Medical Examiner 8-21-20

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WE’RE #1!

AUGUST 21, 2020

Earlier this week, the nation’s leading source of information about parasitic diseases* with the potential to threaten the health of pets and people released its monthly report, and in the process it provided Augusta area residents (and Medical Examiner readers) with something to focus on besides coronavirus (for your coronavirus fix, see pages 2, 3, 4, 11 and 16).

“Something besides the pandemic? That’s a breath of fresh air,” you might be thinking.

Well, hold your horses. What they announced is that Augusta ranks #1 in the nation for the highest percentage increase in new cases of hookworm during July.

Are you still excited?

That breath of fresh air suddenly a distant memory, now you might be thinking, “What are hookworms?”

Good question. Hookworms are parasites that live in contaminated soil and infect dogs and cats. Hookworm disease can cause debilitation or death, especially in puppies and kittens.

Pets can become infected by licking their paws, chewing contaminated toys, ingesting infected prey such as mice, or by hookworm larvae penetrating the skin. Larvae migrate until they become adults in the intestines. Hookworm can also be transmitted from nursing mothers to puppies and kittens.

In dogs, signs of hookworm infection may include dark, tarry diarrhea, anemia, loss of appetite, weight loss and skin lesions. Puppies infected with hookworms are at greater risk due to blood loss.

In cats, signs of hookworm infection may include diarrhea or anemia. Respiratory disease and pneumonia may occur as larvae migrate through the lungs. In kittens, hookworms can be fatal due to blood loss.

In people, hookworm infection is generally displayed on the skin with itching at the infection site and appears as “cutaneous larval migrans,” a winding, raised, threadlike rash. People should avoid walking barefoot in areas of potential contamination and wear gloves and shoes when gardening.

How are pets living in Augusta — and therefore people living in Augusta — exposed to hookworm? The top three risk factors are: • Pet owners who don’t pick up dog stools (research says 40% don’t) • The growing popularity of dog parks (where stools left behind become a potential source of hookworm infection) • People who don’t protect their pets from parasites with broad-spectrum, year-round parasite preventatives A recent study revealed a nearly 50% increase in the number of canine hookworm cases in the U.S. from 2012-2018, with more than 212,000 new hookworm infections in 2018 alone.

But no matter how many cases there are elsewhere, remember this: right now we are #1. +

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* That would be the Companion Animal Parasite Council (www.capcvet.org), an independent not-for-profit foundation comprised of parasitologists, veterinarians, medical, public health and other professionals that provides information for the optimal control of internal and external parasites that threaten the health of pets and people.

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by David W. Proefrock, PhD

If you answered: A. The problem is probably not serious enough to seek professional help yet, but it could get that way. You should take some time to think carefully about your relationship with your children and your response to them.

B. This is the best response. If you are worrying that your relationship with your kids is too negative, it probably is. If you can’t figure out what the problem is on your own, consult a professional.

C. Trying to figure out what’s going on and do something about it is the right course to take, but you might be looking in the wrong place. It is more likely that the problem is yours rather than theirs.

D. It has been a difficult time for everyone, but things that go bad during this time won’t automatically correct themselves when things get better. You need to work on your relationship with your children before it gets worse.

Stressful times are hard on families as well as individuals and relationships require work. When you do this work, be sure you include yourself in the changes that need to be made. + Dr. Proefrock is a retired clinical and forensic child psychologist.

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Do you have a mask? Who doesn’t, right? careful not to touch the outside of the mask, They have become ubiquitous, and if you and to make sure hand washing follows if own one, you might have a problem. that does happen.

If we turn on the time machine to look Which brings us to the all-important generback on 2020, the mask portion of this year’s al subject of washing. Here is a simple memhistory has gone something like this: ory aid offered by a biocontainment expert • February: I don’t need no stinkin’ mask. at Johns Hopkins University: treat your mask • Early March: Anybody like your underwear. Change it know where I can find a mask every day. Cloth masks, with around here? few exceptions, can be thrown FEBRUARY: • Mid March: Look at me! I in the wash just like the rest of “I don’t need no your laundry. got a free mask when I went to the doctor today! stinkin’ mask.” Hence the need, as men • Late March: Wow, this tioned previously, to have more AUGUST: mask is really starting to show than one mask. its age. Wasn’t it white when I “I just bought a If you don’t have a second got it? mask — and it is difficult to hundred and I find the perfect art or design • Early April: I finally found a box of masks for $49.95, isn’t it? — 1.) keep already need more.” sometimes, so now I have a dozen. That shopping; surely you’ll find at should be plenty. least one or two more to put • Early May: This is crazy: into rotation; and 2.) at the end now you can get a box of 50 of every day, hand-wash your masks for way less than twenty bucks. I mask and hang it up to dry overnight. You’ll bought two boxes. be good to go in the morning.

• Early July: I saw a cloth mask online At least one all-new word has been coined with a really cool design and it was only from this pandemic: maskne, a portmanteau $19.95, so I’m set. It’s beautiful. It’s durable. of mask and acne. And plenty of people have That was six weeks ago. If that is your one it who wear masks all day every day. It isn’t mask, then as mentioned above, you might acne necessarily, but it can certainly look like have a problem. Since this all started, many it. Dermatologists recommend removing your of us have been using masks significantly be- mask as possible during the day when it’s yond their intended lifespan, and that applies safe to do so (for example, if a nurse takes a to both cloth and disposable versions. Some break and can go outside) and letting your have complained that they got sick specififace breathe. Also, washing your face with cally because they wore a mask, not because soap and water or cleansing wipes periodithey didn’t. cally throught the day can help, along with There could be some truth in that. Somedaily mask washing. one who has been repeatedly wearing the Some people are in daily pain and discomsame mask all day, or maybe for days on fort because of irritation behind their ears end, may indeed have a germ farm strapped from the elastic loops on their masks. Two to their face. They are breathing through suggestions: 1: switch to masks with over something that they have breathed into, the head elastic straps rather than behind perspired on, spoken through, and possibly the ears. 2: Tie a rubber band to each end of coughed and sneezed into. No wonder some your ear-loop mask, then open a paper clip people got sick. Then, instead of blaming so it forms an “S” shape and use the paper their own poor hygiene, they become anticlip to connect the two extensions behind mask evangelists. your head.

Speaking of hygiene, mask owner Rule Finally, everyone who wears glasses de#1, the rule that shouldn’t even need to be spises one thing about masks especially: their mentioned but that needs to be mentioned is: glasses fogging up. There are several ways to don’t toss your used disposable mask out the prevent this. 1: make sure you have the best window or onto the ground in a parking lot. possible fit across the bridge of your nose to Jeez Louise, show a little class. prevent the warm damp air exhaled from fog Something else to consider: if someone is ging up the lenses. 2: wear your mask a little wearing a mask and the mask is doing its job, higher up your nose and your glasses a little then logic would suggest that at the very least lower down your nose. 3: Buy an anti-fogging the outside of the mask is contaminated. A product at the drugstore or from your opticonscientious mask owner would therefore be cian and apply that to your lenses. +

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You have two children who present no more than the usual problems that children present. Lately, however, almost all of your interactions with them have been negative. In spite of your best intentions to remain calm, you find yourself yelling at them for almost anything they do and then you end up feeling guilty. What do you do?

