Greenwich Academy

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The Emerging Epidemic of Vaping-Associated Lung Injury: Is Our Youth’s Health Going Up in Smoke?

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By Alex LaTrenta, Greenwich Academy class of 2020

Fourth in a series of articles about the prevention, recognition, and treatment of public health threats in Greenwich. This August a young adult from Fairfield County went to the Greenwich Hospital Emergency Room (ER) with a dry cough, chills, and a chest x-ray which looked like early pneumonia. After several days of antibiotics, the patient returned to the ER with a worsening chest x-ray and received stronger antibiotics. Within days the patient rushed to the ER again, required supplemental oxygen, and in 24 hours was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit on a mechanical ventilator. Dr. Sandra Wainwright, Pulmonary and Critical Care Specialist at Greenwich Hospital, recognized the unique features of this case given that “when young people present with pneumonia they usually get better quickly.”

After hearing about the cases of vaping related lung injury in the Midwest, Wainwright suspected that this patient suffered from the same disorder right in our community. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Health, Alex LaTrenta, Caroline Baisley, Center for Disease Control, Dr. Sandra Wainwright, Greenwich Academy, vaping

Protecting You and Loved Ones from Lyme Disease: The Snake in the Greenwich Grass

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Do not use folklore treatments like nail polish, petroleum jelly or matches to detach a tick. Before and after removing the tick, clean the affected skin with rubbing alcohol or soap. Use tweezers to grab the tick and pull upward in slow steady motion—no twisting or jerking. If the head breaks off in the skin remove it with tweezers if possible or apply a small amount of ointment and let it heal. Place the tick in a sealed plastic bag or container but do not attach it to tape. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Health, Alex LaTrenta, Greenwich Academy, Lyme disease