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2/9/2022

What should I do if I get the flu?

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This time of year can be daunting. We are in the midst of flu season, and new strains of Covid-19 are being identified. So what should you do if you get sick?

According to the CDC, most people with flu have mild illness and do not need medical care or antiviral drugs. If you get sick with flu symptoms, in most cases, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people except to get medical care.
If, however, you have symptoms of flu and are in a higher-risk group, or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider (doctor, physician assistant, etc.).
Certain people are at increased risk of serious flu-related complications (including young children, people 65 and older, pregnant people, and people with certain medical conditions). If you are in a higher-risk group and develop flu symptoms, it’s best for you to contact your doctor early in your illness. Remind them about your higher-risk status for flu. CDC recommends that people at higher risk for complications should get antiviral treatment as early as possible, because benefit is greatest if treatment is started within 2 days after illness onset.
Do I need to go to the emergency room if I am only a little sick?No. The emergency room should be used for people who are very sick. You should not go to the emergency room if you are only mildly ill.
If you have emergency warning signs of flu sickness, you should go to the emergency room. If you get sick with flu symptoms and are at higher risk of flu complications or you are concerned about your illness, call your health care provider for advice.


What are emergency warning signs of flu?
​
People experiencing any of these warning signs should obtain medical care right away.

In children
  • Fast breathing or trouble breathing
  • Bluish lips or face
  • Ribs pulling in with each breath
  • Chest pain
  • Severe muscle pain (child refuses to walk)
  • Dehydration (no urine for 8 hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
  • Not alert or interacting when awake
  • Seizures
  • Fever above 104°F
  • In children less than 12 weeks, any fever
  • Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
  • Worsening of chronic medical conditions

In adults
  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
  • Persistent dizziness, confusion, inability to arouse
  • Seizures
  • Not urinating
  • Severe muscle pain
  • Severe weakness or unsteadiness
  • Fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen
  • Worsening of chronic medical conditions

This and additional information can be found at CDC.GOV.
​Or follow the link:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/treatment/takingcare.htm

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9/27/2021

Breast Cancer Awareness

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African American Women and Breast Cancer
By
​
Dr. Richard G. Berry. MD, FACP

Did you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month? Did you also know that in 1993, President Bill Clinton proclaimed the third Friday in October each year to be National Mammography Day?  Throughout the month of October, women are encouraged to make appointments for their mammogram.  Knowing this, I would like to focus on the African American woman. You see, an article published in Breast Cancer Prevention Partners reported that African American women have the highest rate of mortality from breast cancer. Let us look at some pertinent facts: 
  • US women as a whole, have a 1 in 8 risk for breast cancer.
 
  • Breast cancer has the highest mortality rate of any cancer in women between the ages of 20 and 59.
 
  • Breast cancer incidence among women younger than 45, is highest among American American women than the Caucasian women.
 
  • Research shows that while Causation women are more likely to get breast cancer than any other race, the mortality rate for African American women is 30% to 40% higher.  African American women are also more likely to get cancer earlier in life and twice as likely to be diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
 
So what can you do as an African American woman to decrease your risks of serious complications and death from breast cancer?  I will review three areas for awareness. 
Signs of Breast Cancer

You really need to know your body, specifically your breasts.  These are some of the signs of breast cancer.
  •  Swollen lymph nodes or bumps under your arm or around your collarbone
  •  Abnormal swelling of any part of your breast
  •  Dimpling of the skin of the breast where the skin appears to have an indentation appearance.
  •  Breast nipple pain or retraction of the nipple.
  •  Redness or scaliness of the nipple or skin of the breast.
  •  Discharge from the nipple.
 
Now how would you find these abnormalities of the breast?  A regular breast exam is the way.  A breast exam routine should begin at your first PAP exam recommended at around age 20 to 21.  The person who does the PAP should be able to teach and instruct you on how to do a complete exam.
 
The Breast Exam
A good breast exam would have you lying down usually with the arm of the breast being examined comfortably over your head.  Using the pads of the three middle fingers of the opposite hand, (do not use your fingertips), firmly press on the breast feeling all the tissue from your collarbone to the bottom of your bra line and from the armpit to your breastbone.  Remember that a large portion of your breast is under your arm, so take a little extra time examining this area.  At the end of the exam squeezing the nipple is the final important act to see if any pain or discharge is noted.   If you are more comfortable doing this exam in your shower, you can follow the same technique, standing and lathered with soap.  
 
You should do this exam around the same time each month, approximately one week after your period.  You probably will not feel or find any lumps, bumps or indentations.  This is a normal exam.  You are becoming familiar with your body.  However one day you may just see or feel something there that was not there the month before.  This is the time you now need to follow up with your Primary Care Provider.
 
