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Loup Basin Public Health
Are You Active Enough? Print E-mail

 

Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're active. For the real test of your physical activity, get a pedometer. Clip it to your waistband and wear it from the time you get out of bed until you go to sleep at night.

Keep track for two or three days, then use these "steps per day" numbers to figure out where you are:

  • Fewer than 4,500: You're very sedentary
  • 4,500-5,500: You're sedentary
  • 5,500 to 7,500: You're headed in the right direction but need to step it up
  • 8,500 and up: You're active, stick with it

If you’re like me, you may be a little disappointed at how few steps you accumulate during the day after tracking your steps with a pedometer.  Often we think we move a lot more than we really do.

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CDC Says "Take 3" Actions To Fight The Flu Print E-mail

Flu is a serious contagious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death.  CDC and the Loup Basin Public Health Department urge you to take the following actions to protect yourself and others from influenza (the flu):

1. Get vaccinated.

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Kickoff 2011 by Kicking the Habit Print E-mail

The New Year is a great time to make resolutions to quit using tobacco. Some can quit on their own, but many others are more successful when they get help. Fortunately, there are two free programs to help chewers quit:

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Radon Awareness Month Print E-mail

 

National Radon Action Month 2012

EPA has designated January as National Radon Action Month, a time when state radon programs and other partners conduct special radon outreach activities and events across the country. The aim of National Radon Action Month is to increase the public's awareness of radon, promote radon testing and mitigation, and advance the use of radon-resistant new construction practices.

With every breath, your family could be exposing themselves to a radioactive gas called radon. It's impossible to see, smell or taste. And it could be accumulating to unsafe levels in your home right now.

Radon is found at high levels in every state in America. It seeps into your home from the surrounding soil, and sometimes contaminates well water. It's the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S - only cigarette smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General have strongly recommended that all residences test for radon.

Your family's risk of developing lung cancer from radon depends on the average annual level of radon in your home and the amount of time you spend there. The longer your exposure to radon, the greater the risk. And the risk is much greater for smokers.

Luckily, radon is easy and inexpensive to detect. And homes with high levels can be fixed. But it's up to you to find out whether radon is a problem in your home. Millions of people have tested their homes already.

Radon Grant Awarded to Health Department

The Nebraska Radon Program, through the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services, has awarded Loup Basin Public Health Department (LBPHD) a Radon Awareness and Risk Reduction grant to increase public awareness of radon testing in all homes. This grant allows LBPHD to purchase short-term home radon detection kits to distribute to residents in the nine-county health department district. Loup Basin Public Health Department in partnership with UNL Extension Educators: Janet Hanna- Garfield, Loup and Wheeler counties, Jessye Goertz- Custer County, Kayla Hinrichs and Cheryl Tickner- Howard, Valley, Sherman and Greeley Counties, are working to achieve these goals. Loup Basin Public Health Department is encouraged to see increased testing in the nine county district area.

Kits are available free of charge, by contacting your local extension office or by calling LBPHD at 308.346.5795 or 866.522.5795. These short-term, home radon detection kits will be available at each of the extension offices, as well as the Loup Basin Public Health Department after December 1, 2011 thru April 1st, 2012, or until the kits run out. Contact LBPHD at 308.346.5795 or 866.522.5795 for information on where to get a kit in your county.
 
Cell-Off Day June 29, 2011 Print E-mail

The National Safety Council attributes 1.3 million crashes per year to cell phone talking and texting while driving.  Hand held or hands free, the distraction is the same. Take the challenge. The inaugural National "Cell Off" Day is June 29, 2011.
 
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