Asthma problems continue to rise in American. So says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a report issued earlier this week. Asthma education and action plans are “key” to helping stem the increase in asthma problems for both adults and children.

This is National Asthma Awareness Month. It’s a little disheartening to know that despite better treatment options, asthma continues to rise as a major cause of illness, hospitalizations, missed work or school days, and early death. Check these staggering numbers (more…)

Earlier this year, the folks at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology were playing games. OK, they were patient education games and they were very heavily techno-oriented, but they were still games.

More specifically, the folks of the New Media Medicine research group, a part of MIT Media Lab, held their Health and Wellness Innovation 2012 event, a “two week hackathon that brings together students, health professionals, and innovators from industry to build technology that empowers patients to take control of their health.” (more…)

How many times have you seen those signs in restaurant or other public restrooms saying “All Employees Must Wash Hands Before Returning to Work”? This is a very important thing to help fight the spread of germs. But, for truly good germ fighting power, it should say that they must “Wash AND Dry” their hands.

Why? Because according to scientists at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, it isn’t just the washing that helps. They looked at how many germs were spread when people touched different stuff – skin, food, utensils – after washing their hands with and without good drying. If hands were dried really well after washing, the number of germs that they spread shrank by 94 to 99%. It is about 1,000 times safer if you dry your hands well after washing them than if you leave them wet or damp! (more…)

“Whoa, there, Mister Clean. Where do ya think you’re going with that germ load?” asked Hal.

Sal, his hand just inches from the bathroom door of Johnny Balboa’s Famous Italian Pizzaria and Popcorn Parlor, Sal’s favorite restaurant. Sal turned with a frown and said, “Back to my chili con carne pizza, of course. Why?”

“Not with those hands, little bro,” answered Hal.

Sal looked at his hands, both palms turned up, flipped them over, and said, “They’re the only hands I got, Hal.” (more…)

If I could read, I probably wouldn’t have mixed up my prescriptions last month and ended up in the emergency room.

If I could read, I might be able to understand what my doctor wrote on my instructions when I last visited with her.

If I could read, all those papers that the pharmacist puts in with my prescriptions would probably mean something.

If I could read, I could use a computer and I could text with my friends and family instead of pretending “I just don’t like that stuff”. (more…)

And, speaking of great asthma education resources…

Oh, sorry, I guess that was just in my head. Well, since we’re on the topic, I came across some really great asthma education resources that I thought would be good to share.

As you know, a lot of web content is pretty weak. Some is downright wrong and may even be harmful. Other sites may not be so much bad as they are a waste of time.

There are a few I’ve found that are rock solid reliable and, if you’re looking for quality asthma education resources, these will bring a good return on your time investment “dollar”, so to speak. (more…)

AAAAI!!! Sounds more like something you might scream when running away from asthma education, doesn’t it? But, actually, “AAAAI” is the short name for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and they have loads of asthma education tools. Plus, they now have a new Just for Kids section. It has games, puzzles, storybooks, video, and more.

Their new spokesperson is Mr. Nose-it-All. (As you can see from his picture, he’s actually more of a “spokes-nose”.) Mr. Nose-it-All has pages and pages of word games, bubble pop games, coloring books, matching games, storybooks, even a BrainPOP video with Tim and Moby. (more…)

So what does the phrase “Say, ah” have to do with health literacy? Well, according to the folks at non-profit Say Ah!, it’s related to “Open your mouth and say ‘Ah’” and “Ah, I understand now.”

I love the phrase, all big and bold on their home page: “Medicine is getting better every day, but dealing with it is getting harder.” How true!

Say Ah! is all about helping people understand health and healthcare issues. In other words, the Say Ah! folks seek to improve health literacy because they know that health literacy is “a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race.” (more…)

Knocking down barriers between healthcare providers and consumers is generally a good idea, but is there such a thing as too much patient education? Apparently so, at least in some circles.

In the Health News section of UPI.com, a recent story notes just such a situation exists when it comes to children with cancer. More specifically, it exists for parents and adult caregivers of kids with cancer. As noted in the article, “Parents of kids with cancer distrust Web“, researchers at the University of (more…)