Women Physicians OB/GYN Blog

The Army of Women is seeking Recruits for Breast Cancer Research

The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women have joined forces to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women. This revolutionary initiative has two key goals: 1) To recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer, 2) To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women. All women are invited to join this movement that will take us beyond a cure by creating new opportunities to study what causes breast cancer—and how to prevent it. You can join at http://www.armyofwomen.org As of 10/13/09, there were 315,284 participants.

From October 13 to November 23, you can enter a contest to sign up the greatest number of new recruits. The winner will get unique PINK Vespa. For more information on the contest, go to

http://www.armyofwomen.org/Pink_Vespa_Contest

With all of the buzz about the influenza vaccines this year, it’s a good time to review a few of the new indications for the Pneumovax vaccine. Since many of the flu-related deaths are actually related to a secondary pneumonia, all smokers and all people with asthma or other pulmonary diseases or a compromised immune system should be sure to get the Pneumovax vaccine. If you fit these categories, even if you are not 65, get your vaccine now. We have Pneumovax and all other currently available adult vaccines at our office at 650-988-7550.

After all, “Vaccines are among the most effective public health and medical strategies for protecting and preserving health,” wrote Gregory A. Poland, MD, MACP, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota, and William Schaffner, MD. Like any medical intervention, vaccines only work if people take them, and the United States has consistently failed to achieve immunization goals. On average, almost 50,000 adults die in the United States each year of vaccine-preventable diseases. In addition to the human toll, the total economic burden associated with annual influenza was estimated to be over $87 billion in 2003.

For more complete information on vaccines, go to

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

Cases of H1N1 flu have already been widely reported throughout the Bay Area. We have been advised by the County Health Department to currently assume that any patient who has flu like symptoms before October has the H1N1 flu. In Santa Clara county 1/3 of the reported patients infected with H1N1 flu have been pregnant. In the US, 6% of deaths have been pregnant women whereas only 1% of the population is pregnant

Every flu season, some people who get infected with the flu will develop complications. The H1N1 flu is no different. Pregnant women (particularly those in the third trimester) are at very high risk of complications, such as severe pneumonia, respiratory distress or preterm labor.

Now that school is starting, the number of flu cases is expected to increase. Here’s what to do if you think you might have the flu/have been exposed to someone with the flu.

Symptoms of H1N1 flu (like symptoms of seasonal influenza) include the following:
Fever, Cough, Sore throat, Runny or Stuffy nose, Body aches, Headaches, Chills and Fatigue; sometimes Diarrhea and Vomiting
If you have symptoms of the flu, please call our office so we can discuss starting you on a prescription medication (Tamiflu®) to take twice a day for 5 days. To reduce your risk of complications from the flu, it is important that you start this medication within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms. This medicine is considered safe to use at any time during pregnancy.
Treat fever right away. Use Tylenol® 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours (maximum dose of 4000 mg/day) if your temperature is >99.5. Also drink plenty of fluids.
Emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Decreased or no movement of your baby
• A high fever that is not responding to Tylenol®

If you’ve been exposed to the flu, please call our office. If you are pregnant, we will likely start you on Tamiflu® — once a day for 10 days to decrease your chances of getting the flu.

How you can decrease your risk of getting the flu:
 Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol-based gel hand cleaner
 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth. Germs spread this way.
 Try to avoid contact with people who are sick.
 Have a plan in place to care for a family member who develops flu-like symptoms. If possible, arrange for someone else to care for that person.
 Instruct friends, family members, and acquaintances who are sick to stay home and away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick. (“Staying at home” means that you should not leave your home except to seek medical care. This means avoiding normal activities, including work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.)

H1N1 Flu Vaccine
We anticipate that a vaccine for the H1N1 flu will be available in October. We recommend that all pregnant patients get vaccinated as soon as it’s available. It is safe to get immunized at any time during pregnancy.

Seasonal Flu Vaccine
As we do every flu season, we recommend that all pregnant patients get the regular seasonal flu vaccine. It is now available and we encourage you to get immunized at your next prenatal visit. It is safe to get immunized at any time during pregnancy.

For additional information, we recommend you visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website which is regularly updated: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/general_info.htm