It seems after the Christmas holiday with all those late nights, rich foods and probably way more sugar than usual, the infamous flu is back wreaking havoc on those taxed immune systems!
So, I thought I would write an article on dealing with potent bacteria that are taking advantage of our neglectful ways.
There are natural compounds as close as the kitchen cupboard that are potent antidotes against biological warfare. These natural antibiotics and anti-oxidants give people who have been exposed to bacteria or viruses, the ability to treat themselves. If the cold/flu lasts more than a week, you need to seek professional care.
The Garlic Information Center in Britain indicates that deadly anthrax is most susceptible to garlic.It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that even blocks toxin production by germs.
Garlic was found to be a more potent antibiotic than penicillin, ampicillin, doxycycline, streptomycin and cephalexin, some of the same antibiotic drugs used in the treatment of anthrax.
Therefore, whenever you get that first inkling of a cold or flu with a scratchy/sore throat, sinus congestion, runny nose, fever, decreased energy or achey muscles, start adding it to food and buy capsules that are high in allicin. Allicin content should be certified on the bottle. This is the active ingredient that kills the bacteria.
The anthrax bacterium's toxicity is its’ ability to kill macrophage cells, which are part of the immune system. Studies have shown that sulfur-bearing antioxidants (alpha lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, taurine) and vitamin C, which elevate levels of glutathione, a natural antioxidant within the body, counters the toxicity produced by the bacteria.
Vitamin C should be a neutral form (not ascorbic acid based otherwise it will make the body too acidic) and can be combined with bioflavinoids, which prolong vitamin C's action in the blood circulation.
The powdered form of vitamin C is recommended to achieve optimal dosing. I have people start with tsp and dose this every hour with the first symptoms of a flu, until you get gassy or loose stools and that is what your body is using up to fight the virus or bacteria.
You can then decrease it by tsp the next day and continue this until no symptoms of the cold are present.
Virtually all bacteria, viruses and fungidepend upon iron as a growth factor. Phytic acid (IP6), derived as an extract from rice bran, is the most potent natural iron chelator (remover of iron) and has strong antibiotic and antioxidant action.
The antibacterial, antiseptic action of plant oils has been described in recent medical literature and may be helpful in fighting biological toxins. A potent natural antibiotic, more powerful than many prescription antibiotics, is oil of oregano. You can add this to water & use it as a throat gargle before swallowing.
Natural antibiotics and anti-toxinsare well documented in the medical literature, but often overlooked.
So, these antidotes are readily available and should be the first thing you think of when those symptoms start!
2012年1月30日星期一
Walking the fine line between keeping your sick kids home
Go to your local drug store and check out the shelves in the cold & flu section. They're most likely looking pretty empty right now. The cold & flu season is upon us in full force. Everyone - including my family members - seems to have some sort of ailment at the moment whether it's a cough, a fever or a sore throat. Usually, the best remedy is plenty of rest and fluids. But in this day and age, that's a luxury a lot of people can't afford. A lot of sick kids are sent to school because there is no one available to watch after them while they convalesce at home.
Being a stay-at-home parent, I'm lucky to be able to keep my kids home when they aren't feeling up to par. The only appointments I might have are my own. I can easily rearrange my schedule most of the time to fit in a couch-bound child and some homemade chicken soup. Parents who work usually have a tougher time finding someone to care for their child when he's sick. Keeping the child home sometimes means taking time off work, which might not be possible.
Sick kids need to get better. Going to school doesn't help remedy that situation. Sending sick children into a classroom isn't fair to either the sick child or the healthy ones who might catch whatever the sick child contracted. Some ailments affect different people differently. A touch of the flu might give one child only a small cough, but if an asthmatic child catches the same bug she could end up hospitalized.
In a perfect world, schools would have a "sick wing". Children could go to school with a fever, be cared for by a nurse in their own secluded room, and be a part of their class via television. Wouldn't that be great? With the way schools have been cutting back on expenses, I don't see it happening in the near future.
So what's the solution? How do we keep our kids healthy when the school is just one big Petri dish? It's very easy for me to say keep your sick kids home, but I know that's much easier said than done. Do you have any ideas that have worked for you?
Being a stay-at-home parent, I'm lucky to be able to keep my kids home when they aren't feeling up to par. The only appointments I might have are my own. I can easily rearrange my schedule most of the time to fit in a couch-bound child and some homemade chicken soup. Parents who work usually have a tougher time finding someone to care for their child when he's sick. Keeping the child home sometimes means taking time off work, which might not be possible.
