No shots? No school.

In SA, many children can't start school or college without certain immunizations. Watch Dr. Ratner in this KSAT video for more info.

Districts: No shots? No school.

Have a safe and happy 4th!

We're working today 8-8 in case you need help. Walk in to either location or check in online and we'll txt you when it's your turn!

Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

Today we hear from Dr. Dan Powell, our soft-spoken and much-loved provider who mainly works at our Woodlake location. Here, he teaches us how to speak about mental illness without the stigma that's commonly associated.

Today is Children's Mental Health Awareness Day.  The National Federation of Families has declared this year's theme to be: "Out of the Shadows: Exposing Stigma."

As healthcare providers at Impact Urgent Care, we frequently have the privilege of providing care for children with mental health issues who present with acute illness.  While addressing the child's acute illness is paramount, an equally important issue (as with all children we treat) is addressing any associated family or parental concerns.  Without a doubt, one of the greatest challenges parents face when caring for their child with any mental health diagnosis is dealing with the stigma of mental illness.

Whether your child is struggling with Depression or Situational Anxiety, or more chronic conditions such as ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder/Aspergers, you are already well-aware of the overt and sometimes subtle ways that the stigma of mental health illness can impact a child and his or her ability to navigate the waters that other children breeze through at school or athletics, or even just going out to eat and going to the movie theater.  Reversing the stigma of childhood mental health illness will not happen overnight, but efforts are definitely underway to begin the process, and events such as Children's Mental Health Awareness Day are critical in raising public awareness and educating all of us on how we can make a difference.

The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (www.hogg.utexas.edu) has produced a brochure titled Language Matters in Mental Health that gives excellent guidelines for HOW WE TALK about persons with a mental health condition.  Saying, "He has a mental health condition" instead of, "He's mentally ill" - or "She has Anorexia Nervosa" instead of, "She's an Anorexic" may seem like potato - po-tah-toe to folks who don't have (or live with a family member who has) a mental health condition but for those of us who do, it's a night-and-day difference that expresses volumes about a person's attitude toward mental health and/or the stigma of being labeled.  Educating your child's siblings, friends and teachers on the impact of the word choices we make when talking about a child with a mental health diagnosis is crucial to helping shape a healthy and encouraging environment for them to thrive.  This approach is called "people-first language" and can open up communication lines with others that take a concern for your child's well-being.

Caring for a child with mental health issues can be an enormous challenge for their parents, and we hope you will consider us a resource you can depend on at Impact Urgent Care.  We count it as a privilege.

Dr. Dan Powell

Dan Powell, M.D.

Staff Physician, Impact Urgent Care

Photo credit: alles-schlumpf / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Tsunamis?! But we live in SA!

This week, Dr. Rat­ner tells us about prepar­ing for the unex­pected. What’s in your emer­gency kit?

Dr. Rat­ner

Most of us here in San Anto­nio do not know that this week is Tsunami Pre­pared­ness week. Just because San Anto­nio is only a lit­tle more likely than Salt Lake City to suf­fer the direct effects of a tsunami there are lots of lessons we can learn from this week.

1. Really bad things hap­pen, even if they’re not very likely to hap­pen. So, do you need life vests? Prob­a­bly not, but you should think of some basic items and pro­ce­dures for any unplanned cat­a­stro­phe. Events that hap­pen far away can have rip­ple effects. Are you pre­pared if your plant closes down because you can’t get parts or your cus­tomers are unavailable?
2. We may not be at risk for a tsunami, but what about a flash flood?
3. How hard would it be to store 5 gal­lons of water and a few days of canned or dehy­drated foods, or some mac­a­roni and cheese for each mem­ber of your house­hold? You could fit a few days’ worth under each person’s bed.
4. Can you put together a small plas­tic type tool­box with a few screw­drivers, a pair of pli­ers, some duct tape, a util­ity knife, some zip ties, a hack­saw and a flashlight?
5. Take a few min­utes and dis­cuss with your fam­ily and your extended fam­ily where and when you will meet in the event of fire, black­outs or other disasters.
6. Once a month buy a few extra AA, AAA,C, D and 9 volt bat­ter­ies, and switch out your used bat­ter­ies with your cur­rent stock. This will prove very use­ful if there’s a power outage.

This is not an all-encompassing list, but it is easy, inex­pen­sive and really use­ful when the expected happens.

It’s not some­thing we want to think about every day, but if we’re pre­pared it can turn a dis­as­trous sit­u­a­tion into some­thing that’s just dif­fi­cult. The Amer­i­can Red Cross has some great resources and advice for all kinds of sit­u­a­tions here. And a tool to help you esti­mate how much you’ll need of every­thing here based on your house­hold. Always remem­ber we’re here to help at IUC, but we hope you have a happy and safe weekend!

The unex­pected strikes…unexpectedly.

Photo credit: United Nations Devel­op­ment Pro­gramme / Foter.com / CC BY

ALERT! Day 2013--Learning more to stop Diabetes

Today is the American Diabetes Association's ALERT! Day. 

Today through April 9, 2013, there's a free online test you can take to help you figure out your risk factors, and for every test that's taken there will be $5 donated to help fight diabetes by a large food company. My risk factor comes up as 4--who can beat me?

Diabetes effects a staggering 14% of San Antonians, which is double the national average (!), causing numerous health problems and putting its victims at risk of amputation, blindness and even death. And the most tragic thing about type II diabetes is that it's almost completely preventable. We all know that we need to eat right, exercise, etc....consult with your doctor to help address any of your risk factors and see how you can help prevent Pre-Diabetes and Type II Diabetes.

To quote from our local ADA office: "The American Diabetes Association's San Antonio office is so committed to finding a cure, educating the public about how to Stop Diabetes and providing support for those living with the disease are central to our mission. We are here to help.

To receive local information or learn more about events occurring in and around San Antonio sign up for our free newsletter! Contact Jose Macias, Online Communication Manager, at jmacias@diabetes.org to sign up!"

There are also a lot of local opportunities to volunteer and help fight Diabetes!

There's even a free Expo coming to San Antonio in May. They're advertising nutrition info, cooking demonstrations and health screenings. What would you like to see at the expo?

Your amaaaaaaaaazing kidneys!

Ask not what your kidneys can do for you, but what you can do for your kidneys? It’s World Kidney Day and that means it’s time to learn a little more about what your kidneys do and why they’re so important!

We heart Kidneys!

I’m sure we all know that your kidneys produce urine, but what else do they do?

Your Kidneys:

• Make urine
• Remove wastes and extra fluid from your blood
• Control your body's chemical balance
• Help control your blood pressure
• Help keep your bones healthy
• Help you make red blood cells

Those are all important things! Imagine if you had Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and had to have dialysis several times a week to filter your blood. That doesn’t sound like much fun.

If you detect it early, though, kidney disease is treatable. If you’re at risk, your doctor can order a simple test to determine if you need treatment.

How can you reduce your risk of developing kidney disease? Just live an active, healthy lifestyle, and get your kidney function checked if you're at risk.

Those who are at more of a risk for developing kidney disease include:

• you have diabetes
• you have hypertension
• you are obese
• one of your parents or other family members suffers from kidney disease
• you are of African, Asian, or Aboriginal origin

The World Kidney Day site is a great site to find out more about your amazing kidneys!

Resources:

World Kidney Day site

World Kidney Day 2013 video

World Kidney Day on FB