Search Results for: blog top summer health risks

Keep Your Cooling Bill In Check This Summer

Summer is here, and for many of us that means saying goodbye to sweaters and long sleeves and hello to tank tops, shorts, and flip flops. Although summer clothes are fun and on most days keep us fairly cool and comfortable, there are days when it is very hot outside and you need something more than breezy clothes to keep you cool. There are even some days when it can get dangerously hot and keeping cool becomes less about comfort and more about safety. Air conditioners are a very good way to keep your home cool, but they add quite … Continue reading →

Top Summer Health Risks Part 2

Last time I talked about two top summer health risks, how to prevent them and how to treat them. While we tend to think more about preventive measures in the winter during cold and flu season, we should also be prepared to combat the health risks of summer. Summer will be a lot more fun when you can avoid getting sick or injured. Here is the rest of what you need to know to keep yourself and your family safe. Poison Ivy (and Poison Oak, Poison Sumac) No one wants to get the itchy and sometimes painful rash that comes … Continue reading →

Top Summer Health Risks

While those of us with kids all breath a sigh of relief when we get past the winter and cold and flu season, it is important to know that summer comes with its own set of health risks. Here is what you need to know to stay healthy this summer. West Nile Virus West Nile Virus causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, joint pain and headaches. It is contracted through the bite of an infected mosquito, and if you get it, you’ll come down with symptoms within two to fifteen days. Not everyone who is exposed will get sick. If you … Continue reading →

Tea Tree Oil: Worth The Risks?

I’ll admit it. I jumped on the tea tree oil bandwagon, and I don’t want to get off. Tea tree oil is said to have numerous uses and health benefits. From relieving the itch of insect bites and speeding up the healing process of cuts and bruises, to clearing up acne and curing athlete’s foot, it seems there is nothing tea tree oil can’t do. I didn’t start using tea tree oil until I came across recipes for homemade baby wipe solutions that called for a couple drops of the oil. My baby has always had sensitive skin that is … Continue reading →

The Pregnancy Blog Review for July 25- August 4

I missed the Week in Review last week due to a sick baby. I’ll cover the last two weeks in this summary. There have been a variety of topics covered in the blog in the past two weeks. Sit back, relax and catch up on your reading. Working women change jobs. This is a fact of life. There will be times when a woman makes a change, only to discover that she is pregnant shortly after starting the new job. Learn how to handle this situation in Pregnancy and Your New Job. Amusement parks are a fun part of the … Continue reading →

What You Need to Know about West Nile Virus

The United States is currently experiencing one of the biggest outbreaks off West Nile Virus with almost 1,200 confirmed cases reported as of Tuesday this week. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are concerned that the rate of infection will continue to grow. The CDC estimates that many more cases, about 98 percent have not even been reported. What is West Nile and how dangerous can it be to us? West Nile Virus is spread by the bit of a mosquito that carries the disease. There are two forms of it. A milder form, referred to West Nile Fever results … Continue reading →

The Great Mosquito Feast

Why is it that biting insects are drawn to some people and not to others? Is there a way to change your body chemistry to make you less palatable to mosquitos, chiggers and other pests that love to suck your blood? My husband is one of those lucky people to whom bugs never seem to bother. He could walk through, sweaty, an infested swap and not get a single bite. I can walk from the parking lot to the entrance of Target, surrounded by and and concrete and arrive at the door with several bites in the summer. Coincidentally, I … Continue reading →

Natural Way to Repel Mosquitoes

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Like most kids, my son is counting down the days until summer vacation is here. Not that he does not like school, but summer is fun – there’s swimming, basketball camp, and staying up late. One thing he is not looking forward to is mosquitoes. (This image is from Morgue File and believed to be in the public domain.) I guess it was because we had a mild winter here in the south, but the mosquitoes never really seemed to have left us from last summer. In the middle of winter, I killed one in our bathroom. However, I have … Continue reading →

Packing Preparation Makes Travel Easier

If you want to have a smooth vacation, start with the preparation before travel. Being prepared can mean the difference between a fun get-away-from-it-all vacation to a stressed-out experience. If you are contemplating waiting until the last minute to pack and prepare then I have to warn you. Becoming frantic the night or two before the trip can carry over to your vacation, making it hard to relax. Here are some things that you can do to prepare for your travel. Laundry Get all of the laundry done well in advance of the trip. This way you can get that … Continue reading →

Should You Pee on a Jelly Fish?

It is always funny when common beliefs are taken one step further into the really weird. I was having a conversation the other day, and we were talking about some common health issues that come up in summer and how to solve them. Someone mentioned this little tip: if you see a jelly fish in the ocean, you should pee because that will scare it away, and it won’t bite. Um, while I have no idea if jelly fish have an aversion to human urine, I’m guessing that peeing near a jelly fish, besides being a little disgusting, won’t really … Continue reading →