Sick kids need to get better. Going to school doesn't help remedy that situation. Sending sick children into a classroom isn't fair to either the sick child or the healthy ones who might catch whatever the sick child contracted. Some ailments affect different people differently. A touch of the flu might give one child only a small cough, but if an asthmatic child catches the same bug she could end up hospitalized.
In a perfect world, schools would have a "sick wing". Children could go to school with a fever, be cared for by a nurse in their own secluded room, and be a part of their class via television. Wouldn't that be great? With the way schools have been cutting back on expenses, I don't see it happening in the near future.
So what's the solution? How do we keep our kids healthy when the school is just one big Petri dish? It's very easy for me to say keep your sick kids home, but I know that's much easier said than done. Do you have any ideas that have worked for you?
2012年1月29日星期日
Tony Vagneur: Saddle Sore
It's always been about staying warm in the winter, I reckon. We don't think about it much what with thermostats, natural gas, electricity and solar energy taking care of us, almost behind our backs, but it is a concern.
In the summer of 1879, a total of 23 men arrived in Aspen, at various times and from over Hunter's (Independence) and Taylor passes. A lot of prospecting occurred, but also a lot of time was spent preparing a winter camp and collecting firewood. They knew it would get cold. Ironically, only two stayed through the early winter; irrational fear of the Utes thinned them out, it seems.
In those days, wood was the only fuel of choice, until the coal mines at Marion began to make coke for processing ore. Such coke was an excellent heating fuel for homes and businesses, but the expense kept such use to a minimum. No doubt, some of that same, smoky bituminous coal that was being coked got freighted to Aspen by mule team, but until the railroads arrived, wood remained the main source of heat.
Almost every house had a coal or wood bin, either attached to the house or located in a shed or carriage house along the alley. Depending on when you lived in Aspen, your coal storage might have been filled by Judge William R. Shaw's father, or by the judge himself. Other coal dealers were Ed Teideman, who kept a ready stash in the West End and who also ran a general store on what is now the Hyman Avenue mall. Pat Hemann, proprietor of the gravel pit alongside Stillwater, delivered coal in the winter, and United Lumber and Mercantile, a long-ago Aspen institution, could be counted on to supply the necessary fossil fuel.
It takes a lot of work, and money, to heat an entire house with coal or wood, and since the beginning in Aspen, frugal folks saw the sense in closing off portions of their houses during the winter months. They quickly learned to live around the kitchen stove during the day and to make a mad dash for the bed covers at night. The comfort zone of indoor bathrooms, if there were any, always seemed to be kept at a level just above freezing.
Unlike heating systems of today, coal (or wood) stoves needed to be manually stoked or replenished on a regular basis to keep the fire alive. During long winter nights, such stoves would generally be allowed to burn themselves cold, making early morning a rush to get the stove burning again.
Some of the fancier homes had thermostatically-controlled basement coal furnaces which generated steam heat, distributed throughout by the ever entrancing, always hissing heat radiators. The Red Brick School was warmed by such a system and it was always a thought, as the registers hissed and clanged into action, that perhaps an explosion might let us out of school for a day or two. It should be noted that directly inside the door of the “old” Red Onion, there was a working heat register, coveted by beer-addled raconteurs on cold nights.
Even at age 85, my great-aunt Mary Stapleton, severely stooped with age and genetics, who lived in a Bleeker Street Victorian with her two sisters and one brother, had a great knack for heating river rocks in the oven of their coal cook stove, to be wrapped in a towel and gently placed under the blankets at the foot of a freezing bed. The trick was to wait until the coal stove had died down enough that the rocks didn't overheat and split apart, making them worthless. She would walk the precious cargo the entire length of the large house, one large gem at a time, from the kitchen to the huge north bedroom, being very careful not to drop them or burn herself.
In the summer of 1879, a total of 23 men arrived in Aspen, at various times and from over Hunter's (Independence) and Taylor passes. A lot of prospecting occurred, but also a lot of time was spent preparing a winter camp and collecting firewood. They knew it would get cold. Ironically, only two stayed through the early winter; irrational fear of the Utes thinned them out, it seems.
