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Last week in the Health Lotería, we gave you a preview of this week’s topic with the saying: “¡No levantes esa piedra, / que te pica ese animal!” ["Don't lift up that rock, / because that animal will sting you!"] Well, surely you figured out the answer, we’re talking about… ¡¡¡el alacrán!!! [the scorpion!]

Although here in Texas we do have biting scorpions, there are lots more animals that threaten us with bites or stings during our long, hot summers. Some don’t bring us anything worse than bother and discomfort, while others can bring us illnesses (like malaria or Lyme disease) or, for some people, serious allergic reactions. It’s very important to know the risks for you and your family, and know how to avoid them, as well as to respond to them when they occur. These links can help:

• An article from last Friday’s DallasNews.com: “7 ways to soothe summer’s bites, rashes and sunburns“
• “Stinging insect allergy: How to avoid the ouch” from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology
• From MedlinePlus: “Insect Bites and Stings” — with links to many more information sources
• From the UTMB health library: “Spider Bites” and “Bee Stings“

Don’t get stung this week… and we’ll see you again next week!

Today we continue with the Health Lotería — and this week we turn over a new card… el tambor (the drum)!!!

That boom, boom, boom that you’re hearing in your ears — it might be the drums of the Cinco de Mayo parade, but it may be the sound of your heart, reminding you that May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month. And what if you don’t know your blood pressure? Go get it checked! As this MedlinePlus article explains, high blood pressure tends not to have symptoms, but can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, and heart attack. This American Heart Association article indicates that one in three adults in the US has high blood pressure — but the good news is that if you’re one of them, there’s a lot that you can do yourself to bring it down. Here’s some advice for starters:

• High Blood Pressure: Things You Can Do to Help Lower Yours (familydoctor.org)
• Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure (National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute – NHLBI)
• High Blood Pressure: What Can I Do? (American Heart Association)

If you’ve got a plan to manage and control your blood pressure, mark that square… and next week we’ll continue with the Health Lotería!

Image: detail of #29 “El tambor” from the lotería card deck “Gallo de Don Clemente” — Pasatiempos Gallo SA de CV y Don Clemente Inc.

This week in the Health Lotería, we salute Rosita, Rosana, Rosaura and all the mothers out there with… ¡¡¡la rosa!!!

And of course, we want to remind all the mothers-to-be — and those who are considering becoming mothers — that it’s very important to take care of your health, as much before as during your pregnancy and even afterwards, to promote the health of your son or daughter. These informative websites can serve as starting points to learn more:

• Information and links about all aspects of pregnancy from MedlinePlus
• The ABCs of a Healthy Pregnancy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Healthy Pregnancy from womenshealth.gov (National Women’s Health Information Center)
• Pregnancy & Newborn Health Education Center from the March of Dimes

We wish all mothers and mothers-to-be lots and lots of health and happiness. Until next week…

The Health Lotería continues with… ¡la campana! In earlier times, before radio and television, every little town had to have its alarm — a method of warning the people when there was danger. Many times a great central bell would have had such a function. Our body also gives us warning signs when something’s not right, and it’s very important that we pay attention when it “rings and rings to call us.” This month of May is National Stroke Awareness Month, which reminds us that strokes (or “cerebrovascular accidents”) have their own early warning signs, and it’s essential that we act rapidly when we recognize those signs. Every minute is important after a stroke — the quicker the patient can receive appropriate care and treatment, the better his or her chances of survival and recovery. Here are some links to information about recognizing the warning signs of stroke:

• The “Know Stroke” campaign from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and its “Know the Signs” brochure
• The “Stroke 101″ fact sheet from the National Stroke Association includes general information about strokes as well as a guide to warning signs
• “Heart Attack, Stroke and Cardiac Arrest Warning Signs” from the American Heart Association
• “Stroke Risk Factors and Symptoms” from NINDS
• “Stroke” encyclopedia article and links from from MedlinePlus

Next week we’ll pick another card to keep playing Health Lotería! See you then.

Well, this week the Health Lotería arrived a little late, but “better late than never”. And considering the week we’ve had in South Texas, it’s no surprise that this week our card is… ¡¡¡el sol!!! The month of May has just finished — Skin Cancer Awareness Month — which reminds us of the importance of protecting ourselves during the sunny Texas summer. To better understand the risks of skin cancer and the most practical ways to protect yourself, take a look at these links:

• May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Links to plenty of information about skin cancer from MedlinePlus
• A brief video about the effects of sun on the skin, from the ADAM Encyclopedia, courtesy of Texas Health Resources
• More information on skin cancer from the National Cancer Institute
• Lots of information about skin cancer from the UTMB Health Library

Next week in the Health Lotería: “súbeme paso a pasito, no quieras pegar brinquitos.” Can you guess which card it will be?

This week the Health Lotería continues with the saying:“Da acá la pata y empiézame a platicar / los trabajos que pasabas cuando no sabías hablar.” ["Sit down over here and chat with me / about how hard your life was before you knew how to talk."] To whom does the saying refer? Of course, to… ¡¡¡el cotorro!!! [the parrot!] And if we’re talking about chatting and conversation, certainly health is one of the things that we find ourselves discussing the most — one’s own health, health of family and friends, concerns, successes. Our friends ask us, “What’s up? How are you doing?”, the radio and TV talk constantly about health, many parts of the Internet are huge conversations about health. And with all this talk that surrounds us, there’s always advice — advice from our loved ones who worry about us, advice from public and private organizations, from the government, from advertisements, from everywhere.

But which advice, which information should we trust? Here are some suggestions for evaluating the information that you read, hear, or see about your health. First, here are two that have to do with any source of health information:

• This page from MedlinePlus offers links to guides that explain how to evaluate health information. [In case you haven't noticed, MedlinePlus is a source which we recommend a lot here in the Health Lotería, because it always has complete, clear and trustworthy information.]
• “Is this health information good for me?” is a page from one of the Regional Libraries of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

The following links are have more to do with evaluating Internet health information, but often the same questions can help you evaluate health information in other media as well:

• “Health Information on the Web: Finding Reliable Information” from the American Academy of Family Physicians
• “Your health, in your hands” from the findingDulcinea guide to the Internet
• The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation evaluates and accredits health-related websites, on the basis of their trustworthiness, and offers a search of trustworthy sites.
• “10 Things To Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web” from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
• “Diez aspectos que debe conocer al evaluar los recursos médicos en Internet” del Centro Nacional de Medicina Complementaria y Alternativa (NCCAM)

Next time in the Health Lotería: “¡No levantes esa piedra, / que te pica ese animal!” ["Don't lift up that rock, / because that animal will sting you!"] Can you figure out the clue?