Tags: Safety

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Updates

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Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Updates

Jason

Greetings everyone, I hope you all are getting a chance to enjoy our unseasonably warm weather. This month we will have a guest blogger, one of our Pharmacy Students that is with us for a few weeks for a learning experience.

Hi, my name is Iryna. I am a pharmacy student at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. I am currently on rotation at Coborn’s Pharmacy in St. Cloud, MN. It is my pleasure to have the privilege to write a pharmacy blog entry for this month.

There are a lot of discussions about a new coronavirus outbreak. Some of you may have heard that the World Health Organization declared it a “public health emergency of international concern.” It is important to understand how this virus can spread and what we can do to protect ourselves and people around us.

What is a novel coronavirus? The new coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, belongs to a group of coronaviruses. They are often seen in animals such as cattle, cats and bats. It is possible that the new coronavirus was spread from animals to humans. The person-to-person transmission has been reported. The virus originated in China and has now spread to other countries.

What is the current situation in the U.S.? As of March 5, 2020, the CDC reports 100 confirmed cases and 11 deaths related to COVID-19. Additionally, 49 patients who were repatriated from Wuhan, China and Diamond Princess Cruise Ship to the United States were tested positive.

How does coronavirus spread? Person-to-person spread is most likely when an infected person sneezes or coughs and another person breathes in the respiratory droplets. It is also possible to get this infection when a person touches the surface that has the virus on it and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes. People are contagious when they have the most symptoms. However, they may be contagious before symptoms even develop.

What are the symptoms? The symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath may develop from 2 to 14 days after the exposure. The symptoms may vary from mild and moderate to severe.

What are the prevention measures? Multiple companies are working on the development of a vaccine for coronavirus disease (COVID19), however there is no vaccine currently available. To prevent being infected:

  • Avoid close contact with sick people
  • Stay home when you are sick
  • Do not touch your mouth, nose, and eyes
  • Cover your cough and sneezes
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. An alcohol-based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol may be used as well.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces that are often touched
  • Wear a face mask if you are sick or care for a sick person
  • Stay up-to-date on your immunizations
  • Practice healthy lifestyle habits

How is coronavirus disease treated? There is no specific medication to treat the actual coronavirus. Current treatment includes supportive care to relieve symptoms and to support organ functions.

What should I do if I think I may be infected? To help prevent the spread of coronavirus, follow these steps:

  • Notify your provider immediately
  • Stay at home unless you are going to get medical care and avoid any public places
  • Stay away from other people and animals in your home (separate room and bathroom are preferred)
  • Do not share household items such as glasses, dishes, and utensils with others
  • Wear a facemask if available
  • Clean your hands often
  • Cover your mouth and nose if you cough or sneeze
  • Monitor your symptoms
  • Clean surfaces that are often touched such as doorknobs, tabletops, and phones, etc.

May I travel? Check travel advisories prior to traveling internationally. You may also want to discuss your travel plans with your provider. As of March 5th, travel advisories are issued for China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, and Japan. The updates can be found on the CDC website.

What should I buy to prepare for a potential outbreak? If an outbreak occurs, it will be important to avoid crowded places. Having some of the following items at home would be helpful:

  • A supply of nonperishable food items (chicken or vegetable broth, crackers, and hydrating drinks, etc.)
  • Essential household items (laundry detergent, cleaning wipes, and hand soap etc.)
  • A supply of essential medications (pain relievers, fever reducers, decongestants, cough and cold medicines, etc.)

Should I wear a face mask? The CDC currently does not recommend wearing a face mask to prevent getting sick. This is because common surgical masks are not tight enough to prevent you from breathing in the droplets. However, it is recommended for a sick person to wear a mask which blocks the droplets from spreading. There are specialized masks, N95 masks, that filter 95% of airborne particles and are more effective compared to common surgical masks. However, they need to be fitted to work properly.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please talk to any of our friendly Pharmacists.

Thanks Iryna! Great information.

Jason
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Flu Season Is Coming!

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School is back in session and fall is in the air, sad to see summer go but I sure do love this time of year. This month we have a guest blogger, Ben Varoga. Ben is a 4th year pharmacy student from NDSU who is doing a management rotation with us. Ben has also worked at our Cooper and Pinecone locations for the past few years and has some great information to share with you regarding the flu.

Flu Shot Season

Every year there is a lot of news coverage about flu vaccines and influenza in general. A lot of information out there can be misleading, and it is important to get accurate information. Influenza, or more commonly known as “the flu,” is an infectious disease caused by a virus. Some symptoms that you experience from this virus include a high fever, a runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, a headache, coughing and feeling tired. The influenza virus can also lead to more serious problems including pneumonia, hospitalizations and in rare cases, death. Last flu season there were 6,446 hospitalizations attributed to the flu in Minnesota and five pediatric influenza-related deaths. These serious events can help be prevented by getting the flu vaccine and why it is so important to get immunized every flu season.

