Canadian Health Network

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		December 1, 2007 World AIDS Day (1 Dec.) National Safe Driving Week (1-7 Dec.) International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 Dec.) International Day of Remembrance & Action on Violence Against Women (6 Dec.)

November 2007

• CPR Awareness Month
• Diabetes Month
• National Lung Cancer Awareness Month
• Osteoporosis Month
• COPD Awareness Month
• National Addictions Awareness Week
• National Child Day
• National Home Fire Safety Week
• AIDS Awareness Week

CPR Awareness Month

You can save a life

Learning CPR is key to saving the life of someone who is in cardiac arrest. Most cardiac arrests happen at home, so that someone is likely going to be a person you know.

People of all ages are at risk. Cardiac arrest occurs when someone stops breathing and has no heartbeat. Causes of cardiac arrest include heart attack, stroke, drowning, electrocution, suffocation, drug overdose and physical trauma.

CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Don’t let the words scare you off from learning the technique. CPR can be learned easily through short courses offered by training organizations across the country, including St. John Ambulance, Canadian Red Cross, Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Lifesaving Society.

Diabetes Month

More than two million Canadians have diabetes, and the numbers are growing steadily.

Are you at risk?

Approximately 10% of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes. However, the number of people with type 2 diabetes is increasing dramatically. It is important to know what can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes so that you can take the steps to delay or prevent it.

You are at risk if you:

• are age 40 or over.
• have a parent, brother or sister with diabetes.
• are a member of a high-risk group (aboriginal, Hispanic, asian, south asian or African descent).
• have a health complication that is associated with diabetes, like heart disease.
• gave birth to a baby that weighed over 4 kg (9 lbs) at birth.
• had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy).
• have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or impaired fasting glucose (IFG).
• have high blood pressure.
• have high cholesterol or other fats in blood.
• are overweight (especially if weight is carried around the middle)
• have been diagnosed with any of the following conditions:
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Acanthosis nigricans (darkened patches of skin)
  • Schizophrenia

If you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you should be tested at least every three years. Left untreated or improperly managed, diabetes can result in a variety of serious complications, including heart disease, kidney disease, eye disease, problems with erection (impotence) and nerve damage.

Diabetes in Canada

During Diabetes Month 2007, the Canadian Diabetes Association wants Canadians to get serious about preventing type 2 diabetes. To delay or prevent diabetes:

• Eat healthy
• Be active regularly
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Don’t smoke
• Reduce your stress

For information on type 2 diabetes in children, see this month’s feature article, Type 2 diabetes—why too many kids are at risk.

National Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Smoking causes lung cancer

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.

The main cause of lung cancer is smoking. Most people who develop lung cancer are long-term heavy smokers – the more you smoke and the longer you smoke, the higher your risk. But no amount of tobacco is safe. People who live with or work closely with a smoker are also at increased risk from exposure to second-hand smoke.

Other factors that appear to increase the risk of lung cancer are:

• Working with materials such as asbestos, arsenic, nickel and petroleum products, especially if you are a smoker.



• Exposure to radon gas.

Other workplace exposures and air pollutants are being studied. Some people develop lung cancer without any of these risk factors.

Quit smoking

Quit now and reduce the risk of developing cancer. In general, the longer you don't smoke the more you lower your risk.

• Within 10 years of quitting, the overall risk of an ex-smoker dying from lung cancer is cut in half.



• After 10 years, the overall risk of an ex-smoker developing cancer approaches that of a non-smoker.

Osteoporosis Month

Beat the break!

November is Osteoporosis Month and Osteoporosis Canada is letting Canadians know that they can beat the break.

Osteoporosis affects more than 1.4 million Canadians, including one in four women and at least one in eight men over the age of 50. Its symptoms are low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue which increases the risk of breaking bones. It can drastically change people's lives, resulting in loss of independence, low self-esteem, and reduced or lost mobility.

Build strong, young bones

Building strong bones in childhood and young adulthood is your best defense against osteoporosis. As children and teenagers, we build the bone that lasts us throughout our life. However, maintaining bone health as you age is also a key part of fighting osteoporosis.

Here are a few of the simple steps you can take to reduce your risk:

• Get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D.
  Osteoporosis Canada recommends that adults over 50 have a daily calcium intake of 1500 mg and a daily vitamin D intake of 800 mg.



• Be physically active.
  Resistance training and weight-bearing exercises such as walking or dancing help build bone mass and reduce the risk of osteoporosis-related fractures.



• Limit your alcohol and caffeine consumption.
  Excessive alcohol and caffeine consumption decreases bone mineral density.

For more information, visit the Osteoporosis Canada website at www.osteoporosis.ca.

COPD Awareness Month

Get tested — don't wait!

This year, more than 10,000 Canadians will die from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). About 700,000 Canadians have been diagnosed with COPD. Yet thousands more may be living with the disease but don't know they have it. Do you know if you're at risk?

