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Healthy HomesHealthy HomesSeven Keys to a Safer Healthier Home Staying healthy is important to you and your entire family. Follow these easy, low-cost steps to help stop many infectious diseases before they happen! Seven Keys to a Safer Healthier Home Here is an excellent home safety check list. http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mch/fhv/hscb/hsc-guide3.html 
Our homes should be a place of health and comfort; too often they are places that cause illness. Countryside Public Health has a commitment to help you learn of unhealthy conditions and ways to correct them. If you have any questions concerning environmental health related issues you may email EH@countryside.co.swift.mn.us or call 1 (800) 657-3291.
Lead Lead is a metal that has been used to make things for thousands of years because it is very long lasting. Elevated lead levels are a common problem for children under six years of age. Elevated lead levels can harm the way a child’s body and brain can grow. This is one reason all children should have a blood lead test at 12 months and again at 2 years. To lean more about lead poisoning in children click on this site: Lead Water Testing Countryside has a certified water lab and test kits are available at the Countryside county offices. There is a $5 deposit for the water kit, which is applied to the tests you decide to request. We recommend that the water samples be taken and mailed to the Benson office on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, as the samples need to be received by the lab for testing by 1 PM Thursdays. You will be sent the results of your test by mail. How do I know my drinking water is safe? Radon Radon is a colorless odorless gas resulting from the natural decay of uranium and is naturally occurring in MN soils. Radon gas enters homes from the soil into your basement and home. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States. Short term and long term tests are available from the Countryside county offices. If you have questions regarding mitigation of high levels of radon contact the environmental health staff in Benson at 1-800-657-3291 or e-mail: EH@countryside.co.swift.mn.us Radon Information Mold Mold in your home can cause health concerns. For information on mold exposure and advice on finding and removing mold contamination visit this link at the Minnesota Department of Health You may also contact the Environmental Health staff in Benson at 1-800-657-3291 or e-mail: klee@countryside.co.swift.mn.us Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide poisoning can happen at any time of the year, but the danger is more common during the winter. Hundreds of people die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year, and thousands of others suffer dizziness, nausea, and convulsions. The gas is frightening because it's odorless and colorless. More information at Minnesota Department of Health Second Hand Smoke Approximately 26% of adults in the United States currently smoke cigarettes, and 50 to 67% of children under five years of age live in homes with at least one adult smoker. Being exposed to someone that smokes, even if they just smoke outside the home, is thought to increase a child's chance of having ear infections, allergies, asthma, wheezing, pneumonia and frequent upper respiratory tract infections. Smoke can also trigger asthma attacks in many children and they are often worse than in children who aren't exposed to someone that smokes. And infants who are exposed to a caregiver that smokes, or a mother that smoked while she was pregnant, are up to 4 times more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). |
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Have a Question? Just pick up the phone and give us a call! Ortonville - 1-866-277-5587 Montevideo - 1-800-894-0192 Madison - 1-800-255-0736 Benson - 1-800-657-3291 Granite Falls - 1-800-407-3628 WIC - 1-800-244-6026 Monday-Friday 8:30 am to 4 pm |
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