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Breathe Easy, Part 2: How to Properly Use a Respirator in an Emergency

Close-up photo of a man putting on a respirator.

In the course of preparing for an emergency you might decide to buy a pack of respirators from your local hardware store, thinking that they are ready to use out of the box. However, before you can rely on one of these devices to protect you, there are some important selection and use criteria to Read More >

June 17, 2019 by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA, Health Communications Specialist, NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL); Christopher Coffey, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science, NPPTL; and Jonathan Szalajda, MS, Deputy Director, NPPTL5 Comments

Flu, General, natural disasters, preparedness, prevention, response

carbon monoxide, emergency preparedness, Environmental Health, filtering facepiece respirator, N95, NIOSH, personal health, Prepare Your Health, respirator, smoke

Breathe Easy, Part 1: How to Pick the Right Respirator for Your Emergency Kit

Three kinds of filtering facepiece respirators

There are many things to consider in the process of preparing your health and safety for a public health emergency. Memories of emergencies, like last summer’s wildfires and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, remind us of the threat they can pose to respiratory health, and of the equal importance of an item that gets left Read More >

June 10, 2019 by Jaclyn Krah Cichowicz, MA, Health Communications Specialist, NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL); Christopher Coffey, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science, NPPTL; and Jonathan Szalajda, MS, Deputy Director, NPPTL4 Comments

Flu, General, natural disasters, preparedness, response

elastomeric half facepiece respirator, emergency preparedness, Environmental Health, filtering facepiece respirator, mold, N95, NIOSH, personal health, personal health preparedness, Prepare Your Health, smoke

Managing Asthma: Have a Plan

Little boy using a chamber to administer asthma medication

May is National Asthma Awareness Month. Asthma is a serious, but common lung condition that affects 1 in 13 people, including adults and children. CDC’s National Asthma Control Program works to help Americans with asthma achieve better health and improved quality of life. Learn more. Now 17 months old, Zachary was 10 months when he Read More >

May 28, 2019 by Holly Gay2 Comments

General, natural disasters, preparedness

Asthma, Asthma Action Planning, Asthma Awareness Month, Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR), National Asthma Control Program, personal health, Prepare Your Health, public health, Public Heath Matters

Food for Thought: What Hurricane Sandy Can Teach Us about Food Allergy Preparedness

Elizabeth O’Connell knows that only way to prevent a food-allergy reaction is to avoid the problem food. For her that means having to interpret precautionary language, like “may contain,” and double check ingredients labels in a race to keep up with her teenage son. Elizabeth’s now teenage son has had a severe food allergy for Read More >

May 20, 2019 by Blog AdministratorLeave a comment

General, Injury, preparedness, prevention

allergies, anaphylactic, epinephrine, food allergy, Food Allergy Action Plan, Foodborne, Hurricane Sandy, personal health

Prepare Your Health for Hurricane Season

Road sign pointing in the direction of a hurricane evacuation route.

Andrea. Dorian. Humberto. In all, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), of which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a member, has a list of 21 names that they will use this year to identify hurricanes during the Atlantic hurricane season. What’s in a name? A major hurricane by any name is hazardous to Read More >

May 6, 2019 by Blog Administrator1 Comment

General, natural disasters, preparedness, response

Atlantic hurricane season, Environmental Health, evacuation, Hurricane, Hurricane Preparedness Week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, paperwork, personal health, personal health preparedness, pets, power sources, prescriptions, public health, World Meteorological Organization

Keeping Work with Select Agents Safe, Secure

A CDC scientist is wearing a protective airtight suit, equipped with a helmet and face mask. She is seated, pipetting specimens in a laboratory.

Although potentially dangerous, work with select agents and toxins provides important scientific discoveries that have led to improved detection, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment options for diseases. Select agents and toxins are also considered to be some of the most threatening to the health and safety of people, plants and animals. While there is always some Read More >

April 1, 2019 by Blog Administrator2 Comments

Disease Investigation, General, prevention, response

biosafety, Environmental Health, Federal Select Agent Program, laboratory, public health, toxin

Category: General