Wellness Wednesday

October is the month when eye specialists focus on the health of your sight. Here are some previous Wellness Wednesday topics that have dealt with the eyes:

• Cataracts
• Eye Protection
• Healthy Eye Tips
• Pink Eye

Millions of Americans rely on contact lenses for vision correction, but improper care can lead to severe eye damage or vision loss. Health officials emphasize that all contacts (including decorative and cosmetic lenses) are prescription medical devices requiring a professional fitting and prescription verification before sale. Improperly fitted, worn, or exposed lenses can cause corneal abrasions, ulcers, and serious conditions like Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK)—a severe corneal infection linked to water exposure that can cause permanent blindness.

The best ways to avoid eye infections, including AK, when using contact lenses are to:

• Wash hands: Before handling contact lenses, wash your hands with soap and water, then rinse and dry them completely with a lint-free cloth.
• Remove contact lenses: Remove contact lenses before any activities with water, such as showering, bathing, swimming, or hot tub use.
• Do not use water: Contact lenses should never be rinsed with or stored in water (both tap or sterile water).
• Follow use and care instructions: Wear and replace contact lenses as directed by your eye doctor. Never wear someone else’s lenses.
• Use new solution: Use fresh disinfecting solution to clean, rub, and rinse your contact lenses each time you remove them. Do not re-use the old solution or “top off” the solution in your lens case.
• Clean contact lens cases: Contact lens cases should always be cleaned with fresh solution – not water. Then leave the empty case open to dry. Replace lens cases regularly (at least every three months).
• Store in a dry location: Keep your contact lenses outside the bathroom to reduce the risk of water contamination.

October brings our attention to autumn. Listed below are links to previous Wellness Wednesday articles we have published which pertain to the fall season.

• Illness Due to Weather
• Halloween Safety Tips
• Flu
• Fire Safety
• Prioritizing Mental Health
• Emotional Wellness
• Breast Cancer
• Domestic Violence
• Resources for Domestic Violence, Stress, Assault

October is National RSV Awareness Worth. RSV, which stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, is a common virus that presents cold-like symptoms but may lead to severe lung infections. RSV symptoms are not specific which makes it difficult to distinguish RSV from the common cold or other respiratory viruses. It generally spreads in the fall and peaks in the winter.

RSV can spread when:

• A person who has RSV coughs or sneezes near you.
• Droplets from a cough or sneeze that contain the virus get in your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• You have direct contact with someone with RSV.
• You touch a surface that has the virus on it and then touch your face before washing your hands.

People of any age can get RSV, but typically most people get RSV for the first time as an infant or toddler. Nearly all children will get RSV before their second birthday. However, repeat infections may occur throughout life.

The spread of RSV can be prevented by:

• Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Take steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.
• Stay home and away from others when you are sick.

For more information about RSV, visit the CDC's webpage on RSV.

It is fitting that the week that autumn begins coincides with Falls Prevention Week. The goal of this awareness is to make us realize that there are steps we can take to prevent a fall, no matter the age.

Read this document for statistics about Michigan citizens: State of Michigan Proclamation Falls Prevention Week.
 

Use this tool to assess your likelihood of falling and access to resources: https://www.ncoa.org/tools/falls-free-checkup/

Michigan must provide bloodborne pathogens training to all workers with reasonably anticipated occupational exposure to human blood, body fluids, or other potentially infectious materials under the MIOSHA Bloodborne Infectious Diseases Standard (Mich. Admin. Code R. 325.70001 – 325.70018)

NOTE: This applies to all educators of the district. This is not to replace the mandatory training, but it is a refresher for information. For specific questions, please contact your administrator.

Book clubs can be good for mental health because they combine social connection, enjoyable activity, and mental stimulation in one place.
 

• They reduce loneliness. Meeting regularly with people who share an interest can create a sense of belonging and community.
• They provide a reason to get out and connect. Having a scheduled meeting gives you something positive to look forward to and can encourage social interaction.
• They stimulate the brain. Reading and discussing books exercises attention, memory, imagination, and critical thinking.
• They create opportunities to talk about emotions. Stories often introduce difficult experiences, relationships, and feelings, which can make it easier to reflect on your own experiences.
• They offer stress relief. Reading can provide a temporary break from everyday worries, while discussing something enjoyable can help shift your attention away from stress.
• They build routine. A regular book club can add structure to your week or month, which can be helpful for overall well-being.
• They encourage empathy. Seeing situations through different characters' perspectives—and hearing how other readers interpret them—can broaden your understanding of other people's experiences.
• They give you something to accomplish together. Finishing a book and participating in a discussion can create a small but meaningful sense of achievement.

Your AFT membership offers book clubs as another way to socialize with other union professionals. The AFT Book Club is a free, monthly virtual series presented by the AFT, Share My Lesson, and the Albert Shanker Institute. Each conversation brings together people to explore books and ideas that shape our classrooms, communities, and democracy. Featuring live discussions with leading authors, scholars, journalists, and advocates, the AFT Book Club examines timely issues such as education, history, civic engagement, social justice, and culture.

To see past book club conversations, please visit the Share My Lesson website.

One of the benefits of AFT membership is access to webcasts that provide resources and information on health and wellness. Vital Lessons: Health Chats with Dr. Vin Gupta is a free, award-winning community from the AFT Share My Lesson, where the pulmonologist and critical care physician helps educators, families, and school communities make sense of the health news that shapes their classrooms and their homes. It's where you'll find trusted health resources for educators, and clear, evidence-based answers to real questions — without the jargon.

What You'll Find

• Free town hall webinars: Timely, expert-led conversations on public health topics.
• Blogs and lessons: Practical, plain-language health resources you can use in the classroom and home.
• AFT guidance and FAQ sheets: Clear, trusted answers to the health questions facing schools and families.
• Expert insight from Dr. Vin Gupta: Evidence-based information and who breaks down the headlines into what they mean for you.
• Timely health news: Stay current as public health topics and guidance evolve.

