Boughton Family Practice

10/13/2022

We are learning more as time goes by. Please get vaccinated and boosted.

The Scottish study, one of the largest on long covid, found that 1 in 20 people had not recovered more than six months after infection.

11/07/2019

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Source: Natonal Institute of Mental Health

Overview
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that comes and goes with the seasons, typically starting in the late fall and early winter and going away during the spring and summer. Depressive episodes linked to the summer can occur, but are much less common than winter episodes of SAD.

Signs and Symptoms
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is not considered as a separate disorder. It is a type of depression displaying a recurring seasonal pattern. To be diagnosed with SAD, people must meet full criteria for major depression coinciding with specific seasons (appearing in the winter or summer months) for at least 2 years. Seasonal depressions must be much more frequent than any non-seasonal depressions.

Symptoms of Major Depression
Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day
Feeling hopeless or worthless
Having low energy
Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
Having problems with sleep
Experiencing changes in your appetite or weight
Feeling sluggish or agitated
Having difficulty concentrating
Having frequent thoughts of death or su***de.

Symptoms of the Winter Pattern of SAD include:

Having low energy
Hypersomnia
Overeating
Weight gain
Craving for carbohydrates
Social withdrawal (feel like “hibernating”)
Symptoms of the less frequently occurring summer seasonal affective disorder include:

Poor appetite with associated weight loss
Insomnia
Agitation
Restlessness
Anxiety
Episodes of violent behavior
Risk Factors

Treatments and Therapies

There are four major types of treatment for SAD:

Medication
Light therapy
Psychotherapy
Vitamin D
These may be used alone or in combination.

Medication
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are used to treat SAD. The FDA has also approved the use of bupropion, another type of antidepressant, for treating SAD.

As with other medications, there are side effects to SSRIs. Talk to your doctor about the possible risks of using this medication for your condition. You may need to try several different antidepressant medications before finding the one that improves your symptoms without causing problematic side effects. For basic information about SSRIs and other mental health medications, visit NIMH’s Medications webpage. Check the FDA’s website for the latest information on warnings, patient medication guides, or newly approved medications.

Light Therapy
Light therapy has been a mainstay of treatment for SAD since the 1980s. The idea behind light therapy is to replace the diminished sunshine of the fall and winter months using daily exposure to bright, artificial light. Symptoms of SAD may be relieved by sitting in front of a light box first thing in the morning, on a daily basis from the early fall until spring. Most typically, light boxes filter out the ultraviolet rays and require 20-60 minutes of exposure to 10,000 lux of cool-white fluorescent light, an amount that is about 20 times greater than ordinary indoor lighting.

Psychotherapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is type of psychotherapy that is effective for SAD. Traditional cognitive behavioral therapy has been adapted for use with SAD (CBT-SAD). CBT-SAD relies on basic techniques of CBT such as identifying negative thoughts and replacing them with more positive thoughts along with a technique called behavioral activation. Behavioral activation seeks to help the person identify activities that are engaging and pleasurable, whether indoors or outdoors, to improve coping with winter.

Vitamin D
At present, vitamin D supplementation by itself is not regarded as an effective SAD treatment. The reason behind its use is that low blood levels of vitamin D were found in people with SAD. The low levels are usually due to insufficient dietary intake or insufficient exposure to sunshine. However, the evidence for its use has been mixed. While some studies suggest vitamin D supplementation may be as effective as light therapy, others found vitamin D had no effect.

I also recommends outdoor physical activity during the brightest part of the day!

SO GET OUT THERE AND TAKE A WALK!

For more detailed information click the link below

Explore information on Seasonal Affective Disorder, including symptoms, risk factors, treatments and therapies, and clinical trials.

10/30/2019

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201711/10-reasons-teens-have-so-much-anxiety-today

We've created an environment that fosters anxiety rather than resilience.

10/29/2019

The Secret "weapon" to Fight the Flu

Source: National Sleep Foundation

When it comes to your health, sleep plays an important role. While more sleep won’t necessarily prevent you from getting sick, skimping on it could adversely affect your immune system, leaving you susceptible to a bad cold or case of the flu. To keep yourself sniffle-free this season, here’s what you need to know.

