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From Other Blogs: Protecting children from cold weather, test your home for radon, frequent exertion and standing among US workers

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A collection of health and environmental posts from other governmental blogs.

Braving the cold

As South Carolinians, we like to brag about our mild winters; however, as we saw at the start of the New Year, we can’t always predict what the weather has in store for us. Did you know young children don’t always realize when they’re cold and can lose their natural body heat quickly because of their small size? As parents, it’s important to know how to keep our little ones safe and warm when surprisingly frigid days are upon us. — From Flourish, Palmetto Health’s blog

Protect Yourself and Your Family from Radon

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking. If you smoke and live in a home with high radon levels, you increase your risk of developing lung cancer. Having your home tested is the only effective way to determine whether you and your family are at risk of high radon exposure. — From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Your Health — Your Environment blog

Frequent Exertion and Frequent Standing Among US Workers

Have you ever wondered if your job involves more standing, bending, or lifting than other jobs? Or if there are ways you could avoid injuries from these movements while on the job?

Last week, NIOSH published an article on frequent exertion and frequent standing among US workers by industry and occupation group. Using data from the Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the article focused on currently employed adults who were asked the following two questions related to the physical activities of their current job:

  1. “How often does your job involve repeated lifting, pushing, pulling, or bending?” (exertion)
  2. “How often does your job involve standing or walking around?” (standing). — From the CDC’s NIOSH Science Blog

World AIDS Day 2016: Get tested

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World AIDS Day is December 1, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is encouraging South Carolinians to get tested.

“More than 18,300 individuals are currently living with HIV/AIDS in South Carolina,” said DHEC Director of Health Services Lisa Davis. “Early detection through testing for HIV remains essential to successfully identifying and treating the disease and is critical to preventing new infections.”

“Most people in the early stages of HIV infection have no symptoms,” said Davis. “Early diagnosis can link people to services that will help them stay healthy longer, benefit most from treatment, reduce costly hospital visits, and help prevent transmission to others.”

Get tested for free

DHEC clinics provide HIV testing for free or at a reduced cost depending on the client’s insurance coverage or ability to pay throughout the year. On December 1, in recognition of World AIDS Day, free HIV testing will be offered at DHEC clinical service sites. Find a health department near you at www.scdhec.gov/health/publichealthclinics.  worldaidsdaybox

“DHEC continues to work closely with our partners to promote routine HIV testing for early diagnosing and delivering targeted services to those most in need,” said Davis. “Through our clinics and the partnerships with community providers, testing in 2015 helped diagnose and link 345 people to HIV medical care who may have otherwise not known their status until much later.”

“In the fight against HIV, education and early detection is our strongest weapon,” said Carmen Julious of Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services, a DHEC community partner that provides targeted testing. “Advancements in HIV medications and treatments continue to help people with HIV live longer, healthier lives, but patients can only benefit from treatment by learning their HIV status as soon as possible, by being tested, and then being linked into a care program.”

Learn more

For more information about HIV testing, as well as local HIV testing sites, call DHEC’s AIDS/STD Hotline at 1-800-322-AIDS (1-800-322-2437), or visit DHEC’s website at www.scdhec.gov/HIV.