Author: Telluwriter TIO

by Diana Koelliker, MD

Croup is an upper respiratory illness caused by a virus.  The virus affects the tissue around the level of the vocal cords and causes swelling, which can lead to noisy breathing and a bark-like cough.  It is typically seen in children ages 6 months to 5 years, although it is occasionally seen in older children.  The illness is most prevalent in the fall and winter months, but can occur year round.  Transmission of the illness is by respiratory droplets (coughing or sneezing) and/or direct contact.  Most children with croup will have a hoarse voice, runny nose, fever and the characteristic bark-like or croupy cough.  The illness usually lasts about 4-6 days with a peak of symptoms around the 2nd or 3rd day.  In the majority of cases, the disease is mild and self-limited (meaning it gets better without any intervention). 


by Kris Holstrom

Bioneers Into Action- Class October 10 & 11 at Library ahead of event


Bioneers – biological pioneers, innovators for the future, social justice for the present – they’re coming to Telluride next weekend, October 14-16, 2011! The Wilkinson Public Library is the only western slope venue for the Beaming Bioneers – a live satellite feed from the main stage of the Bioneers Conference held in Marin, California. We’re so fortunate to be able to be there - and here!

Speakers at Bioneers are never less than inspiring and often heartrending, awesome, even downright amazing. The depth and breadth of the offerings means there is a topic for everyone. It happens next weekend at the library, Friday through Sunday, from 10-2 each day. You can come and go as you need, but I don’t want to miss a thing. TIO will interview two of the speakers and you can check out that podcast later in the week to get a taste of the inspiration!

Ragtime arvada mother_baron

Photo by Patricia Switzer

The trees may be getting bare but the 2011-2012 Denver theatre season unfolds in all kinds of glorious color.  In the “not-to-be-missed” category is the Denver Center Theatre Company’s “The Liar”. The David Ives (“All in the Timing”) adaptation fast-forwards Pierre Corneille’s 1644 farce into the present by keeping the structure and tone while updating the language. Matt Zambrano and Drew Cortese lead the way down a path where the disingenuous don’t dare to go: the land of the whopper.  Fluff, fancy and flying flatulence make for a fun, fun, fun night out. Running now through October 16th.

Arvada Center brings a stellar cast together in a stunning production of “Ragtime”. Based on the E.L. Doctorow novel, the musical is a sweeping tale of turn-of-the-century America with all the hopeful promise of the 1900s revealed for our twenty-first century eyes.  The score is exquisite and the Henry Award winning Megan Van De Hay turns in a pitch-perfect performance as “Mother”. “Ragtime” closes at the Arvada Center on October 2, moving to the new Lone Tree Arts Center for an October 6-16th run.

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When Eric Moore moved back to Telluride in 2010 after being away for a few years, he decided it was time to create the Telluride Photography Festival. After all, photographers from all over the world already flock to the San Juans every fall. The combination of spectacular golden aspens and spectacular scenery makes it hard for most photographers to resist.

This year the second annual Photography Festival returns to Telluride. World-class photographers such as Tom Till, Adam Barker, Tim Cample and the Camp 4 Collective, and David FitzSimmons will be presenting their work and leading workshops. Professional and amateur photographers alike will have the chance to meet, attend seminars and symposiums, and do portfolio reviews all while exploring this year’s theme of conservation.

 

by Dan Hehir, MD

Here in Telluride the arrival of autumn is heralded by many events. We all recognize the cool mornings and changing of the aspens as signs of fall, but here at theTelluride Medical Center the first sign is the arrival of this years’ influenza vaccine. While many of us may respond to these seasonal cues by taking winter clothes out of the closet, making sure the ski gear is in order, or stacking firewood, I would like all of us to add getting a flu shot to that regimen.

Influenza is a viral illness that affects hundreds of thousands of US citizens a year. When calculating the suffering, death, lost work and productivity, the impact is quite severe. While there has been a lot of attention paid to pandemic flu in the media in the past few years it is important to note that the seasonal flu has great impacts to us all. Indeed it is estimated that it is involved with the deaths of about 36,000 US citizens a year. Fortunately, we have yearly flu shots that can protect us from this insidious virus.