Mammogram Screening
Mammograms are the preferred method of finding breast cancer.  Your clinician may order an ultrasound to see if a breast mass is solid or a cyst.  Ultrasound of the breast is not usually done to screen for breast cancer because it may miss some early signs of a cancer.
 
For early detection of breast cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms.  If a patient in my practice has a family history of breast cancer, meaning her mother or grandmother had breast cancer, then I begin screening at age 35.  The ACS then recommends women 45 to 54 should get their mammograms every year.  Women 55 and older should get their mammograms every 2 years.  Finally, women with no history of breast cancer with negative mammograms can stop having these examinations at age 75.  
 
So there you have it.  It’s your body given by God to keep healthy. Take care of it and you will have a long life.


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7/27/2021

The delta varianT

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Yale Medicine and the CDC reports:
For the first time in more than a year, we’re feeling some hope—or at least cautious optimism—that the pandemic could recede to the background. But experts want us to know that there is still a concern that new mutations of the virus could bring it back, and it might be even stronger. A major concern right now is Delta Variant, a highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus strain. From what we know so far, people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus appear to have protection against Delta, but anyone who is unvaccinated and not practicing preventive strategies is at risk for infection by the new variant, the doctors say.


Here are five things you need to know about the Delta variant.
1. Delta is more contagious than the other virus strains.
2. Unvaccinated people are at risk.
3. Delta could lead to 'hyperlocal outbreaks.'
4. There is still more to learn about Delta.
5. Vaccination is the best protection against Delta.


Protect yourself from COVID-19
COVID-19 continues to spread in the United States and variants are circulating. Take steps to protect yourself from the virus.
  • Get a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to you.
  • Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth to help protect yourself and others.
  • Stay 6 feet apart from others who don’t live with you.
  • Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available.


For this and more information please visit yalemedicine.org and cdc.gov

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4/8/2021

Boosting Your Immune System

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By Dr. Richard G. Berry MD, FACP

A healthy immune system is one of the ways we can protect ourselves against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Now It cannot prevent you from getting infected, but a strengthened immune system, especially in an individual that has not as yet been immunized, helps defend yourself from disease causing invaders.
A Harvard study recently showed that apart from not smoking or drinking alcohol, these three habits will increase your immune response to invaders. They are;
1. A Vegetarian diet
2. Exercise
3. Decreasing stress.

A strong immune system will not only help to protect us from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it will also help us live a more balanced life.

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1/8/2021

Covid-19 vaccines: what you need to knOw

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Picture
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12/28/2020

A Needle in Time saves Lives

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​A Needle in Time Saves Lives
By
Dr. Richard G. Berry, MD, FACP.

I have been asked by a number of patients and family members what I will do when the COCID-19 vaccine is available. I have taken the time to think about it and research the literature available at this time. Well they, the vaccines, have arrived. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is here and the Moderna’s vaccine just got approval by the FDA and CDC. I have made the decision to take the COVID-19 vaccine in a few days when my hospital receives the doses.

There are three options for you to consider. Just three.
Option 1. This option is to disregard all the scientific research and recommendations about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and refuse to take it.
Option 2. The second option is to wait till some have taken the vaccine and see if there are any unknown side effects. (See if Dr. Berry begins to glow in the dark after receiving the injection, and then decide whether to take it or not.)
Option 3. The third option is the option I chose. To review the reputable scientific information, seek counsel from a physician you trust, pray about it, and get the vaccine when it becomes available.

If you choose option one, you are at a high risk of becoming infected by the virus, especially if you have a number of risk factors like obesity, diabetes and chronic medical problems. Over 300,000 souls have been lost so far because they did not have the antibodies to help their immune system fight off the infection. Option 1 is still your choice.

If you choose option two, wait and see, you are still as vulnerable to the deadly consequences of the infection as option one. Option 2 is however still your choice.

Option three is the only option I believe is available now for our survival. Like the Polio vaccine, MMR and Flu vaccines, mankind has been saved from many deadly infections. Literally millions of us have been protected by these inoculations.

The same is now true for the COVID-19 vaccine. Now to be completely transparent, as of the publication of this article, there are individuals who should NOT get the vaccine. In researching the literature, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not approved (at this time) for people aged below 16, or those with severe allergies (make sure the clinic that administers the vaccine has the resources to correct any adverse reaction to the injection, like an Epipen. They must also observe you for at least 20 minutes after the injection). Also pregnant women are not eligible for the vaccines. Ongoing research by these companies, I believe, will eventually clear for pediatric and pregnancy use, but at this time, these three are not eligible.

