Recent Blog Posts

" Earlier during the week, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced that this year, National Small Business Week will begin on May 1st. The initiative serves to educate the county about the contributions made by small businesses and its importance to the nation’s economy. We at AFC Urgent Care Methuen recognize the impact small business has on this county, and thus, prioritize serving small business owners with the utmost integrity. Our center offers a ...

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" St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and those celebrations bring green beer and pub crawls. This St. Patrick’s Day, the team of physicians at your local AFC/Doctors Express wants to raise your awareness of binge drinking and the harmful effects that it may have on your health. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking that brings the blood ...

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March is National Nutrition Month. Coincidentally, March also marks the best time of the year to plant a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Eating locally grown foods is beneficial for the health for a number of reasons – mainly because it cuts down on the amount of preservatives and additives inside different foods. Many health organizations assert that these additives are linked to several different detrimental conditions, one of which being pancreatic cancer. The severity ...

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, incidences of the mumps have decreased 99 percent since the era before widespread vaccinations. But tell that to the 10 states that have seen outbreaks of the mumps in the past month. So far, there have been 69 reported cases of the mumps this year. It seems to have started in Iowa, but it quickly spread to places like Colorado, Indiana and Massachusetts. The mumps virus ...

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We at AFC/Doctors Express are hoping that one of your New Year’s resolutions was to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and to help you stay on track, we have compiled a list of things to look out for when you’re evaluating your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. You get exhausted easily. If you notice ...

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" Swimmer’s ear develops after excess water has lodged itself inside a person’s ear canal. This usually happens to people after swimming in any body of water – whether it be an ocean, freshwater, or even a chlorinated pool. This water build-up inside the ear makes it easy for bacteria to grow, which induces a number painful and aggravating symptoms. These symptoms include: Difficulty hearing Lingering pain in ear canal Itchiness inside of ear Bright ...

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" Along with a host of other illnesses, strep throat is most prevalent during winter. Strep throat is a bacterial infection caused by the Streptococcus bacteria. While most strep cases are found in children, adults can develop strep throat as well. The infection is highly contagious as it spreads person-to-person via saliva. If a person with strep throat coughs near a doorknob, anyone who touches that doorknob could be susceptible to contracting strep throat. Strep throat ...

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By this point, you’ve probably heard of the Zika Virus. For the last year, it has spread rapidly throughout South America and has recently reached as far North as the Caribbean. The virus is transmitted primarily through daytime mosquitoes, which are initially infected from biting infected humans. The first concrete evidence of Zika Virus being found in humans was in 1952 after a serological survery was conducted in Uganda and Nigeria. For the next ...

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The United States is one of the most diverse nations in the world. As different as we may seem, our health issues can be very similar. Health care trends tend to be pretty consistent across large swaths of the population, so it’s important to pay attention when one becomes widespread. Your local AFC/Doctors Express can advise you on which conditions should concern you and how to take action to prevent them. The No ...

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" The hot, humid summer weather effectively notifies the body when it gets dehydrated. Between the sweating, headaches and light-headedness, the summer heat puts an obvious toll on the body. Because these effects of dehydration are so obvious, we easily recognize when we need to hydrate on warm summer days. But during the winter, the intense cold masks many of dehydration’s symptoms, making anyone outdoors susceptible to developing dehydration. This makes it incredibly important to ...

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Here is the second part of our series on flu season! We hope you took our advice from last week and got your flu shot! We’re going to get a bit more into the nitty-gritty about how the flu spreads and what makes the flu vaccine work. So hang on, we’re diving right in!   The influenza virus is a respiratory virus, and it spreads primarily through contact with respiratory droplets. However, these droplets ...

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By the time Winter Storm Jonas finally quit terrorizing the mid-Atlantic states, 48 people had died. As soon as Jonas arrived on January 22nd, it had grown clear that the storm was going to be historical, and by the 23rd, it had succeeded in virtually shutting down Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia. While those of us in Massachusetts should consider ourselves lucky for getting just a mere dusting, we should interpret the ...

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By the time Winter Storm Jonas finally quit terrorizing the mid-Atlantic states, 48 people had died. As soon as Jonas arrived on January 22nd, it had grown clear that the storm was going to be historical, and by the 23rd, it had succeeded in virtually shutting down Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia. While those of us in Massachusetts should consider ourselves lucky for getting just a mere dusting, we should interpret the ...

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Marie Sacco MSN, FNP-C explaining difference between the different positions in the medical community. Our center staffs a range of medical experts with varying skills, specialties and levels of expertise. During your visit, you may hear different people introduce themselves as a physician, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant. When patients are offered medical services by any of these providers the most frequently asked question is “What is the difference?”  We would like to explain ...

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Marie Sacco MSN, FNP-C explaining difference between the different positions in the medical community. Our center staffs a range of medical experts with varying skills, specialties and levels of expertise. During your visit, you may hear different people introduce themselves as a physician, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant. When patients are offered medical services by any of these providers the most frequently asked question is “What is the difference?”  We would like to explain ...

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The influenza virus is a seasonal epidemic that typically hits the United States around October and can last until May. Even though this is a yearly occurrence, there are still some misconceptions about the flu and what people should do to protect themselves. To keep our readers informed, we are doing a two-part series on important facts people should know about the flu. Part two will be released next week. The flu is not just ...

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After an unseasonably warm start on the East Coast, winter is finally letting us feel its chill. It might seem like yesterday that high temperatures were breaking records all over the place, so it can be easy to disregard the recent cold. Winter weather can present a lot of hazards though, so it’s important to be aware of what might happen in your area and be prepared for what winter may bring. Here are ...

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Every January, you see the determined, motivated faces of people all around you working to improve themselves in the new year. Inevitably, by March, the vast majority of those have gotten off-track or completely given up on their goals. It’s not a lack of desire for these changes to work or even a lack of commitment to their goals that’s knocked them off the path toward a better self. For many people, change ...

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Even though flu season has already begun, it doesn’t mean it’s too late to get a flu shot. In fact, flu season – according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) – often lasts as late as May, depending on the year. Historically, January and February have the highest rate of infection, so it is important to get vaccinated as soon as possible – especially considering how the vaccine takes an estimated two weeks before it ...

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" Regardless of the season, sports always pose a potential for injury. However, Winter sports are perhaps the most dangerous. Between gymnastics, skiing, and hockey, the list of possible injuries is virtually endless. While some of these potential injuries could prove severe, and in some cases, even life-threatening (which should be treated at the ER), our center is more than capable of treating a number of sports injuries. Instead of waiting hours and hours for treatment ...

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