D is an exception to the rule of getting your vitamins from food as it requires supplementation often.

5. Folate

Folate is an important nutrient that is present both naturally and synthetically as folic acid. Leafy green vegetables, avocado, lentils, and beans are rich in folate. Some fortified foods are also enriched with folic acid.

6. Iron

Iron helps your body in carrying oxygen to the cells and is important in the processes of the immune system. You can find iron in abundance in animal foods like tuna, mussels, oysters, clams, sardines, turkey, chicken, and red meat, and plant products like beans, kale, and broccoli.

7. Zinc

Zinc is used to produce new immune cells for your body. It is primarily abundant in animal foods but can be found in plant products like chickpeas and baked beans. 

Depending on where you live, getting foods with these vitamins can be a challenge. Shot Health ensures your immune system is strong enough to withstand any disease attacks by providing IV vitamins from the comfort of your home. Get in touch with our qualified professionals who will guide you on the specific vitamins you need. Know more about our IV vitamins at IV rehydration, IV vitamins – Shot Health

Many people associate getting older with poor quality of life and a slew of medical conditions. It is important to know the changes expected with aging and what is not normal. 

Getting older changes all aspects of life from physical to social, mental, sexual, emotional, and more. One might regard some changes as either positive or negative. The challenge is to ensure you maximize the good aspects and taking deliberate steps to minimize the negative ones.

The Aging Process

Here are some of the common changes that come with aging and are considered normal:

1. Your Bones – as you age, the bones become more brittle and thinner as they lose density and mass hence an increased risk of broken bones and loss of height, and stooped posture.
2. Your heart – the arteries grow stiffer as you age, resulting in high blood pressure. Fatty deposits may also buildup in your arteries which harden and make them narrower.
3. Your brain – people often experience slight forgetfulness as they age and their ability to process new information and perform multiple tasks become slower. 
4. Your digestive system – the digestive system slows down as you age and does not contract as often as it did when you were younger.
5. Your skin – your skin loses elasticity and may begin to wrinkle and sag as you grow older.
6. Your senses – as you grow older, your five senses – touch, smell, taste, vision, and hearing – lose their earlier sharpness.

Tips for Aging Well and Maintaining the Great feeling

To age well, you need to have been practicing healthy habits throughout your life. However, it is never too late to start. Small lifestyle changes can have a significant impact on improving your health as you age. Here are some of the recommended practices to put you on the right track to aging well:

1. Staying Physically Active 

Ensuring you maintain physical activity can help in offsetting numerous effects of aging like improving your balance, keeping you mobile, improving your mood, and contributing to better cognitive functioning.

2. Following a healthy, well-balanced Diet Plan

Your body will need proper nutrition to keep your organs working and maintain your immune system. Foods high in fiber and low in saturated fats will be important as part of your diet to achieve your wellness goals.

3. Stay Socially Active

Making an effort to interact with your friends, family, and the community will significantly improve your mood, reduce negative feelings, and encourage you towards better physical activity. 

4. Schedule and Stick to Your Checkups

Do not neglect yourself as you age. Regular checkups from specialists are important and might help catch problems early and treat them before they get worse or bigger. 

5. Take all Medications as Directed

As you age, you might require different medications for various conditions. It is a no-brainer that you need to stick to your prescriptions as directed by your doctor. 

How we can help youShot Health can help you have a better quality of life at old age, or ensure your elderly loved ones have the best quality of life. Our professional and certified nurses provide unparalleled personal care and companion services. Get more information about our service at Personal Care Companion Services – Shot Health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inspired an introspection of the freedoms and the associations we enjoyed before the restrictions and socialization guidelines set in. Until early 2020, walking into a hospital and receiving the care was routine, with the minimal worry of the risk of further infection within the hospital. However, other factors like convenience, privacy, and comfort subconsciously troubled many people. While interacting with my friends in January, they pointed out a desire for a time when they would receive quality medical care from the comfort of their homes. Most people attest that way before the pandemic, they worried about having to schedule a day off work, to fulfill medical appointments.

