Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
It’s Been . . .
. . . adaged that
you should walk a mile in one’s shoes
before criticizing them.
You can criticize me all you want because
you ain’t ever gonna walk anywhere
in my shoes.
Traffic-Light Colors Curb
Red-Nose Embarrassment
Older women with a skin condition called rosacea might want to think about the colors of a
traffic light next time they’re shopping at the cosmetic counter. It turns out that green-tone and
yellow-based makeup can help mask the redness of the acne-like facial disorder that affects an
estimated 14 million Americans.
In a survey of more than 900 rosacea patients conducted by the National Rosacea Society, 88
percent of respondents said cosmetics help conceal its effects on facial appearance.
More than half – 54 percent – noted that they turn to yellow-based natural colors or green-tone
makeup to offset the rosacea redness, compared with 25 percent who reported using more
traditional pink-based natural hues.
Rosacea typically begins at any time after age 30 as a flushing or redness on the cheeks, nose,
chin, or forehead. It may come and go. Over time, the redness tends to become ruddier and more
persistent, and small dilated blood vessels may appear.
Without treatment, bumps and pimples often develop and, in severe cases, the nose may become
swollen from excess tissue. In many patients, the eyes are also affected, feeling irritated and
appearing watery or bloodshot.
Told My Tablemate . . .
. . .’tother day that
no matter how hard he pushes the envelope,
it’ll remain stationery.
Soften Toenails For Easier Trimming
Trimming toenails gets tougher as they thicken.
Medical experts offer some tips to make your job easier.
– Soak your feet. Soften your toenails by soaking them in warm water.
– File. Towel dry and gently stroke the surface of the thickened toenail with an emery board to
thin the nail.
– Use the right clippers. Long-handled toenail clippers that resemble small pliers or wire cutters
provide a better grip and more control.
– Take small clips. Cut off a small piece at a time.
– Make a straight cut. Cut straight across your toenail, without rounding the corners, to reduce
the chance that the corners will become ingrown.
– Wear roomy shoes. Leaving enough room for your toes can alleviate friction and wear that can
cause a nail to thicken.
The Reason . . .
. . .cannibals don’t eat pessimists
is because they taste bitter.
Through the Looking Glass
via Laser Surgery
It all began several years ago when the traces of cataracts were noticed during my annual
eye test and the doctor said, “Just think, when we take those out, you’ll be able to see without
glasses.”
As we moved into the 21st century, the optometrist made a remark about the rapid advances
made in eye procedures, multi-focal lenses, and precision laser surgery, among other things, and
that I might consider ridding myself of the cloudy mass accumulating in both eyes before they
greatly affected my ability to see.
Three choices were open to me. Option One involved removing the deteriorating lenses I
was born with and replacing them with clear plastic man-made lenses called intra-ocular lenses
(IOL) and continuing to wear glasses, which were part of my life for more than six decades.
Most of this cost was covered by medical insurance but still involved acquiring new
prescription glasses every year.
Option Number Two called for implanting a “far-sighted” lens in one eye and a “short-sighted”
lens in the other. I was told my eyes and brain would work work to make the adjustment that allowed me to see comfortably with these lenses.
The third option involved replacing the clouded natural lenses with “multi-focal,” or prescription,
lenses.
Prices ranged for Options Two and Three and the doctors in the office I’d been visiting for years were the most reasonable. I chose Number Three when they told me, “You’re a good candidate for multi-focals.”
The full process included implanting the plastic prescription lenses, laser surgery to correct the
astigmatisms (irregularly shaped corneas) in both eyes, and all follow-up treatment and
monitoring after the surgery.
The day after New Years Day, my wife drove me to the hospital at 9 a.m. and we were home in time for lunch. My right eye was protected by a see-through patch. There was more trepidation than trauma. I was sedated but never unconscious and the preparation took much more time than the actual surgery. By the time the anesthetist got me to tell him what
I did for a living, I was being settled into a comfortable chair and given coffee and a cookie.
We repeated the process two weeks later on my left eye. I was told to wear the patch every night for at least a week and no heavy lifting for a couple of months.
My next step was delayed about six weeks when I was sedated but never unconscious while the doctor and technicians talked me through the entire process of correcting my astigmatisms with a laser beam.
Everything’s improved since. My eyes are much more sensitive to light than before. I’ve toned down the glare from my computer monitor and television set. I wear sunglasses, even around the house. That makes life easier because I feel naked without
glasses perched on my nose.
An interesting side light is that family and friends tell me I don’t look any different without my
glasses.
I’m still learning to read the small print in my morning newspaper. When I have to get some
work done, I don a pair of drugstore reading glasses I bought for a pittance.
I’ve Arrived . . .
. . . at the conclusion
that it doesn’t matter
where you go
because you’re always there.
Simplify Visit to New Doctor
There are several things you can do to make your first visit to a new doctor more productive and help you get the best possible care.
For a start, jot down concerns or questions you may have, but don’t wait until the end of the examination
to ask them. It’s helpful to tell the doctor at the beginning of the visit because these concerns may
influence what is done in the first examination;
Take a list of your medications and include include information about when, how often, and what dosage you take. Include any vitamins or supplements you take regularly.
Call the doctor’s office and ask whether they require your medical records be sent there in
advance. Otherwise, take a list of the names and addresses of previous and current physicians to be kept with your chart so medical records can be requested if needed.
We’re Told . . .
. . .that our brain
has a left side and a right side.
On the left, there is nothing right,
and on the right, there’s nothing left.
