HealthCare News
Hurricanes are Hard on Health Perspective: A preliminary study has been done of the 31 deaths from Hurricane Charley in Florida. The wind rather than flooding or rain led to the majority of deaths. Most involved blunt trauma due to injuries from falling trees, flying debris, and destroyed structures. Only one death was due to drowning. Two persons with lung disease lost power during the storm, did not have access to their needed oxygen, and died. One man likely had a heart attack during cleanup. Three men died of heart failure, one during the storm and two in the days after the storm and exposure to extreme heat. A man who became despondent after losing his home and possessions to Hurricane Charley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. There will soon be studies about the deaths from Hurricanes France, Ivan and, now, Jeanne as well. The information is going to be somewhat different with each of these hurricanes, since the mortality (deaths) and morbidity (disease) from hurricanes depend on the force and nature of the storm, where it hits, and other variables. One thing all hurricanes share is the power to endanger life and limb before, during, and after the storm. Personal Note: Dr. Jeff Goldhagen is mentioned and quoted in the article (below). He is the director of the Duval County (Fla.) health department. But Duval County is not "located in the Florida panhandle area that bore the brunt of Ivan's fury last week." Duval County is in Northeast Florida. Dr. Goldhagen's office is in Jacksonville, about 10 minutes from us. Barbara K. Hecht,Ph.D.
Frederick Hecht, M.D.
Medical Editors, MedicineNet.com Related Links
Read entire article... |
