Tag Archives: health

November 15, 2025 · 11:34

Public Service Announcement…*&#( 🤬

H3N2 is a subtype of influenza A that can cause severe flu seasons, particularly among older adults, young children, and people with chronic health conditions, and recent data indicates Canada may face a challenging flu season due to an evolving form of H3N2.

H3N2

The virus mutates frequently, which can lead to changes in severity and potential mismatches with seasonal vaccines 

Symptoms and Complications

Infection with H3N2 typically lasts 5–7 days, though a severe cough may persist for up to three weeks. Common symptoms include:

  • Fever and chills
  • Body aches and headaches
  • Sore throat and cough
  • Exhaustion
  • Minor nasal congestion
  • Vomiting and diarrhea, more common in children 

Serious complications can occur, even in otherwise healthy individuals, and include pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, meningitis, and myocarditis

Risk Factors

People at higher risk of severe outcomes from H3N2 infection include:

  • Children under 5 years
  • Adults 65 years and older
  • Pregnant individuals
  • People with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, immunosuppression, or neurological conditions 

Diagnosis and Treatment

H3N2 influenza is diagnosed by a healthcare provider using symptom assessment, physical examination, and sometimes rapid flu tests from nasal or throat swabs. Antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu or Relenza, are most effective if administered within the first 48 hours of symptom onset 

Supportive care, including rest, hydration, and over-the-counter symptom relief, is crucial, while antibiotics are only necessary in the case of secondary bacterial infections.

Prevention

Preventive measures include:

  • Receiving the annual flu vaccine, which reduces severity and mortality 
  • Practicing good respiratory hygiene: covering mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, frequent handwashing, and avoiding touching the face
  • Avoiding close contact with infected individuals and staying home when sick
  • Using protective equipment and hygiene when in contact with pigs, as certain H3N2 variants originate in swine 

Vaccines for influenza cannot cause the flu because they contain only protein components of the virus 

Current Situation in Canada

Flu cases are rising in Canada, and experts warn that the 2025 – 2026 season could be particularly severe due to a mutated H3N2 strain, which may have structural changes making it partially mismatched with the current vaccine. Early indicators from the Southern Hemisphere and parts of Europe and Asia suggest potential record high case counts. In Canada, older adults and school-aged children are at higher risk for severe infection 

Public health authorities advise Canadians, especially seniors, to get vaccinated and consider combining flu shots with other seasonal vaccines such as COVID-19 or RSV vaccines where eligible. Although vaccine coverage may not perfectly match the circulating H3N2 variant, vaccination can still reduce illness severity, complications, and deaths

In summary, H3N2 is a significant seasonal flu subtype with potential for severe illness, and proactive measures—including vaccination and hygiene—are essential as Canada heads into the flu season.

Leave a comment

Filed under Whatnot

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

November 3, 2025 · 10:24

It Was Never About Protecting You.

Decriminalize Drug Use. It is a public health issue.

Go ahead, clutch your pearls and when you’re done? Ask yourself about that “War on Drugs”, has it been successful? That’s a big old “No!”

Now, take a look at the Netherlands, at Portugal where individual drug use has been decriminalized, holding drugs in the amounts designed for personal use has also been decriminalized. It has not led to wide spread addiction, it has led to a common sense approach to a health problem.

People are dying but they are not “one of us” so who cares, right? Well, as a human being, I do.

Did prohibition work? Sure did, if you want to talk about the creation and perpetuation of criminal networks and whole lot of dirty money exchanging hands. Financial dynasties were created by thwarting the Volstead Act. Same way financial dynasties have been created thwarting useless drug laws, throughout the world.

Decriminalizing drug use, offering health care and allowing people to maintain their dignity will go much further in lowering drug related crime than the nonsensical systems currently in place.

I’m so tired of watching people die, of prisons being overcrowded due to indifference. Of criminals living in luxury as they funnel the pay-offs and the bribes so they can continue to kill, indiscriminately.

The whole system needs to be scrapped and a new common sense address of the situation is long overdue. The “Why’s” absolutely need to be examined. The root causes. Why do you not require chemical/organic aids to get through a day; what is the difference between you and the person dying in the street, in their homes, in a club or a high school bathroom? Who is benefitting from the drug crisis?

Society is judged, by history, for its treatment of its vulnerable. We’re failing, in a big way.

Leave a comment

Filed under Whatnot

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

August 31, 2025 · 08:56

Gummies, CBD and Sleep

I get a lot of questions about my use of CBD to control the impact arthritis has on my sleep and daily life. So, I figured I’d just write about my PERSONAL experience and let folks make their own decisions.