Eating in Portland, Oregon can make even minor league foodies panicky. There is so much good food in that city and only so much time. If you took all of New York, simmered off the grade B Thai restaurants and bagel shops, and condensed it into a square footage the size of Brooklyn, you might come close to approaching the density of yummy spots in Portland. Good food, good coffee, and good beer are everywhere.

Yummies at Little T Here’s the problem. I’m sure you can relate. I still want to fit into my ski pants this winter. So I somehow have to counterbalance calories in with calories out. Great trails for biking and running climb out of the city in every direction, but getting to those can take some time. Especially when you’ve got young kids in tow. So my visits to Portland are always fun but never relaxed. I eat, I run, I catch up with old friends, I sometimes play with my kids, and I sometimes sleep. Then I do the same thing all over again the next day. Here’s the other problem. I lived in Portland for a few years about a decade ago. So I have my old favorite food spots that I want to visit. But those are “so yesterday” according to our Portland friends. They insist on also dragging us to better places. By the time we return the next year and mention those same places, our friends have already found newer, better spots than the ones they took us to last year. And so on. The city’s like a forest after it rains-- new restaurants are mushrooming up all the time.

Mountainfilm Educational Initiative Garners Praise and Renewed Support

Making Movies that Matter, an educational outreach program launched by Mountainfilm three years ago, has received renewed funding by Colorado Creative Industries (CCI - formerly The Colorado Council on the Arts).  In a particularly competitive climate, the program received high marks from the state agency that receives its funds, in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts. This marks the second time in three years that the state arts agency has approved grant funding for Mountainfilm’s program. This year the amount of the award, $8,500, has nearly doubled. Members of the CCI grant selection committee echoed former praise for Making Movies That Matter, citing its “relevance, excellent teacher materials, strong implementation capacity, high quality of film artists and its impact on kids.”

Making Movies That Matter introduces middle and high school students to vital global issues through the medium of documentary films. Following critical content analysis, the students are taught basic editing techniques and, with permission from the filmmakers, distill the films they have studied into their own shortened renditions, adding graphics, music, voiceovers and other editorial elements of their choosing. The best of the student films are then showcased at Mountainfilm’s annual festival.

by David Feela Twenty-four years is a long stretchto stay out of sight -- that’s four timessix years deep.  A lot of timeon your head.  All the while we speculatedhow it happened in the end, the moband the union bosses being so hard to tell...

[click "Play" to hear Jesse's interview with James Anaquad-Kleinhert]

 

By Jesse James McTigue

Horses, helicopter It may be impossible to watch Wild Horses and Renegades and not be outraged.

The documentary film calls attention to the politics driving the strategic and systematic extinction of wild horses on public lands; an initiative born through the Bureau of Land Management’s cooperation with the extractive industries to access protected lands for their own purposes – primarily drilling.

The film screens at 7 pm this Wednesday, August 31st, at the Palm Theater. The evening begins with a reception at 6 pm that will include food from local restaurants, art exhibits, a silent auction and a poetry reading by Michael Blake, author of “Dances With Wolves”. The film’s director, producer and cinematographer, James Anaquad–Kleinhert will be on hand to introduce the film and answer questions.

[click "Play" to listen to Sasha Cucciniello's conversation with Dr. Peter Hackett]

 

(ed. note: Dr. Hackett's discussion about altitude sickness is part of an ongoing series, "To Your Health" brought to you by the Telluride Medical Center. See this link for an introduction to the series.)

by Dr. Peter Hackett

PH Durnan The symptoms of altitude sickness are much like those of a hangover: headache predominates, and there may be queasiness, fatigue, irritability, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. These symptoms typically come on within 24 hours of arrival to over 8000 ft from low altitude (less than 3000 ft). They usually resolve in 24 hours without treatment, and sooner with ibuprofen or oxygen or descent to a lower altitude.

Ginkgo successfully prevented mountain sickness in some studies, but not in others. It seems that the exact ingredients vary in different preparations, so effectiveness varies. It is safe and non-prescription, and the dose is 100 mg twice a day starting a few days before travel to altitude.