The number of COVID-19 patients at The University of Kansas Health System continues to creep higher today. 17 patients with the active virus are being treated, up from 15 yesterday. Of those patients, two are in the ICU, the same as yesterday. One of those patients is on a ventilator, the same as yesterday. Eight other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID-19 but are out of the acute infection phase, down from ten yesterday. That’s a total of 25 patients, the same as yesterday. Doctors noted almost all of the new patients, both at the health system and around the Metro, are unvaccinated and younger. One government official said the Delta variant “is like COVID on steroids,” and is becoming more dominant, along with the Alpha variant, and is why vaccinations are so vital.
On today’s Morning Media Update, we recognized migraine month during a time of COVID. Neurologist and migraine specialist Dr. Deetra Ford joined to talk about headaches, including how to tell when it's a migraine and not COVID- related, plus how the pandemic has been a pain trigger for many of her patients.
To say the pandemic has been a pain is an understatement, especially for those who suffer migraines. Dr. Ford says the stress of the past year has played a big part, but she and her colleagues have noticed that many who have been able to work from home have seen reduced stress levels. She credits better control over the environment like sound and lighting, better hydration and being able to take breaks for helping ease the stress. But for others, staying home has brought on depression and anxiety, which are big triggers for migraines, so a lot depends on the individual. She says some of her patients have had very significant headaches after a COVID-19 infection, often lasting weeks or months, and different from their normal migraines. Regular migraine medications don’t seem to work as well for those patients either. She explained how to tell the difference between a regular headache and a migraine and described the most common triggers, which include stress and lack of sleep. She also says alcohol, especially wine, is a big trigger for a migraine. So are chocolate and caffeine. But she says there is hope for migraine sufferers and discussed several new drug therapies and how they work, including one which should be available this week. She says while there is a chance of a migraine within a couple of days of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, it goes away, and is nothing like the migraines suffered by many patients in the long haul clinic. She asks everyone and their children to get vaccinated and to encourage your friends to do the same.
Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, advises those who plan to travel to wait two weeks after their second shot, but says you still have some protection before that time. He also discussed a recent study which claims the common cold can offer protection from COVID-19. He noted current CDC guidance says if you are fully vaccinated, you don’t need to quarantine after a potential exposure to the virus, just monitor for symptoms. Even if you get COVID-19, the effects will be greatly reduced. For long haulers, he says the most common symptoms are still fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, coughing and loss of smell. 30 percent of those patients need to see two or more specialists. He stresses the best way to keep out of that clinic is to get vaccinated, which protects you, your loved ones, and the community.
Friday, June 18 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Media Update. We celebrate Juneteenth early. Special guests include Chaplain Clarence Miller who will share his personal reflections and remembrances of this special day. We'll also hear from Broderick Crawford, President of New Bethel Church (NBC) Community Development Corporation on what's happening around town to celebrate Juneteenth. Plus, Amanda Cackler is back to help answer questions and update the vaccination rate among our inpatients.
ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:
The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
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