A. Get professional help for you and your family before this situation gets any worse.

B. You need to do something about this. Take some time and examine your situation and your relationship with your children. Make whatever changes are necessary to develop better family relationships.

C. There must be something wrong with the kids that you are not aware of if they are causing you this much trouble.

Try to figure out what’s wrong with them.

D. Everyone is on edge during these trying times. Things will get better someday and your relationship with your kids will get back to normal.

OWNER’S MANUAL

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THE FIRST 40 YEARS ARE ALWAYS THE HARDEST

AUGUST 21, 2020

THANKS FOR READING!

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

AUGUST 21, 2020

Let’s spend a few calm, quiet and rational minutes talking about everyone’s favorite subject, the coronavirus. (Part 10 of a feature of unknown duration.)

One of the comments about COVID-19 that has been repeated frequently from the early days of the pandemic right through this week is some version of “it’s not that bad.

And besides, you have to die of something.”

A large gathering of mostly unmasked students at a campus party in the Midwest prompted reporters to ask students if they were concerned about getting coronavirus. “No, we drink Corona all the time!” said one. Another almost gleefully said the aforementioned: “You gotta die of something.”

Such comments are not confined to possibly inebriated college students. Back in March during one of his then-daily coronavirus briefings, President Trump offered a variation on that theme, comparing coronavirus deaths to traffic fatalities

(see also Crash Course, page 10). In so many words, plenty of people die in traffic and we don’t shut down the highways.

“You look at automobile accidents, which are far greater than any [virus] numbers we’re talking about,” Trump said then. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to tell everybody no more driving of cars. So we have to do things to get our country open.”

This is another application of comparative accusations and defenses that have become commonplace in society today.

Example: “You think what [politician’s name] of the [_____] party did was bad? [Politician’s name] of the [opposite political] party did the same thing!”

As we all learned in kindergarten or very soon thereafter, two wrongs don’t make a right.

That is a very thin-ice line of defense. It doesn’t really absolve anyone; it just offers to shine the spotlight of guilt on others as a way of minimizing the wrong.

“Everybody’s doing it, so it can’t be that bad. You can’t accuse me if you did it too.”

The same is true when people try to minimize the deadly effects of this pandemic by comparing it to other things that are completely unrelated.

Likening COVID deaths to auto accidents (which many others besides Trump have done) is a perfect example of comparing apples to oranges.

There may be a few similarities — you could become a victim of either despite taking all precautions and through no fault of your own — but their proliferation is caused by things completely unrelated to each other, and the response required to stop or control each is as different as night and day.

If they weren’t, imagine driving past the scene of an accident that happened hours before, and as a result the next day (after the incubation period) your car hits a telephone pole. It doesn’t work that way.

Yes, everybody has to die of something. But are we so callous that if something causes 100,000 deaths, it’s no big deal because something else causes 150,000?

Let’s hope not. +

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DEARREADERS

While you’re enjoying this digital version, we want you to know that we’re anxious to resume the print edition as soon as possible. The first step back once print resumes will be mailing subscriber copies and bulk distribution to our racks and newsstands around the area. The best way to keep on top of the latest Medical Examiner news is always the Examiner Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AugustaRX). Thank you for being a loyal Examiner reader through all the challenges of 2020. +

What is Greek yogurt?

It depends on where the Greek yogurt is. In Greece and a number of other lands, it means yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, the clear fluid that is sometimes seen before yogurt is stirred. The result of straining is a thicker, richer, and creamier yogurt that is more concentrated, meaning that is has more protein per serving (as much as double) compared to regularly produced, unstrained yogurt. The straining process also can result in a lower sugar content than ordinary yogurt.

Commercially produced yogurt is strained through large filters, while people at home may strain yogurt through cheesecloth or even coffee filters. Whether large-scale or small, since whey is strained out, it takes more than a cup of ordinary yogurt to produce a cup of Greek yogurt.

Because of that, store-bought Greek yogurt is usually more expensive than unstrained versions.

In the United States, there is no legal definition of Greek yogurt. That means that it’s perfectly legal for manufacturers to artificially thicken ordinary yogurt to mimic the appearance and consistency of Greek yogurt and then market the result as Greek yogurt — including the higher price tag. If you see such artificial thickeners as pectin, guar gum, locust bean gum, or starches listed in the ingredients of “Greek” yogurt, that is a clear indication that the consistency of the product is the result of these chemical additions, not straining. +

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AUGUST 21, 2020

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

#121 IN A SERIES

Who is this?

ON THE ROAD TO BETTER HEALTH A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE Editor’s note: Augusta writer Marcia Ribble, Ph.D., is a retired English and creative writing professor who offers her unique perspective as a patient. Contact her at marciaribble@hotmail.com

by Marcia Ribble

N

o ladies, that’s not Denzel. Remember, we feature people here who are involved in medicine and healthcare.

This man might be the most famous anesthesiologist and doctor you’ve never heard of. He is Jerome Adams, and he is the Surgeon General of the United States.

Born in 1974 and raised in Mechanicsville, Maryland, Adams attended the University of Maryland before receiving his medical degree at Indiana University. Although he then earned a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2000, the decision to attend Indiana University was to prove a life- and career-changing choice.

After graduating from UCBerkely, Adams returned to Indiana to complete his internship in internal medicine (2002–2003) at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital, and his residency in anesthesiology (2003–2006) at Indiana University. After two years in private practice at Ball Memorial Hospital, Adams was named assistant professor of anesthesiology at Indiana University.

Along the way he met his future wife, Lacey, an Indiana native, and the couple has two teenage sons, Caden and Eli, and one daughter, Millie.

How did all of this lead to his nomination to U.S. Surgeon General? Here’s a clue: in October 2014, Adams was appointed Indiana State Health Commissioner. The person who appointed him was the Governor of Indiana at the time, Mike Pence.

As Health COmmissioner Adams landed in controversy fairly quickly. An HIV epidemic in one Indiana county was traced to the use of needles shared by addicts. Adams’ solution was the establishment of a needle exchange, a place where drug users could bring used syringes and exchange them for clean needles. The idea was rejected by the very conservative Mike Pence, who feared the plan effectively sanctioned illegal drug use and would lead to more addiction, even if it did help curb HIV. Adams met with law enforcement in the county, and the result was the local sheriff endorsed the innovative plan, leading to Pence’s approval and a green light. The exchange was successful in reducing both drug use and HIV in the county.

Adams has been the center of news stories a few times since his Senate approval as Surgeon General in September 2017. Earlier this year, for example, he downplayed the importance of wearing masks as an aid in slowing the spread of coronavirus, a stand he has since retracted. He strongly recommends his Three Ws: Wash your hands, Wear your mask, and Watch your distance.

