Clear & Present Danger
Three Things Thursday
Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week. And this week has been all about the federal budget. There is no time for pleasantries.
This bill poses a clear and present danger to your health and mine.
In Pennsylvania alone, more than 300,000 people will lose their health insurance, and nearly 150,000 will lose SNAP benefits.
If you’re sitting there thinking…
Well, I’m not going to lose my health insurance.
Or, I don’t rely on SNAP.
So these cuts are NOT going to hurt me.
YOU ARE WRONG.
When people lose their health insurance, those of us with insurance end up paying more. When people lose their health insurance, hospitals go out of business because individuals cannot pay for emergency room care. When people lose health insurance, disease spreads more readily (because people are unwilling to pay for preventive care or treatments). When people lose their health insurance, mortality rates go up, suicide rates go up, loneliness increases, and the overall health of our communities declines.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Cuts in the budget would eliminate cancer prevention programs, tobacco control efforts, and diabetes prevention programming. And these cuts will only increase healthcare costs in the future. When we invest $1 in tobacco control, it saves $155 in future healthcare costs. Invest $1 in TB prevention/treatment, and the savings will be ~$30-45 in the future.
Want to see more impacts of the budget & data? Check out the CDC Data Project.
The future feels uncertain. Unhealthy. Unfair. Unjust.
And the work — that we will need to do to stay healthy, keep our friends and families healthy, ensure that our hospitals remain open, and fight to keep medical care costs from continuing to grow — feels insurmountable.
This bill poses a clear and present danger to your health and mine.
As always, I will be here with you (at least) weekly.
To create healthy communities for all, I am committing to —
Using data/science to create public health (aka preventative health) programs, policies, and interventions to save lives and decrease suffering.
Fighting misinformation.
Inspiring others to understand the science to make healthy decisions and create healthy communities.
Identifying alternative ways to ensure public health services are administered and our communities continue to be safe and healthy for all.
And if you need three things this week, here are three safety tips for this July 4th…
Hoping this post helps to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Drowning Prevention
Drowning is defined as the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid. Drowning happens when a person's nose and mouth are underwater for too long, making breathing impossible.
In the United States, there are more than 4,000 fatal drownings each year
(~11 each day).Drowning is the #1 cause of death for children ages 1-4.
55% of US adults have NEVER taken a swim lesson, even though swimming and water safety skills prevent drowning1
To prevent drowning —
Children should be supervised. Always. From the bathtub to swimming pools, backyard kiddie pools to the ocean, an adult who can swim should be watching the children in the water. Always.
Swim lessons are essential. Learning to swim decreases the risk of drowning.
Life jackets should be worn, especially when boating.
Do NOT mix alcohol and water activities.
**Note — this means that at a pool party, there should be a designated supervisor who is watching the kids and is completely sober.Learn to recognize what drowning looks like.
Learn CPR.
Never swim alone. Even as an adult. Even if you are an excellent swimmer, under no circumstances do you enter a body of water alone and unsupervised.
I do want to note that I was an All-American collegiate swimmer and am in two athletic halls of fame, for swimming. And still, I have been pulled out of the water by a lifeguard twice. We all need help sometimes. And water is powerful. And it can be dangerous. Water safety is no joke.
Fireworks & Sparkler Safety
I love fireworks.
And when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to give tours of local fireworks launching sites each 4th of July (this got me out of lifeguarding a holiday free swim at the pool where I worked — awesome). The most important thing I learned while touring people around the space where a fireworks show is being set up is —
Safety first, first.
Fireworks are awesome. But fireworks shows should be left to the professionals. Each year, approximately 11,500 people are treated in the ER for fireworks-related injuries (think: burns as well as blown-off fingers).
If you decide to put on your own fireworks display or (even) allow your kids to play with sparklers, here is a list of how to do so as safely as possible…
First, never allow kids to play with fireworks or sparklers without supervision. Talk with them about the risks of fireworks/fire and ensure they know the following rules.
When setting off fireworks or playing with sparklers, have water nearby. I recommend having a hose on hand, but a bucket of water will do.
Never pick up or try to relight a firework that did not ignite.
Do not point sparklers or fireworks at yourself or others.
Soak used fireworks and sparklers in water before putting them in the trash.
And please remember… fireworks and alcohol are a bad combination.
And concerning sparklers — they burn VERY hot. Like 1000*F (yes, that is 3 x zeros!). Be sure kids are keeping their sparklers away from others and at arm’s length from their faces. Make sure hair is pulled back and no one is wearing loose clothing while playing with a lit sparkler.
When the sparklers are done sparking, put used sparklers in a bucket of water (hot tip pointed down into the water).
Have a safe and healthy long weekend.
Next week, we will need to get back together and fight for the health and safety of our communities. This is my new benediction —
“The fight for public health and health equity will be a lifelong one. But for the next few years, we can look to our families, our communities, and our cities to help us stay healthy. We should not waver in the demand for safe and healthy communities as well as for evidence-based health information. Love each other, protect each other, and get vaccinated!”
What else can you do?
Click the “Like” button on the posts you enjoy. It’s a small thing, but it helps.
Share posts, either on social media or with your friends and family.
Comment on the posts. Hearing from you is a form of encouragement & it helps move Epi(demiology) Matters up in the Substack algorithm.
Send me your ideas & questions (drbeckydawson@gmail.com).
NOTE: This is self-reported data. We do not have self-report data for children. It is unclear how many children (<18 years of age) have taken a swim lesson.
Excellent article, and the warning about fireworks is timely. Emergency Rooms see a lot of eye and hand injuries on July 4.