The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
photo courtesy of the Ridgewood Police Department
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Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Health Department has declared the air quality in the Village of Ridgewood as unhealthy for June 7th and June 8th, 2023.
All outdoor programs and activities, special events and youth sports will be cancelled during this time period. The Graydon Pool will also be closed.
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department asks: Did you know that 1 in 11 Americans today suffer from Diabetes? Despite its prevalence, diabetes is an invisible disease. It affects men and women, people young and old, and people of all races, shapes and sizes. Often there are no outward signs from the 29 million Americans who fight this chronic illness every day. That’s why there is a critical need to foster awareness and education while breaking down stereotypes, myths and misunderstandings about this growing public health crisis that affects so many of us.
Continue reading November is National Diabetes Month
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department shares this information on a food recall.
Tyson Foods Inc., a Pine Bluff, Ark. establishment, is recalling approximately 39,078 pounds of Weaver brand frozen chicken patty product that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.
Continue reading Tyson Foods Recalling 39,078 Pounds of Weaver brand Frozen Chicken Patty Products
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Heath Department and the New Jersey Department of Health remind you that the warm weather brings ticks and Lyme disease. May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month, an excellent time to take precautions and learn the signs of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is an illness caused by infection with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (boar-ELL-ee-uh burg-dorf-ERR-eye). This bacterium is carried by ticks. This infection can cause a variety of symptoms and if left untreated can be severe.
Lyme disease is spread to people by the bite of an infected tick. In New Jersey, the most commonly infected tick is the deer tick (or black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis). Immature ticks become infected by feeding on infected white-footed mice and other small mammals, such as deer and meadow voles. Deer ticks can also spread other tick-borne diseases. Humans can be infected with more than one tick-borne disease at the same time. Lyme disease is not spread from person to person. It is not necessary to avoid someone who is ill with Lyme disease.
Continue reading Warm Weather Brings Ticks
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department and the CDC share this important information. Rabies is a virus that infects wildlife, especially bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes in the US. It can spread to people and pets when they are bitten or scratched, causing fever, agitation and death. Rabies is 100% preventable with post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) that includes rabies vaccine and medications to fight infection, as long as people get PEP before symptoms start. Understanding the risk and knowing what to do after contact with wildlife can save lives.
Continue reading Rabies: A Forgotten Killer
file photo by Boyd Loving
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department reminds you to celebrate safely this holiday season. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, with the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stand with all those who have known the tragic consequences of drugged or drunk driving, and we rededicate ourselves to preventing it this December and throughout the year.
Continue reading December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
The Ridgewood Health Department
Ridgewood NJ, In Great Britain the word “holiday” has the same meaning as vacation. Many Americans would find this comparison laughable. For most of us, the holidays come with our own “to-do” lists. The Ridgewood Health Department and The Cleveland Clinic offer these helpful tips.
Too often we take holiday stress for granted. What’s worse, we often have higher expectations for this season than for any other time of the year. Planning for the holidays can leave us feeling impatient, cranky, and — in some cases — depressed. When the realities of day-to-day life conflict with our efforts to make the holiday season perfect, stress results.
Continue reading The Ridgewood Health Department : Managing Holiday Stress
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department joins with the New Jersey Poison Control Center in warning you about the dangers of picking and eating wild mushrooms.
“Picking and eating mushrooms growing in gardens, on lawns, in fields or in the woods is a dangerous game,” says Diane Calello, MD, NJ Poison Control Center Executive and Medical Director, Rutgers NJ Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “Even experienced mushroom pickers are fooled by toxic look-a-likes at times.”
June 21,2018
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Ridgewood NJ, The Ridgewood Health Department reminds you that some vacation memories are better left behind – bed bugs, for example. Consumer Reports’ experts explain simple ways to check for signs of bed bugs in your hotel room and what to do if you spot them. With thousands of travelers passing through their doors, it’s inevitable that hotel rooms are prone to bed bug infestations. Even luxury hotels are susceptible to these unwelcome guests. To protect yourself from infestation, you should always check for bed bugs in hotel rooms.
When you enter a room, don’t unpack. Bring your luggage to a clean bathtub or a rack that will keep it off the floor until you have inspected the room.
Grab some tools to inspect the bed: a flashlight (or even the flashlight app on your phone) and a credit card will do the trick.
Pull the blanket and linens off the bed. Start with the corners, where bed bugs like to hide. You’re looking for bugs or dark brown blood spots. Check for bed bugs in the corners of the bed. For your reference, bed bugs are tiny—about 4 mm long.
Peel back all of the blankets and sheets from the corner, until you can see the mattress. Closely examine the folds and seams in the corner of the mattress for signs of bed bugs. Use a credit card to get underneath the folds of the mattress, where bed bugs love to hide, and closely examine the darker hiding spots with a flashlight.
To be thorough, check all four corners of the mattress—not just one. Remove the cover completely and check the surface of the sheets. Again, you’ll be looking for small brown spots and dried blood or bugs themselves.
Check any upholstered furniture for signs of bed bugs. They like to hide in dark places, so check the seams and folds of the furniture. Similarly, check the curtains.
Look behind the headboard and in any grooves on the headboard or nightstand. Shine the flashlight in the dark area and look for fleeing bugs.
If you do find bed bugs, leave immediately. And if nothing comes up in your search, rest assured that you can sleep unbothered.
