Health and Wellness - December 2022

Taking time to reflect

to You by - Home Helpers of Alpharetta and North Atlanta Suburbs

Year-end holidays and the coming New Year bring back memories of family times, and the opportunity to make new ones. We can all take a moment to reflect on what we are grateful for and take stock of what life has bought our way. It’s a good time to stop and consider changes that may have occurred within our family structure due to the advancing needs, health or recuperative challenges of older loved ones.

Life can get complicated as we age, and the impact on a spouse, siblings, children or family members can also be life changing. Perhaps you live in another state and are worried about your loved one’s well-being but aren’t close enough to help. Alternatively, you live nearby and find yourself in the midst of filling a caregiving role that can be extremely hard to manage both mentally and physically. Balancing parental or spousal needs and your own needs can often have compel ling and competing emotions and com mitments. The relationships and family dynamics we knew are forever altered, and without a plan of care that is thoughtfully created it can be difficult and stressful for both you and your loved ones.

The best gift you can give your family and you is to consider the impact profes sional care can have on all your lives. We

know that being able to age in place is the desire of the vast majority of seniors, whether home is a private residence, an assisted or independent living commu nity. That means more than just having a caregiver to help with tasks. At Home Helpers we take a holistic approach that goes much further than helping with the activities of daily living. We consider the physical, safety, mental, social and emotional needs of your loved one. Most importantly, we let family go back to being family.

Care that makes a difference is based on a wonderful match of a screened, trained, heart centered caregiver and the hands on attention of a dedicated team with depth and skill. It’s the commitment to providing the best quality of life for our clients and their families that brings our care to the next level. We respect our clients and listen to their unique needs, constantly fine tuning to help make each day the best it can be.

Your caregiver is a professional who can assist with all personal care, help around the house, safely manage a quicker recover from surgery, or provide specialized care for Alzheimer’s, Dementia or Parkinson’s, etc.

We’re here to help – from six hours a day several days a week to 24/7 and livein care. For a free consultation please call Home Helpers of Alpharetta and North Atlanta Suburbs today at (770) 681-0323.

Brought

Do you take my insurance?

As the new year approaches and many are looking at what insurance coverage to select, you may be wonder ing if you should add dental benefits to your plan and which company to choose. Every person begins the search for a new dental healthcare provider for various reasons. Perhaps you moved to a new area or even your dentist moved, or maybe you had a bad experience and no longer trusted your dentist or felt valued as a patient. Whatever the reason for the search, once someone begins looking for a new dental healthcare provider, they will find a wide selection of practices. But not every practice is the same. This will help shed some light on some key differences in “insurance-driven” dental practices versus fee-for-services dental practices.

An Insurance-Driven practice is a dental practice that is “in-network” with many different dental insurance com panies. While there are many kinds of Insurance-Driven companies, there is one central pilar upon which they are all built on: their contract with the insur ance company dictates what procedures will be covered (ex. you want a white fill ing, but your insurance will only pay for a silver filling) and how much they will get reimbursed (or paid) for those proce dures. Many insurance companies have not increased the amount they will pay towards a procedure in years, regardless of inflation of the economy. To make up for these lowered reimbursements from insurance companies, Insurance-Driven practices often are forced to see a higher

volume of patients. This usually comes at the expense of the patient, whether it be their time, comfort, or relationship with their dental provider. The highvolume demand for these practices un fortunately affects the quality of dental work received by patients.

A Fee-for-service practice differs from an Insurance-Driven practice in that it is often either in-network with select few insurance companies or no insurance companies. This allows the dental prac tice to set their own fees, which means those providers have the luxury of build ing a relationship with their patients and the time to perform well-done proce dures that a patient needs, not dictated by a third party.

How does this affect YOU? Bottom Line: Whoever sets the fees will ulti mately contribute the quality of care and amount of time allotted for each patient.