Flu vaccines, also called flu shots, help protect against the influenza virus. These vaccines are updated every year because the virus changes rapidly. For this reason, it is important to get your flu shot every year because last year’s vaccine likely won’t protect you during this flu season. In addition, the more people that get the vaccine in a community, the less that the influenza virus spreads throughout the community. The effectiveness of this vaccine varies from year to year but most commonly they provide modest to high protection against the influenza virus.

There are different kinds of flu vaccines available; injectable vaccines and an inhaled intranasal vaccine that is again approved this year. Neither type of vaccine is recommended over another, it is just important to get vaccinated. The flu vaccine is recommended for the vast majority of patients aged 6 months and older. Patients aged 65 years or older are recommended to get the high-dose flu vaccine to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine. There are even options now for people with certain allergies, such as egg allergies, to get a flu shot. It is important to talk with your local pharmacist if getting a flu vaccine is right for you.  

The flu vaccine is currently offered at all of our pharmacies for everyone aged 19 years and older.

I hope everyone has a great start to the school year!

Benjamin Varoga
NDSU Pharm. D. Student

Medication Recalls

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You may have seen in the news recently all the information around the medication recall for valsartan (a blood pressure medication). That has prompted many to ask us in the pharmacy… what is a medication recall?

First off, be assured that all FDA approved medications are thoroughly tested not only to make sure that they work, but also to make sure that they are safe to take. Once a medication has been approved for use, both the manufacturer and the FDA continues to monitor for unexpected safety issues. When a safety concern is identified a recall is announced. Sometimes there are public reported issues with taking the medications, sometimes the manufacturers discover defects.

Some reasons for medication recalls include;

  • Health concerns – Though all medications are tested for safety initially, it is not until long term use that other safety concerns are often realized.
  • Misbranding – Sometimes a medication is recalled because of incorrect labeling or packaging.
  • Contamination – Medications can often become contaminated with unintended products during production or distribution.

If the recall involves an over-the-counter drug that you are taking, stop taking it at once. You can usually return the product to the place of purchase and ask for a refund — stores generally have return and refund policies when a recall has been issued. Your pharmacist can recommend an alternative medicine to use during the recall. Manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for more information.

If the recall involves a prescription drug, call your pharmacist as soon as possible to find out what replacement is needed and how to return the product. Again, the manufacturers will also have a hotline number to contact for additional information.

Keep in mind that medication recalls are very rare, there are many steps in place to ensure your safety… recalls are just one of those steps.

Have a great end of summer everyone!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager

Practice Sun Safety

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Summer is here in full force! We have already had several days over 90 degrees with multiple heat advisories being issued as well. We wait a long time for this weather, and put up with some pretty ridiculous winter weather as well, but it is important to protect yourself from the powerful effects of the sun.

As great as the sunshine feels, there are two types of light from the sun that can harm your skin, UVA and UVB. The UVA rays can prematurely “age” your skin, they cause wrinkling and age spots. The UVB rays are what cause the “sunburn” effect. The main reason we want to protect our skin from the sun is that excessive exposure to either UVA or UVB rays can cause skin cancer.

There are three main strategies to focus on sun safety;

  • Avoid the sun during its’ strongest hours – 10am to 2pm
  • Wear protective clothing – Pants, shirts with long sleeves, sunglasses, hats.
  • Use sunscreen – Apply generously and reapply often.

Most questions around sun safety come from sunscreen. Make sure you are using a sunscreen that protects from both UVA and UVB rays, it will usually say that it covers both types or it will be labeled as a broad spectrum or full spectrum sunscreen. Also, use a sunscreen with an appropriate SPF rating. SPF stands for sun protection factor, which is a measure of how well it protects against the UVB rays. The SPF rating is calculated on how long it takes to sunburn skin that has been treated with sunscreen compared to skin with no sunscreen protection. Of note since we live in the land of 10,000 lakes, water resistant sunscreen will maintain the SPF for up to 40 minutes while swimming, very water resistant means the SPF is maintained for up to 80 minutes. You can apply sunscreen to children as young as age 6 months. Keep younger children in the shade as much as possible.

When you use sunscreen:

  • Apply generous amounts of sunscreen to dry skin before you go outdoors.
  • Use sunscreen on all skin that will be exposed to the sun; face, ears, hands, arms and lips. If you’re like me and you don’t have much hair on your head, apply sunscreen to the top of your head or wear a hat.
  • Reapply sunscreen every two hours — and immediately after swimming or heavy sweating even if you’re using a product that’s water resistant or very water resistant.
  • You can still get sunburned on cloudy days, use sunscreen even when it’s overcast.

Have fun out there, practice good sun safety, and have a great summer!

Jason Miller, Pharm. D.
Pharmacy Clinical Program Manager