In those days, wood was the only fuel of choice, until the coal mines at Marion began to make coke for processing ore. Such coke was an excellent heating fuel for homes and businesses, but the expense kept such use to a minimum. No doubt, some of that same, smoky bituminous coal that was being coked got freighted to Aspen by mule team, but until the railroads arrived, wood remained the main source of heat.
Almost every house had a coal or wood bin, either attached to the house or located in a shed or carriage house along the alley. Depending on when you lived in Aspen, your coal storage might have been filled by Judge William R. Shaw's father, or by the judge himself. Other coal dealers were Ed Teideman, who kept a ready stash in the West End and who also ran a general store on what is now the Hyman Avenue mall. Pat Hemann, proprietor of the gravel pit alongside Stillwater, delivered coal in the winter, and United Lumber and Mercantile, a long-ago Aspen institution, could be counted on to supply the necessary fossil fuel.
It takes a lot of work, and money, to heat an entire house with coal or wood, and since the beginning in Aspen, frugal folks saw the sense in closing off portions of their houses during the winter months. They quickly learned to live around the kitchen stove during the day and to make a mad dash for the bed covers at night. The comfort zone of indoor bathrooms, if there were any, always seemed to be kept at a level just above freezing.
Unlike heating systems of today, coal (or wood) stoves needed to be manually stoked or replenished on a regular basis to keep the fire alive. During long winter nights, such stoves would generally be allowed to burn themselves cold, making early morning a rush to get the stove burning again.
Some of the fancier homes had thermostatically-controlled basement coal furnaces which generated steam heat, distributed throughout by the ever entrancing, always hissing heat radiators. The Red Brick School was warmed by such a system and it was always a thought, as the registers hissed and clanged into action, that perhaps an explosion might let us out of school for a day or two. It should be noted that directly inside the door of the “old” Red Onion, there was a working heat register, coveted by beer-addled raconteurs on cold nights.
Even at age 85, my great-aunt Mary Stapleton, severely stooped with age and genetics, who lived in a Bleeker Street Victorian with her two sisters and one brother, had a great knack for heating river rocks in the oven of their coal cook stove, to be wrapped in a towel and gently placed under the blankets at the foot of a freezing bed. The trick was to wait until the coal stove had died down enough that the rocks didn't overheat and split apart, making them worthless. She would walk the precious cargo the entire length of the large house, one large gem at a time, from the kitchen to the huge north bedroom, being very careful not to drop them or burn herself.
2012年1月19日星期四
Mitt Romney's 'Authenticity' 'Problem'
Jonah Goldberg's syndicated Tribune column "Romney's Authenticity Problem" has stuck in my craw for a few days, like a cold sore that I can't take care of but can't ignore. I think it's this:
Romney's claim that he's just a businessman called to serve -- Cincinnatus laying down his PowerPoint -- is nonsense. Romney, the son of a politician, has been running for office, holding office or thinking about running for office for more than two decades. "Just level with the American people," Gingrich growled. "You've been running ... at least since the 1990s."
For some reason Romney can't do that. Or at least it seems like he can't. His authentic inauthenticity problem isn't going away.
It's not the sentiment; Romney has been flopsweating presidential ambition since he stepped down as governor and national office for long before that. It's that word "authenticity." Luckily, the great local historian of the conservative movement, Rick Perlstein, just kicked off his new Rolling Stone series with a short, compelling psychobiography of Mitt Romney in relationship to his famous father that helps put it in context:
The truth was a dull weapon to take into a knife fight with Richard Nixon – who kicked Romney's ass with 79 percent of the vote. When people call his son the "Rombot," think about that: Mitt learned at an impressionable age that in politics, authenticity kills. Heeding the lesson of his father's fall, he became a virtual parody of an inauthentic politician. In 1994 he ran for senate to Ted Kennedy's left on gay rights; as governor, of course, he installed the dreaded individual mandate into Massachusetts' healthcare system. Then he raced to the right to run for president.
He's still inauthentic – but with, I think, an exception. Every time he opens his mouth on the subject of capitalism, he says what he sincerely believes, which happens to fit neatly with present-day Republican ideology: that rich people deserve every penny they have, and if people complain about anything rich people do, it's only because they're envious.
