| Natural Medicine: Hearing deficit? It could be an earwax problem
Has your hearing abruptly decreased without an obvious explanation? If you answered yes to these questions, you may have an earwax impaction. Judging from the popularity of Q-tips, ear candles, and other products sold to clean our ears, you might think that this mysterious honey-colored substance that resides in the ear canal is the enemy, but don't be fooled. Earwax, otherwise known as cerumen, is a normal and healthy substance that helps protect the ear canal against irritation and infection. This waxy protective barrier is produced in the canal and normally transported out of the ear by jaw movements and a conveyor beltlike migration of skin cells from the inner to the outer part of the ear canal. A few factors can cause earwax to accumulate and eventually clog the canal, preventing the normal conduction of sound to the eardrum, including: Chronic irritation from Q-tip use can lead to an overproduction of cerumen.
Green Market | A look at some Northwest products that tout green credentials
Although they may define green in different ways, many companies in the Seattle area offer products they say will help customers go green. Here are a few we've checked out: Très eco-chic: Seattle sisters Patty Grossman and Leigh Anne Van Dusen have sought the most sustainably grown fibers, as well as manufacturing partners willing to forgo harsh chemicals, bleaches and finishes, to create luxury interior-design fabrics with rich, earthy tones and evocative, Northwest names like Lopez and Bloedel. Even their dyes are organically certified. Their dictum: opulent yet organic, sensuous yet sustainable. Fabrics average $84 per yard to those in the trade. O Ecotextiles: 206-633-1177 or www.oecotextiles.com. Baby soft: Company founder Kate Quinn designs stylish clothing and bedding made from certified organic cotton for infants and children.
Contact with mother's skin relieves preemie's pain
A new study suggests that very premature babies, born between 28 and 31 weeks, benefit from skin-to-skin contact with their mothers before and during painful procedures. Skin-on-skin contact between a mother and her baby, commonly known as kangaroo mother care, has been proven to be effective at relieving pain among preemies born between 32 and 36 weeks. However, the common assumption has been that it could not work on very premature babies because they are too underdeveloped to benefit from it. The team from McGill University in Montreal that proved the effectiveness of KMC for the older preemies decided to test its effectiveness on the younger ones. They analyzed whether KMC could help the littlest preemies recover from the pain of a heel lance, where blood is drawn from a baby's heel.
When thunder roars, go indoors!
A total of eight people have been killed by lightning during the last three months. The latest victims were Army soldiers at the Katukaliyawa Army Training Centre in Polonnaruwa, where four of them died and over 65 have been injured. The lightning had occurred in an area where there wasnt much rain but lightning and thunder in plenty. Lightning - The underrated killer, is a serious danger and the only weapon against this demon is the awareness what to do when the sky is roaring. A lightning strike can result in a cardiac arrest (heart stoppage) at the time of the injury, although some victims may appear to have a delayed death a few days later if they are resuscitated but have suffered irreversible brain damage. People struck by lightning suffer from a variety of long-term, debilitating symptoms, including memory loss, attention deficits, sleep disorders, numbness, dizziness, stiffness in joints, irritability, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, and an inability to sit for long.
Milk of magnesia may alleviate acne
Have you heard of using milk of magnesia on severe acne? My son has cystic nodular acne. He is 16 and has been under a dermatologist's care for many years. We have spent thousands of dollars, to no avail. He has recently tried a home remedy: applying milk of magnesia to his face at night before bed. He looks the best he has in four years. Why is this working? We don't know why it might combat acne, but we have heard that this laxative can help clear up seborrheic dermatitis. In this condition, yeast on the skin causes redness and flakes, rather like dandruff, but on the forehead and chin as well as scalp and eyebrows. Here is one reader's report: "I have been using milk of magnesia on my face for the past two months, and my face flakes are gone! I pour it in my hand and massage it on my face (forehead, eyebrows, around the eyes, nose, cheeks and chin) while showering, and rinse it off at the end of the shower.
Sole connection
Let the minnows nibble away and take care of your tired feet. THEY know something we dont, reveals Dr Francis Ng, 40, with the set expression of a secret agent on an important 007 level mission. Foot care and the link with the thousands of tiny fishes swimming in two large inflatable pools has been playing in his mind for some time now. .
Anti-sex slavery activist in Denver tonight
Working as a teen-aged sex slave in a Cambodian brothel, Somaly Mam says she served up to 30 clients a night. Some hit her. "I never thought, just lived hour by hour. I played with nothing. In my head: nothing. It was dark, dark, dark. I never trusted people," Mam said Friday during a visit to Denver. "I was dead." She tried suicide, she said. Her turning point: the day a brothel pimp fired a bullet through the head of her friend, Srymom, who dared refuse customers - warning other girls to obey. Mam said she then began trying to help a newcomer, a girl with dark skin like her, and eventually used the brothel keys to set her free. Brothel owners soon released Mam, deeming her too old for Cambodia's booming sex trade. Ever since, Mam has been arranging rescues of child sex slaves - more than 4,000 over the past decade.
Battle of the Sexes: What about facial hair?
Facial hair gets a bad rap. It’s true and I won’t deny it. I’ve had some manner of whiskers on my face for a little more than two years, beginning with an admittedly dubious goatee in high school. In a way, I’m carrying on my father’s legacy: When he attended JMU in the 1970s, he rocked a rather impressive mustache. I doubt I’ll ever live up to my father’s mustachioed magnificence, yet I persevere and encourage my fellow men to do the same. Why, you ask? Because it’s about character. I can’t defend facial hair in the eyes of women. If they decide they like men who shy away from the slightest stubble, that’s their decision. (Though one wonders, because these are usually the same women who prefer furry boots.) But I can defend the beauteous beard, the mighty mustache, the charming chinstrap, spectacular sideburns and the grand goatee on their own merit.
|