Prior to using CBD, I had very little exposure to cannabis. I don’t smoke weed. So the edible idea made sense.

I did my time with Tramadol, Supeudol (Oxycodone Hydrochloride) and the various corticosteroids (shots and oral meds). Did they work? Yes, they did but the side effects and long term impact were not acceptable to me.

Corticosteroids, I have immune system issues and taking that family of meds impacts my resistance to infections even more and just racks the heck out of your stomach. So, that’s not good, either.

Being a woman, in a particular stage in life? Sleep was not a friend. I slept, maybe 3 hours straight and would wake up, wander around, try to go back to bed but the sleep was no restful. I had thought that this was it, no more sleep for me.

I went to One Plant in Hawkesbury, Ontario; https://www.oneplant.ca/ They have many outlets. I prefer them due to the knowledge held by the staff, their courteousness, their friendliness.

Here are the details:

  • 2 Gummies – Twilight Tranquility – 20 mg CBD per gummy and .05 mg THC (There is a far wider choice, this is just the one I picked).
  • Took about 3 – 5 days to feel any difference, at all, with sleep and pain/stiffness from arthritis.
  • By 2 weeks, I was sleeping and I found the pain was, markedly, lessened.
  • The improvement is gradual, not immediate and this is, in no way, shape or form, a cure. The products simply improve my quality of life.
  • 2 months, I can do stairs – slowly but with a marked lessening of pain.
  • I can get down, on my knees, to vacuum under furniture but it is not pain-free but absolutely manageable.
  • I am sleeping, not 8 hours but when I do sleep, it is a very deep sleep. I am far more rested and have energy.

These products are not a cure, they are not a quick fix; there is no such thing with arthritis. I take 2 but someone else may need to cut it down or up the dosage. This takes time and may not work for everyone. It works for me, it allows me to enjoy my life, and I don’t worry about the potential of addiction to opioids or damage from the corticosteroids.

1 Comment

Filed under Whatnot

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

July 1, 2025 · 07:57

Dark Side of Cannabis or is the competition getting worried?

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/the-dark-side-of-cannabis-edibles-and-why-they-re-worse-than-smoking/

Figured we would start seeing these kinds of articles. Oooo, Cannabis bad, pharmaceuticals and booze, better…

The following is purely anecdotal. I have R.A. – on a bad day? It feels like my joints are going to swell through my skin and that they are made up of shattered glass. It has been gradual and I did learn to “work around” but work around is now, not an option. Simple chores, like making the darn bed, vacuuming, bring up laundry, or a simple walk to the mailbox, requires thought and planning, sometimes it is just a full speed ahead and “Git ‘er done!”, worry about the pain later.

I’ve been prescribed Prednisone, Supeudol and Tramadol, the last 2 are opioids…

I refuse to take Prednisone, I’ve taken it before and for me, the side effects were, almost, worse than the conditions it was prescribed to relieve; the opioids, well…we all know the impact those can have on life.

Folks had recommended I try CBD and CBN; so I headed to a government run dispensary in Québec, learned Gummies were not available because…kids. Right. Even though you have to show government picture I.D. Yes, Québec is a nanny-state. The products I was given, did nothing – I don’t smoke weed. I despise the smell and it makes me cough, so I was given oil…it ended up in the trash.

We decided to try Ontario, a little less of the whole nanny-state thing and sure enough, Gummies, all sorts of Gummies. Some with THC, some without. We bought an assortment. (Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Francesco @ OnePlant Hawkesbury, https://www.oneplant.ca/locations/hawkesbury#

I was on the fence, I was never an imbiber of the Devil’s Lettuce 🤣🤣; even back in the ’70’s…if I smoked, it was Hash, far less harsh, I didn’t cough and damn, I had a really cute pipe but I ceased “illegal” substances back in 1979. A couple of forays into cookies and some special “cream cheese” but those left me comatose…not a bad thing, just not my thing.

Well, spoke to Francesco, asked a few questions and we decided on a few products. First night I tried the CBD/CBN gummies, some success in the sleeping department, pain relief was minimal.

2nd night, tried a combo of the CBD/CBN and a THC Gummie. Damn. I slept, I got up the next morning without the aid of my night table for support. NOT A CURE-ALL but definite improvement. The inflammation is still there but slightly less and with R.A. this alone, is a boon.

For now, I’m sticking to my Gummies – less impact of my health and well being than the Prednisone/opioids and maybe that’s why we’re seeing more and more articles on the evils of cannabinoids…cutting into the old profit margin.

Leave a comment

Filed under Whatnot

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,