illness

Along with fall comes the seasonal flu. It’s inevitable. People at high risk of catching the flu should protect themselves first and foremost with a flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has great information on steps you can take to prevent a flu infection. It includes the basics like washing your hands and avoiding people who exhibit flu-like symptoms. But I’m going to focus on an area that is often overlooked – your immune system.

The job of your immune system is to protect your body from bacterial and viral infections, such as the ones that cause the common cold and seasonal flu. The immune system protects you in three different ways:

1. It creates a barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering your body (your skin).
2. If a bacteria or virus does enter the body, the immune system tries to detect and eliminate it before it can make itself at home and reproduce.
3. If the virus or bacteria is able to reproduce and start causing problems, your immune system is in charge of eliminating it.
   

Sweeping changes are on the way in the health care industry. The details will be hashed out by politicians, but we the people can collectively express our opinions on what changes we are passionate about. If one group of health advocates has its way, our health care will finally move fully into the 21st century.

Health Data Rights, an all-volunteer group, is pushing the health care industry to finally have all of our medical records digitized and fully accessible to the patient. The group’s website, HealthDataRights.org, is designed to help give people a voice in obtaining their rights to take responsibility for their own health information and care. It features a Declaration of Health Data Rights that includes the following: