Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw will  accept used needles, lancets and syringes from Rockland  residents on July 7 from 10 a.m. until noon and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the hospital’s south loading dock. This service is part of the Rockland County SHARPS Disposal Program, operated by a coalition of county hospitals and nursing homes, and is free of charge.
Any Rockland resident who uses SHARPS in the home is eligible to participate in this county-wide program. This includes individuals with diabetes or other medical conditions, such as cancer or allergies, requiring medication by injection.
The SHARPS Disposal Program is an environmentally responsible method to dispose of unwanted needles, lancets and syringes, which are a potential danger to sanitation workers and the environment when disposed of improperly. Residents must place the used items into an approved container, which may be obtained from a surgical supply house or pharmacy. When the container is full, it should be closed and brought to one of the collection sites.
SHARPS are collected every month at a designated hospital or nursing home. For additional information on the SHARPS Disposal Program, a schedule of collection sites, or the drop-off at Helen Hayes Hospital, call the Department of Health at 845-364-2086.

As the 4th of July weekend approaches, outdoor activities will be in full force and the Putnam County Department of Health would like to remind Putnam County residents to be aware of the potential for rabies exposure.

Rabies continues to be a serious public health problem in New York State.  Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. Rabies virus is in the saliva and nervous tissue of a sick animal. Rabies is most often seen in wildlife such as raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes.

You can get rabies if a rabid animal bites you or its saliva or nervous tissue gets into an open cut or your eyes, nose or mouth.

The Health Department is stressing the importance of capturing any bat found in your home or calling a private Nuisance Control Agent to capture the bat so that it can be brought to the Health Department and sent out to be tested for rabies.   If the bat does not test positive for rabies, treatment is not necessary. Rabies post-exposure treatment involves a series of vaccinations over a 28-day period.

Only about 4 percent of bats submitted for testing are positive for the rabies virus.  The only way to avoid unnecessary treatment is to capture the bat.

Visit www.putnamcountyny.com to view a video providing step by step instructions on how to capture a bat.

Cats, dogs, ferrets, and livestock can also get rabies if they are not vaccinated.
Vaccination is the best protection for your pets against possible Rabies exposure.  Make sure any
pets over 3 months of age are appropriately vaccinated.

Any individual who has had contact with a bat or any other wild or feral animal should immediately
call the Putnam County Health Department.   Report all animal bites or contacts with wild animals or
stray dogs and cats to the Health Department. The Health Department also tests any possibly rabid
animals after an incident involving contact with a human or pet.

For more information on rabies, please visit www.putnamcountyny.com or call the Putnam County Health Department at 278-6130 to report an animal bite.

Westchester Medical Center and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital are now on Twitter, the hospital’s marketing department has announced.

To receive timely hospital news and pertinent information on a variety of health-related topics, follow Westchester Medical Center at www.twitter.com/WestchesterMed   and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at www.twitter.com/MFCHatWMC .

New “tweets” are posted regularly.

Prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough is the latest food on the dangerous list. Since March, 66 people in 28 states have gotten sick with E. coli poisoning after eating the food, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Nestle USA, which manufactures and markets the Toll House cookie dough, has recalled the product. Check the Nestle website for a list of products that might be contaminated.

E. coli O157:H7 causes abdominal cramping, vomiting and a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week. Young children and the elderly are at highest risk for developing HUS, which can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

So far, 25 people who have gotten sick from eating the cookie dough have been hospitalized,  7 with a severe complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome. No one has died

Healthcare costs are continuing to rise. A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicates that medical costs will go up nine percent in 2010. And indications are that workers covered by employee plans will have to take on more of those costs, the report predicts.

Health reform, a hot topic in Washington, likely won’t have an effect on costs until 2011 or later

To mark National HIV Testing Day, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic will offer free HIV tests on June 26th at all of its medical centers in Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam counties.

The Planned Parenthood medical centers offer rapid HIV testing, which gives patients results in approximately 40 minutes, eliminating the anxiety of waiting to be called back to the center for results.

No appointment is necessary and HIV testing is free and confidential. For medical center locations and hours visit www.pphp.org or call 1-800-230-7526 to be connected to the nearest center.

A popular cold remedy could cause permanent loss of smell, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning. The FDA is advising consumers to stop using three Zicam products marketed over-the-counter as cold remedies because they can cause  long-lasting or permanent loss of smell.

The products are:

• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel
• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (a discontinued product)

The FDA has received more than 130 reports of loss of sense of smell associated with the use of these three Zicam products. In these reports, many people who experienced a loss of smell said the condition occurred with the first dose; others reported a loss of the sense of smell after multiple uses of the products.

People who have experienced a loss of sense of smell or other problems after use of the affected Zicam products should contact their health care professional. The loss of sense of smell can adversely affect a person’s quality of life, and can limit the ability to detect the smell of gas or smoke or other signs of danger in the environment.

The FDA has issued Matrixx Initiatives, maker of these Zicam products, a warning letter telling it that these products cannot be marketed without FDA approval.

Health care professionals and consumers are encouraged to report adverse events (side effects) that may be related to the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online, by regular mail, fax or phone.—Online—Regular Mail: use FDA postage paid form 3500 and mail to MedWatch, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787—Fax: 800-FDA-0178—Phone: 800-FDA-1088

For more information:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm166834.htm

Dominic J. Ferro, a Nanuet psychiatrist, will be honored tomorrow  by NAMI- FAMILYA, the Roclkand chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, at the group’s annual award’s dinner.

Ferro will be presented with the 2009 NAMI Exemplary Psychiatrist Award  He is a general and forensic and adolescent psychiatrist who is being honored for his contributions to education and advocacy to promote understanding and treatment for mental illness.

Ferro has worked with  NAMI  to conduct  educational outreach to high school and college students and community members. Ferro is past president of the Mental Health Coalition of Rockland and President elect of the West Hudson Psychiatric Society.

Terrie Williams, social worker, author and founder of the Stay Strong Foundation, will be featured  as keynote speaker at the event.

The World Health Organization told its member nations it was declaring a swine flu pandemic Thursday — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.

In a statement sent to member countries, WHO said it decided to raise the pandemic warning level from phase 5 to 6 — its highest alert — after holding an emergency meeting on swine flu with its experts.
The long-awaited pandemic decision is scientific confirmation that a new flu virus has emerged and is quickly circling the globe. It will trigger drugmakers to speed up production of a swine flu vaccine and prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus, the Associated Press reports.

There have been 1,241 confirmed cases of the flu in New York, with 46 in Westchester, 8 in Rockland and 2 in Putnam, according to the state Department of Health.

The total number of people with the illness, which is generally mild, is probably much higher, health officials said. Most people who are sick with the flu are not specifically tested for swine flu.

An eighth person in Rockland has been diagnosed with the swine flu, according to the state Department of Health. No public schools in the county have been closed as a result of the swine flu. There have been a total of 866 confirmed cases statewide, including 36 in Westchester and two in Putnam. The Rockland Department of Health did not respond to a request for information.