Sedona’s Health In the Pink
Red rocks tethered to meditative vortexes are everywhere in Sedona, rising as cliffs, buttes and wind-sculpted animal-shapes cutting sharply into the deep blue sky. It was these sandstone sentinels that sparked the transformation of what was once a small artists’ colony into an upscale resort an hour or so north of Phoenix.
On our first visit here in the late 1950s, the business community comprised a cafe, drug store, market, gas station and a few other establishments. Its 2,000 or so residents would drive into town for groceries from homes scattered among the junipers, pinion pine and Arizona cypress atop red-rock slopes, or from cabins in nearby Oak Creek Canyon. There were no traffic lights and few places to stay other than cabins and camping areas up in the canyon.
Hollywood loved Sedona and built false-front towns where the heroes of countless westerns rode off toward the wind-scoured sandstone outcroppings.
Perched midway between the Valley of the Sun’s desert and the massive Colorado Plateau’s pine forests, Sedona’s dry climate and generally mild temperatures attracted snowbirds from the Midwest’s grim, gray wintery grip.
As word got out, people arrived from all over. Land values shot up. By the 1960s and ’70s, New Age spiritual gurus were proclaiming the area contained a concentration of psychic energy sites. In the late 1970s, Sedona was designated the epicenter of a “harmonic convergence” of people drawn to the spiritual overtones.
Filmdom’s false-front frontier was replaced by European spas, upscale resorts and chic boutiques. Stop lights controlled traffic on the main street, which also was the highway north through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. Two championship golf courses and a pair of nine-hole layouts were laid out few miles out of town.
It would have become just another hideaway for the beautiful people, had in not been for the photogenic red rocks – and the pink jeeps.
Realtor Don Pratt purchased former movie-studio land in the late 1950s in the Broken Arrow area and took prospective buyers on off-road treks to ooh and aaah the red rocks up close. Noticing folks not interested in housing came back for more, he bought an old Jeep and began charging $3 for a tour. He made them all pink after a stay at Waikiki’s legendary – and pink – Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Wishing . . .
. . . good health and fortune for yourself
is not being selfish,
you need at least one
to be able to take care
of those dear to you.
Older Bones Gain With Strength Training
Healthy seniors who can still exercise may also be able to lengthen the life of their bones with strengthening exercise, according to results of a six-month study conducted at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The men and women aged 60 to 83 who participated in the resistance training showed signs of greater bone density in their hips as well as bone metabolism shifting toward generating more bone than was being lost.
Participants were divided into three groups, one that engaged in high-intensity resistance training, one that went through low-intensity training, and a control group that did not change lifestyle habits during the six-month study. The high-intensity group showed the most significant bone-density gains. Leg presses, overhead presses and certain back exercises appeared to have the most impact on bone density.
Switching to Orange Juice . . .
. . . has made my mornings
much more enjoyable.
It mixes with my vodka
much better than coffee.
Listen to Help Alzheimer’s Victims
A friend has a running gag that he received a solicitation for a contribution to the Alzheimer’s Association but he forgot where he put it. It’s his bit of gallows humor to forget the fact that more than 6 million Americans are victims of this disorder.
The association urges victims to be candid about their disease and, at the appearance of its signs, to discuss their symptoms with family and friends. Maintaining open lines of communication with people doomed by dementia is critical to keeping victims, caregivers, relatives and friends on as even a keel as possible as the disability progresses.
The first step recommended by the AA to everyone around an Alzheimer’s sufferer is to listen. Communicating with an Alzheimer’s victim requires patience and understanding, so those around such a person must be good listeners. And they must let the sufferer know they are listening, are being patient, and are trying to understand what he or she is saying.
If the person is having difficulty finding the right word or phrase, encourage him or her to take their time and continue to explain. Don’t cut in and correct the speaker. You can repeat what was said if you feel some clarification is needed.
Some Mornings . . .
. . . I just feel like
skipping my meds
and stirring things up a bit.
Painkillers Can Kill
Regular use of painkilling medication can kill pain but also can lead to addiction and even death. Such common over-the-counter brands as Advil and Motrin are among the roots of an opioid epidemic that has spread across the nation, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths each year.
Doctors have been prescribing such pain relievers as ibuprofen for years under the belief that prevailed until recently that opioids were not addictive.
As early as 2014, the Food and Drug Administration reported that regular use of OTC painkilling opioids could raise the risk of heart attack and stroke by as much as 10 percent. Using stronger prescription-strength painkillers could increase that risk by as much as 50 percent. To avoid such peril, medical and health experts caution that these drugs should be used only for severe pain at the lowest possible dose for the shortest amount of time.
A Guy . . .
. . . in our Happy Hour group this afternoon
was a bit unsettled and sweaty.
He said he went to McDonald’s for lunch and
ate a kids’ meal and
the kid’s mother went ballistic.
Falls Kill the Aging
More than 36 million people report falling each year resulting in more than 32,000 deaths. One-third of seniors 65 years or older are among those who have fallen and 25 percent of those who sustain a hip fracture die within a year.
Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury for men 80 years of age and older and women over 70. Two-thirds of all falls occur around the house and individuals over 65 account for 60 percent of fall-related deaths.
Something to Always Remember . . .
. . .about statistics
is that
you can drown easily in a river
that’s an average of three feet deep.
Don’t Drink and Dive
Ten people drown on an average day. Alcohol combined with water recreation is a factor in about one third of the adult drownings. That’s why it’s important to understand the dangers alcohol consumption can pose, especially near the water.
When people drink alcohol, their judgment and inhibitions are impaired. That is a dangerous situation, especially near water.
Medical experts suggest teaching children early about the dangers of water and alcohol by setting an example by never drinking alcohol before or while swimming or boating, and never drinking while supervising children near the water.
Mature Life Features 