Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The start of July brings us fireworks, fun and the typical hot weather and rain of the Florida summer. With all of the fun comes a little responsibility, as July brings to light several health causes and topics to be aware of, and to raise awareness for.
This month is full of a variety of worthy causes and health concerns to be aware of. One of the biggest tools that the collective human race has to fight the onset of life impacting health conditions is the power of human connection and communication. Health awareness months, weeks and days help us to rally together and show support for others, as well as spread awareness for people who's lives have been touched by various health conditions.
July is a month full of conditions and causes to be aware of. According to Healthline.com, July is known for the following:
• Cord Blood Awareness Month, with the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation. Cord blood is the term used for the blood collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after childbirth when a healthy baby is born. After birth, there is blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord, and this blood is very valuable, as it contains newborn stem cells. Parents have the choice between donating this cord blood to a public bank for free, or paying to have it stored for their family in a private blood bank. These stem cells have the ability to turn into blood cells, and are useful to treat patients with disorders of the blood and immune system, even treating patients with blood-related cancers, such as leukemias and lymphomas, as well as disorders such as Sickle Cell Disease and Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. Chemotherapy, a treatment often used in cancer patients, kills both cancerous cells and healthy blood-forming stem cells. Cord blood can be transplanted to help regrow the healthy blood cells after chemotherapy is complete, which can be life-saving. For more information, visit the website: https://publichealthmaps.org/calendar/2019/7/1/ cord-blood-awareness-month.
• Healthy Vision Month, with the National Eye Institute. This is a national observance devoted to encouraging people to make vision and eye health a priority. This is in an effort to spread the word about basic eye health as well as strategies to help prevent vision loss and blindness.
• International Group B Strep Throat Awareness Month, with Group B Strep International. This annual campaign highlights the importance of Group B Strep education and research, as well as prevention. Usually, many families do not hear about Group B Strep until after their baby is seriously ill with GBS Meningitis, Sepsis or Pneumonia. The goal of this awareness month is to bring education about Strep B, so families may take action sooner and protect their newborn babies. Group B Streptococcus, or Group B Strep (GBS), are bacteria that come and go regularly in the human body. Most of the time, the bacteria are not harmful, but sometimes they can cause serious illness in people, especially severe infections in newborns. One of the most important steps a pregnant woman can take to protect their baby is to get tested for GBS late in the pregnancy. If it is found that the mother tests positive, they have an increased chance of passing the bacteria to the baby during childbirth, and antibiotics at the time of labor is recommended. For more information, visit the website: https://www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep/about/prevention.html
• Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, with the Arthritis National Research Foundation. It is a little-known fact that over 300,000 children in America suffer from arthritis, a condition that is usually connected to older people. The ANRF currently funds research to find a cure for arthritis for both young and old patients. Raising awareness to this research encourages members of society to donate to the organization, funding more research, and hopefully, a cure. To discover more ways you can help spread awareness, or donate to the research of juvenile arthritis, visit: https://curearthritis.org/juvenile-arthritis-awareness-month/
• National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month, with AmeriFace and cleftAdvocate. A cleft lip and palate are both common types of conditions that affect the face and nasal passageways. A cleft lip is a separation in the upper lip, and a cleft palate is a split that occurs in the roof of the mouth. These conditions, often called “orofacial clefts” and they are thought to be caused by a combination of genes and other factors such as what a mother comes into contact with in her environment while pregnant, what she eats or drinks, or what medications she may be on while pregnant. For more information, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/cleftlip.html.
• Sarcoma Awareness Month, with the Sarcoma Foundation of America. Sarcoma is a general term for a broad group of cancers that begin in bones and soft tissue in the body. Soft tissue sarcomas in children can appear in muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, tendons, connective tissue, and other supporting tissues in the body. For more information about soft tissue sarcomas and treatment, visit: https://www.acco.org/sarcomas.
• UV Safety Awareness Month, with multiple organizations. Ultraviolet rays, UV rays, are an invisible kind of radiation that comes from the sun. This type of radiation is also present in tanning beds and sun lamps. UV rays can penetrate and change ordinary skin cells, turning them into potential skin-cancerous cells. UV rays are greatest threat to people in the late spring and early summers in North America, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special care should be taken to protect skin and eyes from potential damage from prolonged exposure to UV light. For more information, including tips on how to choose the best sunglasses to block UV rays, visit: https://www.eyeandhealth.com/blog/july-is-uv-safety-awareness-month.
• World Hepatitis Day (July 28), with the World Hepatitis Alliance. Even in the current COVID 19 crisis, a person dies every 30 seconds from a hepatitis-related illness. July 28 is recognized as World Hepatitis Day, and is the birthday of Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis virus in 1967, and developed the first hepatitis B vaccine just two years later. It creates the opportunity for people worldwide to be educated about the burden of the infections, efforts being orchestrated by the CDC, and actions that people can take to prevent infection. Viral hepatitis refers to a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A,B,C,D and E, and it affects millions of people world-wide, causing both short term and long term liver disease. To find out more, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/awareness/worldhepday.htm.