San Diegans Can’t Drive in the Rain?
Posted: December 15, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: driving in the rain, san diegans, san diegans can't drive, san diego and rain, san diego county road accidents, san diego driving Leave a comment »
bthomsen13 (sxc.hu)
Originally Post on December 12, 2009
Yes, it’s true. CHP says that on a normal day in SD County there are between 50 and 75 accidents. On Monday there were 476!
- When it is raining, you should drive the speed limit or slower. As your visibility decreases, so should your speed. (San Diegans are slow learners.)
- Hydroplaning (car’s wheels skidding on top of water) is the #1 reason for accidents when it is raining. You can avoid this by slowing down and not making any quick lane changes. Also, drive in the middle lanes. The outside lanes have more puddles because of lower drainage.
- If you are in a spin, don’t brake. Remember “lightly” and “slightly”. Tap the brakes lightly and turn slightly into the spin. You want your tires to stop skidding.
- In good weather you’re supposed to leave a car length for every 10 miles of speed limit (ha, ha! Who does this?). When it rains you should double that.
- Keep your tires properly inflated with enough tread. You may hydroplane if they have too much air. Have your windshield wipers in good working order. Did you know that it is state law that if you are using your windshield wipers, your head lights must be turned on also?
(Source: Automobile Club of So. California’s Automotive Research Ctr.)
Accurate Identification of Melanoma
Posted: December 5, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: cancer, MelaFind, melanoma Leave a comment »AMAZINGLY ACCURATE
At present, dermatologists must rely on their own experience with detecting melanoma to decide whether or not to biopsy a suspicious mole or growth. Generally, they are inclined to order a biopsy when they see one or more of these characteristics… Read the rest of this entry »
Small Business Saturday
Posted: November 19, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black friday, small business saturday Leave a comment »
www.magverlag.com
The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday® is November 26, 2011. It’s a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. Shop Small at your favorite local stores and help fuel the economy.
When we all shop small, it will be huge.
BUY NOTHING DAY!
Posted: November 18, 2011 Filed under: Living Life | Tags: black friday, buy nothing day, maurice sendak Leave a comment »
- xianstudio (sxc.hu)
The busiest shopping day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving.
Buy Nothing Day is also the same day.
It is your special day to unshop, unspend and unwind.
Relax and do nothing for the economy and for yourself.
Quote: There must be more to life than having everything!
Maurice Sendak
Avoiding E. Coli
Posted: November 17, 2011 Filed under: Food & Cooking | Tags: E. coli, food poisoning Leave a comment »
balder2111 (sxc.hu)
After the recent E. coli food poisoning scare in Europe, a coworker told me that she was washing her raw fruits and vegetables in a diluted bleach solution to guard against foodborne illnesses. When I found this dubious advice echoed online, alarms went off in my head. This is where the Internet can actually be a dangerous source of information—since unvetted ideas get presented as fact.
I called Christine M. Bruhn, PhD, director of the Center for Consumer Research at the University of California, Davis, to discuss this latest ill-founded advice. She said emphatically, “Never use bleach on food! To be effective and safe, you would have to measure a bleach solution exactly. Yet we have found that people guess instead—so bleach amounts wind up too low to be effective at killing pathogens or, worse, too high to be safe for human consumption.” Even if you think that you’re rinsing off the bleach afterward, fruits and vegetables are porous—so they can absorb bleach.
What to use instead: Read the rest of this entry »
When to Say “No” to Your Mechanic
Posted: November 5, 2011 Filed under: Living Life | Tags: brake system cleaning, break pad replacement, car air filter replacement, car fluid flushes, car maintenance, car washing, engine oil flushes, fluid flushes, fuel system cleaning, power steering fluid flushes, transmission fluid flushes Leave a comment »
soho13 (sxc.hu)
Even the smartest people sometimes feel foolish when speaking with car mechanics. We often say yes to maintenance services because we figure that the auto mechanic knows what is best for our cars. However, car owners sometimes overspend because less-than-honest auto repair shops talk them into services that their cars don’t really need. They also may not understand that today’s vehicles have different needs than those of decades past.
Among the most common money-wasting mistakes car owners make… Read the rest of this entry »
Having Surgery at the Doctor’s Office?
Posted: November 4, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: doctor's office surgery Leave a comment »Just 30 years ago, more than 90% of all surgical procedures were performed in hospitals, requiring at least one night’s stay. But because of advanced surgical techniques and safer, easier to administer anesthesia, one-third (about 15 million surgeries) are now performed on an outpatient basis at hospital-owned or independent surgery centers. And still another 15 million operations — everything from the removal of a skin cancer to cataract surgery and knee arthroscopy — are performed in physicians’ offices.
In-hospital surgery, hospital-run outpatient centers and independently owned surgicenters are highly regulated by both federal and state governments, and most must be certified by well-respected accrediting organizations to be eligible to bill Medicare or private insurance companies. But surgical procedures performed in physicians’ offices are not tightly regulated. In fact Read the rest of this entry »
Yank Those Wisdom Teeth
Posted: November 2, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: wisdom teeth Leave a comment »
qr5 (sxc.hu)
THINK BEFORE YANKING THAT WISDOM TOOTH!
Shortly before my next-door neighbor shipped her daughter off to college, she took her to an oral surgeon to have her wisdom teeth removed. The teen was not experiencing dental problems of any kind, but taking out wisdom teeth before they cause concern has become a routine rite of passage for many American adolescents, just as getting your tonsils out was in my generation. In fact, last year the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons issued a statement recommending that young people have their wisdom teeth removed regardless of whether or not the teeth are “diseased or symptomatic” — but personally I’m not convinced, and neither are a growing number of patients and dental professionals. To put it bluntly, I suspect a case of procedures for profit… and not for health.