Here at Roswell Dental Care, incor porate the best parts of both practice models. We are a Fee-for-service practice but file and make the most out of your out-of-network insurance benefits. This allows us to set our own fees and make the time in our schedule to properly care for our patients. Drs. Hood and Remaley at Roswell Dental Care understand and customize treatment for each person. We assure you will feel confident in the solution you choose before beginning any treatment. For enhanced comfort, we offer FREE nitrous oxide. You can rest assured that your experience will be positive, relaxing, and rewarding on many levels. Give our office a call at (470) 288-1152, or visit us at www. roswelldentalcare.com, to begin your journey to happy and pain-free oral healthcare!

Brought to you by - Evelyn Watkins, Human Resources Manager at Roswell Dental Care

PROVIDED

Early symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease

Brought to you by - Dr. Jack Shen Jr., movement disorders neurologist at Wellstar Health System

First described in 1817 as the “shak ing palsy,” Parkinson’s disease (PD) is now recognized as the second most common neurodegenerative condition. Research ers estimate that about 10 million people worldwide are living with the disease. Americans comprise approximately 1 million of these individu als, with 60,000 more in the United States anticipated to receive the diagnosis each year. These harrowing numbers are expected to increase over the current decade. Moreover, with the subsequent greater need for specialized PD care to address these populations, only 54 neu rologists per year successfully “match” into a U.S. movement disorders training program to become PD experts, based on training data spanning the past

Because people living with PD experi ence the disease in unique ways, it may be difficult for them, their loved ones and even physicians to come to the diagnosis. People with PD, despite their distinct underly ing neurobiologies, may manifest certain early symptoms. Below is a non-exhaustive list of common symptoms that may occur intermittently, progressively, persistently, in isolation or in combination.

Tremor at rest — involun tary shaking movements of a limb when muscles are relaxed, usually on one side of

the body

2. Shuffling gait — shorter, some times dragging steps while walking; may be accompanied by the reduced swinging of an arm or a stooped, slumping posture

3. Rigidity — stiffness of muscles (with or without tremor) causing discom fort, difficulty arising from the seated position and sometimes reduced range of motion

4. Micrographia — handwriting that has become smaller or trails off by the end of a writ ten sentence

5. Hypomimia — reduced facial expressions, less fre quent blinking resulting in a “masked” or “poker” face

6. Anosmia — the com plete inability to smell

7. Hypophonia — a softer or less loud voice

At Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, neurologists, physical therapists, occupa tional therapists and speech language pathologists offer a team-based ap proach in evaluating and caring for people living with PD. Helping these individuals arrive to their diagnosis sooner leads to better symptom control and, ultimately, a greater quality of life as they navigate their journey with PD.

Dr. Jack Shen Jr. is a board-certified, fellowship-trained movement disorders neurologist at Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center. To make an appointment with Dr. Shen at his office on the campus of Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, call (770) 663-

SHEN

Urgent Team offers help for cold and flu season

Brought to you by - Urgent Team Walk-in Urgent Care

This just in—cold and flu season has already hit hard with large numbers of people reporting symptoms of cough, runny nose, headaches, and more.

Many common ailments share symptoms. And with COVID-19 in the mix, it’s even more important to get tested and treated quickly. COVID-19, colds, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and even reactions to environmental allergens can all be dif ficult to distinguish in the early onset of illness. Though most people are fine after being sick for just a short time, some of these viruses can be deadly to others.

Common signs of an illness include sore throat, cough, fever, fatigue, run ny nose, congestion, changes in ap petite, aches and pains, and an upset stomach—in a variety of combinations. Depending on the culprit, symptoms can appear gradually or abruptly.

This winter, play it safe. Get vac cinated, wash your hands frequently, and avoid close contact with anyone

displaying signs of illness. If you do become sick, get tested right away. Appropriate treatments vary based on the cause, so it’s important to get started with the right treatment as soon as possible. Urgent Team is open seven days a week with no appoint ment required to test, treat, and help you feel better, faster.