What the COVID-19 Crisis Has Taught Us

COVID-19 has elicited increased awareness of the concerns of obtaining high-quality care without having to travel to the hospital. Individuals need healthcare services more than ever, but moving around and getting the best services within the hospitals have become riskier. Safety and convenience now top the list of considerations when seeking care services. Many people have not been able to obtain guaranteed safe, quality, and convenient care in the prevailing circumstances.I can confidently state that these are now issues of the past – with Shot Health!

Our Services Suit the Lessons – and your Needs

At Shot Health, we exist because of YOU, our esteemed client. Our modern technology platform precisely satisfies your healthcare needs. You are guaranteed timely and convenient medical care from our team of qualified nurses and nurse practitioners in the comfort and privacy of your home. We believe that better care happens at home, and integrates your unique preferences. We give you the privilege of selecting one of our professional team members who will be readily available to take your appointments at your home.

Satisfying the unique patient needs during the pandemic and the needs that existed subconsciously before the pandemic inspire us to focus on expanding our capacity to match the rising need for healthcare, not only to serve during the pandemic but also to deliver services whose demand will only continue rising.

Summarily, our business is to deliver healthcare services that our clients need, when they need them, and where they need them. Our team of qualified nurses and nurse practitioners provide a dimension of care anchored upon the most fundamental commitment of the nursing profession – comfort, dignity, and respect.

Numerous concerns have been raised about what someone would do if they felt unwell during the pandemic. Getting to the hospital physically might be unsafe and increases the risk of getting COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 41% of American adults have avoided or experienced delayed medical care during the pandemic citing concerns about possible exposure to COVID19.

Many people wonder about how they can safely access medical care with the situation presented by the pandemic in case they are due for their routine screening or treatment for any other condition not related to COVID-19 or emergency care. You need to keep up your routine appointments during this time because the routine follow-up appointments and exams are vital for your continued health and disease prevention. In case of any questions about whether to go to the clinic, you need not to worry, because ShotHealth will bring the clinic to you. When you call in, inform your nurse of any health condition you have that increases your risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19.

If you are experiencing a minor injury or illness, call us. Minor injuries include strains, sprains, and burns. Minor illnesses include sinus infections, gastrointestinal viruses, sore throats, and colds. Depending on your condition, your nurse will schedule an in-person house call or a virtual visit.

The World Health Organization recommends calling your nurse and booking home appointments if you experience any symptom of illness to minimize the risk of infection with COVID-19. But not all facilities would assure you of a prompt and safe house-call. ShotHealth helps you stay safe and healthy at home by the following:

• Our team of qualified nurses are available to take appointments at the convenience of your home.
• Once you make a call requesting an appointment, we assign a dedicated nurse who follows up on you and ensures that you are attended to
• Prior to entering your home, our nurses adorn full personal protective equipment (disposable gowns, face masks, and eye gear), protecting you, and themselves from any potential infection.
• Before and after the visit, the nurses will use hand sanitizers to ensure safety of whatever they touch
• Whenever possible, we will ask you to sit six feet from the medical teams and wear a mask
• The appointments are fulfilled in well-ventilated private spaces
• The medical equipment our team uses are sterilized before and after every visit using alcohol.

These measures have been set in place to provide our clients with quality, convenient, and safe care at the comfort of their homes.

Previous clients have these to say regarding ShotHealth house calls during the COVID-19 pandemic“At the start of the pandemic, I was worried about getting to the hospital for my regular appointments. Not anymore! I now call from home and get the best quality service out here. ShotHealth has given me complete peace of mind.” – Kate

You have probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat!” Yes. Your diet impacts your health and adopting a healthy eating habit can help in lowering your risk of medical conditions like diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and various types of cancer.Here is a Shot Health guide to 8 facts about how healthy eating will help you prevent disease.

Healthy eating and obesity

Obesity is a risk factor for many conditions like heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes. Eating healthy means taking foods that will limit adding weight to your body. Food with extra calories, fats, and a lot of sugars increases your body weight and makes the organs work harder, increasing the risk of obesity.

