HOPE Pharmacy

11/22/2025

🌿 A Heartfelt Thank You to Shandalin O’Mahony, NP 🌿

Today, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to Shandalin O’Mahony, who has served the Hope and Manning Park community with dedication, compassion, and exceptional care for the past eight years.

Shandalin has been more than a Nurse Practitioner — she has been a listener, a supporter, and a source of strength for so many patients. Her kindness, professionalism, and genuine empathy have touched countless lives, and her impact will be felt in our community for many years to come.

As she moves on from her practice on November 29, 2025, we want to say thank you for every moment she gave to her patients, for every reassuring word, and for every effort she made to ensure people felt heard and cared for.

You will be truly missed, Shandalin. 💚
Wishing you all the happiness, health, and fulfillment in this next chapter of your journey.

— With gratitude from your community 🙏

11/18/2025

11/16/2025

11/14/2025

In healthy, relaxed breathing, we normally breathe in for a shorter time and breathe out for a longer time.

Typical natural rhythm:
• Inhale: ~2–4 seconds
• Exhale: ~4–6 seconds

Why is exhalation takes longer?
Here’s the clear explanation:

🫁 1. Inhaling requires active effort

When you breathe in:
• Your diaphragm contracts, moves down.
• Your chest muscles expand your rib cage.

This is active work, so it happens relatively quickly.

🌬️ 2. Exhaling is mostly passive and slower

When you breathe out:
• The diaphragm relaxes.
• The lungs naturally recoil (like a balloon shrinking).
• Air flows out without needing strong muscle effort.

This makes the exhale naturally longer and smoother.

🧠 3. Longer exhalations calm the nervous system

The parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and relax”) activates more during a long exhale.

This:
• Lowers heart rate
• Reduces anxiety
• Eases tension
• Helps regulate emotions

That’s why breathing exercises often say:
👉 Exhale longer than you inhale
because it physically signals your brain to calm down.

For example:
• 4 seconds inhale
• 6 seconds exhale

This is one of the fastest ways to reduce stress or panic.

11/04/2025

🤔

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US, with an estimated 5.4 million diagnoses annually.

This Review summarizes the presentation, diagnosis, management, and prevention of keratinocyte carcinomas.

https://ja.ma/4oL7Igf

11/04/2025

❄️ Why Do We Get Sick More Often in Winter?

When winter begins, respiratory infections become more common — and science has several clear explanations supported by current research.

🧬 1. Low Absolute Humidity Increases Virus Survival and Transmission

A study published in Virology found that absolute humidity (not just relative humidity) is a key factor in the survival and transmission of influenza A viruses. In dry winter air, viruses remain stable and infectious for longer periods.
🔗 Shaman & Kohn, Virology, 2009 (PubMed)

🌡️ 2. Cold, Dry Conditions Directly Affect Infection Rates

Research has shown that lower temperatures and humidity precede outbreaks of human rhinovirus (the main cause of the common cold). Enveloped viruses in particular show greater stability in cold, dry environments.
🔗 Peci et al., Viruses, 2016 (MDPI)
🔗 Sloan et al., eLife, 2021

💨 3. Dry Air Weakens the Nose’s Natural Defenses

Cold air cools and dries the nasal passages. This reduces the movement of cilia and the effectiveness of mucus — our body’s first barrier against germs — making it easier for viruses to invade.
🔗 Mayo Clinic Minute: Why Do People Get Sick in Winter?

🧍‍♂️ 4. Indoor Crowding and Poor Ventilation

People spend more time indoors during winter. Enclosed spaces with low ventilation increase close contact and facilitate airborne transmission of viruses.
🔗 Discover Magazine – Why Are Viruses More Active in Winter?

🩺 Pharmacist Tips for Winter Wellness
• Keep indoor humidity around 40–60% to reduce viral survival.
🔗 Stanford News – Low Humidity Boosts Viruses
• Get your annual flu vaccine — winter conditions make transmission easier.
• Stay hydrated — water maintains healthy nasal mucus barriers.
• Use saline sprays or humidifiers to keep airways moist.
• Ventilate indoor spaces regularly, even for a few minutes a day.
• In very cold air, cover your nose and mouth with a scarf to warm inhaled air and protect mucosal immunity.

11/04/2025

Please note:
Store will be closed Tuesday, November 11 for Remembrance Day.

Store is open 9:00 AM–5:00 PM on Monday, November 10 to assist with all your needs.