Unhitch the itch!

A revolution has been taking place in dermatology in recent years.

Previously incurable diseases are be ing cured.

Previously uncontrollable diseases are being controlled.

Previously itchy conditions are now being…de-itched. Un-itched? Un hitched? Scratched?

No, definitely not scratched. You should cure a disease, but you should not scratch an itch. It feels so gratifying in the moment but scratching just leads to more itching later and usually to more suffering, scratching, itching and before you know it, your skin either has chronically itchy spots, bumps, nodules, thickened areas or worse: areas that are now painful and itchy.

You see, fixing itching is so new that there isn’t even a good word for it yet. But de-itchifying the itchy is exactly what some of the newest, latest and greatest medications are doing.

One of the most recent ex amples of this exciting forward march of medical progress is the use of Dupixent to treat eczema and prurigo nodularis.

Dupixent is a medicine that works by blocking a pathway in our body that involves interleukin 4 (IL-4) and immunoglobulin E. These proteins are involved in conditions that itch such as eczema and many allergic reactions. By blocking the IL-4 pathway, Dupixent stops these proteins from activating cells such as eosinophils that are responsible for inflammation and itching in many cases. Many dermatologists were not surprised that a medication like Dupix ent would help eczema. But the exciting news is that Dupixent appears to be effective in many other itchy conditions. It recently gained approval for treating “prurigo nodularis” – a condition charac terized by itchy bumps or nodules that previously would often persist for years with little hope of resolving.

Even more remarkable, a clini cal trial is underway because Dupixent has shown potential for causing keloids to improve. Keloids are scars that grow with time and often are larger than the size of the wound that caused the scar. Keloids are often itchy and painful.

A new treatment for prurigo nodularis and possibly keloids may not seem like a medical breakthrough, but there is such a deficit of other effective treatments for these conditions that this is actually very exciting news.

What’s the catch? Don’t we need IL-4 and immunoglobulin E? Is it safe to block them from working? Don’t most pathways in our body exist for a reason? These are reasonable questions to ask before going on a new medication – espe cially one that someone might be on for years.

The fascinating background to why modern Americans suffer from many skin diseases is that our ances tors likely developed weaponized im mune responses against parasites that used to be a problem and are now rarely encountered in the United States. Many medications that treat psoriasis block a protein called TNF-alpha that is important in fighting off tuberculosis. Medications such as Dupixent that block IL-4 likely impair our ability to fight off certain types of parasitic worms such as hookworm. Remember from above that IL-4 activates eosinophils. Well, eosino phils are a type of white blood cell that is important in fighting off “helminth” or parasitic worm infections. Likewise, many believe that keloid scars developed as an ability to wall off parasites with scar tissue.

The package insert for Dupixent mentions that this medicine may inter fere with our body’s ability to fight off these parasitic worms. If you regularly come in contact with parasitic worms, Dupixent might not be right for you!

If you avoid parasitic worms and suffer from atopic dermatitis or prurigo nodules and are interested in learning about treatment options including Du

PROVIDED

Brought to you by - Brent Taylor, MD, Premiere Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…

“Just like the ones I used to know.” I love the sound of Bing Crosby singing White Christmas. I am really getting excited for the holiday season this year. I look forward to all of it. The lights, the decorations, the cookies, the food, the drinks, the special times with those you love. I could go on and on.

During the holidays, everyone is hap py and smiling and thankful. An impor tant part of that is a healthy, white smile. The Atlanta Center for Dental Health can help you get a healthy white smile for the holidays. Let’s talk about the best ways to get your smile as white as it can be.

The first step is making sure that your teeth are clean. And I do mean professionally cleaned. Over time, your teeth build up surface stains and tartar. This needs to be removed with the special instruments that your dental hygien ist uses. Afterwards, your gums will be healthier, and you won’t have anything in the way of getting your teeth white. You can’t whiten tartar and stains. You must remove them. You can’t get the white teeth you want with this stuff in the way.