How do certain nutrients affect specific parts of the body?

Nutrients like calcium are used to make your bones strong and healthy. A diet high in calcium will prevent osteoporosis which occurs when your bones become unhealthy, weak, and brittle. Limiting the amount of fats in your diet also prevents cardiovascular disease as fats can raise your blood pressure.

Food and mood

Eating the right foods makes you happier and more active. This leads to better social relationships and more instances of healthy exercise. Regular exercise would then reduce the risk of diseases.

Healthy eating cleaning the body

Healthy diets boost the levels of “good cholesterol” in the body. “Good cholesterol” within the body cleans the unhealthy triglycerides and directly reduces the risks of diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

A plant-based diet?

A plant-based diet including nuts, legumes, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables provide your body with minerals, vitamins, and other compounds that prevent cancers. The plants also have fiber which prevents colorectal cancer. Naturally, plants ensure you have lower calories to maintain a healthy weight

Processed foods and added sugar

Processed foods and added sugar make the liver dump high amounts of fats into the blood, increasing your risk of heart and blood vessel disease. High sugar in your diet also causes your tissues to become resistant to insulin, disrupting the endocrine system. These foods will therefore make your cells not get enough energy, add extra weight and your organs will need to work harder. Limiting the amounts of processed foods and added sugar on your foods will reduce your risk of numerous illnesses like diabetes, and cancers.

Red meat and processed meats

Research has shown that too much red meat (lamb, beef, and pork) increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer. While meat is a good source of zinc, vitamin B12, protein, and iron, you need to take only small amounts of it. Reducing the amount of red meat, you eat will therefore ensure you get the necessary nutrients and stay healthy.

Alcohol

Despite studies showing that alcohol has some cardioprotective effects, only small amounts of alcohol achieve this. Too much alcohol consumption causes many negative health effects including dementia, heart failure, increased blood pressure, and increased risk of different cancers (esophagus, throat, mouth, liver, breast, and colorectal). Limit the amount of alcohol to at most one drink per day.

Have you visited our comprehensive wellness program?

Shot Health has professional and certified providers who will guide you to develop an effective weight loss plan. Call us now to start your health journey.

The main healthcare agenda at the present is COVID-19 vaccinations. But what are vaccines, how do they work, and why do you need them? Here are 10 things you need to know about vaccines and vaccinations.

What are vaccinations

The body’s immune system is designed to protect against pathogens causing diseases. While the system is efficient, sometimes the immune system is overwhelmed by pathogens, resulting in serious illness. Most pathogens that cause serious illnesses are those that the body does not recognize.

Vaccination is a method of “teaching” the body’s immune system to recognize and eliminate a pathogen. This way, the body will be prepared if you are exposed to the pathogen, and it will not cause you problems. Therefore, vaccinations are a way of protecting people from getting sick. Some of the diseases that have been controlled by vaccinations include measles, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough.

Did You Know: Vaccinations helped in the eradication of smallpox from the world in 1979!

How do vaccines work

A healthy immune system is made up of different cell types that defend against harmful pathogens. However, the immune cells have to recognize the harmful pathogen so that they can be effective against it.

Vaccines teach the body to recognize a new disease and make antibodies against the antigens of the pathogen. It also prepares the immune cells to remember the specific antigens that cause infection. This allows the immune system to have a faster response to a disease in the future. Therefore, vaccines work by exposing you to a safer version of a disease. The body then builds an immune response that equips it to fight an actual infection.

Are vaccinations safe

Vaccines are safe. They undergo rigorous testing and many rounds of research, examination, and study before they are used in public. A bulk of evidence shows that vaccines are safe and side effects are rare, and mild if they occur.

What is the effectiveness of vaccines?

Vaccines are highly effective in providing protection from disease, but none is 100% effective. The degree of effectiveness varies from one vaccine to the next. For example, Flu vaccines lower the risk of infection by 40 to 60% in people who get the flu shot, while the measles vaccine is 98%.

