TB or Not TB

That's not really the question. The question is if you're like PearlieMae are you going to do whatever it takes to not get tuberculosis this year or the next. If you're a regular reader of PearlieMaes you know whatever it takes is going to be all that stressful physically or otherwise. We aren't interested in making you sweat or work up a sweat. We do admit that sweating and things that make you move til you sweat are the way to better health.We just have never believed that its the only information you should be provided. We support a two pronged method of attack.

"In 2009 there were 11,545 new cases of tuberculosis reported in the United States - Although reported TB cases reached all-time lows in the United States, there are still disproportionately high rates of TB among foreign-born persons from high prevalence countries and among U.S.born racial/ethnic minorities, especially U.S.-born blacks. Among racial and ethnic minorities, unequal distribution of TB risk factors can increase the chance of developing the disease." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Current Features)

Our focus has been on protecting yourself from the H1N1 (swine flu) and not so much from the old standbys. The reason being this is season for that kind of infection is so obvious and easily prevented. Though our own actions wouldn't be a very good indication of that practice. Which is another reason why we haven't been showing the "swine table of death" that we usually show and will return to shortly. We're still at risk each and all of us even though we've had some technical difficulties keeping our stories.

"Tuberculosis - Although tuberculosis is contagious, it's not especially easy to catch. You're much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live with or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who've had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious." - Mayo Clinic (Causes)

The reason we haven't focused on TB is because it's not "easy to catch." It's the difficulty that doesn't need an injection for protection. Avoid the sick and don't get sick which is a good tactic for all contagious diseases. If you hear that a co-worker, family member or friend has TB and you've been especially close to that person then you might want to seek treatment. Do not self treat because whatever medications you receive has to be taken completely even when you feel better. 

Feeling Poorly To Excess

When you saw a distended belly of an African child surrounded by flies in his mother's arms you certainly don't think that to be a symbol of obesity. Historically when you saw a painting of a Rubensian figure in art it meant a sign of good health and great wealth. Currently such a size on an individual in reality indicates poor health and now poverty according to researchers.

“Social Context May Be a Better Indicator of Obesity Disparities than Race - In a national sample not accounting for race differences in social context, black women had twice the chance of being obese as compared to white women,” Sara Bleich, PhD, lead author and assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Health Policy and Management. “To date, efforts to explain the disparity in obesity prevalence have primarily focused on individual level factors and little research has focused on social context as a possible explanation. When we examined poor, urban women exposed to the same environment, race disparities in obesity virtually disappeared.” - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (May 6, 2010)

We've long maintained that eating properly and exercising as solutions to individual illnesses that often lead to premature deaths isn't the answer to the problem. While social inequities are becoming more prevalent by the current economic climate solutions, we suggestion, need to be more proactive. Which we admit is as contradictory as the research.

"Obesity, Poverty, and Participation in Nutrition Assistance Programs - Poverty, as measured by household income, is associated with obesity in some population groups. One review of 144 published studies shows a strong inverse association between socioeconomic status and obesity in women, and an inconsistent relationship in men and children. The panel concluded that it is necessary to separate the effects of poverty and socioeconomic status from the potential effects of food assistance to determine the relationship between obesity and program participation. The research challenge, however, is that poverty is highly correlated with program participation, making it hard to separate their independent effects. " - USDA Food and Nutrition Service (February  2005)

The poor who appear to be eating to excess by the physical appearances when in reality their bulk can and often is the result of the opposite. It's where you are in both location and along the economic scale that determines not only your wealth but also your health. Departments of Health in our region and the nation need to be prepared for not only moments of prosperity as well as poverty when they're least likely to afford the services needed by our communities.