There are three ways to whiten your teeth: Whitening strips, Whiten ing trays, and Professional Whiten ing. Whitening strips are the quickest, easiest way to whiten your teeth. These are plastic strips with whitening gel on them. After cleaning your teeth, you place the whitening strips on your front teeth and adapt it as well as possible to your teeth. Whitening trays are cus tom trays for placing the whitening gel precisely on your teeth. Your dentist can make these for you and provide you with strong, prescription strength whiten gel for you to whiten your teeth with a series of home treatments. The best and fastest way to whiten your teeth is Professional Whitening at a dental office. In about an hour, your dentist can place a protective

barrier on your gums and place powerful whitening gel on your teeth to get your teeth super white. People love this option because your teeth are as white as they can get in about an hour and you do not have to do multiple treatments at home.

Everyone has a biologic limit to how white they can get their teeth with these whitening procedures. Porcelain veneers and cosmetic bonding can get your smile even whiter and more perfect. Modern dentistry gives you so many options to improve your smile with the advances in materials and technology. Tooth Whitening removes years of stain and discoloration. Cosmetic recontouring is a simple process of re-shaping your teeth to make them look more attractive,

healthier, and straighter. Clear, nearly Invisible Aligners can straighten your teeth quickly and easily without metal braces. Cosmetic Bonding repairs chips and cracks to make your teeth appear normal, natural, and vibrant again. Porcelain Veneers is like adding new enamel to your teeth to make them whiter, straighter, and change the shape to the perfect length and proportions.

“May your days be merry and bright. And may all your Christmases be white.”

Dr. Bradley Hepler and Dr. Jeffrey Priluck and the experienced team at the Atlanta Center for Dental Health provide all the modern advances that contemporary aesthetic dentistry of fers. You will realize immediate results with non-invasive and often inexpensive procedures to enhance your smile. If you would like a complementary consultation to discover your smile restoring options, please call the Atlanta Center for Dental Health at 770-992-2236. Dr. Bradley Hepler and Dr. Jeffrey Priluck have spent many hours dedicated to perfecting and updating the latest and best techniques in dentistry. It is with this breadth of knowledge that they provide each patient with the perfect solution to their situa tion, their life, and their goals. It is our

PROVIDED

season understanding seasonal depression

carbohydrates or sugar • Weight gain

• Social withdrawal (feeling like “hi bernating”)

Each year, about five percent of Americans experience seasonal depres sion. Also referred to as Seasonal Affec tive Disorder (SAD), seasonal depression can cause those affected to experience feelings of sadness, low energy, or just not feeling like their regular selves as days become shorter in the winter months, often subsiding in spring when days become longer and warmer.

Considered just as devastating as clinical depression, seasonal depression can be accented with more issues when accompanied by traumatic events - not only is one depressed, but memories of events or experiences of current events add additional weight to the season.

Additionally, when the days are shorter and darker, the production of melatonin increases. Melatonin can af fect an individual’s “biological clock,” re sulting in unusual sleep/wake rhythms. In addition to the typical signs of major depression, symptoms typically more common in seasonal depression include:

• Oversleeping

• Overeating, particularly craving

Seasonable Affective Disorder is treatable, with success found in the fol lowing treatments:

• Light therapy (exposure to artificial sunlight to make up for the loss during darker winter months)

• Antidepressant medications

• Talk therapy

I would add that being in commu nity, having a support system, devel oping systems of accountability, hav ing healthy coping skills, and making healthy lifestyle choices work yearround to assist anyone working to con front and combat depression regularly.

Seasonal depression is a recognized mental illness that can impact those af fected by it emotionally, spiritually, and physically. If you are struggling with signs of seasonal depression, Summit Counseling is here to help. We have a team of trained and experienced thera pists available to walk alongside you this season. Visit our website to view our services, meet our therapists, and schedule an appointment for yourself or a loved one at www.summitcounseling. org!

