Search Results for: blog clogged ears

Clogged Ears

When I get sick, it usually goes to my sinuses and throat. And those are problems I know how to handle! I’ve had a lot of success holding off sinus infections by using an irrigation kit. But for the last few days, my left ear has been clogged. Maybe it’s lingering water from the shower, maybe it’s something more serious. I’m starting to get that achy feeling down towards my jaw that reminds me of swimmer’s ear. Time to turn to my trusty home remedy resources! The general consensus among my library of natural remedies is that water may indeed … Continue reading →

Hold On To Those Teddy Bears

When my daughter was about 18-months-old she became enthralled with fish (actually, she loved anything that loved water). So I decided that we should celebrate her second birthday at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium. I wrote about our experience in a previous blog, but what I failed to share was the incident that almost got us booted from the world famous facility. It happened near the beluga whale tank. We had just watched the dolphin and whale trainers give the animals their lunch and were leaving to get something to eat ourselves. The whales live in a gigantic clear tank so those … Continue reading →

Drain Cleaner is Off Limits

I just found another reason to use all natural products to keep my drains free and clear. Effective January 1st in Illinois it will be harder to buy drain cleaner. In Illinois if you want to buy drain cleaners or similar products you will need to show your state issued ID along with current address and phone number, your birth date and how much of the product you are purchasing. Apparently the chemicals in drain cleaners can be used in meth labs, not to mention they can cause pretty severe burns if they are used incorrectly. I don’t want to … Continue reading →

Cleaning the Gutters

Have you cleaned your gutters? This year some of the outside maintenance has gotten away from me. I’m pretty lucky because I only have on big tree in my yard, the other one is still too small to be a real problem. The big tree drops enough leaves to keep me busy raking, trying to get them all up before snow blankets the ground. I usually don’t think about my rain gutters too much, after all I only have one tree. Once again, I didn’t think too much about my gutters this year until my friend came over. Nancy said … Continue reading →

Taking Care Of Camping Gear

I’m getting ready to go camping for the long weekend. That means dragging out all the camping gear I haven’t used in a few years. Everything is in good shape but it is all dusty and doesn’t smell very good! I got everything out, spread it all on the driveway to take stock. I have a dry pack that has all the cookware that is used just for camping, this was easy, hot soapy dishwater and it was ready to go. The cook stove was a little harder. I took it apart and used paper towels to get all the … Continue reading →

Fitness in Your 20’s

Fitness tends to take on a different life when you are in your 40’s, compared to those in their 20’s. So I am starting a series on fitness across the decades, starting with the 20’s and ending with the 50’s. Ideally, fitness should begin while you are still in your 20’s. When you develop healthy habits early on, you are more likely to continue them into the later years. There are generally two groups of people in their 20’s, those that don’t feel they need to incorporate fitness right now and those that are avid workout buffs. Those who don’t … Continue reading →

Six Causes for Jaw Pain

Sometimes, a health issue is straightforward: you experience pain in an area of the body, and that’s where the problem is. Sometimes, where it hurts isn’t where the problem actually is. The jaw is an area of the body where there’s a few different things going on — you’ve got your teeth and sinuses and ears in close proximity, and pain in any one of those three could leave you with an achy jaw. So what could that jaw pain be? If the pain appears at the hinge of your jaw when you open your mouth wide, there may be … Continue reading →

Too Much Earwax?

In moderation, earwax is a good thing. It helps trap and move dust in the ear canal. But when you have too much earwax, your ears can get clogged. This can be uncomfortable AND make you more susceptible to ear infection. The good news is that it can be relatively easy to treat earwax issues at home. Start with simple ear irrigation: gently squirt room temperature water into your ear. Most pharmacies carry rubber ear bulbs that make irrigation quick and easy. Tilt your head to let water (and hopefully earwax) run out into the sink. Dry your ears carefully … Continue reading →

Lumpy Bumpy Skin

Nobody’s perfect — and that usually includes your skin. There are a number of different conditions that can make your skin lumpy, bumpy, or discolored. Cysts are closed pockets of tissue that may be filled with fluid or pus. They can appear anywhere, and feel like small lumps under the surface of the skin. Cysts can develop because of an infection, clogged oil glands, or even around foreign bodies like body jewelry. Skin cysts are generally slow growing and painless — and often disappear on their own. Some cysts do need to be drained; others may become infected and need … Continue reading →

When Your Medication Causes Sleep Problems

When I was trying to clear up my clogged ear, I picked up a variety of decongestants to try. My family doctor suggested traditional Sudafed — made with pseudoephedrine, which can be hard to get in some areas. The Sudafed worked, but caused a different problem: I had trouble sleeping. Most nights, I’d wake up every few hours — instead of sleeping straight through like I normally do. The doc had warned me that the decongestant might cause problems sleeping, and suggested that I only take it in the mornings (instead of twice per day as indicated on the package). … Continue reading →