Each year in August, National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) provides an opportunity to highlight the value of immunization across the lifespan. Activities focus on encouraging all people to protect their health by being vaccinated against infectious diseases. In 2015, the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) is coordinating NIAM activities.
Each week of the month, the CDC will feature different age groups and the recommendations for that age group.
“HIV” stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. To understand what that means, let’s break it down:
H – Human – This particular virus can only infect human beings.
I – Immunodeficiency – HIV weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. A “deficient” immune system can’t protect you.
V – Virus – A virus can only reproduce itself by taking over a cell in the body of its host.
HIV is a lot like other viruses, including those that cause the “flu” or the common cold. But there is an important difference – over time, your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. That isn’t the case with HIV – the human immune system can’t seem to get rid of it. That means that once you have HIV, you have it for life.
CDC estimates that 1,201,100 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 168,300 (14%) who are unaware of their infection. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level—particularly among certain groups.
Within 2-4 weeks after HIV infection, many, but not all, people experience flu-like symptoms, often described as the “worst flu ever.” This is called “acute retroviral syndrome” (ARS) or “primary HIV infection,” and it’s the body’s natural response to the HIV infection.
Symptoms can include:
Fever (this is the most common symptom)
Swollen glands
Sore throat
Rash
Fatigue
Muscle and joint aches and pains
Headache
These symptoms can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. However, you should not assume you have HIV if you have any of these symptoms. Each of these symptoms can be caused by other illnesses. Conversely, not everyone who is infected with HIV develops ARS. Many people who are infected with HIV do not have any symptoms at all for 10 years or more.
Today is the day to get tested if you think you are potentially at risk of contracting HIV. Call your doctor or check out the AIDS test site locator to find a place near you for testing.
June 15-21 is National Men’s Health Week! During this week, men should attempt to make at least one change in their lives that will help improve their health. From menshealthmonth.org:
The purpose of Men’s Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.
This week gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury. The response has been overwhelming with hundreds of awareness activities in the USA and around the globe. For a partial list of activities, click here.
This unique celebration will mark the 28th annual National Cancer Survivors Day®. Thousands of people in hundreds of communities across the globe will hold celebrations on this day to honor cancer survivors and to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be fruitful, rewarding, and even inspiring.
Anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life – is a cancer survivor, according to the National Cancer Survivors Day® Foundation. In the United States alone, there are more than 14 million people living with a history of cancer. Major advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment have resulted in longer survival, and therefore, a growing number of cancer survivors. However, a cancer diagnosis can leave a host of problems in its wake. Physical, financial, and emotional hardships often persist for years after diagnosis and treatment. Survivors may face many challenges, such as limited access to cancer specialists and promising new treatments, inadequate or no health insurance, financial hardships, difficulty finding employment, psychosocial struggles, and a lack of understanding from family and friends.
In light of these difficulties, our community needs to focus on improving the quality of life for cancer survivors. “Despite the numerous challenges they face, cancer survivors live full, productive lives and serve as an inspiration to all of us,” says the press release. “It’s time for our community to stand with them and help find ways to lessen the burdens a cancer diagnosis brings.”
June is National Migraine Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is help make Migraines visible!
There are a number of reasons to help make Migraines visible. Two of the most significant of those reasons are:
Ridding ourselves of the myths and misconceptions about Migraines and the resulting stigma. Studies have shown that the stigma associated with Migraines increases the burden of living with the disease
Making Migraines more visible could result in more research funding which, in turn, would result in more and better treatments.
Educating ourselves and others and building awareness about Migraines are the best methods we have of making Migraines visible, and this is an area where each individual can make a difference. This isn’t something we need or should sit back and leave to others or to the professionals. There are more than 37 million people in the United States who have Migraines. Can you imagine what we could accomplish if just 10% of us got serious about educating others and building awareness about Migraine? That would be 3.7 million of us, and just think what we could do!
Food Allergy Awareness Week turned into Food Allergy Action Month at some point, was created to help raise awareness for the From FARE:
In 1998, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, now FARE, created Food Allergy Awareness Week to educate the public about food allergies, a potentially life-threatening medical condition. This year’s awareness week falls on May 10-16, 2015, but we will have activities and ways to get involved throughout the entire month of May for Food Allergy Action Month. This is a special opportunity to shine a spotlight on food allergies and anaphylaxis. There are many easy ways you can get involved in raising awareness, educating others and inspiring action.
Healthy Kids Day is an annual initiative created and sponsored by the YMCA. Here is a description of the Health Holiday from their website:
Summer is the time for kids to get up, get out and grow. But for some kids, exposure to activities that stimulate the body and mind ends with the school year. In fact, research shows that kids are prone to gain more weight and fall behind in studies. On April 25, the Y will celebrate Healthy Kids Day®, our national initiative to improve the health and well-being of kids.
The goal of the holiday is to raise awareness for negative impact that unhealthy childhood eating and exercising habits have throughout a child’s life and make it a priority to develop healthy habits at an early age. This site has a lot of useful information that parents can read to make sure they are enabling their children to be able to lead a healthy lifestyle as adults. Here are a couple excerpts:
The theme of World Immunization Week 2015 is “Close the Immunization Gap.” The gap between the 1 in 5 children who still do not receive basic life-saving vaccines, as well as to the gaps in progress towards the targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP). The GVAP envisions a world where everyone lives life free from vaccine preventable diseases – whoever they are, wherever they live – by 2020.
Purple Day has a pretty interesting story. According to their website:
Cassidy Megan created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Cassidy’s goal is to get people talking about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone. The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia came on board in 2008 to help develop Cassidy’s idea which is now known as the Purple Day for epilepsy campaign.
March 25th is a day recognized by the United States as National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder that affects different motor functions resulting in physical disabilities. CP exists on a spectrum, meaning that the severity and depth of disabilities can vary widely amongst those affected.