Perlstein uses the word to describe Romney's conscientious-capitalist father and his devotion to unwavering political principles, in contrast with his son's, um, fluid ones. This sheds some light on why Romney's authenticity problem may not be a problem, per se, in the context of the current GOP field. Jon Huntsman got killed, in part, because of his open, unwavering moderation; Santorum and Paul, Romney's most serious opponents, face something of a ceiling because of their open, unwavering immoderation. Romney's teflon ideology may not be a strength, but it's not exactly a liability in a divided party.
Even still, Perlstein's use of the word authentic trips me up. It's appropriate in the sense of authenticity representing a devotion to a set of moral or ideological principles, but another way of reading the word is this:
In keeping my promise I act in accord with duty; and if I keep it because it is my duty, I also act morally (according to Kant) because I am acting for the sake of duty. But existentially there is still a further evaluation to be made. My moral act is inauthentic if, in keeping my promise for the sake of duty, I do so because that is what “one” does (what “moral people” do).
By Perlstein's reading, Romney's chameleon-like political persona was forged early in his life: "Then, just over a year later, [George Romney] was humiliated with a suddenness and intensity unprecedented in modern American political history (of which more below). His son was 19 years old. What makes Mitt – né Willard – Romney, run? Much, I think, can be understood via that specific trauma." Further, it forged a man whose ideology was winning. And that happened to coincide with a shift in the business world from postwar American capitalism to contemporary American capitalism: "his vision of how capitalism should work was in every particular the exact opposite of the one pushed by the vulture capitalist he sired."
Romney's claim that he's just a businessman called to serve -- Cincinnatus laying down his PowerPoint -- is nonsense. Romney, the son of a politician, has been running for office, holding office or thinking about running for office for more than two decades. "Just level with the American people," Gingrich growled. "You've been running ... at least since the 1990s."
For some reason Romney can't do that. Or at least it seems like he can't. His authentic inauthenticity problem isn't going away.
It's not the sentiment; Romney has been flopsweating presidential ambition since he stepped down as governor and national office for long before that. It's that word "authenticity." Luckily, the great local historian of the conservative movement, Rick Perlstein, just kicked off his new Rolling Stone series with a short, compelling psychobiography of Mitt Romney in relationship to his famous father that helps put it in context:
The truth was a dull weapon to take into a knife fight with Richard Nixon – who kicked Romney's ass with 79 percent of the vote. When people call his son the "Rombot," think about that: Mitt learned at an impressionable age that in politics, authenticity kills. Heeding the lesson of his father's fall, he became a virtual parody of an inauthentic politician. In 1994 he ran for senate to Ted Kennedy's left on gay rights; as governor, of course, he installed the dreaded individual mandate into Massachusetts' healthcare system. Then he raced to the right to run for president.
He's still inauthentic – but with, I think, an exception. Every time he opens his mouth on the subject of capitalism, he says what he sincerely believes, which happens to fit neatly with present-day Republican ideology: that rich people deserve every penny they have, and if people complain about anything rich people do, it's only because they're envious.
Perlstein uses the word to describe Romney's conscientious-capitalist father and his devotion to unwavering political principles, in contrast with his son's, um, fluid ones. This sheds some light on why Romney's authenticity problem may not be a problem, per se, in the context of the current GOP field. Jon Huntsman got killed, in part, because of his open, unwavering moderation; Santorum and Paul, Romney's most serious opponents, face something of a ceiling because of their open, unwavering immoderation. Romney's teflon ideology may not be a strength, but it's not exactly a liability in a divided party.
Even still, Perlstein's use of the word authentic trips me up. It's appropriate in the sense of authenticity representing a devotion to a set of moral or ideological principles, but another way of reading the word is this:
In keeping my promise I act in accord with duty; and if I keep it because it is my duty, I also act morally (according to Kant) because I am acting for the sake of duty. But existentially there is still a further evaluation to be made. My moral act is inauthentic if, in keeping my promise for the sake of duty, I do so because that is what “one” does (what “moral people” do).
By Perlstein's reading, Romney's chameleon-like political persona was forged early in his life: "Then, just over a year later, [George Romney] was humiliated with a suddenness and intensity unprecedented in modern American political history (of which more below). His son was 19 years old. What makes Mitt – né Willard – Romney, run? Much, I think, can be understood via that specific trauma." Further, it forged a man whose ideology was winning. And that happened to coincide with a shift in the business world from postwar American capitalism to contemporary American capitalism: "his vision of how capitalism should work was in every particular the exact opposite of the one pushed by the vulture capitalist he sired."