Lacey Adams is an advocate for skin cancer awareness.

A two-time victim of skin cancer, she describes herself growing up as a pale blonde who wanted a golden tan, spending hours sunbathing and visiting tanning salons. “I wanted a ‘healthy glow,’” she recalls, a phrase that today makes her want to scream. +

Sometimes I remind myself of my mother.

As she aged, she would occasionally talk about things she intended to do. The problem was that once she talked about it, there were times when she then promptly forgot about whatever she had intended to do. I did exactly that yesterday. I talked with [Examiner publisher] Dan Pearson about this very article and then got busy with other things and the intention suffered from a lack of follow through. So here it is today, and I am hoping that Dan receives this in time. If not, he has many old articles he can summon up from his computer.

Nonetheless this is a mea culpa, Latin for I’m sorry for messing up. Actually the direct translation if more, through my fault. And the entirety is “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.

For those like my mom and me, it’s important to recognize that misplacing one’s mind from time to time is entirely normal.

How can I tell it’s not a sign of impending Alzheimer’s or some other dementia? Easy!

Notice that I can still recall the meaning of a phrase from high school Latin and the old Latin Roman Catholic Mass. The last time mass was said in Latin was in the early 1960s. That’s close to 60 years ago. High school Latin was five years before that.

As we age the amount of information we have stored away keeps increasing to wondrous quantities. We have added thousands of words, names, dates, smells, colors, activities, strengths, the entire content of numerous books, song lyrics,

TV shows, movies, recipes, directions to places in all the cities we have lived in (for college and university faculty or people in the miltary that can be dozens of cities), memories of many vacations, rules for lighting campfires, rules for playing various card games, strategies for toilet training toddlers, methods of caring for sick kids and injured kids, notes often left unspoken for dealing with difficult relatives, and I could keep going until I filled numerous pages with things I have needed or wanted to remember.

Is all that information vital? Nope. Is there a written or unwritten hierarchy for all that information? Again, nope. Aristotle devised a system for remembering based on rooms in a house, or was it Plato? Or Socrates? I have their books somewhere on my shelves, many shelves of books, so I could look it up, or I could put it in Google and let Google find out. Note that another thing I rely on my memory to do is how to pull up Google, after recalling my passwords, how to turn on the computer or my smart phone, and finding time to do those steps to retrieve information.

We rely on our brains to accomplish so many desired outcomes that the miracle isn’t that we sometimes forget, but that we usually remember. The fact that our words come so easily most of the time, that we remember our appointments for the doctor or to renew our driver’s licenses, makes a diagnosis of any form of dementia excruciatingly painful. My brother-in-law Don has Alzheimer’s. My sister is living the heroic life of a caregiver. God’s blessing on her. I admire her enormously. +

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

ADVENTURES IN

Middle Age

BY J.B. COLLUM

distract dad from his repeat-every-five-minute cycle of questions for a while once we got back on the road.

The place was nice as I mentioned, but it had a lot of hard surfaces and high ceilings, so the sounds echoed around and at times it was very loud and made conversation difficult. Even in a quiet room, dad has a hard time understanding speech, so we added to the noise with me

interesting to hear Dad’s take on it. His first words were, “that might be the most violent western I’ve ever seen.” I made a mental note to keep it to classic westerns in the future. I’ve since found out that dad is satisfied to simply rewatch the old movies that he has seen countless times and it is something we can do together that we both enjoy.

I think the fact that many of these old films are still firmly in his head helps him to enjoy them more. Strangely enough, they are one of the things he has held on to.

As I look back on this trip, with all the embarrassing, frustrating, and tiring moments, I would do it all over again at the drop of a hat.

With the current pandemic curtailing travel, especially for the most vulnerable people like my parents, and me for that matter, I fear that we might not be able to do it again before it is too late.

Only time will tell. I’m only glad that I got to go on that adventure with my dad and I pray that we will be able to share more travels in the not too distant future.

Until next time, friends, stay safe, and enjoy the time you have with your loved ones. Time has a way of slipping by before we know it and robbing us of the future we had hoped for. +

THE

{

In the past three issues, I shared with you the first three parts of the trip with my father to visit his uncle in Charlotte. We now resume the story with just the two of us, dad and me, headed home.

We got into a pattern where he asked me the same questions repeatedly in about a five-minute cycle.

I’m proud of the fact that I just kept telling him the same thing and didn’t say anything like, “I already told you this.”

It isn’t always easy to keep having to repeat yourself. I wanted to allow him to keep his dignity. However, after a couple iterations of this, I did take some liberties. I started giving him the same basic answer, but in more creative ways, even adding some things that would make him raise his bushy eyebrows. It didn’t matter. He would forget in a few minutes and ask again anyway. I started wishing that I had been recording the interaction as some surprisingly good story ideas were probably in amongst the crazy tales that I told him on that drive.

After about an hour of this, I pulled over in Fort Mill, SC for us to have supper at a nicely appointed sports bar that seemed newly built. I sat dad at the bar while we waited for a table and ordered us both a beer and some hot wings to get things started.

Once the beers arrived, we were shown to our table and I took a quick trip to the bathroom. I utilized that time to also start a download of a western movie to my phone so that I could

{

“He asked me the same question every five minutes.”

talking loud enough for him to hear and him responding in kind, even though I didn’t need the extra volume.

It was special to have this one-on-one time with dad while he could still do that, but it hurt to think about how this kind of thing would one day come to an end, and much sooner than I had expected before his diagnosis. We enjoyed our food and conversation despite the difficulties and, once the download of the movie was complete, we utilized the restroom facilities, loaded up and headed home. Dad mostly watched the movie, but he asked questions and made observations from time to time. The rest of the drive went without incident and the movie ended with us about half an hour away from home. The movie was a modern western, so it was

Sparkle

J.B. Collum is a local novelist, humorist and columnist who wants to be Mark Twain when he grows up. He may be reached at johnbcollum@gmail. com

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Wondering what to make with lots of peaches? This year when the farmers market is full of peaches and you are trying to find a new way to preserve them, try canning up a batch of peach bbq sauce. Truly, you don’t need a pressure canner since this is a water bath sealing recipe. You will enjoy the sweet and spicy flavor throughout the year on grilled chicken, salmon, or shrimp.

It’s a unique bbq sauce that is all natural, no added high fructose corn syrup packed with sweet peaches, chopped peppers, onions, vinegar, a touch of honey and seasonings. All these great ingredients make it gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and vegetarian.

Even if you have never canned before, this would be a great recipe to start with. I go into step by step directions on my blog (info below). We start with a quick and super easy way to peel peaches. I then give you step by step pictures and explanations on how to prepare the recipe. Finally, I will walk you through the steps of using canning jars and a water bath canner to preserve your bbq sauce.

