HealthInfo Island

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Occasionally I like to remind everyone that there is an excellent source of Health information in SL.Healthinfo Island is a wonderful region to visit whatever your needs. This is the Mission statement:

“The mission of Healthinfo Island is to provide timely, accurate, and accessible information on topics of physical, emotional, and mental health. This is done through interactive displays, links to outside resources, group events, and personalized assistance.

The Consumer Health Library at HealthInfo Island is here to help SL residents with health information needs. “

If you look at the ground you will see a blue arrow . It is a TP hud. Click to see where you want to go.

It is fun to just walk around to discover everything but if you want a certain place use it.

The island is sponsored and maintained by The Virtual Ability group and there are various sites on the island that remain open all the time to visitors. There are sites that change monthly with new information on various illnesses and what is going on in the research and cure information.

This month in the Healthy Living Display area there is an excellent display on Pneumonia. Follow the arrows to learn all about pneumonia , its types, diagnosis, and many resources for more information. Click each poster to read about it.

Check out the exhibit on swine flu and its effects and relationship with humans. That exhibit is down the hill from the Pneumonia exhibit.

The nearby exhibit is so interesting to me. It is a topic I don’t really know that much about so I spent time reading all about tropical diseases. January 29 is World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day so it is very relevant. Since many don’t live in a tropic area we often ignore such diseases but we really should check some of them out for travel purposes, not to mention climate change. I know I have had vaccines before I visited certain countries. Actually I met people who have had a few of these diseases myself.

Not comfortable !!

The Research Pavilion is amazing! It is filled with information about clinical trials from defining them to information about ongoing trials one might be interested in joining. There are some dealing with cancer and heart. It tells one how to contact persons who can talk about enrollment in a study also.

There is a Consumer Health Library nearby with more information about ongoing diseases like Covid.

At the Health Exhibit there are posters with a myriad of questions about certain possible assists for dealing with winter illnesses. Are they real or myths? Click the poster and find out what research says.

Next to that site at the left is one of my favorite places. I have taken many avatars there. It is called the Path of Support. It has posters for the plethora of amazing support groups that exist in sl to help those who need help with so many chronic diseases, addiction, mental health, disabilities and more. Each poster gives a description of the group’s mission and by clicking one can join the group they choose.

This wonderful island gives so much aid to people who need assistance. If you have a question you can contact Eme Capalini or Gentle Heron . I suggest you visit and roam around to see all it has to offer .

This is the center Pavilion. Remember there will be a change of information for February.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/126/24

 

Gemma Cleanslate

HealthInfo Island

By Gemma Cleanslate

Right next to Virtual Ability region there is a region called Healthinfo Island. I was asking Gentle Heron for information for two friends and she sent me there to search for a support group I was trying to find . “The mission of Healthinfo Island is to provide timely, accurate, and accessible information on topics of physical, emotional, and mental health.  This is done through interactive displays, links to outside resources, group events, and personalized assistance. The Consumer Health Library at HealthInfo Island is here to help SL residents with health information needs.” The region is supported and maintained by Virtual Ability. 

I was amazed at the wealth of information I found. There seem to be inworld support groups for almost anything you or a friend need! There is a Path of Support that displays a myriad of signs with information about the groups. I was able to locate three groups that seemed to fit and brought my friends there to see.

           
All around the island  there are Health Exhibits that offer a multitude of knowledge about various illnesses, and some slide shows. Each poster contains a notecard with information in most of the exhibits.

 

There is a delightful herb garden with each herb named on a placard. Next to it  a beehive with a warning about the loss of bees going on now.There are some programs that take place either at the Herb Garden, The Farmer’s Market near the garden.

The Research Pavilion is filled with Studies from all over the world on many diseases and all available right here in second life. It is a treasure trove of information . Gentle told me, Researchers”   describe their upcoming research at the Research Pavilion, and recruit there, and come back and tell us the results."

Another treasure is the Consumer Health Library. Here you can find urls to lists of resources on the internet. 

One room is named Daisy’s Reading Room. I went in. I learned the room is named Daisyblue Hefferman .”Daisyblue Hefferman dedicated her time in Second Life to helping those in need. Daisy spent countless hours providing medical knowledge as Consumer Health Librarian on Healthinfo Island.” It is a lovely place to sit and read or work as I did on this article. Gentle told me she loves this place to sit and read also. 

I would recommend anyone with any kind of illness, or a caretaker, or have friends with issues to take a long walk through the region to see what is there that can be helpful. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/243/128/23

Gemma Cleanslate  

Virtual Hallucinations

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that many people know little about. In Second Life, an exhibit was built in the Sedig sim to help visitors gain some understanding of what those who suffer from the condition go through. Recently Gentle Heron took people on a guided tours through the small but informative facility, one of which I joined.

"Schizophrenia is a severe mental disability," Gentle addressed the small group, "People with schizophrenia have trouble determining whether their life experiences are real or not. In the classical stereotype, they hear 'voices' giving them negative information and directives, and they don’t know whether to trust them and follow those directions or not. Of course this means that people with schizophrenia can’t think clearly. In order to be a clear thinker, you need to trust the information you receive. It also means that people with schizophrenia often don’t act normally in social situations. They won’t have predictable emotional responses to stimuli, because they don’t know if those stimuli are real or not. People with schizophrenia may have trouble keeping friends and staying employed. They may also have problems with anxiety and depression, and often have suicidal thoughts or actions."