COPD (which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis) damages the airways and makes it hard to breathe. People usually notice COPD symptoms when they're in their 40s, 50s or 60s. Often people think the COPD symptoms—feeling short of breath, wheezing or coughing—are a normal part of getting older. They're not.

Smoking cigarettes causes about 90% of COPD cases. If you smoke or if you smoked in the past, you could be at risk for COPD. The sooner COPD is diagnosed, the easier it is to manage. That's why it's important to catch symptoms early.

Are you a smoker or a former smoker? Take the test!

Take this quick test to see if you're at risk for COPD:

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should speak with your doctor about taking a simple breathing test (called spirometry). This easy test measures the flow of air into and out of your lungs.

If your doctor can't give you a spirometry test, ask for a referral to someone who can.

Get tested—don't wait. To visit the faces of COPD, visit The Lung Association.

National Addictions Awareness Week

The third week of November is National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW) in Canada. The goal of NAAW is to provide information and to promote a variety of activities in order to generate awareness about addictions issues. The organization responsible for NAAW is the Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute, an Aboriginal educational and research centre located in St. Albert, Alberta.

Building a healthy community

For 2007, the special theme of NAAW is: It takes a whole community to raise a child.

A community with addictions is an unstable environment—and a stable environment is so important to healthy child development. The idea is to help address addictions within communities in order to give children the best start possible, and this is a theme that resonates particularly with Aboriginal communities in Canada.

Suggested community activities for NAAW include:

• holding a sober dance
• honouring outstanding community members
• having an all-ages fun feast.

For more information on awareness resources and activities, visit the NAAW Resources page.

National Child Day

National Child Day marks the date of the adoption by the United Nations of the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. More countries have adopted the Convention than any other international human rights treaty.

In 1993, the Government of Canada proclaimed that each year on November 20, we would celebrate a national day of the child in order to promote awareness in Canada of children's rights.

The right of the child to be active—theme for 2007

The theme was chosen to encourage physical activity among children and inform parents, caregivers and educators that physical activity is essential to children's health and well-being. This theme also reflects Canada's commitments under Article 24 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, which recognizes children's right to be healthy and enjoy the highest attainable standard of health.

Starting children off with a healthy, active lifestyle, promotes health, better social development and increased self-confidence to pursue their goals for the future. The theme The Right to be Active promotes physical activity among children as well and shows parents, caregivers and educators that physical activity is essential to children's health and well-being.

Celebrate National Child Day
There are many ways to mark the day with special activities for kids, parents/caregivers and educators.

For more information, visit the National Child Day website.

National Home Fire Safety Week

Fire prevention in multi-level buildings

This year, the Canada Safety Council's National Home Fire Safety Week reminds Canadians to focus on fire safety in multiple unit buildings, such as apartments, condominiums and office buildings.

Smoke—not fire—is what kills people most often

You must act quickly when you hear the alarm or discover a fire and protect yourself from smoke. According to Fire Prevention Canada, in addition to deadly carbon monoxide, smoke carries poisons such as hydrogen cyanide plus irritants such as formaldehyde and acetic acid. Added to this lethal environment are other toxic substances that come from burning synthetic materials commonly found in homes and offices, especially plastics and foams.

Always check for smoke before entering another area of the building.

If there were a fire in your building, would you know what to do?

• Leave immediately through the nearest exit. If possible, pull the fire alarm and/or yell fire! Do not use the elevator. Once outside or in a safe location, call the fire department and alert neighbours and/or colleagues.



• Before opening any door, feel to see if it is hot and look for smoke seeping around it. If you see smoke or feel heat, close the door quickly and protect yourself.



• If smoke begins to fill the room, stay close to the floor. The air will be more breathable there since smoke rises.



• If there is no safe exit, move to the room furthest from the fire with a window accessible from the outside. Shut the door and stay by the window. Open the window slightly or try to break a small section. If there is a phone in the room, call the fire department and alert others in the building.



• Use a piece of clothing, whistle, flashlight or your voice to attract attention. Direct rescuers to where you are.



• Once evacuated, do not return home or back to work until you have been told by police or fire officials that it is safe to do so.

Fire drills protect lives

Know the emergency evacuation plan for your building and practice regular fire drills. For more information, visit the website for National Home Fire Safety Week.

AIDS Awareness Week

Each year in Canada and around the world, the last week of November is AIDS Awareness Week, which culminates in World AIDS Day on December 1.

The goal of AIDS Awareness Week is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and its prevention, and to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with it.

AIDS Service Organizations: helping to raise awareness

In Canada, there are AIDS Service Organizations across the country that work to prevent the spread of HIV in their communities and to create a supportive environment for those living with HIV/AIDS. They can offer:

• community education on HIV prevention
• support services and advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS
• outreach for people at risk of getting HIV.

To locate an AIDS Service Organization near you, visit the Members and associates page of the Canadian AIDS Society.