We appreciate your understanding & wish you a meaningful Remembrance Day. 🌺

10/23/2025

“Back mice” is an old but still-used nickname in medicine — the formal term is episacral lipoma or fibro-fatty nodule of the back.

These are small, soft, movable lumps of fatty tissue under the skin, usually found over the lower back or sacroiliac area. When a doctor presses them, they slide or move slightly under the fingers, much like how a mouse might dart under the skin — hence the word “mice.”
• Location:
They’re commonly found on the lower back (“back” part) — giving the name “back mice.”

• What they actually are:
They’re herniations of fat through the fibrous layer (thoracolumbar fascia). Sometimes they can cause localized back pain or refer pain to nearby regions if they compress small nerves.

10/13/2025

Dear valued clients, Store is closed for Thanksgiving - see you tomorrow 9am.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE 👋🏻

09/29/2025

Dear Customers,
Our store will be closed tomorrow, September 30th, in observance of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in British Columbia.

We take this day to reflect, learn, and honour the children, survivors, families, and communities affected by the residential school system. 🧡

We will reopen with regular business hours on October 1st.

08/12/2025

Tear System & Function
Your eyes have a “tear-making team” — the lacrimal glands, eyelids, meibomian glands, cornea, conjunctiva, and their nerves. They work together to keep your eyes moist, healthy, and your vision clear.

The tear film has three layers:
1. Mucous layer – Closest to the eye; made by goblet cells; acts like a slippery cushion, traps dust and germs.
2. Aqueous layer – The watery middle part; made by lacrimal glands; carries nutrients, oxygen, antibacterial agents, and helps healing.
3. Lipid layer – The oily top layer; made by meibomian glands; stops tears from drying too quickly and keeps the surface smooth.

The mucous and aqueous layers actually blend together into one “mucoaqueous” layer, thicker near the eye and thinner toward the air.
———————————————-
Dry Eye Disease (DED):
—————————————-
Dry eye happens when the tear system loses balance, leading to unstable tears, inflammation, and sometimes nerve problems.

It can be caused by:

• Aqueous tear deficiency – Not enough watery tears.
• Evaporative dry eye – Tears dry out too quickly.
Often, both happen together.

Examples: Contact lens wearers may blink less or incompletely, causing tears to evaporate, and some medicines can reduce tear production further.

Why it matters:
Dry eye can cause discomfort, blurred vision, and, in severe cases, damage to the eye’s surface, scarring, or even vision loss.

Causes of Dry Eye Disease (DED)
——————————————————-
1. Aqueous tear deficiency – Not enough watery tears
• Primary: Aging, born without tear glands, rare nerve disorders
• Secondary:
• Tear gland damage from disease (sarcoidosis, lymphoma, AIDS, hepatitis C) or surgery
• Blocked tear ducts
• Scarring from infections (trachoma), autoimmune diseases, chemical injury, graft-versus-host disease
• Nerve problems that reduce tear reflex (eye surgery, nerve injury, contact lenses, diabetes)
• Nerve or muscle signal problems (parasympathetic damage, certain medications)
• Sjögren’s syndrome: Autoimmune disease damaging tear and saliva glands (primary form or secondary to other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus)

2. Evaporative dry eye – Tears dry out too quickly
• Lid-related:
• Meibomian gland problems (often linked to skin conditions like rosacea or dermatitis)
• Medications (e.g., isotretinoin)
• Eyelid shape issues, thyroid eye disease, contact lenses
• Low blink rate (e.g., Parkinson’s disease)
• Ocular surface-related:
• Low blink rate during reading, computer work, or TV
• Surface damage from vitamin A deficiency, certain eye drops, allergies

⸻

Impact
• Can make daily activities (reading, driving, computer work, TV) uncomfortable
• Linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety, especially in primary Sjögren’s
• Some people have severe symptoms with little visible eye damage, while others have damage but few symptoms

⸻

Risk Factors
• Non-modifiable: Age, female s*x, Asian ethnicity, autoimmune/connective tissue diseases, androgen deficiency
• Modifiable: Computer use, low humidity, pollution, certain medications, hormone therapy, meibomian gland dysfunction
• Probable links: Diabetes, rosacea, thyroid disease, psychiatric conditions, vitamin A deficiency, refractive surgery, allergies
• Less certain: Hispanic ethnicity, menopause, acne, smoking, alcohol, pregnancy, certain infections, Botox use.