NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2018 - 6

L ACKMEDSOC.ORG

LUZERNEMEDSOC.ORG

Letter from the Editor

hen I reflect on the happiest times of my life, I'm
usually wearing sunglasses,
shorts, and-according to the article by
Dr. Schleicher, not nearly enough sunscreen!

DONNA M. EGET, D.O.

are more drownings in the summer, more
pedestrians hit by cars, and more fatal
allergic reactions to bees. This is all due
to a combination of factors, but the most
important one is opportunity. We're outside
where exposures occur, we let down our
I'm not a sun worshipper, but, like many of guard and relax, have a beer or two, and
the residents of NEPA, I love all the beauty wham! - we're stung, or burned, or whacked
and nature of our region. Our winters seem between the eyes by an errant Frisbee!
to stretch much longer than three months,
and if your body craves sunshine, by March you're just
about delirious. This cabin
fever causes errors in judgement, most notably related
to our athletic abilities. After
months of sitting idly by,
some of our muscles are not
I was surprised to learn
quite ready for hitting golf
there aren't more accidental
balls or running marathons,
deaths in spring and
or whatever other advensummer than other seasons.
tures we plan for the first
nice weekend of the year. Yet
What isn't surprising is
that never seems to stop us!

AS A FORMER ER DOCTOR
WHO WITNESSED MANY A
SUMMERTIME TRAGEDY,

that many accidental
deaths are preventable.

DONNA EGET, D.O., IS A BOARD
CERTIFIED EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN.
SHE IS THE OWNER AND MEDICAL
DIRECTOR OF MEDICUS URGENT
CARE IN DUNMORE.

As a former ER doctor
who witnessed many a
summertime tragedy, I was
surprised to learn there aren't more acciSince these warm days are so wonderful,
dental deaths in spring and summer than and the seasons so short, it is my hope that
other seasons. What isn't surprising is that the things you learn in this journal will keep
many accidental deaths are preventable.
you away from my office so you can spend
more time enjoying yourself, your family,
Since viewing the movie JAWS, I never and friends. Just remember to stretch,
go into the ocean without scanning for a slather on the sunscreen, and keep in mind
dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water. the advice of Benjamin Franklin: "An ounce
I'm not nearly as concerned about the bark of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
of an errant dog, yet Americans are thirty
times more likely to get killed by a dog than
a shark. Nearly half of dog bites occur in Donna M. Eget, D.O.
the summer months, and there are nearly Editor
30 fatal attacks by dogs each year. There NEPA Vital Signs

N E PA

VITAL SIGNS

http://www.lackmedsoc.org http://www.LUZERNEMEDSOC.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2018