It’s that time of the year when El Paso doctors start seeing more cases of influenza and other flu-related illnesses. While it’s not foolproof, the flu shot is still the best way to protect against influenza flu. But, good personal hygiene including hand washing can also help to reduce your risk of getting sick from the flu or spreading it to others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges better, more frequent hand washing as the first line of defense against influenza flu. The CDC writes, “Along with your annual flu shot, the best method to avoid the spread of seasonal flu is to adopt a rigorous hand hygiene approach, with proper hand washing being essential.”
 
Proper Handwashing
It is recommended that hands are scrubbed (or vigorously rubbed together) under warm or hot water for at least 20 seconds. Elementary school taught us that a good way to time your handwashing it is to hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end…two times.

However, there are also situations where soap and water is not available and handwashing is not possible. For example, after a sneeze while in the car driving, at work in a meeting or at a public facility. In these situations, the use of hand sanitizer is recommended. Carrying hand sanitizer in your bag is a good practice.
  
Here are five more tips from the CDC to help battle the flu this year:

1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. And, if you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick. 
2. Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness. 
3. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Properly dispose of tissues in covered waste baskets. Immediately wash hands or use a hand sanitizer after a cough or sneeze, whenever possible.  
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth .
5. Practice other good health habits. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill.

The Benjamin Franklin axiom that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is as true today as it was when Franklin made the quote, especially when talking about the flu. Heed Ben’s advice and ours and stay well El Paso.

  

The idiom “chilled to the bone” is used to express when one is very cold. It is most commonly used to refer to strenuous physical activities that take place outdoors. For instance, a runner might say he is “chilled to the bone” after a long run. Or, someone who has to work  outside all day in the cold may actually BE chilled to the bone, meaning his body temperature has decreased and he is actually “feeling” the cold.

We won’t be experiencing low temperatures that may create hypothermia or frostbite in El Paso next week, but it’s going to be cold and you should be aware of the effects this cold could potentially have on your body:

• Cold diminishes the immune response. Cold weather results in less blood supply to the extremities in order to preserve body heat in the core of the torso and head.  The immune system is depressed to some degree by cold weather which particularly affects the upper respiratory tract when cold air is breathed in. Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather so you feel less affected by the falling temperatures should you find yourself outside for any length of time.
• In terms of infectious illnesses, germs make you sick, not cold weather itself. You have to come in contact with rhinoviruses to catch a cold. And, you need to be infected with influenza viruses to contract the flu. But, rhinoviruses do peak in fall, (and influenza viruses peak in winter). To protect yourself, get your flu shot.
• If your temperature falls too low, your body will try and generate its own heat through shivering. The muscles and organs will shake to help produce heat your body can't get elsewhere, and the colder you get, the more intense the shivering will get. If you are already feeling pain in your body, the shivering may make it feel more intense.
• Asthma sufferers may feel worse in colder weather. Breathing cold air in quickly through the mouth, such as when walking or working outside, has been known to trigger lung spasms. Wearing a scarf or face mask can help, as can remembering to breathe through the nose to help warm air before it enters the lungs.
• Finally, migraines seem more frequent and intense in cold weather. With falling temperatures comes falling barometric pressure, an atmospheric change that can be so intense, it leads sinus issues which can lead to more migraines.

 
The changing temperatures may make you feel sick or more pain, but it probably has less to do with the actual temperature change and more to do with environmental effects associated with those changes. 

The success rate for hip replacement surgery is very high, with greater than 95% of patients experiencing long term relief from hip pain. The success rate of hip replacements 10 years after surgery is 90- 95% and, at 20 years, it's 80-85%. Should an implant wear or loosen, revision to a new hip replacement is also highly successful.
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Don't suffer with hip pain any more. Call Ortho El Paso at 915-249-4000 and explore your treatment options with our board-certified orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Jason Vourazeris.

Feeling more pain when it's cold and rainy outside? Maybe. But, the weather probably isn't the issue. People whose arthritis seems to flare before or after it rains wonder if damp or cold weather is making their arthritis worse. Our orthopaedic surgeons say they get this question a lot, even though not much evidence supports a link between sore joints and damp weather.

To be safe and to ensure you aren't suffering from something more serious, schedule a consultation with our orthopedic specialists at Ortho El Paso and The Hand Surgery Center at Ortho El Paso by calling 915-249-4000. In the meantime, you may want to wear sweaters, scarves and/or gloves to help shield you from the cold and the dampness that may be causing you discomfort.

Breast cancer is second main cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer. #BreastCancerAwareness sets aside this month to remind all to us to get regular screenings. For many cancers, including breast cancer, early detection is your best defense. For more information on breast cancer prevention and the importance of screenings, visit ​https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month

Did you know that what is depicted here is an actual medical test? It is and if you cannot do the “OK” sign, you may have injured nerves or tendons in your hand.

While the OK sign is not the only test used for finger or hand injuries, it can be telling. Dr. Justin S. Mitchell, board-certified hand surgeon at The Hand Surgery Center at Ortho El Paso, may ask his patients to make the O.K. sign by touching the tips of the index finger and thumb together. “Integrity of the nerve that allows for flexion of the thumb and the index finger is what is being tested,” he said. “When a nerve injury is present, the patient will be unable to bring together the thumb and the index finger. The patient would be unable to make the O.K. sign.”

Sometimes, this inability to make the OK sign is a result of a deep cut to the flexor muscles. A deep cut will most likely not heal without surgery. Those muscles move the fingers through cord-like extensions called tendons and they connect to the bones of the hand. When the tendons are cut, you cannot bend your finger. Nearby nerves and blood vessels may need to be repaired, as well.
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If you suspect you have a flexor tendon injury, call the office of The Hand Surgery Center at Ortho El Paso at 915-249-4000 to consult with Dr. Mitchell, orthopaedic surgeon specializing in hand and elbow injuries. Learn more about our practice at http://www.orthoep.com/precision-hand-surgery-center.html.