"New Flu Vaccine Option for Adults 65 Years and Older  - Adults 65 years of age and older are among the groups hardest hit by influenza, and annual vaccination remains the best protection, particularly for this population. However, as people age, their immune function tends to decrease, which makes older adults not only more susceptible to infections, but also less responsive to vaccination." - American Lung Association (Top Stories)

We at PearlieMaes also believe that age is another significant factor in both health and well being of individuals. One of PearlieMaes biggest complaint was that as a senior no one, meaning doctors, would speak to her directly. Physicians often directed their answers, comments and or suggestions to whomever ferried her to her appointments. While priority should be given to the patient in the case of relatives or transporters secondary or supplemental information should be given. Unfortunately doctors are too often too pressed for time to give the information twice.

Obviously Obese

You're ugly. You ain't go no alibi. You're ugly. You're ugly. You're U-G-L-Y! Goes the cheerleader chant. When you're rooting for your team and want to psyche out the other team your cheerleaders "trash talk" their opponent. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) isn't acting like an opponent. It's obvious that our children, grandchildren and all of us are fat. Yes, we're fatter than we were in 2007 and unless something else changes we'll be fatter in 2014. We're probably fatter than we were in 1807. The CDC's solution:

"More than one third of U.S. adults are obese. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than your body uses. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight will help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions. The key is FINDING A BALANCE in your lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity." - Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Finding Balance)

We don't support that as a regional or national alternative. We didn't gain weight as a national mission. We gained weight all the while trying to improve our economy, keep our jobs, saving our investments and stay alive. Unless we can embark on a national mission that will improve our economy, save our jobs, increase our investments all the while keeping us better alive we don't support it. We can't support it.

"Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index, United States 1960–2002 - During the last 2 decades the prevalence of obesity and overweight has increased in the United States (1–3). This is in part due to a shift in the distribution of BMI (BMI, weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of the entire population. This report presents the changes in mean bodyweight, height, and BMI for the entire U.S. population from 1960 to 2002." -  Center for Disease Control and Prevention (October 27, 2004)

Gaining weight is what we do if not as American then as people in a civilized society. We get tall and we get wider. "Finding balance" is a humorous way of being absurd by the federal government that hasn't been either effective or reasonable for today's current lifestyles. We know what you want to know - how fat are we? We just don't want to be as overweight as our neighbors. "At least we're not as fat as the Jones." Or are we? The information in the CDC report comes from telephone surveys of some 405,102 people.


We conclude that since the information was collected by telephone and all the respondents we telephone owners then if you own a telephone it will make you gain weight. The solution is to rid ourselves of our telephones and if anyone asks say you're ten (10) pounds lighter than your actual weight. That way when the researchers call they'll think the country or at least the region has lost weight even though we've gotten taller. We think our suggestion would be more effective than the federal governments. Besides our suggestion, like a folk remedy, wouldn't hurt you, unless you actually believe your untruth.

Back That Thing Up

We don't and we didn't. We should have and our position is that you should. We're from our parents do as I say and not as we do school of thought. Our parents would constantly contradict themselves and we as young brash smart alecs would constantly say to them but Mommy/Daddy you do/say that! Unlike our parents we have to suffer the consequences of our actions. We also don't learn from the mistakes of others as indicated by this very old post:

"Drive one is dead, most likely in some liquidation load and I replaced it with another drive of the exact same model at best buy. Well, that one failed too!" - DTSL Williams (June 12, 2007)

Learn from our mistakes and we should take our own advice. In some ways we are backing up. Our excuse was we replaced the drive with another of the exact same model but NOT from BestBuy but ours actually we couldn't even format it. We've learned through further reading that when you create a "brick" using two (2) terabyte (TB) hard drives to create four (4) terabyte hard drives. Someone in our office who shall remain nameless thought to flip the switch to make the two (2) drives into a single huge drive. It made the information unavailable to us. The fix we learn all too late was to re-initialize the drives rather than formatting them again. That way the information is not lost.

The following articles we recovered or discovered. At the time they were timely. They might be old but the information while not current is at least still true. We're mostly proud of the new story from our family member about their hospital experience. It's funny and informative. We hope you enjoy it!