Vaccinations in children?

Yes. Vaccines are given to children to help protect their developing immune systems from potentially deadly diseases. The vaccines will protect your child against diseases they might encounter when interacting with their family members, classmates, playmates, and friends. There is a recommended vaccine schedule from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which ensures the child has the full range of protection as they grow up.

What are the ingredients in a vaccination?

There are four vaccine types currently being used:

• Killed (inactivated) vaccines – these are made from a dead bacterium or virus
• Live virus vaccines – these use a weakened version of a bacterium or virus
• Toxoid vaccines – these come from a harmful chemical or toxin produced by the bacteria or viruses, and makes you immune to the harmful effects of the toxin.
• Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines – these use a structural component of a bacterium or virus to train your immune system to attack the germ.

Other ingredients in the vaccines are added to keep the vaccine safe during production, storage, and transportation. They include antibiotics, preservatives, stabilizers, adjuvants, and suspending fluid.

Vaccinations cost

The cost of vaccinations is covered by most health insurance plans and you incur little or no out-of-pocket costs. If you do not have insurance or your insurance does not cover vaccines, you can get other low- and no-cost alternatives. Get in touch with us at Shot Health for more information on these alternatives.

What about vaccinations in pregnancy?

When you are pregnant, the vaccines protect both you and your growing baby. You and your baby need protection against serious diseases during these nine months. Vaccines are a vital part of the protection you need.

Get to know more about vaccines in pregnancy from the CDC website.

Why aren’t some people not vaccinated?

Recently, vaccine opponents have fronted arguments challenging the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. However, these arguments are flawed and are not backed by evidence. There is no evidence that vaccines can cause serious disease, they prevent serious disease and death.

What if we stopped vaccinations?

Ending vaccination could be dangerous. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccination prevents 2 to 3 million deaths every year. Stopping vaccinations would therefore mean 2 to 3 million more deaths annually.

Did you know!

You can now get yourself and your family vaccinated from the comfort of your home. Contact us at Shot Health and plan your vaccination at your convenience.

Non-healing wounds, also known as chronic wounds, often cause extensive pain and serious infections. Sometimes, hospitalization is needed for the wounds.

The healing of wounds, including the non-healing wounds, require comprehensive wound care to minimize the further development of infections and other complications.

Common Causes of Chronic Wounds

There are many causes of chronic wounds. A wound is considered chronic or non-healing when it does not properly heal after six weeks. Underlying disorders or conditions often cause non-healing wounds, necessitating additional medical care.

Some common underlying causes of the unhealing wounds include:

• Swelling (edema)
• Infection-causing bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus)
• Repeated trauma to the site of the wound
• Limited mobility
• Vascular disease (Peripheral artery disease)
• Diabetes

Types of Chronic Wounds

Common types of chronic wounds include pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers, arterial ulcers, and venous ulcers

1) Pressure Ulcers

Pressure ulcers, are injuries that occur to the skin following prolonged periods of pressure, friction, and moisture on a specific body part. Pressure ulcers typically occur on bony and prominent parts of the body like ankles, heels, shoulder blades, coccyx, and hips.

When pressure is applied to a part of the body, especially when that part is in contact with a surface like a bed or a chair for a long period of time, the blood supply to the area is limited. The lack of oxygen supplied by blood causes the cells to die and the skin breaks down.

If left untreated, pressure ulcers might reach deeper skin layers, the muscle, and the bone, making them a serious concern. The deep structures of the body would thus be exposed, leading to more complications like sepsis, or osteomyelitis (bone infection).

Pressure ulcers are common among people with limited mobility, like older adults over 70 years, or young people confined to bed with illness or injury. The occurrence of pressure ulcers requires immediate medical care.

2) Diabetic Ulcers

Patients with diabetes have a higher chance of developing nonhealing wounds. High blood sugar levels in diabetes cause blood vessels to narrow and arteries to stiffen. This results in poor blood circulation, limiting the ability of white blood cells and red blood cells to reach the wound sites. When wounds are not sufficiently supplied, they lack the essential elements required to heal.