2012年1月18日星期三
It's only natural that mother knows best
If I ever needed evidence to support the claim that "mother knows best", I certainly got it this week. Having suffered from a lingering sore throat and unsuccessfully self-medicated a cold for the past 10 days - it was somewhat fortuitous that I should be commissioned to write a piece about alternative flu remedies.
Interviewee after interviewee extolled the virtues of herbal medicine, an organic diet and plenty of exercise for a long and healthy life. They also claimed an abstinence from antibiotics ensured their swift recovery from illness and maintained a robust immune system.
I remained a sceptic, struggling to rationalise how a gnarled root of ginger and diced onion were able to trump the mighty force of Amoxycillin. Nevertheless, in the name of research, I gave it a go and duly stocked up on honey, herbal teas, probiotics, local veggies and an entire alphabet of supplements.
With my regime underway and my morning kick-started with a mug of hot water and lemon, the dots started to connect. Long have female members of my family been drinking this breakfast brew and raising eyebrows in restaurants by ordering fresh mint tea rather than coffee after a meal. Could there really be something in it?
More pennies dropped throughout the week as updating my food diary became something of a 20km run down memory lane. And tucking into a packets of nuts and dried fruit (instead of my habitual afternoon chocolate bar) suddenly took me back to prep-school.
Lunch time was never something I looked forward to as a child, for I knew only too well what my bright yellow tuck box contained. Precisely no tuck at all.
Lentils, rice and brown bread sandwiches made up the weekly menu and, "as a treat", sachets of sunflower seed and raisins would often be hiding inside a piece of kitchen roll. Far from taste being the problem, it was the giggles from my fellow diners who chomped merrily on Cheesy Wotsits and ruler-long Curly Wurly bars that made my cheeks flush.
How I longed for an additive-packed box of Um Bungo juice or a humble Proustian madeleine. But alas, it was not to be. Now, of course, I think my mother was light years ahead of her time and I can't thank her enough for force feeding me all the goodness the health-food chain Holland & Barrett had to offer. She's rarely ill so I guess there's a lot to be said for feeding your body the right fuel. Shame it took me 30 years to come around to her way of thinking. So look out for me in the organic section of your local supermarket. I'll be the flu-free evangelist eager to compare notes on the perfect sprouted adzuki-bean and kale salad. Sounds delicious, doesn't it?
Interviewee after interviewee extolled the virtues of herbal medicine, an organic diet and plenty of exercise for a long and healthy life. They also claimed an abstinence from antibiotics ensured their swift recovery from illness and maintained a robust immune system.
I remained a sceptic, struggling to rationalise how a gnarled root of ginger and diced onion were able to trump the mighty force of Amoxycillin. Nevertheless, in the name of research, I gave it a go and duly stocked up on honey, herbal teas, probiotics, local veggies and an entire alphabet of supplements.
With my regime underway and my morning kick-started with a mug of hot water and lemon, the dots started to connect. Long have female members of my family been drinking this breakfast brew and raising eyebrows in restaurants by ordering fresh mint tea rather than coffee after a meal. Could there really be something in it?
More pennies dropped throughout the week as updating my food diary became something of a 20km run down memory lane. And tucking into a packets of nuts and dried fruit (instead of my habitual afternoon chocolate bar) suddenly took me back to prep-school.
Lunch time was never something I looked forward to as a child, for I knew only too well what my bright yellow tuck box contained. Precisely no tuck at all.
Lentils, rice and brown bread sandwiches made up the weekly menu and, "as a treat", sachets of sunflower seed and raisins would often be hiding inside a piece of kitchen roll. Far from taste being the problem, it was the giggles from my fellow diners who chomped merrily on Cheesy Wotsits and ruler-long Curly Wurly bars that made my cheeks flush.
How I longed for an additive-packed box of Um Bungo juice or a humble Proustian madeleine. But alas, it was not to be. Now, of course, I think my mother was light years ahead of her time and I can't thank her enough for force feeding me all the goodness the health-food chain Holland & Barrett had to offer. She's rarely ill so I guess there's a lot to be said for feeding your body the right fuel. Shame it took me 30 years to come around to her way of thinking. So look out for me in the organic section of your local supermarket. I'll be the flu-free evangelist eager to compare notes on the perfect sprouted adzuki-bean and kale salad. Sounds delicious, doesn't it?
