Dental Disinformation and Climate Change & Health
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Climate Change and Healthcare
According to CNN, in 2019 alone, more than half a million people died due to a stroke linked to high and low temperatures, a new study found. With the world getting warmer due to human-made climate change, that number is expected to rise. World wide stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death.
The study, published April 10th, 2024 in the medical journal Neurology, found that since 1990, the number of strokes attributable to high and low temperatures have been increasing all around the globe. Men had more strokes related to extreme temperatures than women, but it affected people across all age groups.
Higher temperatures are already here. Last year was the warmest since scientists started recording global temperatures in 1850 and temperatures are expected to break more records in the near future. This March was the hottest one on record.
new study wasn’t designed to show why extreme temperatures that come with the climate crisis seem to be causing so many strokes. Other research has shown that when temperatures are excessively hot, it’s difficult for the body to regulate and cool itself by sweating. This can lead to what doctors call a hypercoagulable state of the blood, when the blood clots easier and increases the risk of stroke. People may also become dehydrated, which can force the heart to work too hard, also increasing a person’s chance of having a stroke or heart attack.
Extreme cold temperatures also can lead someone to have a stroke. When the body is exposed to cold, it stimulates the skin’s cold receptors which triggers what’s known as the sympathetic nervous system, the network of nerves that control the body’s fight or flight response. That can cause vasoconstriction, the constriction of blood vessels in the skin, arms, and legs, leading blood pressure to spike and potentially leading to a stroke.
Researchers found that the rate of death from stroke from temperature changes for male participants was 7.7 per 100,000 compared to 5.9 per 100,000 for female participants.
When looking at regions, central Asia had the highest death rate for stroke linked to non-optimal temperatures with 18 per 100,000.
At the national level, North Macedonia had the highest death rate with 33 per 100,000.
Another good reason to address climate change.
ACTION 1
Let’s remind Congress to halt fossil fuel subsidies. Use RESISTBOT and text SIGN PDZOUU to 50409 to send this email.
ACTION 2
Tell your state representatives to stop banning or limiting clean renewable energy. Use RESISTBOT and text SIGN PNWKVX to 50409 to send this email.
Disinformation and Dental Care
Around the country local communities are resurrecting old disinformation about fluoridated drinking water and voting to have it removed. (KFF)
From Oregon to Pennsylvania, hundreds of communities have in recent years either stopped adding fluoride to their water supplies or voted to prevent its addition. Supporters of such bans argue that people should be given the freedom of choice. The broad availability of over-the-counter dental products containing the mineral makes it no longer necessary to add to public water supplies, they say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that while store-bought products reduce tooth decay, the greatest protection comes when they are used in combination with water fluoridation.
The outcome of an ongoing federal case in California could force the Environmental Protection Agency to create a rule regulating or banning the use of fluoride in drinking water nationwide. In the meantime, the trend is raising alarm bells for public health researchers who worry that, much like vaccines, fluoride may have become a victim of its own success.
The CDC maintains that community water fluoridation is not only safe and effective but also yields significant cost savings in dental treatment. Public health officials say removing fluoride could be particularly harmful to low-income families — for whom drinking water may be the only source of preventive dental care.
Juneau, Alaska, voted to remove fluoride from its drinking water in 2007. A study published in the journal BMC Oral Health in 2018 compared the dental records of children and adolescents who received dental care for decaying teeth four years before and five years after the city stopped adding fluoride to the water. Cavity-related procedures and treatment costs were significantly higher in the latter group, the study found.
Portland Oregon is the largest city to reject fluoridated water. Voters have repeatedly rejected measures to add it, first in 1956 and the latest time in 2013.
Another example of disinformation convincing people to take the wrong path where healthcare is concerned. Remember that 400,000 Americans died needlessly during the COVID 19 pandemic because they were scared away from vaccines by those pushing disinformation. Below is a resource to combat disinformation - PS stay up to date on your vaccines.
ACTION Combat Disinformation Everywhere
Disinformation – the deliberate spread of false or misleading information – is a threat to systems that rely on shared facts. Here are 20 everyday ways to counteract disinformation, and protect our nation’s fundamental democratic principles. Here is a link with help from Civic Nebraska. Let’s protect ourselves, families and friends from bad info.
Resources
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Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
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Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Program
One Payer States
Healthcare Now
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water RESISTBOT write up
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