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Hyperkalemia From a Dietitian’s Viewpoint

2024-03-28T20:58:47-04:00December 17th, 2021|Categories: Nutrition, The Kidney Citizen|

By Fanny Sung Whelan, MS, RDN Have you been diagnosed with hyperkalemia? Hyperkalemia refers to a medical condition that occurs when the potassium level in your blood gets too high [1]. “Hyper” means “over or beyond”, and “-kalemia” means “the presence of potassium in the blood.” Hyperkalemia is a common diagnosis, and luckily most people have mild cases that are well tolerated, but even mild cases need to be treated to prevent more serious cases from occurring. If left untreated and severe hyperkalemia develops, which is defined by blood potassium levels of 7 mEq/L or higher, cardiac arrest and death can [...]

COVID-19 Vaccines for Immunocompromised People

2024-03-28T20:58:53-04:00October 22nd, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Kidney Transplant, Staying Healthy|

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, ongoing studies help inform healthcare professionals about the different immune responses and reactions among various groups within the population. Data has shown that people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to the virus due to the inability to build the same level of immunity after vaccination as non-immunocompromised people. Small studies have also found that immunocompromised people made up a large portion of breakthrough cases requiring hospitalization, suggesting they could be more likely to transmit COVID-19 to other members of their household. Given this information, the CDC recommends that moderately to severely immunocompromised [...]

Sifting Through the Many Options for Integrative Chronic Pain Treatment

2024-03-28T20:58:57-04:00October 8th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Medication, Mental Health, News & Events, Physical Health, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, Stress Management|

For the more than 50 million Americans who experience chronic pain every day, trying to create a treatment plan can be an exhausting battle. Due to the complex nature and differences in individuals’ pain, it is usually most effect to have an integrated or multidisciplinary treatment plan, which is the use of different methods of treatments together in order to manage/reduce pain. Although there are a wide range of integrated treatments that exist, multidisciplinary specialists are hard to come by, causing most of the research to fall onto the patient. While it is still important to work closely with your doctor [...]

We’re Masking Up Again, But is a Cloth Mask Good Enough?

2024-03-28T20:58:58-04:00October 5th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Mental Health, News & Events, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

During the start of the pandemic, when both surgical masks and N95s were in short supply, cloth masks began to make an appearance. Even when the supply of disposable masks began to improve and were more widely available to the public again, cloth masks continued to grow in popularity due to their ability to be personalized to the wearer. Like a certain sports team? You could find a mask with their logo. Want everyone to know your affinity for gardening? Wear a mask printed with different plants and flowers on it. Now that we are having to mask back up due [...]

Understanding the New Talk Around “Booster Shots”

2024-03-28T20:58:58-04:00October 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, News & Events, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

You may have heard the term a third dose or a booster shot for the COVID19 vaccine. To clarify, The CDC had already approved a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for people with moderately to severely compromised immune systems.  This includes people who have received an organ transplant and are taking medication to suppress their immune system. Learn more about receiving a third dose at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html. Now, the CDC has approved a booster shot for both certain populations and for people  who work in high risk work settings who have received the two-dose  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This [...]

For Dialysis Patients: Update on COVID-19, Delta Variant and Vaccination

2024-03-28T20:58:59-04:00September 4th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Physical Health, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

Written by: Alan S. Kliger, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, and Co-Chair, American Society of Nephrology (ASN) COVID-19 Response Team. COVID-19 continues to be a dangerous infection for dialysis patients. Here are some facts every patient should know: Why should I get vaccinated now if I’ve been waiting so far? The vaccines clearly protect dialysis patients, particularly by greatly reducing hospitalizations, complications and death from COVID-19 infection. If you’ve been waiting to see if the vaccine is safe, there have now been hundreds of millions of people vaccinated, with almost no severe complications from the vaccine. Did [...]

Anxiety and Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:59:00-04:00August 30th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Stress Management|Tags: |

By Kathy Aebel-Groesch, MSW, LCSW It will come as no surprise that anxiety has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (not to mention the political and social climate).  Even those of us who have never experienced anxiety may be finding ourselves affected. Anxiety can affect how we function in daily life--imagine yourself in a situation where you have felt extremely anxious… How did you feel physically? How clearly could you think or concentrate? How thoroughly could you have learned important information or skills? The interdisciplinary care team at the dialysis clinic is there to support you if anxiety could be affecting your [...]

FDA Authorizes Third Dose “Booster Shots” of Pfizer and Moderna Vaccines for Immunocompromised Individuals

2024-03-28T20:59:01-04:00August 13th, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

On Thursday, August 12, 2021, the FDA updated the emergency-use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. Americans with compromised immune systems are now eligible for a third dose, or booster shot, of these vaccines. This broadened EUA includes individuals who are kidney transplant recipients or have other diagnosed conditions that are considered to be of “equivalent level of immunocompromise.” This decision was made after a thorough review of the available data, in order to allow doctors to boost the immunity of some of their most vulnerable patients who need extra protection from COVID-19. Many transplant patients have been [...]

Here’s why the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors even if you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19

2024-03-28T20:59:03-04:00August 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Immunizations, Lifestyle, Staying Healthy|Tags: |

By Peter Chin-Hong, University of California, San Francisco. What science supports masking after vaccination? Masks help stop the spread of the coronavirus. They’re a literal layer between you and any virus in the air and can help prevent infection. The reason public health officials are calling for more mask-wearing is that there is clear and mounting evidence that – though rare – breakthrough COVID-19 infections can occur in people who are fully vaccinated. This is particularly true with emerging variants of concern. The good news is that COVID-19 infection, if it does happen, is much less likely to lead to serious illness or death in vaccinated people. Some [...]

Staying Safe in Summer Heat

2024-03-28T20:59:08-04:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: eNews, Lifestyle, Physical Health|

It is finally summertime! After a long winter of being cooped up indoors, it’s great to finally be able to go to the park, the beach, or even just a nice little walk around your neighborhood. As temperatures around the country are rising though, it’s important to be mindful of the risk of heat-related illness, especially if you have kidney disease or another health condition. Hyperthermia is a illness that happens when your body becomes overheated. Mild cases can cause muscle cramps or swelling in the feet, whereas a more serve form, heat exhaustion, means that your body can no longer [...]

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