Brought to you by - Darrick Brown, Mental Health Awareness Program Co ordinator at Summit Counseling Center

Cancer fighting drugs in your medicine cabinet

Brought to you by - Jonathan Stegall, MD, The Center for Ad vanced Medicine

When we think of cancer treatments, we typically think of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. But did you know that you might already have some cancer-fighting drugs in your medicine cabinet at home?

It turns out that many drugs which are approved for noncancer indications have been found in subsequent research to have an anticancer effect. The most well-known of these is the diabetes drug metformin.

In addition to its blood sugar lowering effects, metformin has also been shown to kill cancer stem cells, a key in cancer’s spread.

The cholesterollowering drugs known as statins have also been found to have an anticancer effect, by affecting the way cancer cells use fat and carbohydrates for fuel. Even baby aspirin, taken by millions of Americans each day for its cardiovascular benefits,

has anticancer activity by reducing inflammation.

These medications are not FDA approved to treat cancer, so their use is considered “off-label.” As always, please discuss this with your doctor to see if these medications might be a helpful addition to your treatment regimen.

For more information on this topic, as well as other innovative cancer treatment strategies, please check out my new online course at cancersecrets.com.

STEGALL

ISTOCK

3 ways to help boost your immune system this winter

As winter approaches, so do the opportunities for illness. Seasonal illness is common for many people as our immune systems are put to the test against cold weather, low sunlight, etc. The common viruses that keep us from enjoying the slopes on bright winter days thrive in cold weather, plus increased time in en closed spaces increases the chances of transmission.

Now is the time to give your body a boost so it can protect itself against viral infections. Give your body immune-strengthening vitamins it needs to combat the common cold or flu – like vitamin C, zinc and glutathi one – in the form of IV therapy. But how do these vitamins boot your immune system?

Boost Your Immune System with Vitamins

Have you tried our Vitamin C Mega Dose IV therapy treatment? Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and helps your body fight disease and infection. In addition to helping you feel better,

it also works to reduce the amount of time you spend stuck in bed.

Our bodies need zinc to keep our immune systems strong and pro vide defense against chronic disease, neurological symptoms, age-related macular degeneration, seasonal colds and flu viruses and more.

Glutathione is the mother of all antioxidants that helps prevent cer tain molecules from damaging cells. By stimulating cellular processes instead, glutathione helps your body combat symptoms quickly and en hances your immune system’s capa bilities.

Receiving an IV therapy treatment can boost cell strength and resilience and help you get back on your feet faster. At Hydralive Therapy Milton, we offer IV therapy treatment op tions tailored to your unique needs. With our welcoming staff, comfortable atmosphere and experienced nurses, you’ll feel right at home. Contact Hy dralive today to schedule your next IV therapy appointment or just walk in -- we can’t wait to meet you!

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TIP YOUR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY PERSON

This holiday season, consider giving your newspaper delivery person a tip for their weekly delivery of the free community newspaper to your driveway. These folks work hard to make sure you are informed of all the local happenings, rain or shine, week in and week out.

Importantly, at Appen Media, we have always been intentional about our desire to keep delivery of our newspapers free. That said, it would mean the world to us if you would consider tipping your newspaper delivery person so that they will have a little extra money for the holiday season.

If you can help us help these amazing people, we promise to keep delivering high quality news to your driveway, for free, every week. Free home delivery of 105,000 homes is hard work –and we couldn’t do it without our amazing delivery folks.

How you can give your delivery person a tip:

We have created an online portal at www.appenmedia.com/deliverytip.

100% of every dollar you contribute will be spread out evenly between the 24 newspaper delivery people that Appen Media employs. Whether you give $5 or $50, they will greatly appreciate it.

If you prefer, you can also mail a check made out to “Appen Media Group C/O Newspaper Delivery Tip” to 319 North Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.