Be sure to visit: www. intentionalhospitality.com/ canning-peach-bbq-sauce/

There are so many ways through the winter month you can then enjoy the fruit of your labors. It’s great on grilled wings, fish, and shrimp. You can also use it as a topping on cheese and crackers or stored in with fried rice and some oyster sauce. Blend it with oil and vinegar to make a salad dressing or my favorite toss with fresh sliced peaches for a sweet dessert.

Canning Peach BBQ Sauce Ingredients • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

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Peach BBQ Sauce • 6 cups peaches chopped pitted peeled • 1 1/4 cups onion • 4 jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped • 1 red bell pepper seeded and finely chopped • 1/2 cilantro loosely packed finely chopped cilantro • 3 tablespoons honey • 1 clove garlic finely chopped • 2 teaspoons cumin • 2 teaspoons salt • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 more teaspoon if you like it spicy Instructions Prepare canner, jars and lid. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar and peaches. Cook on medium high heat for 10 minutesUsing an immersion blender, blend the cooked peaches until a small chunky consistency.

Gina Dickson photo

Add onion, jalapeno peppers, red pepper, cilantro, honey, garlic, cumin and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

For water bath canning instructions go to www. intentionalhospitality.com/ canning-peach-bbqsauce/ +

by Gina Dickson, an Augusta mom to six and Gigi to ten. Her website, intentionalhospitality. com, celebrates gathering with friends, cooking great healthy meals and sharing life around the table. Also on Instagram @ intentionalhospitality

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by Ken Wilson Steppingstones to Recovery

“You’ve ruined my life,” screamed a 60 year old woman to her husband of 40 years in my office. “I’ve bailed you out of jail, lied to your boss about your being sick, paid your legal fines, and fed you chicken soup so you could get to work on Mondays and I’m sick and tired of it already. I hate you.” She didn’t realize that her enabling perpetuated his drinking for 40 years.

I felt sad for this woman who said she hadn’t had fun in many years. Her poor life had centered around her husband – no vacations, no nice cars, no perks. Her joy was wrapped up in being a caretaker. Caretakers, you see, are a magnet for “takers,” and vice versa. A caretaker feels loved when caretaking…and a taker feels loved when he/ she is being taken care of! A perfect match. Or so it seems.

Until the day one or the other gets well. Then the equation breaks apart. I’ve seen alcoholics stop drinking, go to AA several nights week-

ly, and adopt great friends in recovery and their wives would tell them “I liked you better when I was pouring your drinks for you every night.” All of a sudden she had nobody to care for and her self-worth plummeted.

In my own home growing up we children didn’t necessarily want my erring father to die – we just wanted him to go away and not come back. We begged our mom to divorce him but she just couldn’t do it. Somehow she seemed to find joy in her misery of being an abused and neglected wife.

Such is the life of one who relies on another person for their joy. Hindsight is 20/20, but dad probably would’ve gotten well sooner had she stopped caretaking him and gotten a life of her own. She never learned to swim, roller skate, drive a car, and never ate at a restaurant until her 70’s because her life was wrapped up in caretaking for pop. She found pleasure in denying herself pleasure in deference to him.

If you or someone you

know is in a similar position, there is hope ahead! Through self-help programs and good counseling out there, a good life can still happen! It’ll feel uncomfortable for awhile though.

It can be unsettling for an alcoholic/addict husband to see his wife come alive and start taking bubble baths with a Do Not Disturb sign on the bathroom door! Candles, music, the works! Each of us is responsible for his or her own happiness. We cannot rely on others to make us happy. That is a precarious position for sure.

If your addicted loved one doesn’t come home in time to go to the concert, go anyway!

Take a friend. And to make the move even more powerful, don’t say a thing about it later on. Just that you had a great time.

Be as good to yourself as you have been to him. Bake yourself some cookies, too.

Ones that you like. Start spending some of your hardearned money on day trips or hobbies; it makes detaching much easier. In other words,

AUGUST 21, 2020

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN A monthly series by an Augusta drug treatment professional

we can detest diabetes but love the diabetic. We can love the alcoholic but detest his illness. (BTW, when you master this, do write a book on how to do it! You’ll pay off your home mortgage with the profits!)

When you start being responsible for your own joy, do not expect it to feel good overnight. It’ll take months or maybe years. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a tiny step forward, then a bigger step, then more steps. The point is to not turn 80 years old and regret how you spent your time on this planet. There are no trophies for victims and martyrs, only for those who dare to live well.

So for your sake, and for God’s sake, mom, get a life! +

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

DON’T LICK THE BEATERS Useful food facts from dietetic interns with the Augusta University MS-Dietetic Internship Program

MINDFUL EATING

by Neal Holliday, MS-DI Graduate Student Intern

Although everyone has their differences, there will always be one thing we all have in common -- we all have to eat. The average American spends about two and a half hours eating each day. However, more often than not, this time isn’t dedicated solely to eating. More than half of the time we are engaged in another activity while we eat, whether that is watching television, driving, using a cell phone, or working. We become disconnected from the foods that are being eaten and that can be an overlooked factor contributing to the today’s obesity epidemic.

What is mindful eating?

Mindfulness is considered as “being fully aware in the present moment.”

It involves paying attention to your surroundings, body, and emotions on a moment-by-moment basis without judgment. The practice of applying mindfulness to eating would mean to pay close attention to the characteristics of food, the emotional and bodily sensations that are experienced while

eating food, and the general personal experience we’re having while eating. Doing this can help us become better acquainted with all foods, from vegetables to burgers.

As a result, we might come to view specific foods from a different perspective.

How do I eat mindfully?

There are many different ways to practice mindful eating. Some effective methods are: • Make use of all senses when eating a meal.

• Taste is often the most important factor that is prioritized when eating. However, paying attention to the appearance, smell, texture, and sounds of food can help give a more whole and well-rounded experience of the foods that are eaten.

• Take small bites and chew thoroughly.

Taking smaller bites can extend the time that is spent eating, and not eating with a full mouth can even allow the individual to taste the individual flavors of the food instead of all at once. Chewing slowly and thoroughly will further the benefits of

taking smaller bites as we get a better understanding of the taste, flavors, and textures of the food.

• Appreciate the food that you are eating.

Before beginning eating, consider all of the people and actions that were needed to make the food that has been presented. Genuinely and sincerely ask, “Where did this come from?” “How many people were involved in preparing this?” and “How was it made?” Take the time to appreciate all the components that were needed in order to obtain the food.

• Understand your motivation for eating.

Individuals may eat because they are hungry, or because they are using food to cope with emotional discomfort or boredom. They may eat when they are not even hungry because it is a common eating time, like dinner, and others are eating in the area.

Make sure to listen to your body’s cues for hunger as an indication that it is time to eat. Simply paying attention to these hunger cues in situations during which food is not actually needed may bring awareness to eating habits and inspire a lifestyle change.

When really paying attention to the foods being eaten, previous perceptions about them can change drastically. Paying more attention to less healthy food choices may introduce the individual to a different perception from past experiences, and may result in consuming the food less often and healthier food more often.

