Several factors are considered in determining the level of safety in a home.  These are the seven occurrences that families are at risk of experiencing in their homes:

-Falls

–Poisonings

–Fires 

- Burns

–Choking/Suffocation

–Drowning

- Poisoning

According to the Home Safety Council recent studies show that while almost all parents (99 percent) feel it’s important to keep their family safe at home, very few are taking all of the recommended steps to prevent home injuries. Nearly half (49 percent)  of caregivers have not installed a carbon monoxide alarm in their home. 40 percent of parents do not store medications in high cabinets secured with cabinet locks.

Here are a couple of ” Home Safety Tips”:

To prevent falls: Have bright lights over stairs and steps and on landings. Keep stairs clear of clutter

To prevent fires and burns: Have working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you build a new home, install fire sprinklers.

To prevent choking and suffocation: Things that can fit through a toilet paper tube can cause a young child to choke. Keep coins, latex balloons and hard round foods, such as peanuts and hard candy where children cannot see or touch them.

For more information on “Home Safety Month” and tips and resources for keeping families safe in domestic settings, please visit  www.homesafetycouncil.org .

Action and awarness is crucial to saving lives. With such organizations as the American Heart Association, we can educate and provide resources to begin fighting heart disease.

Four Simple Things You Can Do to Healthy-Start Your Heart

Get Active: If you are overweight, make sure you are active at least one hour a day.

Eat Better: Make sure you eat the correct portions and reduce your cholesterol intake.

Stop Smoking: Smoking by itself increases the risk of heart disease. By quitting you reduce your risk of heart disease dramatically.

Lose Weight: By making a conscious choice to lose weight, you can lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels, which all factor into heart disease.

For more information on heart disease prevention, please visit: www.americanheart.org

Heat Up/ Cool Down St. Louis provides a safety net in a region which often does not have enough federal, state or utility funds to help keep the needy connected to their utility services. It was to my surprise that the public was so generous when donating funds to a great cause. During this time of economic crisis, many people are in need of assistance in any way possible.

Heat Up / Cool Down St. Louis services these areas:

St. Louis City & County, St. Charles County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County, St. Clare County (IL), St. Genevieve County, Iron County, Madison County, and Butler County.

For more information about Heat Up/ Cool Down St. Louis, please visit www.heatupstlouis.org

It is still very important to educate children about eating right and exercise. If they practice better living habits at an earlier age, it is more likely that they will continue to live healthier as they grow older and raise their own children.

Just think of me as your "deer" friend!

Do you know that 57% of American households own at least one pet (American Veterinary Medical Association)?

We certainly spend a lot of time as well as money on our canine, feline, avian, reptilian and other animal housemates! So, is this all worth it? Well, if you ask most pet owners, they would definitely say “yes.”  However, they barely understand all of the benefits they are getting from co-habitating with non humans!

Since dogs (bark, bark) are the most common household pet, let’s focus on their impact on our lives.  Their roles can include:

• Personal trainer:  they get us up and out walking for our pleasure or, perhaps, to throw a ball
• Therapist:  they serve as someone with whom to talk through our problems
• Stress reducer:  they help us focus on things other than our current worries
• The perfect companion:  someone who will always agree with your opinion and who won’t talk back
• Social “ice breaker”:  think of the times a cute pooch has helped gain the attention of someone you wanted to meet
• Body warmer:  great for all of those cold nights
• Floor cleaner:  your home is always free of crumbs under foot
• Life extender:  people with pets live longer

For all of these reasons and many more, I recommend a dog in your life. Most of the time this is one relationship that will always give you back more than you ever could imagine!

http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09121902-doctors-bedside-skills-trump-medical-technology

So not only is it cheaper and easier to be physically examed by your doctor, but it could also be more successful than getting these high-tech tests done.  This is why it’s so important that we connect with our doctors on a regular basis.  Then they’d be more familiar with our medical history and health problems.  Thus, it would be easier for them to detect problems that maybe even these machines can’t.  In the long run, this seems to be the healthier and more economical solution to our medical problems.