Sleep and Cytokines

Without sufficient sleep, your body makes fewer cytokines, a type of protein that targets infection and inflammation, effectively creating an immune response. Cytokines are both produced and released during sleep, causing a double whammy if you skimp on shut-eye. Chronic sleep loss even makes the flu vaccine less effective by reducing your body’s ability to respond.

Stock Up on Naps

To stay healthy, especially during the influenza season, get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep a night. This will help keep your immune system in fighting shape, and also protect you from other health issues including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. If your sleep schedule is interrupted by a busy workweek or other factors, try to make up for the lost rest with naps. Taking two naps that are no longer than 30 minutes each —one in the morning and one in the afternoon—has been shown to help decrease stress and offset the negative effects that sleep deprivation has on the immune system. If you can’t swing a half-hour nap during the workday, try grabbing a 20-minute siesta on your lunch hour, and another right before dinner.

Other Healthy Tactics

Of course, there’s more to boosting your immunity and guarding against illness than getting ample sleep. It’s also important to practice smart stay-healthy strategies such as washing your hands with soap regularly, avoiding close contact with people who are obviously under the weather, and talking with your doctor about getting an annual flu shot. And remember: Even if you do come down with a case of seasonal sniffles, you’ll be able to bounce back faster if your body is well rested.

10/23/2019

It's very important to wash your hands! Contact with doorknobs/ handles, chairbacks, table tops and other commonly touched surfaces can spread the germs causing colds and disease.

10/23/2019

Flu season is upon us. Please get your flu shot to protect yourself. By doing so and not contracting the flu you will also help to protect any young children, people with compromised health as well as older adults you may come in contact with. Help us to save lives by immunizing yourself.

05/01/2019

April showers bring May flowers and we are bringing you a special deal for the month of May.You may have heard the news from the CDC of a resurgance of whooping cough ( pertussis) and that all adults 19 or older should have a Tdap vaccine.
We are offering Boostrix Tdap vaccine for $60 till the end of the month!
Please contact the office at 630-410-2448 if you would like to get the vaccine. (vaccine not covered by Medicare)

Protect yourself and those you love, especially those newborn grandkids!

01/31/2019

Effective February 1, 2019 we will be located at 402 W. Boughton Rd, Suite F-1. Two doors down from our current location. We are moving phone lines and internet today, so please be patient if you can't get through. Please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Thanks in advance for your patience.

09/16/2016

FLU SEASON approaches, but it's not here yet. Two important points ought to be made while we still have time to make plans:
ONE: Having the flu shot cuts a Senior's chance of hospitalization by MORE THAN 50% if you get the flu.
TWO: The CDC recommends NOT using the live, nasal spray vaccine at ALL this year.

Although 'early' vaccination is being recommended, even by the CDC, it is wise to remember that OVER 50% of the flu cases peak in February or LATER, making it likely that the shot's immunity may be fading or gone if given too early!

SO!!! I recommend that you plan to get a flu shot this year, and I encourage you to WAIT until about Halloween to get it!!!

(We have our shots in hand, and plan on seeing you this Fall!)
Doc Lofthouse

07/22/2016

Parents make sure you get your 6th and 12th graders in for their required Meningitis Vaccine. Contact the office and schedule your child for their vaccine, we still have a few left.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley finds out what's behind the rule change.

06/10/2016

Proud of our patients Andy and Bunny Peterson and the productive way they are spending their retirement!

02/10/2016

It's COOOOOOLLLLD today!! (but it's sunny......)
And the days are getting longer, so soon Spring will be here!
(at least that's the Midwest belief every year at this time!)
And with Spring, we all get out in the dirt and root around and dig and prune and plant, which brings us ALL in contact with Tetanus!
Tetanus is in ALL the soil around here, due to years of horse-dependent society. So we ALL need regular tetanus immunization.
How often, you ask?? About every 10 years would be just fine.
(I will need one every time my eldest grandson has a birthday with a zero in it, just to make it easy for ME to recall!!)
Now is the time to ask yourself about YOUR tetanus status. And, to make it easier, in the next month I am offering a special rate on tetanus shots: Just $25 will update YOU for the NEXT ten years!
Whether you get one from me or elsewhere, it's the right thing to do, and now is a perfect time to take inventory and do the right thing THIS YEAR!
(PS You probably heard about Pertussis vaccination in connection with tetanus; but you only need ONE in your adult years! Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions, of course!)
Dr. Lofthouse