Well how does the vaccine work? Prophecy states that in the last days knowledge shall increase. The production of this vaccine with mRNA technology (messenger Ribonucleic acid) has been a miracle in the making. As of February 2020 when the Chinese disclosed the virus, they had already deciphered the genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2). This sequence was shared with American scientists who were especially interested in the part of the virus that attaches to the human cells and facilitates injection of the viral RNA into these cells. These “protrusions” on the surface of the virus, or the clusters of red triangular projections we have seen in pictures, are called Spike proteins or S proteins. If an antibody could be developed to attack the S proteins, the virus could not penetrate the human cells and therefore would die. This is exactly what was done.

The mRNA protein sequence of the S protein is encircled in a lipid Nano molecule (because of the length of this article I will explain this at a future time) that allows this S protein to enter the cell. It never goes into the nucleus of the cell where the DNA is found. In the cytoplasm the mRNA is used to form S proteins that are eventually expressed on the surface of the cells. Your immune system sees these S proteins and produces antibodies to them. The research shows that to be 95% effective, the body needs a second injection of the Pfizer vaccine 21 days after the first.

It is important to note that after you are immunized you can still become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The difference is that you would have developed antibodies to the S protein of the virus. These antibodies would effectively prevent the virus from attaching to your cells, and therefore, you would not get very sick or die. You still however need to protect yourself by wearing an appropriate mask and physical distancing.

So there you have it. Information to aid with your decision making. Pray about it and as you have in the past, and be guided by the Holy Spirit.


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6/17/2020

June is Men's health month!

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June is Men’s Health Month. On average, men die five years younger than women, and die at higher rates from nine of the top 10 causes of death. Men are also less likely than women to be insured. All of this impacts their ability to be involved fathers, supportive partners, and engaged community members.
But there are quite a few things we can do to help dad as Father’s Day nears—and even more that all of us can do to help men all year. 
  • Encourage him to get a physical. Most of the factors that contribute to men’s shorter, less healthy lives are preventable. And that prevention starts with seeing a healthcare provider on a regular basis. Adult men in the United States visit primary care providers at lower rates than adult women. Establishing baselines for factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and PSA (a screening test for prostate cancer risk)—and monitoring how they change over time—will enable the provider to catch potentially dangerous conditions early, when they’re still treatable. You can download a helpful chart of recommended screenings at www.healthfinder.gov.
  • Encourage him to get physical. The benefits of physical activity on health outcomes are extensive, and many people find it difficult to get motivated for physical activity on their own. Rather than simply telling your dad or husband to exercise and then hoping that he will, do it with him. Join a recreation league at your local community center, sign up for group personal training sessions to get fit together, or simply make a routine out of regular walks. Simple, yes, but not always easy.
  • Let him know you care. One reason men disregard their own health is that they’re too busy taking care of everyone else. What they don’t realize, however, is that if they die early, they’ll be hurting the very people they’ve worked so hard to protect. So remind him that you and your other family members love him and need him to be alive and healthy for as long as possible.

article by: Men's Health Network

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4/16/2020

Signet curbside & virtual medicine

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COVID-19 HAS CAUSED A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT WE AT SIGNET ARE STILL HERE FOR YOU. ​

To ensure the health and safety of our patients and staff, Signet Healthcare is offering two options to receive treatment, these are CURBSIDE MEDICAL VISITS & VIRTUAL MEDICINE. 

​Here's how you can access these options: 

CURBSIDE MEDICAL VISITS
  • make an appointment for your visit
  • before your visit, and if you are able, check your blood pressure, temperature, and/or blood sugar (if you are diabetic) and document your numbers
  • pull into the signet healthcare pc parking lot at your appointment time
  • stay in your car
  • a member of the Signet staff will come to your car conduct your medical visit
after your curbside visit, any passed due balances may be paid in person or online.
also, please note that there will be no restroom access given.


VIRTUAL MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS
  • call (910) 642-0300 ext. 3 to reserve a time slot for an appointment
  • you will be called for your appointment
due to the high number of appointments, time slots may vary. We ask that you be patient with us as we aim to give the best care to our patients.
please note that video appointments are ONLY available through FACETIME with apple products OR FACEBOOK MESSENGER VIDEO CHAT

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3/18/2020

CoronaVirus

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For information and updates about coronavirus, symptoms, prevention, and what to do next, please click here.

Press Here

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6/28/2019

How to Stop Smoking Seminar

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Patient Education Seminar:
​The effects of smoking

Lecturer:
Dr. Richard Berry

Where:
Premier Living and Rehab Center
106 Cameron St.
Lake Waccamaw, NC
​28450


When:
2:30 pm
June, 28th 2019

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