2012年1月17日星期二
Want to avoid getting the flu or a cold? Wash your hands
Even though people tend to associate the common cold and influenza with the literally cold season of winter, Susan Harp, the infection control coordinator for Columbus Regional Healthcare Systems, said that catching one of these respiratory illnesses has less to do with the weather and more to do with how humans behave during colder seasons.
“I think probably the cold weather tends to make people congregate more, stay inside more, and that probably is really what’s attributed to illnesses and transmission rather than an actual temperature that happens outside,” Harp said.
Cold and flu seasons usually begin around the end of September or early October and this is when Harp recommends taking the number one preventative measure: getting a flu shot.
The availability of the shot varies from year to year, she said, depending on whether any new strains of influenza have popped up. And while Harp admits that it’s not perfect, getting the vaccination is better than not getting it.
As far as other ways to protect oneself during this increasingly illness-prone season, Harp recommends increased hand hygiene and staying away from infected individuals.
“(The flu shot) is the number one (preventive measure), but number two is you try to avoid sick people if you can,” she said. “But that’s kind of hard to do especially if they’re your children. And I think that’s probably one of the toughest ones if you are caring for somebody who’s sick you want to be very careful, you want to wash your hands, be careful if you’re handling tissues that they’ve used, if you’re picking up after them.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person can be contagious up to one day before symptoms show and for five to seven days after.
While it’s hard to isolate yourself if you don’t know you’ve contracted an illness, Harp said it’s important to stay home from work or school if you’re sick to help stop the spread of germs and to help yourself get better faster.
“Stay away long enough when you’re sick. That’s hard to say in this competitive job market that we have and people are afraid of not looking like a good performer,” she said. “But you do want to stay at home. Usually the rule of thumb is you want to be home and fever-free for 24-hours without using a fever-reducing medicine like Tylenol or something.”
Colds are generally less severe than the flu and the symptoms are manageable with over-the-counter medications. Harp said most people won’t miss work because of a cold, making it even more important to wash hands frequently and wipe down any equipment used in the office, including keyboards and telephones.
During cold and flu seasons, Harp said it’s also important to be aware of what you touch when you’re out running everyday errands. She recommends wiping down shopping carts with antibacterial wipes and using hand sanitizer often.
“Hand washing, hand washing, hand washing,” Harp said. “That’s really the key. I think people just don’t really think about how often they touch stuff.”
Flu symptoms, which include fever, body aches, extreme tiredness and dry cough, are more severe than cold symptoms, which include running or stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, watery eyes and mild head and body aches.
“I think probably the cold weather tends to make people congregate more, stay inside more, and that probably is really what’s attributed to illnesses and transmission rather than an actual temperature that happens outside,” Harp said.
Cold and flu seasons usually begin around the end of September or early October and this is when Harp recommends taking the number one preventative measure: getting a flu shot.
The availability of the shot varies from year to year, she said, depending on whether any new strains of influenza have popped up. And while Harp admits that it’s not perfect, getting the vaccination is better than not getting it.
As far as other ways to protect oneself during this increasingly illness-prone season, Harp recommends increased hand hygiene and staying away from infected individuals.
“(The flu shot) is the number one (preventive measure), but number two is you try to avoid sick people if you can,” she said. “But that’s kind of hard to do especially if they’re your children. And I think that’s probably one of the toughest ones if you are caring for somebody who’s sick you want to be very careful, you want to wash your hands, be careful if you’re handling tissues that they’ve used, if you’re picking up after them.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person can be contagious up to one day before symptoms show and for five to seven days after.
While it’s hard to isolate yourself if you don’t know you’ve contracted an illness, Harp said it’s important to stay home from work or school if you’re sick to help stop the spread of germs and to help yourself get better faster.
“Stay away long enough when you’re sick. That’s hard to say in this competitive job market that we have and people are afraid of not looking like a good performer,” she said. “But you do want to stay at home. Usually the rule of thumb is you want to be home and fever-free for 24-hours without using a fever-reducing medicine like Tylenol or something.”
Colds are generally less severe than the flu and the symptoms are manageable with over-the-counter medications. Harp said most people won’t miss work because of a cold, making it even more important to wash hands frequently and wipe down any equipment used in the office, including keyboards and telephones.
During cold and flu seasons, Harp said it’s also important to be aware of what you touch when you’re out running everyday errands. She recommends wiping down shopping carts with antibacterial wipes and using hand sanitizer often.