Gentle described schizophrenia as falling into four types. With paranoid schizophrenia, people afflicted can feel anxious, angry or argumentative, and that others are trying to harm them or friends/family. People with disorganized schizophrenia may have problems thinking and explaining thoughts clearly, show little emotion, and display childlike behaviors. Catatonic schizophrenia can mean lack of activity, rigid muscles and posture, odd facial expressions, and being unresponsive to others. Fourth is undifferentiated schizophrenia, which may include symptoms of more than one of these.

"Schizophrenia is an equal opportunity disability. It affects both men and women, and usually develops in late teens or early twenties. It develops slowly, with the severity of symptoms increasing and decreasing. It is difficult to diagnose. There are no medical diagnostic tests for schizophrenia. Usually, a psychiatrist makes the diagnosis based on interviews with the patient and family members. Antipsychotic medications are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. These drugs change the chemical imbalance in the brain. That is how they help control symptoms of schizophrenia." Gentle did note medications can have "significant" side effects.

"When the schizophrenia is active, termed an 'episode,' the person may need to be hospitalized for their safety. When the disorder is less active, support groups, behavior therapy, social skills training, and support and education for family members of persons with schizophrenia are all important. What causes schizophrenia? Nobody knows. It does appear to have a genetic component. If you have a relative with the mental disorder, you are more likely to develop it. And people who have the genetic susceptibility seem to respond to triggering events."

Before going into the exhibition, Gentle warned us some people found the experience deeply disturbing, as it was meant to simulate the hallucinations schizophrenics have. Getting the experience involved clicking on a yellow can, getting a yellow badge, and wearing it. Once inside, activating the badge fully meant clicking on another yellow can and choosing male or female. It was then that the badge I wore began spouting voices, full of negativity and depreciation, "you're worthless!" "You disgust me!" "Kill yourself."

Gentle told us for anyone who found the experience too much could always detect the badge to stop the voices. The exhibit had several rooms, with occasional blue cones that when clicked explained some of schizophrenia's symptoms. Gentle told us the place was built from actual patient experiences. One room showed laptop computers flapping open and shut. With one poster, the words seemed to change to from a similar-sounding obscenity. One room described an incident in which one
schizophrenic was urged by his voices to pull a gun on some police. The voices went, "you have five seconds to get the gun, get the gun out of the holster, get the bloody gun and shoot yourself … shoot all the bastards."

"How would it be to live like this," Gentle asked us, "with no knowing if it's real or not?"

One lady in the group described one family member who had the illness, "(I) had a brother who heard these voices. (I) took care of him all my life. He also saw things. All this was real to him. He did not ever hear the voice to hurt others. But he did hear the ones directed toward him." When asked about what advice she had for others, she answered, "understand they do not have control over the voices. Sometimes the voices tell them not to take the medications too." She described at times having to urge him to bathe, shave, and eat, despite that she was almost to feet shorter than he. At one point, he disappeared for almost two years and was found in Alaska in the dead of winter in December.

Virtual Hallucinations was built by professors and honors students from the University of California, Davis.

Sedig (27, 44, 22)

Bixyl Shuftan

A Visit to Ocean View Medical Center

When a RL flu bug spoiled my plans for a great SL New Year’s Eve, I had plenty of time to think about SL medicine. I knew a lot of hospitals exist here, but I had never gone to one. I usually try to visit more fun and exotic places. But on Sunday morning, while I was still coughing and sniffling but feeling good enough to visit in-world, I decided to look at the health care options available here.

Some SL hospitals specialize in maternity or a specific time period while others, like Ann Meyers Medical Center, are affiliated with RL hospitals. I chose to visit Ocean View Medical Center, located at Tender Heart (160, 204, 22), because it sounded pleasant. I didn’t know anything else about it, which isn’t too different from RL where the choice (if there is one) is usually based on location.

Ocean View Medical Center is approximately 3 months old, modern, and currently has a staff of about 10 people. Sunday morning was very quiet, not unlike a RL ER room. I was the only patient, and Dr. Geena Inglewood was the physician on duty.

Ocean View’s lobby has a number of informative signs about the services they provide. Many of the notecards emphasize that they are a RP hospital and not really a medical facility. The notecards advise residents who are experiencing a RL illness to contact a RL professional. I had to wonder how many people might try to get medical advice here in SL either due to RL costs or other issues like privacy or time constraints.

One of the interesting services provided at Ocean View is medical insurance, including family coverage for up to 4 residents. For those of us who are uninsured, however, payment for services is due upfront. At Ocean View an ER/urgent care visit is $200L.

While I was reading the information, Dr. Inglewood came to see if I needed assistance. A resident since 2008, she is very professional and knowledgeable. In RL she has worked as a nurse assistant and midwife. Although RL medical experience isn’t necessary to work here, the ability to empathize and communicate with residents is essential. Inglewood said working at Ocean View is very much like working at a RL hospital. Ocean View treats a lot of SL children, who need everything from school shots to broken bones mended. The maternity ward is also very busy.

This SL hospital is staffed like any other hospital. There are positions for receptionists, nurses, physicians, dentists, orderlies, lab techs, and medical director. Each position has different duties and requirements. Applications and information are available in the lobby or by contacting the hospital Chief of Staff, Caramel Luminos

After the formalities of paying the fee were completed, I followed Dr. Inglewood into a treatment room. She washed her hands thoroughly. Then she took my medical history, temperature and blood pressure, and asked about my symptoms. Even when faced with the challenges of treating a foxette, Dr. Inglewood was professional and never broke out of her role as the treating physician. The lab work, which was included in the ER charge, showed that I had strep throat. But I am happy to report that after receiving treatment and medicine at Ocean View, I have totally recovered.