Even so, it is important to practice self-compassion and non-judgment when eating mindfully. Instead of thinking of eating as a means to an end, be present with the experience, appreciate everything that comes with it, and be comfortable with learning to enjoy it fully. +

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

CRASH

COURSE

More Americans have died on US roads since 2000 than in World Wars I & II combined

I

n the time it takes the average person to read this article, about a dozen people will die in traffic accidents around the world. It would be nice if the deaths stopped as soon as you were done reading, but the accidents and the deaths go on all day and all night, around the clock every day of the year.

As of late yesterday morning (August 20), the global highway death toll since January 1, 2020 was 859,528, including more than 1,750 yesterday alone, and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet when we retrieved those numbers (from www.worldometers.info).

No community is immune, as local news of the past week sadly demonstrated when three teenagers were killed when their car struck a tree off Walton Way. This is probably not the best time to mention that the year 2020 was the target year for an ambitious worldwide program called Decade of Action for Road Safety launched by the United Nations in May of 2011. Officially created by the United Nations General Assembly in March 2010, the Decade was viewed as a historic opportunity to increase action to save millions of lives over the decade ending in 2020.

“The goal of the Decade is to stabilize and then reduce the number of lives lost. A Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety outlines a course of action for ensuring that this vision becomes a reality.

“The vision is a world in which mobility is safe for all those who use the world’s roads.

The alternative is grim: if no action is taken to address the current crisis, road traffic fatalities are forecast to rise from the current level of nearly 1.3 million deaths annually to more than 1.9 million deaths per year by 2020.”

Maybe the program is working: referencing “nearly 1.3 million deaths annually” at the start of the program along with the stated goal

to first stablize and then reduce the death rate, the data shows 1.35 million highway deaths in 2016 and again in 2018, the latest data currently available.

That may represent some stabilization — the toll is unchanged since the start of the U.N. program, but at least it isn’t higher — although virtually no one thinks nearly 1,350,000 deaths every year is an acceptable rate.

A couple of factors make the death toll especially tragic and frustrating.

First, the vast majority of accidents are preventable. They did not have to happen and should not have happened. The cause was speeding or drowsiness or carelessness or some other driver error, not the brakes failing or the gas pedal getting stuck.

Second, more than half of all victims of traffic accidents are so-called vulnerable users, mmeaning pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcylists. They too often bear the burden and pay the penalty for the less than cautious habits of car drivers who are encased in a steel cage and may be wearing seat belts and have the benefit of airbags.

Some solutions The World Health Organization says a number of factors big and small would help lower the worldwide highway death toll. They include improved emergency response time, since minutes and even seconds count in getting the injured to hospitals; also although none of us like to be on the receiving end of traffic enforcement, WHO cites lax enforcement of traffic laws as a significant contributing factor in reducing road accidents and deaths.

Ultimately, however, putting the brakes on the “it won’t happen to me” mentality might be the greatest single way to bring home the reality that every driver — that includes you and me — is the first line of defense against accidents and all their deadly consequences. +

Daniel Gregory Leopard pc AT TO RN E Y

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AUGUST 21, 2020

HUMAN BEHAVIOR HOW TO OVERCOME OUR FEARS

When a palmetto bug dives at you in the bathroom, you scream so loudly your spouse thinks someone is breaking

by Jeremy Hertza, Psy.D. in through the window. You have that dream again of being abandoned or alone and wake up with your heart racing. You just can’t face going up on that rollercoaster with your child. And hey, is that a clown hiding in your bushes?!?

Most of our fears revolve around the unknown and things we can’t control. What’s really going on when we get scared?

Here’s What’s Happening The part of the brain that handles fear and negative emotions is only about the size of an almond. But the amygdala can cause powerful responses to negative emotions, memories and fears— and it’s also the part of the brain that’s impacted if we have post traumatic stress disorder or depression.

This tiny organ basically creates a pathway for fears directly to the front of the brain, which then activates our fear response.

Fears can be both conscious (like running screaming away from a palmetto bug) or unconscious (that prickly uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach that someone—like that clown—is watching you).

But these fears aren’t all bad. Think about it: What else keeps you from walking down the street with a wad of cash in your hand at 3 in the morning? Sometimes you need negative emotions to help drive good behavior. The right amount of fear and anxiety is healthy and can keep you from doing stupid things or getting into unsafe situations.

The problem comes when those fears are no longer driving us to make the right choices but are consuming us.

Here’s What You Can Do Fear, anxiety, pain—all of these activate our sympathetic nervous system, which controls our “fight or flight” response.

So for example, if you put your hand on a hot stove, your brain isn’t processing, “Oh, look, my skin is melting.” Your sympathetic nervous system kicks in to protect you so that you move your hand away as quickly as possible.

But if your anxiety or fear are causing your sympathetic nervous system to be on alert all the time, that’s when you can’t control your thoughts, your muscles tense up and your blood pressure spikes to pump more blood to your legs so that you can get away from whatever it is that’s scaring you.

But that doesn’t help you when you’re scared of your nightmare boss or you have to be the one to present on stage at the next conference or when you have to take the kids trick or treating and you hate crowds.

Here’s what you can do: Start changing the situation instead of worrying about what you can’t change. There’s always something you can change; at the very least, it’s your attitude.

• For the nightmare boss, maybe it’s talking to coworkers that he or she gets along with about how to interact more positively.

• For the presentation, maybe it’s practicing every day for a week, alone at first, then in front of people you trust.

• For trick or treating, maybe it’s starting early and leaving early to avoid crowds.

Also understand that the biologic reactions—the tight muscles, the sweaty palms and the fast heartbeat—typically come first. So they should be the first things you deal with. Focus on your body, breathe, maybe go for a walk if you can. Work on slowing down your heart rate to help stop your body’s reaction to what it thinks is an acute situation but isn’t.

By doing this, you can help make sure emotions don’t take over, you can have a thoughtful response and you can control your fear, instead of having it control you. +

Jeremy Hertza, Psy.D., is a neuropsychologist and the executive director of NeuroBehavioral Associates, LLC, in Augusta, on the web at http://nbageorgia. com. Contact him at 706-823-5250 or info@nbageorgia.com

AUGUST 21, 2020

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

The blog spot From the Bookshelf — posted by Julia Hopkins, MD, on August 17, 2020 [edited]

NO VISITORS ALLOWED? 4 POLICY TIPS One of the most harrowing challenges of COVID-19 has been t he “no visitors” policy virtually all institutions were forced to implement. In order to protect our patients, our staff, our communities, we’ve had to put these visitor limitations into place until the tide turns.

Not too long ago, I awoke to my husband lying stiffly on his back, declaring, “I think I need to go to the emergency room.” He’d mentioned vague discomfort the day before, but now, he’d battled frank abdominal pain all night, and even he — a never-really-sick-a-day-in-hislife, hospital-hating, ultramarathoner just past 40 — knew something was not right.

Thirty minutes later, walking up to the entrance of our local hospital’s emergency department, we were prepared. Masks on, hand sanitizer in my coat pocket, a bottle of water, and a phone charger in my purse. My husband was nervous, and I did my best to describe how things would go down. After all, I’d spent my entire adult life inside hospitals. I’d make sure he was well cared for every step of the way.

Immediately upon entering the building we were asked, “Which one of you is the patient?” My husband hobbled forward, and I was told, “You’ll have to wait in your car.”

While my husband and I had generically discussed and debated no-visitor policies over the last month, when it was our turn to experience it the limitation had completely slipped our minds. It wasn’t until I got back to my vehicle that it sunk in what I had done. We had simply shrugged, said, “Well … see you in a bit,” and parted ways. No hug or squeeze of the shoulder, not even a last-minute “I love you!” before the sliding glass doors shut behind him. Back in the parking lot, closing the car door, I cried in fear, disbelief, and rage at my callousness.

While he was in the ED, we didn’t speak over the phone.

He was in pain, unsettled with so many strangers around, and he seemed to be more comfortable communicating via text. Soon, he was caught in a flurry of IV starts, physical examinations, and CT scans. The more I played back his signs and symptoms in my head, the more I expected the diagnosis: acute appendicitis.

No one asked if there was anyone he wanted on the phone when the diagnosis was revealed, and the plan discussed.

Still uncomfortable both physically and emotionally, he didn’t ask either. Surgery was scheduled for the afternoon, and we agreed to FaceTime when he was transferred to his room preop, where it would be less hectic.

About an hour later, I found myself in a state of disbelief again when my husband set me a text.

“They’re about to take me to surgery.”

I can imagine how things played out. A nurse strode into the room, announcing surgery was pushed up. The anesthesiologist entered next, reviewing the standard protocol while trying to keep out of the way of the OR techs who were unlatching bed brakes to start rolling down the hall.

In the midst of this, barely awake and out-of-sorts from the narcotics, my husband had time to send me two texts. The one above and then this one: “I’ll catch you on the other side.”

I had already failed to convey the slightest expression of physical affection before I left him the first time. Now, I’d lost my chance to even speak with him, possibly ever. All of my positive thoughts about how young, strong, and healthy he was — every positive checkbox for “uncomplicated procedure” and “full recovery” — evaporated.

Over the hours, I waited for the next communication, I thought of all the others who were caught in the same, previously unimaginable circumstance. Being hospitalized, having a loved one hospitalized, both are extremely unsettling and often traumatic events. Even so, a similar

“You’ll have to wait in your car.”

Medicine is full of antidotes. Afflicted with this? Take that. Accidentally swallowed that? Now swallow this.

This book is 300+ pages of antidote. For what, you ask?

This book is the antidote to the doctor you barely know; the doctor who rarely spends more than five minutes with you; the doctor who doesn’t really know your name; the doctor whose fees can run into the thousands of dollars.

This book is about the only surgeon on a small island.

Timothy Lepore (which rhymes with “peppery”) is that doctor, and the island is Nantucket.

Ah, you say. Nantucket. No wonder he has time for every patient. He’s probably rich.

No wonder he doesn’t bill some patients, and accepts payment in oatmeal raisin cookies from some others.

After all, what does he treat?

Sunburn? The occasional fish hook caught in some angler’s finger?

It won’t take you many pages to discover that a lot happens on Nantucket Island that requires every skill the most capable doctor could

comforting experience for most is the fact that they are able to be there for each other. The anguish over the dissolution of this symbiotic relationship should not be lost on anyone, whether ever faced with the situation or not.

While my husband’s microscopically rupturing appendix eluded the surgeon’s laparoscopic tools until he was opened with a six-inch incision, I created a list of ways my regrets could have been lessened.

1. For those at emergency department entrances, direction about only the patient being allowed to enter should be followed by, “Now’s the time for a fist-bump, hug, kiss or wave goodbye until things are sorted out.” This one reminder to snap us out of our shock would have prevented a world of anguish.

This is the most unexpected of lessons I learned, and also the most urgent I encourage you to support in your own facilities.

2. Initial check-in should include discussion about who should be kept updated

bring to the task: “[Over time] hundreds of people would have died if he wasn’t there, if not thousands,” says another doctor who knows Lepore.

Aside from his serious medical skills —you’ll get to know those both on the island and in his preNantucket days — Lepore has what author Pam Belluck calls “his patient-centered approach, once much more the norm, [which] now strains to survive in towns and cities across the country as health care costs skyrocket, medicine becomes more corporatized and monetized, and extended quality time with doctors is an increasingly vanishing and how often. “Shall we make sure to call every time we have new information to share?” should be suggested to avoid patients feeling like they are a burden to staff.

This should be repeated any time the patient moves to a new location like a different unit.

3. Regardless of the initial answer to the question above, every provider who enters the room to interview, examine or discuss results or plans with the patient should ask again if someone should be included via phone call. No one should assume patients will actively ask for this to happen, because odds are they won’t.

4. Moments when a patient is suddenly whisked off to surgery or an invasive procedure should be limited to when the patient’s life is in danger or their condition is dangerously deteriorating.

Outside of these emergency situations, all patients should be offered the chance to contact someone before heading to an operating room or procedural suite.

The medical team needs to consistently remain

commodity.”

So yes, there is a little bit of sermonizing in this book, but it’s much more like a fast-reading peek into the everyday life of a busy, if somewhat eccentric doctor.

Along the way you’ll get to know a number of his more noteworthy patients, from Jimmy Buffet to the titular Underground Tom, and the downright weird Billy Dexter.

Part of Lepore’s duties involve expert testimony in court cases, and being crossexamined by lawyers who know he might have to save their life one day.

There are first-hand accounts of mass casualty fires, open heart surgery, colon obstruction operations, cancer, stabbings, shootings, and ticks, one of the banes of island living.

Yes, Nantucket is just a nice quiet island where nothing ever happens — until it does. All those times are what this book is about. + Island Practice: Cobblestone Rash, Underground Tom, and Other Adventures of a Nantucket Doctor,

by Pam Belluck, M.D., 304 pages, published in July 2013 by Public Affairs

cognizant of the fact that this moment is likely one of the most fearsome and anxietyprovoking in a person’s life — both for the patient and their loved one.

Much more can be said of the routine use of electronic medical records to communicate updates and care plans to designated patient supports; of how nurse matrixes and provider coverage schedules should be adjusted to allow for this necessary increase in communication given the circumstances; and how it must be understood that many patients won’t advocate for their own needs because they don’t want to contribute to the burdens of already overworked health care providers during this global pandemic.

If nothing else, please put a protocol in place to remind patients and their supporters that it’s OK to demonstrate affection at the moment one of them is turned away. +

Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD is a physician adviser for case management

+ 12

AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

The Examiners +

by Dan Pearson

What would the What is this charge in Don’t you remember I definitely remember. That’s what I did. But I was able to get free shipping cost have our checking account I was going to buy a But you can buy 50 shipping if I spent at been if you had just box of masks online? for $115? masks for $19.95 least $100. bought the masks?

