This Week's Facts:

1. Need a Baby Name? SSA has an App for That

2. Online Resources Provide Valuable Prescription Drug Info

3. Summer Produce Offers Myriad of Healthy Eating Choices

This summer has been one of the hottest in recent years! The Indiana State Department of Health offers tips and precautions to stay safe during the dog days of summer:  take it easy, stay cool, eat lighter meals, dress appropriately, drink fluids, and stay in the shade. These and other tips will help you to avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, paleness, headache, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and fainting. Signs of heat stroke include extremely high body temperature (103 degrees and above), rapid strong pulse, throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, & unconsciousness. You also need to watch for skin that has stopped sweating – skin that is dry, red, and hot is another symptom of heat stroke. It is very important to watch for these signs. Heat exhaustion is uncomfortable; however, it can lead to heat stroke, which can lead to death in the most extreme cases. In addition to the State Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has tips for heat-related illnesses. Just remember enjoy your summertime activities safely.  

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Friday Facts Editorial Team:

Katharine Springer
State Data Center Coordinator

Elisabeth O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State Documents Coordinator

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Need a Baby Name? SSA has an App for That

Looking for the most popular baby names from 2010? There’s an app for that! The Social Security Administration has released the Baby Name Playroom for the iPhone. Not only can you search last year’s top names, but you can look back through the past 130 years. You can view the top names for a given year, track the popularity of a particular name through time, or even play their trivia game. Aside from its entertainment value, this app is also great because it provides information about Social Security services. You can learn about health insurance, toy and safety recalls, infant care, and more. This is a fun way to get ideas for baby names and a great source of information for new parents.

Online Resources Provide Valuable Prescription Drug Info

Prescription drugs are a simple fact of life for most of us. However, many of us also have questions. How does our medication interact with food and other medications? Are generic drugs as good as name-brand? Which drugs can lead to addiction? To help answer these and more questions, USA.gov has compiled a list of government sources on prescription drugs. These websites cover a variety of topics, including those mentioned above. They also have information about non-traditional medication, including vitamins and other supplements. One especially good source is the Drug Information Portal from the National Library of Medicine. You can search by name, by category, even by “top dispensed prescriptions” in the country. Another good source they link to is not a government website, but still very useful. Drugs.com has a Pill Identifier tool to help you identify pills in your house that you are unsure about. This tool is not infallible, but it can provide you with good information. Finally, another great source listed is from the Social Security Administration. This factsheet helps citizens determine if they qualify for extra help – on premiums, co-pays, etc. – under Medicare. Of course, these are just a few sources. Be sure to check out the page for more information!

Summer Produce Offers Myriad of Healthy Eating Choices

Between picnics, barbeques and trips to the ice cream store, it can be easy to get sidetracked from a healthy diet in the summer months. But because there is an abundance of fresh, local produce available, summer is actually a great time to focus on choosing healthier foods. Use these tips from the Federal Citizen Information Center to stay on track with your healthy eating this summer.

Fill your plate with the proper portions: ChooseMyPlate.gov illustrates the most recent dietary guidelines for Americans. Fill half of your plate with fruits and vegetables and then divide the rest of the space between whole grains and lean protein. You can even take a picture of your plate and share it on Twitter with the hashtag #MyPlate for a chance to be featured on the USDA blog.

Find a farmer's market near you: You know it's important to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables and a farmer's market will let you select fresh produce that's grown locally. Get to know some of the farmers and they can help you pick out the juiciest fruits and the ripest vegetables so everything on your plate tastes great. Find a farmer's market near you.

Choose a delicious recipe: Healthy food doesn't have to taste bland. With a wide variety of healthy recipes from the government to choose from, you'll find something everyone in the family will like, even the pickiest eaters. Look for recipes that take into consideration special dietary needs, like heart-healthy recipes and recipes for people with diabetes.

Pick Healthy Foods on the Go: When you're out and about, it's sometimes hard to know which foods offer the most nutritional bang for your buck. Use the My Food-a-pedia app on your mobile phone to find the nutrition information for more than 1,000 different kinds of foods. You'll find out the number of calories, the amount of added sugar and lots of other information about each of the foods you look up.

With these tips, you can take advantage of the seasonal flavors of summer and stick to your healthy eating habits.

This article is brought to you courtesy of The Federal Citizen Information Center connects people with government benefits, services and information through its family of websites, including Pueblo.gsa.gov, USA.gov, GobiernoUSA.gov and ConsumerAction.gov; by phone at 1-800-FED-INFO and with publications by mail from Pueblo, Colorado. FCIC is part of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies.