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Tryptophan itself is an essential amino acid (meaning it is not produced by the body and must be gained through the diet) and a precursor to major chemicals in the brain. These chemicals include serotonin and melatonin, both of which can have an effect on the sleep cycle (this could be where the myth first originated.) The only problem with tryptophan in turkey is that it is found in such small levels that it will have almost no chance of making you drowsy. In fact, the eggs in your morning breakfast contain nearly 4 times the amount of tryptophan than turkey. So if it’s not the turkey knocking us out, then what is?

Actually, the biggest offenders are all those potato dishes and mountains of desserts. Most of your drowsiness is due to carbohydrate overload. This comes from eating a ton of sugars contained in these foods and then crashing once your blood sugar drops back down a few hours later. So next time a family member warns you about eating another helping of turkey you can set the record straight and we can stop giving poor tryptophan such a bad name.

Happy Holidays!

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. Seeing the snow blanketing our farm and all the time spent with family are some of my greatest childhood memories. It is a great time to reflect on how blessed we are. As we spend our days huddled together, celebrating another year, our thoughts and prayers go out to our family members serving overseas and those who may have gone before us. I’m thankful for all of the many blessings in my life and this definitely includes my patients and my staff. Thank you all for making this past year such a great first year as a pharmacist and I look forward to seeing our relationships continue to grow. I consider you all my family when I’m away from home and couldn’t imagine a better group of people to be with day in and day out.

Fall Athletics

Students are making their way back into the classrooms and that means fall athletics will be starting up soon. If your family is anything like mine this is a great excuse to get together every week with those you love. Even if you don’t enjoy the games I’m sure you can enjoy the spirit of camaraderie that comes with the sports. As a family oriented business, Whaleys supports most activities that can bring our community together. The area offers plenty of athletic options and I hope you all take the time to go out and catch a game or two and support our community. It means a lot to local schools and even more to the local athletes. A strong community presence is important and why the Midwest is such a great place to live.

City Improvements

The Future of Whaley’s

Is an aspirin a day appropriate for you?

The recommendation has been for men and women to start on an aspirin-a-day regimen when they reach a certain age to prevent a FIRST or SECOND heart attack or stroke.  New studies have been released with updated recommendations.
In general, aspirin 81mg a day is recommended in men at age 45 and women at 55 IF they have additional heart risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, AND they are not at increased risk for bleeding.
For patients who are diabetic, the American Diabetes Association recommends aspirin 81mg/day for most diabetic men over 50 and women over 60 IF they have other risks such as high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol or family history of heart disease.
Before beginning this regimen, it is important to discuss the risks and benefits of taking a baby aspirin (81mg) with your doctor who knows your overall health and medical condition.

H1N1 vaccine

According to the CDC, the week of February 21 to 27 had low flu activity in the United States with most flu to be caused by 2009 H1N1.  Flu activity, caused by either 2009 H1N1 or seasonal flu, is expected to continue to rise and fall for another few weeks.  Because there is still time to be plagued with the 2009 H1N1 and/or seasonal flu, consider receiving the H1N1 vaccine.  The vaccine is still available at any of our three retail locations.  Come by and visit with the pharmacist to see if the vaccine is right for you.

Can saline nasal irrigation or “neti pots” increase sinus infections?

With spring season coming, many individuals will be plagued with allergies and will begin the frequent use of nasal irrigation or “neti pots” to help keep those allergy issues in check.  There is new concern that chronic use might increase the risk of sinus infections because of a decrease of nasal mucous produced as well as immunity protectors.  Be advised to keep your “neti pot” and irrigation bottles clean to reduce contamination.  It is recommended to wash them after every use and not to share them with others.  It is best to limit use of nasal irrigation to once or twice daily to prevent over-drying or irritation of nasal passages.

Are you on Facebook?

Be sure to join the Whaley’s Pharmacy and Whaley’s Mommy & Me-Before, During & After fan pages to continue to be a part of the Whaley’s family.  Learn about new products and services offered at Whaley’s that you won’t want to miss out on.  See you at Whaleys!

Volume 1, Issue 2

ABCs of preventing Heart Disease

February is National Heart Disease Awareness month.  In honor of that, this issue of Whaley’s Wisdom is devoted to a healthy heart.  The American Heart Association has these ABCs for preventing heart disease:

• Avoid Tobacco.  If you smoke, quit.  If someone in your household smokes, encourage them to quit.
• Become more active.  Thirty minutes a day for 5 or more days a week is the best amount of exercise that we can give our hearts; but some is better than none, so get moving!
• Choose good nutrition.  The foods we eat and the amount of food we eat affects cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes risk, and weight.  All of this in turn affects the health of the heart.  A diet high in veggies, fruits, whole grains, fiber, fish, lean meats, and fat-free or low-fat dairy is the best.
• A lifestyle change is the best defense against heart disease and stroke – and such a change is YOUR responsibility!

Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Here are some of the risk factors for developing heart disease:

• Increasing age — As we get older, our risk of developing heart disease increases too.
• Being male — Statistically, more males develop heart disease than females.  That doesn’t leave the women off the hook, however.
• Hereditary factors — Sadly, if your parents or grandparents had heart disease, your risk of developing it is higher than someone with no family history of heart disease.
• Smoking — High blood pressure–High cholesterol– Obesity –Diabetes– Lack of Exercise.  We all know these risk factors.  Now we just need to do something about them!
• High stress levels — Too much alcohol (more than one drink a day for women, or two a day for men) — Poor Diet.  We all know these risk factors as well.  If only it were easy to de-stress!

Heart Attack Warning Signs

Not all heart attacks occur like we see in the movies – sudden, dramatic, and painful.  Sometimes heart attacks creep up on a person, and it is important to recognize the warning signs so that you can get help fast.

• Chest discomfort lasting more than a few minutes, or going away and coming back.  This can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body, such as one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
• Shortness of breath, whether or not there is chest discomfort as well.
• Breaking into a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.
• Women are more likely than men to experience symptoms other than chest pain, which can make it more difficult to identify.  Even if you are not sure you are having a heart attack, have your symptoms checked out!  With the heart, minutes matter!

Schedule a Medication Therapy Management (MTM) appointment TODAY

MTM allows us to review your current medications and gives us an opportunity to ensure you are receiving the best quality of care.

Our MTM program involves scheduling a one-on-one meeting with the pharmacist to discuss your current medications.  During this meeting, the pharmacist will make sure you’re taking your medication correctly and talk about any problems or concerns you may have.

Even if you fill your prescriptions at SW or West, I look forward to hearing from each of you to schedule your MTM appointment!  See you at Whaley’s!

Volume 1, Issue 1

Fighting off winter illness

There are many things that can be done to fight off illnesses during the winter:

• Get a flu shot!  Flu shots help to minimize the chance of catching influenza.
• Avoid people who are sick.  Encourage others to stay home if they are sick and take precautions around those who are ill.
• Wash your hands frequently; especially after you cough, sneeze, blow your nose, or come in contact with a person who is sick.
• Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night.  This is very important to help boost your body’s ability to fight diseases.
• Eat a healthy diet.  Getting a mix of dark-green, red, and yellow vegetables and fruits will help provide vitamins A, C and E as well as antioxidants to help boost the immune system.
• Be physically active.  This can also help boost immunity.  In addition, breathing the outside air helps soothe nasal passages that can be dry from the indoor heat.

Common Cold Advice

Ever wondered which medication will help relieve the specific symptoms you have?  Be sure to ask your pharmacist for help and use these helpful hints!  Parents with children should keep these items on hand during the winter season: acetaminophen, ibuprofen, tissues, disinfectant spray, and liquids for hydration.

It is important to remember that the common cold is spread by hand-to-hand contact or contaminated surfaces and not by the cold weather.  Symptoms of the common cold are sore throat, nasal stuffiness or drainage, coughing, sneezing, and low fever in children (100 to 102 degrees).  These symptoms will usually last anywhere from 3-10 days.

Symptoms of the flu are more abrupt than the cold and include a higher fever (102 to 106 degrees), chills, achiness all over, and usually a severe headache.  Some flu viruses are also accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea.

Honey Treatment for Kids

Have you ever had a child that just can’t get over a cough?  Just a teaspoon of honey can help!  Honey can be given by itself or with a non-caffeinated drink.  It should be given ½ hour before bedtime to help soothe that irritating cough and allow for a more restful sleep.  Use the following table for dosing.

Be sure not to give honey to children under 12 months of age because it can have harmful effects and could potentially cause botulism – a rare illness that can cause paralysis.

Humidifier Choices

Humidifiers come in two varieties: warm mist or cool mist.  Both will help to relieve congestion from the common cold, flu, and sinus infections.  They help to add moisture to the air which is good for the skin and helps to thin out mucus to make breathing easier! It is important to change the water daily and clean the humidifier every three days so that it does not harbor bacteria that could actually cause more harm.

• Warm mist humidifiers should be used with caution because the steam could cause burns and may potentially be a fire hazard.  Certain medicated oils can be added to this type of humidifier (i.e. Echinacea oil) to help soothe cold symptoms.
• Cool mist humidifiers do not have a burn risk and are recommended in homes with children.  Oils do not work as well with this type of humidifier.