PUZZLE ACROSS 1. Pacers’ school, in brief 5. Tiny particles 10. __buse (Drug given to alcoholics) 14. Burden 15. West Point attendee 16. Type of estate 17. Invalid 18. Vedic warrior god 19. William of fame 20. _____ Health (medical support profession) 22. A suit everyone owns 24. Splash with small drops 26. UK TV 29. Objective 30. America’s Cup competitor 34. Bring up 36. Evils 38. Steps for scaling a fence 39. Air sacs 41. Inflammation of the ileum 43. Mistakes 44. Hawaiian goose 46. Mr. Ballesteros 47. Augusta hospital 49. Charleston med. school 51. What follows many officers’ names 52. Self-centered hunter of Greek mythology 55. An utter coward 58. Engraver 62. Capital of Western Samoa 63. Word before current or liner 65. Swiss river 66. Condemn 67. Decatur/Atlanta Ave. (as it’s commonly known) 68. Baseball team 69. Narrow strip of wood

BY

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DOWN 1. Forearm bone 2. Bar in downtown Augusta 3. Phone 4. Improvise 5. Dirt with low pH 6. Convert into leather 7. Weirdo 8. Deserve 9. Fits’ partner 10. Joint inflammation 11. Requirement 12. Rhythm in Indian music 13. Supporter 21. Electroencephalography (in brief) 23. Tantalize 25. Former Alaska governor 26. Ft. Gordon leaders 27. Southern ______ 28. Trivial, petty objection 31. About 1.75 pints

Click on “MYSTERY WORD” • DEADLINE TO ENTER: NOON, June 1, 2020

We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

E X 1 A3 M I 5 N E R

2 6 3

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9 2 1

5 1 2 7 9 3 1

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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved.

S U D O K U

DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved.

70. Satisfied 71. Old

N ACAthen begin exploring Simply unscramble theVletters, TIONspelled word our ads. When you find the correctly hidden in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com

32. Road in Augusta with a noted bridge 33. Adjust again 35. Penitent, remorseful 37. Nasal cavity 40. Academy award 42. Diminished 45. Distinguished 48. Soldiers 50. Incision 53. Type of butter 54. Utility based in SC 55. Cushions 56. Libra gemstone 57. Capital of Peru 59. He said “I am in control here.” (at The White House in 1981) 60. Sea eagle 61. Woodwind strip 64. Bandage type

QUOTATIONPUZZLE S E A R S M A B V V L M H M D I O R O E T E E E O C T I O S F E

9 7 4 8 1 2 R R S G T S 3 A9 O W Y R I N 2 E6 E U I D T5 1 7 3 O R A I H8 5 6 4 - Arthur Koestler 1905 — 1983

ACROSS 21 Small com1 reflex munity 3 solid 7 Jawless DOWN fish 13 Conno- 2 oxidant isseur of 3 Objective K case wine O T W 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 15 6 7 Fish 8 9 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 of 2 3 I4 5 E 4 Formiceggs 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 ary 1 . LT T T S F O E W T T I 2 . H H N O O S O O N A I O 3 . LT Y E S L E M 4 . T M E Y K E 5 . S16 E R 6 . TQuick!!!

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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved

3 5 6 7 8 4 1 9 2

DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once.

Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line.

Solution on page 14.

Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle above. All the listed letters following #1 are the first letters of the various words; the letters following #2 are the second letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

— Kin Hubbard 1868 — 1930

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2020 All rights reserved

WORDS NUMBER

1

THE MYSTERY WORD O The Mystery Word for this issue: ELLBIRA

Three dollars. © 2020 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

AUGUST 21, 2020

s s 9B 10 6 3 8 4 5 2 9 7 1

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AUGUST 21, 2020

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

THEBESTMEDICINE ha... ha...

T

he year is 2024 and the United States has elected its first woman president and the first Jewish president, Golda Greenburg.

She calls up her mother a few weeks after Election Day and says, “So, Mom, I assume you’ll be coming to my inauguration?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a ten-hour drive, your father isn’t as young as he used to be, and my arthritis is acting up again.”

“Don’t worry about that, Mom, I’ll send Air Force One to pick you up and take you home.

And a limousine will pick you up at your door.”

“I don’t know. Everybody will be so fancy-schmantzy; what on earth would I wear?

Golda replies, “I’ll make sure you have a wonderful gown, custom-made by the best designer in New York.”

“Honey,” Mom complains, “you know I can’t eat those rich foods you and your friends like to eat.”

The President-to-be responds, “Don’t worry Mom. The entire affair is going to be handled by the best caterer in New York; 100% kosher all the way Mom. I really want you to come.”

So Mom reluctantly agrees, and on January

The

Advice Doctor

20, 2025, Golda Greenburg is being sworn in as President of the United States. In the front row sits the new President’s mother, who leans over to a senator sitting next to her and says, “You see that woman over there with her hand on the Torah, becoming President of the United States?”

The senator whispers back, “Yes, I do.”

“Her brother is a doctor,” Mom says proudly.

Moe: One of the most amazing stories in my family is that my grandfather knew the Titanic would sink on its maiden voyage.

Joe: What? That is amazing.

Moe: It’s true. He told everyone he could, but no would would listen.

Joe: That is tragic. So did they finally acknowledge that he was right?

Moe: Not really. By the time the ship hit the iceberg he had already been thrown out of the theater.

A woman walks into a pharmacy one day and says to the pharmacist, “I’m looking for some kind of poison that will kill my husband but make it look like he died of natural causes.”

The pharmacist says, “Ma’am, I know your husband, and not only can I not do that for you, I’m going to have to report you to the police.”

The woman takes something out of her purse and hands it to him. He looks at it and sees that it’s a picture of the woman’s husband in bed with the pharmacist’s wife.

The pharmacist says, “You should have told me you had a prescription.” +

Why subscribe to theMEDICALEXAMINER? What do you mean?

Staring at my phone all day has had no Effect on ME!

Because try as they might, no one can stare at their phone all day.

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Dear Advice Doctor, I work in a place that I would describe as the classic toxic work environment. It is a horrible place to work on a good day — which it almost never is — and is practically hell on earth on bad days.

I thought things were as bad as they could possibly get, but the fat really hit the fire last week when one of my co-workers was discovered to be embezzling from the company. He claimed to be innocent and said I was the real thief. Any advice?

— Paid Handsomely for Daily Torture Dear Paid Handsomely, Thank you for writing in and introducing this important topic, one that I know can help others and save lives.

What you describe is not exactly uncommon: in an average year there are more than 180,000 grease fires, with hundreds of resulting deaths, thousands of injuries, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage.

When fat, grease, or cooking oil is left unattended on a stove with the burner on too high it can catch fire. Many of the common reactions only make a bad situation worse.