Diabetes also causes peripheral nerve damage in the feet, ankles, and legs. This makes a person lack the sensation of pain in their lower limbs, increasing the risk of sustaining wounds. The wounds heal slowly due to the immune system problems and inflammation issues that are side effects of diabetes.

3) Arterial and Venous Ulcers

When the lower extremities are deprived of oxygen-rich blood, arterial ulcers, also called ischemic ulcers, develop. Inadequate blood flow results in death of underlying tissues, which later develops into an open wound that does not heal easily.

Venous ulcers develop following damage to a vein in the legs and ankles. Besides, chronic vein insufficiency can result in the development of venous ulcers.

Wound Care at Shot Health

The complications of chronic wounds can cause numerous health problems.

Shot Health specializes in chronic wound care, with our qualified nurses and providers available to provide wound care services at the comfort of your home.

Book your home appointment and our nurses will ensure your wound gets the best care to minimize the complications and encourage healing.

We live in a world where incredible scientific advances have handed has drugs to treat uncountable conditions that appeared untouchable in the past. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, 48.4% of Americans use at least one prescription drug in the space of 30 days. The knowledge that many of our common ailments can be addressed is encouraging. However, the wide range of medications available increases the possibility of drug interactions.

Here is what you need to know about drug interactions and why medication management is vital in an age where drugs are available for most conditions.

What is a drug interaction?

A drug interaction is a combination of a drug with other substances that alters the effect of the drug on the body. Consequently, the drug may become less or more potent than intended and cause unexpected side effects.

When you use multiple medications, see more than one doctor, or have certain medical conditions, you need to be mindful of drug interactions. Each of your doctors needs to be aware of all the drugs, vitamins, supplements, and herbs you are using. Even when taking a single medication, your doctor or pharmacist needs to know about it and advise you on possible interactions.

Type of Drug Interactions

There are many different types of drug interactions you need to be aware of:

1) Drug-drug Interactions

A drug-drug reaction occurs between two or more prescription drugs. For example, taking warfarin (Coumadin), a blood thinner, with fluconazole (Diflucan), an antifungal medication, would result in a potentially dangerous increase in bleeding.

2) Drug-nonprescription treatment Interactions

This is an interaction that occurs between a prescription drug and a nonprescription treatment like supplements, vitamins, herbs, or over-the-counter medications. For example, if you are taking a diuretic, a drug that rids the body of excess salt and water, and ibuprofen (Advil), the effectiveness of the diuretic will be reduced because ibuprofen causes the body to retain fluid and salts.

3) Drug-food

This interaction happens when the food or beverage you take alters the effect of the drug. Drug food interactions can result in significant side effects like organ damage.

4) Drug-alcohol

There are medications that interact with alcohol and should not be taken together to avoid the harmful side effects.

5) Drug-disease

Some drugs may worsen a disease or a condition due to the changes that occur within the body in illness. For example, people with hypertension are advised against taking decongestants for colds as the drugs increase blood pressure.

Factors in Drug Interactions

While educating yourself on the potential for drug interactions is important, the information might not be sufficient as there are more factors that influence the occurrence of drug interactions.

Some of the factors that determine the occurrence of drug interactions include:

• Age
• Weight
• Genetics
• Gender
• Lifestyle (including diet and exercise)
• Duration you have been using the drug
• Drug dosage
• Drug formulation
• The order in which you take the medications

What Can you Do to Minimize Drug Interactions?

It is important to take steps towards ensuring the risk of drug interactions is minimal. One strategy is by reading the labels on the drugs and the inserts to know the various interactions. However, our loved ones who are older take multiple medications and might not remember the correct order of administering the drugs or the interactions.

The most effective way to avoid interactions is to have a dedicated professional to help with your medication.

Shot Health provides medication management services. Our team of qualified professionals will guide you as you take your medications, minimizing the interactions and ensuring you obtain the maximum benefit.

Visit our website and book for medication management services today!