Is Your Child's Backpack Too Heavy?

Help your child get the school year off to a healthy start by wearing their backpack correctly and avoiding back, shoulder, and neck injuries.

The American Occupational Therapy Association recommends that a child’s backpack weigh no more than about 10% of his or her body weight.

Load heaviest items closest to your child’s back and arrange books and materials so they won’t slide around in the backpack.

Preventing Falls

Falls can be dangerous at any age but for elderly people, falls can be especially serious. Common causes include balance or vision problems, medications, muscle weakness, low blood pressure, diabetes, and peripheral neuropathy.

Regular exercise may lower risk of falls by strengthening muscles, improving balance, and keeping bones strong. Make your home safer by removing tripping hazards and adding rails on the stairs and in the bath.

Help Someone at Risk

September 9-15 is suicide prevention week. These five steps can help someone in crisis:

Ask
Keep them safe
Be there
Help them connect
Follow up

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support.

If you or someone you know needs help, reach out:

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line - Text START to 741741
Veterans Crisis Line - 800-273-8255 and press 1 OR text 838255

What Your Nose Knows

Your ability to smell comes from specialized sensory cells, called olfactory sensory neurons, found in a small patch of tissue high inside your nose. These cells connect directly to your brain.

A smell disorder can make things smell different or you may lose your sense of smell. Both smell and taste disorders are treated by an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck (sometimes called an ENT).