Common mistake #1: the sink is right there, so people will grab another pot and fill it with water to douse the flames. Or they’ll use the sprayer on the sink. Both tactics will splash the flaming oil or grease out of the pan and onto people and other flammable surfaces. Never use water on such a fire!

Common mistake #2: some people in their panic to prevent fire from spreading will try to take the flaming pan outside, especially if there is a kitchen door near the stove. What typically happens is the flaming liquid sloshes or spills out of the pan and onto the person’s hands or feet. Then they drop the pan and flames are everywhere and so are painful burns.

There are a few tactics that actually work to suppress cooking fires. 1. Cut off the oxygen flow to the fire by putting the lid on the pan where possible. 2. Douse the flames by sprinkling baking soda on the fire. 3. Put out the fire with the small fire extinguisher that every kitchen should be equipped with.

Repeat: every kitchen should have a small fire extinguisher conveniently located under the sink, nearby in the pantry, or mounted on the wall. It’s great peace of mind to know it’s there if you ever need it.

I hope this answers your question. Thanks for writing! + Do you have a question for The Advice Doctor about health, life, love, personal relationships, career, raising children, or any other important topic? Send it to News@AugustaRx.com. Replies will be provided only in the Examiner.

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SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (Winners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. Limited sizes are available for shirt prize. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher. 8. Deadline to enter is shown on page 12.

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AUGUST 21, 2020

The

Money Doctor INVESTING AND THE ELECTION Just when it feels like we cannot pack one more significant event into 2020, along comes the presidential election, which is now less than 90 days away. With all the uncertainty of 2020, emotions are running high, and we are starting to get a lot of questions about the election and possible changes to investment portfolios.

The most common question we’re hearing is, “Should I adjust my portfolio based on the upcoming election?”

Our answer is a resounding no. There are too many uncertainties inherent in elections and politics in general to seriously tilt portfolios

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AUGUSTAMEDICALEXAMiNER

one way or another. Perhaps an adjustment is in order if one’s asset allocation has not been recently rebalanced, but making wholesale changes to a properly allocated portfolio does not make sense. There are too many uncertainties, including: Who will be the next president?

Will the House or Senate turn Republican?

Will the House or Senate turn Democratic?

How will the virus affect the ability to govern after the election?

We are reminded of when Bill Clinton was elected president. Many investors thought

we have got to get out of the markets because he’s going to be a spender and entitlements will go through the roof. When Clinton got into the office, he moved from the left towards the center financially. The equity markets took off for the next eight years of his presidency. If portfolios had been adjusted based on what many thought was going to happen, long-term growth opportunities would have been missed.

You will find a lot of charts online breaking down stock market performance across countless political scenarios.

Many articles will try to show that one party has done better than the other over some pe-

riod. We have looked at those charts, and none of them make us change our allocations or start tilting portfolios every 2 or 4 years. Why? The stock market is driven by long-term fundamentals like corporate earnings, interest rates, labor growth or unemployment, productivity, and economic growth not the election cycle.

Long-term investors should not be making determinations based on two-year or four-year political cycles.

Our recommendation is that you maintain a diversified and coordinated investment allocation across all your accounts.

The allocation should be based on your goals, long-term time horizon, and risk tolerance.

This election season, keep calm, stay healthy, and make sure to vote! +

by Clayton Quamme, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with AP Wealth Management, LLC (www. apwealth.com). AP Wealth is a financial planning and investment advisory firm with offices in Augusta, GA

OUR NEXT ISSUE DATE: 2020

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AUGUST 21, 2020

DISASTER!

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fiery end caused far greater loss of life. The British civilian airship designated R-101 nosedived into the ground during rainstorm in France on October 5,1930, killing all 48 passengers and crew. The Navy’s USS Akron crashed into the Atlantic in April 1933, killing 73 of the 76 crew members on board.

The public seemed to shrug off these and dozens of other airship disasters large and small.

But the Hindenburg accident, in which 62 of the 97 passengers and crew actually survived, ended the rigid airship era virtually overnight. What was the difference between other, more deadly accidents, and the Hindenburg?

The media.

Having a film crew that just happened to be on hand to capture the ship’s deadly demise brought the tragedy home in a way no dry newspaper report ever could. The moment-by-moment description of the crash on live radio by reporter Herb Morrison didn’t help either.

This fact has tremendous

Other airship disasters had caused far greater loss of life. What made the Hindenburg different?

was as bad then as it has been this year. Violence between mask advocates and mask protesters erupted in many cities, and sometimes the confrontations turned deadly.

The most significant difference between 1918’s pandemic and 2020’s is the same thing that spelled the difference between the Hindenburg and other doomed aircraft.

The media.

A century ago, the media was the exclusive realm of, well, the media. Today it belongs to everyone. In 1918 one of the best ways to get a message distributed to a large audience was to sit down with pen or typewriter and paper and craft a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. Put it in an envelope, add a stamp, put it out for the mailman to collect, and then a few days later the letter might appear in the newspaper for all to see.

It could easily take 7 days or more for the message to go from thought to print.

Today, the same process can take less than 7 minutes. Far

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his colorized photograph of the Hindenburg disaster in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937 is one of the most famous and iconic photographs of all time. Prior to that day, traveling by airship was the fastest way to go from Europe to America, zipping quietly and serenely along at speeds two times faster than any ocean-going vessel. In its heyday this was the epitome of luxurious travel, and airship passengers were usually wealthy.

It was also the epitome of potentially dangerous travel.

Like many other ships of its kind, the Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen, a highly flammable gas. The ship’s construction was designed to minimize the risk, and it seemed to be working: by the time of its fateful final flight the Hindenburg had logged more than 60 flights between Europe and the U.S. and South America.

The overall safety record of rigid airships was dubious at best, and a number of accidents before the Hindenburg’s

relevance to the historic events we’re living through in 2020.

There have been many other epidemics and pandemics over the years (note: pandemic can mean global, but it can also apply regionally, as in, “The disease reached pandemic levels across Africa.”), but nothing on this scale has happened for more than a century.

The Spanish flu that raged across the globe from February 1918 to April 1920 was the most recent event that readily compares to the events of this year. The Medical Examiner Facebook page has referred to some of the similarities. For instance, the mask controversy

less. The media is instantly accessible to everyone, whether they use it to read the thoughts of others or to disseminate their own ideas.

Is that a good thing?

It’s actually a two-edged sword. On the plus side, public health officials can communicate with millions of people all over the world literally within minutes.

On the negative side, doubters, skeptics, conspiracy theorists and others can undo all of that information in an instant by sowing seeds of doubt and suspicion on the very people trying to extricate us from this mess.

In nearly all cases, skeptics have no education, training or experience in medicine or public health. Despite that, the media is as accessible to them as it is to a world-renowned scientist or researcher.

Every user of today’s instant media has the very serious responsibility to carefully weigh what they read, and in turn to carefully self-censor what they offer for others to read. +