 If you are unable to view the livestream, AFT allows members to watch all past webcasts on-demand. You can register HERE to view any previous webcast.

This is the list of all the topics that have already been covered:

• Climate Change Is a Health Issue
• Facing the Fentanyl Era: Protecting Youth and Communities from Harm of an Evolving Drug Landscape
• Medical Debt and Healthcare Affordability: Solutions You Can Use Now
• Supporting Mental Wellness Through Inclusive, Connected Workplaces
• Children's Health in a Changing World
• AI, Chatbots, and Mental Health: What Families and Communities Need to Know
• Supporting the LGBTQIA+ Community: A Chat with The Trevor Project
• Caring for Veterans, Families and Communities
• A Town Hall on the Measles Outbreak and What You Need to Know
• A Town Hall on Mental Health, ADHD and What You Need to Know
• A Town Hall on Perimenopause, Menopause and What You Need to Know
• A Town Hall on Wellness, Public Health and Taking Care of Ourselves
• A Town Hall on Autism, Education and Public Trust
• A Town Hall on Immunizations and a Healthy School Year
• Cutting through the Noise: Vaccines, Childhood Health, and Navigating the School Year

Without a doubt, financial stability is at the top of the list that causes stress for many of us. Housing, healthcare, childcare, college, even the cost of keeping up with credit cards or medical bills—it’s all going up and making it harder to get by.

AFT has partnered with Share My Lesson to create the AFT Life Literacies video series where the most prevalent types of debt are addressed. There are short how-to videos and resources to help you navigate the complex processes of medical debt, credit card debt, debt collectors, and the resources and support to which you are legally entitled but may not know.

This is a part of the AFT's initiative Fight for Affordability, a campaign whose focus is rooted in a simple, powerful truth: workers deserve to thrive. Workers deserve to be able to care for their families without being bled dry by price gouging, junk fees, surprise or unfair medical bills and predatory corporate practices. Workers deserve access to quality healthcare and workers deserve to retire with dignity.

That’s why our newest Fight for Affordability video series goes deep on credit reporting. In 4 short episodes, we cover:

• The difference between your credit score and credit report.
• How to spot errors, dispute them and freeze your credit.
• The truth about old debt and “zombie debt” collectors.
• How credit checks reach into housing, jobs and insurance.

Your credit doesn’t just affect loans. It can shape your housing, job offers, even your insurance—and most people don’t realize who’s looking or when they have the right to say no.

✅ Take advantage of what your membership in the AFT can do for you.

▶️ Watch the series here.

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's lens, which is typically clear. It's the leading cause of blindness worldwide and the leading cause of vision loss in the United States. Cataracts can occur at any age and can be present at birth.

At first, the cloudiness in vision caused by a cataract may affect only a small part of the eye's lens. Vision loss may be slight at first. As the cataract progresses, it clouds more of the lens. More clouding changes the light passing through the lens.

For people who have cataracts, seeing through cloudy lenses is like looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. Clouded vision caused by a cataract can make it hard to read, drive a car at night or see a computer screen.

Symptoms of cataracts include:

• Clouded, blurred or dim vision.
• Need for brighter light for reading and other activities.
• Trouble seeing in sunlight or bright lights.
• Trouble seeing at night.
• Halos or starbursts around lights at night.
• Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription.
• Fading or yellowing of colors.
• Double vision in one eye.

Most cataracts develop slowly and don't disturb eyesight early on. But with time, cataracts will eventually affect vision. At first, stronger lighting and eyeglasses can help. Removing cataracts is a widely available treatment. Cataract surgery is generally a safe, effective procedure.

An estimated 20.5 million (17.2%) Americans aged 40 years and older have cataract in one or both eyes, and 6.1 million (5.1%) have had their lens removed by surgery.
 

Cataracts most often affects older adults. Other factors that increase your risk of cataracts include:

• Diabetes.
• Exposure to sunlight.
• Smoking and other tobacco use.
• Obesity.
• Family history of cataracts.
• Previous eye injury, disease or surgery.
• Prolonged use of corticosteroid medicines.
• Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

How does a cataract form? The lens sits behind the colored part of your eye, called the iris. The lens focuses light that passes into your eye. This light is focused on the back part of the eye, called the retina.

As you age, the lenses in your eyes become less flexible, thicker and less clear. Aging and some medical conditions can cause proteins and fibers within a lens to break down and clump together. This is what causes the clouding in a lens.

As the cataract grows, the clouding becomes worse. A cataract scatters and blocks the light as it passes through the lens. This prevents a clearly defined image from reaching your retina. As a result, your vision becomes blurred.

Cataracts usually happen in both eyes, but not always at the same rate. The cataract in one eye may be worse than the other. This causes a difference in vision between eyes.

Make an appointment for an eye exam if you notice any changes in your vision. If you develop sudden vision changes, such as double vision or flashes of light, sudden eye pain, or a sudden headache, seek medical help right away.

On this day 85 years ago, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Nothing To Fear Day is observed annually on May 27.

Fear is a natural and necessary survival response that helps people notice danger, avoid harm, and respond quickly in emergencies. The realistic goal is to have a balanced fear response, where fear is proportionate to the situation and does not control a person’s choices or prevent them from living according to their values.  

However, it can also be a negative emotion when it causes us to act irrationally. When we let fear rule our lives, we see things differently, become more cautious and timid, or overreact to circumstances in ways that are potentially dangerous to ourselves and others. Fear can be a crippling feeling. It can be detrimental to our quality of life, relationships, experiences, and so much more.

Is it actually healthy to “face your fears"?