December 2013 | Skin Vein

Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot

influenza-156098_150

It’s Not Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot

It’s still not too late to get your flu shot, with flu season typically peaking between January and March. Vaccination ideally should occur before flu is circulating widely, but as long as flu is still spreading, it’s not too late to get vaccinated.

Flu vaccine numbers for 2013-2014

Even with flu activity starting to increase across the country, most people remain unvaccinated. Through mid-November, only about 40% of individuals 6 months or older — including 41% of pregnant women and 63% of healthcare workers — had received a flu vaccine. These numbers are about the same percentage of vaccinations as last season at this time.

Does the flu shot really help?

Yes. More than six million cases of the flu were prevented during last year’s, 2012-13, flu season because of vaccination, according to numbers released by the CDC.

For last year’s flu season, even though only 45% of the population received flu vaccine, and vaccine effectiveness was 51%, it is estimated that vaccination prevented 6.6 million illnesses, 3.2 million flu cases for which people would have sought medical attention, and about 79,000 hospitalizations.

The reductions in overall flu-related adverse events for 2012-13 were greater than those estimated to have resulted in the flu seasons between 2005-2011, at least partly because of the increased severity of the season, according to CDC director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH.

Get your flu shot!

“Flu vaccine in a vial doesn’t do anyone any good. The more people vaccinated, the more benefit to individuals, the fewer the hospitalizations, the fewer the illnesses and deaths,” Frieden said.

To get the estimates of how many flu-related events were avoided last season, CDC researchers considered vaccination coverage, vaccine effectiveness, and actual event rates. From October 2012 to May 2013, there were an estimated 31.8 million flu cases, 14.4 million medically attended cases, and 381,000 hospitalizations.

Of the hospitalizations that were avoided, more than two-thirds (69%) were averted in children younger than 5 and adults 65 and older, the two groups that are most likely to be hospitalized with influenza.

Contact Zimmet Vein & Dermatology at (512) 485-7700 for more information.

Replenish Lost Facial Volume With VOLUMA™ Injectable Filler

Up until now, cosmetic anti-aging treatments focused primarily on diminishing wrinkles and lines in order to rejuvenate your appearance. Now, volume loss is also being targeted with new fillers to offer a more convincing revitalization and enhancement of the face.

Volume Loss: Sign of An Aging Face

As we age, our faces progressively lose the fullness of our youth. Loss of fat in the cheeks and temples can result in a sunken look, contributing to an aged appearance.

The approach to restoring your youthful appearance is to re-contour by replacing lost volume where necessary, in the cheeks, temples, chin, and jawline.

How Voluma Works

Only one product is available today that has been specifically developed for this purpose. Juvéderm VOLUMA™, the first of its kind, is formulated to restore facial volume lost over time and the results are quite remarkable.

VOLUMA™ is an injectable volumizer containing hyaluronic acid, a lubricating substance naturally present in your body. It volumizes your face and plumps your skin by binding with water. It is formulated to also complement collagen and elastin levels in your skin.

VOLUMA™ offers the advantage of being highly viscous with a smooth consistency to create an even finish to your facial contour. Studies show that adverse events and allergic reactions occur at a lower rate when compared to other fillers. There is a lower incidence of nodules and granulomas due to its smoother texture. There have been no reported migrations. VOLUMA™ stays where you want it to stay.

You’ll see fuller volume results instantly and, unlike other facial fillers, your improvement may last up to 18 months. This is a great addition to the anti-aging arsenal.

Be sure to select a professional for your VOLUMA™ treatment who has experience in advanced injection techniques. A medical assessment prior to your treatment will ensure your expectations can be safely met. Contact Zimmet Vein & Dermatology at (512) 485-7700 for more information.

Testing Skin Products without Using Animals

Progress is being made in efforts to reduce the use of animals in testing new cosmetic and other product ingredients that might trigger skin allergies. Concerns about the ethics, as well as costs, of animal-based tests for skin sensitizers, plus regulations in the European Union, are fostering a search for alternative approaches to testing. Testing product ingredients prior to marketing is important, because allergic contact dermatitis is the most prevalent form of immunotoxicity in humans.

In a study published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, scientists are describing a highly accurate, non-animal test for these skin sensitizers.

It is a cell-based alternative test that uses genes and signaling pathways in mouse skin cells grown in the lab. Exposure to skin sensitizers typically triggers characteristic responses, activating genes and making cells release substances that communicate with adjacent cells.

Evaluation of the test on 18 compounds showed that it had a sensitivity of 92 percent in correctly identifying actual sensitizers. It had a specificity of 100 percent and did not produce any false positive results — indicating that a substance caused sensitization when it actually did not. According to Bruno Miguel Neves, one of the authors, the approach could be extremely valuable in revealing the interaction of skin cells with sensitizing ingredients.

If you’re on the search for safe, effective skin care products that doesn’t involve the use of animal testing, check out the skin care products we have available or contact Zimmet Vein & Dermatology at (512) 485-7700 for more information.

Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot

Monthly Archives: December 2013

Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot

Replenish Lost Facial Volume With VOLUMA™ Injectable Filler

Volume Loss: Sign of An Aging Face

How Voluma Works

Testing Skin Products without Using Animals

Location

Austin, Texas