“Hand washing, hand washing, hand washing,” Harp said. “That’s really the key. I think people just don’t really think about how often they touch stuff.”
Flu symptoms, which include fever, body aches, extreme tiredness and dry cough, are more severe than cold symptoms, which include running or stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, watery eyes and mild head and body aches.
2012年1月16日星期一
Winter Health: Stretching for Mind and Body
This winter, like the many others that have come before, is the time when millions of Americans have sworn to start exercising more, being more active, and making healthier choices.
There’s just one small, intimidating and possibly hazardous factor for those of us who either don’t have a gym membership, or quickly get tired of exercising in place. The culprit: chilly weather.
Well unfortunately, only time will relieve us of cold weather. However, whether we want to exercise outside or simply stay on our toes this winter, stretching is an important activity.
Although stretching should always go hand in hand with exercise, it is also an important activity in the winter, when the cold weather can affect our joints and mobility.
Many people report feeling physically stiff during the winter, and with stiffness comes injury and discomfort.
I can personally report more easily injuring myself during the winter -- during very non-strenuous activities, might I add.
There are many benefits to stretching:
It isn’t rocket science that stretching before exercising can reduce the risk of injury. Because cold weather causes stiffness, it’s that much more important during the winter.
The more flexible you are, the better workout you’re going to have. A better workout equals a better bod, and a more confident, empowhered woman. Stretch.
Stretching before and after exercising will decrease any soreness you may feel later on. That way, your “I’m too sore to exercise today” excuse won’t hold up the next day!
Stretching seems easy enough, but there are some things you should keep in mind:
Before stretching, make sure you're not too cold or too stiff, as this can cause greater injury. To get the most preventative care, move your joints a bit and go for a short walk to warm your body.
Don’t stretch in a hurry. An impatient stretch sesh can lead to aggressive and harmful stretching. Relax and take deep breaths.
Stretch gradually and gently. Instead of feeling pain while stretching, you should slowly ease into your stretches and have patience with your progress.
Remember not to bounce while you stretch. According to fitsugar, “Bouncing can cause microtrauma in the muscle, which must heal itself with scar tissue. The scar tissue tightens the muscle, making you less flexible, and more prone to pain.”
Stretching is a great way to start the morning, allowing you to ease into the day while waking up. Stretching can even be your own little morning meditation, if you can quiet your mind and get in tune with your body.
This winter, try to incorporate daily stretching to avoid injuries and increase your flexibility!
There’s just one small, intimidating and possibly hazardous factor for those of us who either don’t have a gym membership, or quickly get tired of exercising in place. The culprit: chilly weather.
Well unfortunately, only time will relieve us of cold weather. However, whether we want to exercise outside or simply stay on our toes this winter, stretching is an important activity.
Although stretching should always go hand in hand with exercise, it is also an important activity in the winter, when the cold weather can affect our joints and mobility.
Many people report feeling physically stiff during the winter, and with stiffness comes injury and discomfort.
I can personally report more easily injuring myself during the winter -- during very non-strenuous activities, might I add.
There are many benefits to stretching:
It isn’t rocket science that stretching before exercising can reduce the risk of injury. Because cold weather causes stiffness, it’s that much more important during the winter.
The more flexible you are, the better workout you’re going to have. A better workout equals a better bod, and a more confident, empowhered woman. Stretch.
Stretching before and after exercising will decrease any soreness you may feel later on. That way, your “I’m too sore to exercise today” excuse won’t hold up the next day!
Stretching seems easy enough, but there are some things you should keep in mind:
Before stretching, make sure you're not too cold or too stiff, as this can cause greater injury. To get the most preventative care, move your joints a bit and go for a short walk to warm your body.
Don’t stretch in a hurry. An impatient stretch sesh can lead to aggressive and harmful stretching. Relax and take deep breaths.
Stretch gradually and gently. Instead of feeling pain while stretching, you should slowly ease into your stretches and have patience with your progress.
Remember not to bounce while you stretch. According to fitsugar, “Bouncing can cause microtrauma in the muscle, which must heal itself with scar tissue. The scar tissue tightens the muscle, making you less flexible, and more prone to pain.”
Stretching is a great way to start the morning, allowing you to ease into the day while waking up. Stretching can even be your own little morning meditation, if you can quiet your mind and get in tune with your body.
This winter, try to incorporate daily stretching to avoid injuries and increase your flexibility!
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