Take the initiative and start today by making an emergency plan for you and your family. When there is a disaster, your family may not be around. It is important to know how you’ll respond, where you’ll go, how to contact one another, and how to reconnect if separated. Outlined below are a few important steps provided by Ready.gov ( https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan) to make sure you are ready for any emergency. PHU2 challenges you to review and initiate these steps today!
Step 1: Start an emergency plan
Begin to develop an emergency plan by discussing these 4 questions with your family, friends, or household members.
- How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is my shelter plan?
- What is my evacuation route?
- What is my family/household communication plan?
Step 2: Consider specific needs in your household.
As you prepare a plan make sure you keep in mind your households living needs and responsibilities. Prepare for who will care for children and pets, as well as having effective communication. Keep in mind some of these factors when developing your plan:
- Different ages of members within your household
- Responsibilities for assisting others
- Locations frequented
- Dietary needs
- Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
- Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
- Languages spoken
- Cultural and religious considerations
- Pets or service animals
- Households with school-aged children
Step 3: Fill out a Family Emergency Plan
Download and fill out a family emergency plan or use them as a guide to create your own. Here’s one from FEMA for reference.
Step 4: Practice your plan with your family/household
PHU2 wants you to know that it is important to be ready for any type of emergency. By taking the initiative and following these steps you can feel that you are prepared for any disaster. For more information on making a plan you can visit https://www.ready.gov/ or https://www.ochd.org/
Reference:
Make A Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
Visit our Emergency Preparedness page for more ideas.
HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including hepatitis C virus, can be easily spread from one partner to another.
HIV and other STDs can be passed in several ways, but most typically through:
- Sexual contact and sexual intercourse.
- Sharing needles/syringes and/or other “works” with someone who is infected
While PHU2 strongly supports protected sex during sexual encounters and recommends that needles, syringes, straws, or other works are never shared, knowing your status for these diseases is important regardless. If you have STD symptoms, if someone you’ve had sex with has an STD, if you’ve engaged in unprotected sex, or shared needles or syringes, you should get tested as soon as possible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you test for HIV at least once a year if you participate in actions that can increase your chances of getting HIV. These include:
- Injecting drugs or steroids with used needles or works
- Having sex for money or drugs
- Having sex with an HIV-infected person
- Having more than one sex partner since your last HIV test
- Having a sex partner who has had other sex partners since your last HIV test
The CDC recommends that all Baby Boomers (born 1945–1965) get tested for hepatitis C. Many people do not know that they have Hepatitis C. The good news is that there is treatment that can help you if you are diagnosed but the only way you can know for sure that you have Hepatitis C is if you get tested.
Ways you can get hepatitis C include:
- Blood transfusions, organ donations, or blood products before 1992
- Unsterilized tools at tattoo parlors
- Past recreational drug use,
even if just once - Less commonly, sharing personal items that have infected blood, such as shaving razors or toothbrushes
For more information visit (http://www.hepchope.com/)
PHU2 wants you to take the initiative and get tested. You can get tested for HIV, STDs, and hepatitis C at the Ocean County Health Department. Getting tested is a great way for you and your partners to stay safe and free of STDs. You can find HIV, STD, and hepatitis C counseling and testing times and locations at http://www.ochd.org/ .
Reference:
Know the facts. Get tested. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://www.knowmystatus.org/testing/
1 in 30 Baby Boomers has Hepatitis C (Hep C), and most don’t even know it. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://www.hepchope.com/
Learn more on our Communicable Disease page.
Take the initiative today to be a healthier you and learn how you can begin to quit smoking. Quitting smoking and wanting to change to a tobacco free lifestyle can be very difficult and it is common for smokers to have a hard time quitting, luckily there are many resources, support and information programs that can help you quit in the most effective way for you.
Some resources include:
NJ Quitline
When you’re ready to quit, call the NJ Quitline. You will speak to a highly trained Quit Coach who has years of counseling experience. They will listen and talk to you about:
- Why you want to quit
- What makes quitting most difficult for you
- Your smoking history
- Your smoking triggers and a plan for dealing with them
- Deciding upon and preparing for a quit day
- How to avoid slips and relapse
For more information visit http://njquitline.org/readyToQuit.html
RWJBarnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health provides access to many resources to help individuals quit smoking. Some of these resources and programs include:
- One-on-one sessions with our knowledgeable, trained coaches
- Medication and behavioral treatment
- Personalized plans for reducing and eliminating tobacco use
- Assistance for parents who want to eliminate second-hand smoke
- Relapse prevention
- Individualized plans for smokers with mental illness
For more information visit https://www.rwjbh.org/
PHU2 wants you to know that there are many more resources within New Jersey that can help you take that first step to having a tobacco free life. For more information you can visit https://www.ochd.org/
References:
(n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from http://njquitline.org/readyToQuit.html
New Jersey Health System. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://www.rwjbh.org/our-locations/
Learn more on our Substance Abuse page.
Take the Initiative in your own home and protect yourself and others from being exposed to poisons by learning what a poison is, who is at risk, and how to prevent a poisoning from happening.
Help prevent poisonings:
- Learn how to poison proof your home and reduce the risk of poisonings.
- Poisons in the household can include; medicines, Carbon monoxide, household cleaning products, chemicals, food, animals/insects, and plants
- Talk about poisons with your family and household members so others know what to do, too.
- Prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding your home of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
- Never share prescription medicine.
- Never mix household or chemical products together. Doing so can create a dangerous gas.
- Keep all chemicals, household cleaners, medicines, and potentially poisonous substances in locked cabinets or out of the reach of children.
To correctly dispose of expired medications make sure to bring them to a drop-off box. There are currently fifteen locations for Ocean County residents to dispose of their unused or expired medications. The drop boxes are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For locations and more information visit (https://www.ochd.org/Resources/Page/54 )
If there is an accident and someone in the home is exposed to poisons follow these few initial steps:
- If the person inhaled poison, get to fresh air right away.
- If the person has poison on the skin, take off any clothing the poison touched. Rinse skin with running water for 15 to 20 minutes.
- If the person has poison in the eyes, rinse eyes with running water for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Your poison center can give you other first-aid advice and may save you from a visit to the emergency room.
Immediate Answers
Been Exposed? Speak to a live health expert:
1. Call 1-800-222-1222
2. Explain your situation or symptoms
3. Have the name of the product and container ready or the name of the suspected source of exposure
4. Don’t rely on the Internet
PHU2 wants you to take the initiative and be more informed about poisons and be prepared for exposure. Check your home today to see if your household cleaners are stored out of reach of children. Go through your medicine cabinet to confirm that any expired medications are identified and take the right steps to dispose of them. For more information you can visit https://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/index.html
Reference:
(2011, October 17). Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/index.html
Learn more on our Environmental Health page.