A WISE DECISION? DO THE MATH
Some wisdom about those wisdom teeth: Read the rest of this entry »
Cellular Telephones do Cause Brain Tumors
Posted: October 31, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cell phones & radiation, cell phones do cause brain tumors Leave a comment »About nine out of 10 US households now have at least one cell phone — and that doesn’t include other wireless devices, such as cordless phones, iPads, baby monitors and computers.
Result: The average adult (and child) is flooded with nonionizing radiation, a form of energy that — for the first time — has been officially linked to cancer. In May, a panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) listed cell phones as a class 2b carcinogen, which means that it’s “possible” that cell phones, like some industrial chemicals, increase the risk for cancer.
This conclusion has been disputed by many scientists. But careful analysis of the best studies to date indicate that people who log the most cell-phone minutes are more likely to develop tumors on the same side of the head that they hold the cell phone, compared with those who use cell phones less often.
DISTURBING RESEARCH Read the rest of this entry »
Women Make History
Posted: October 22, 2011 Filed under: Living Life | Tags: are men in trouble?, are women more successful than men, boys to men, Hanna Rosin, the end of men, where are the decent single men?, William J. Bennett, you go girl! Leave a comment »
j_castro (sxc.hu)
(CNN) — For the first time in history, women are better educated, more ambitious and arguably more successful than men.
Now, society has rightly celebrated the ascension of one sex. We said, “You go girl,” and they went. We celebrate the ascension of women but what will we do about what appears to be the very real decline of the other sex?
The data does not bode well for men. In 1970, men earned 60% of all college degrees. In 1980, the figure fell to 50%, by 2006 it was 43%. Women now surpass men in college degrees by almost three to two. Women’s earnings grew 44% in real dollars from 1970 to 2007, compared with 6% growth for men.
In 1950, 5% of men at the prime working age were unemployed. As of last year, 20% were not working, the highest ever recorded. Men still maintain a majority of the highest paid and most powerful occupations, but women are catching them and will soon be passing them if this trend continues.
The warning signs for men stretch far beyond their wallets. Read the rest of this entry »
Relaxing to Death
Posted: October 14, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: alprazolam, benzodiazepine drugs, relaxing to death, xanax Leave a comment »
Can Xanax, the extremely popular prescription drug that soothes anxiety, make a mess of your life? Yes, it can — and not only because it’s highly addictive. It can easily kill you if you take too much of it. Frighteningly, we are seeing that more and more as people are dying… or driving so unsafely that they might kill others.
Xanax is old — it was first marketed in 1981 — but boy, has our society had a hard time learning to deal with it safely. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a report announcing that Xanax has become one of the leading causes of drug overdose in the state of Florida, where fatal overdoses of prescription drugs are now four times as common as those caused by illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine. (A news story in the St. Petersburg Times reported that Xanax is turning up along with alcohol in the blood of an alarming number of people arrested for driving “under the influence.”) According to a recent report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services, benzodiazepines are more commonly used for “recreational” purposes than opioids — and among them, Xanax is the most frequently misused. Three decades after its introduction, what we have with Xanax looks to be a major problem in the making.
SOMETHING TO BE ANXIOUS ABOUT… Read the rest of this entry »
Ovarian Cancer
Posted: October 11, 2011 Filed under: For Women Only | Tags: cancer, ovarian cancer, September Leave a comment »
The pink ribbons we see everywhere this month make it seem like breast cancer is a woman’s worst nightmare. But, in fact, we know that there is another even more insidious cancer to fear — ovarian cancer. It’s true that this type of cancer is rarer, but it can be more lethal and harder to detect, in part because its symptoms are commonplace and dismayingly vague, including abdominal bloating, digestive difficulties and fatigue. While not as public, researchers are working hard on understanding and beating ovarian cancer, and there is news — some good, some bad. Read the rest of this entry »
Staying Away from the Flu This Year
Posted: October 5, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: flu prevention, flu virus, seasonal flu, seasonal influenza, staying away from the flu this year Leave a comment »
Little kids sure can be cute, but when they’re all sneezy and drippy, who can blame us for not wanting to get too close — imagine the germs! And when flu season hits, the thought of being sidelined with a hacking cough, fever and chills is enough to make us want to step back just a bit further from those sweet little faces. Hold on though – it turns out that small children may be getting a bad rap when it comes to spreading the flu. Dena Schanzer, MSc, PStat, a senior statistical analyst with the Public Health Agency in Ontario, Canada, published research recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology that suggests that, in fact, Read the rest of this entry »
I’m Going to Drive Myself to the Nursing Home or the Cemetery, Whichever Comes First
Posted: September 25, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: elderly driving, What to Do When an Elderly "Someone" Won't Stop Driving Leave a comment »
lhumble (sxc.hu)
What to Do When an Elderly “Someone” Won’t Stop Driving
That comment from an elderly driver shows what you might be up against when you try to persuade a parent, friend or other elderly person to stop driving.
While there are many individual exceptions, the chance of having an accident typically begins to increase around the age of 55, and the risk rises dramatically for people with diseases or who take medications that affect their motor skills, vision and/or judgment.
Still, many Americans think of driving as a fundamental right, and for older people, the car is often the last symbol of independence.
In trying to persuade a person to put away the car keys, you’ll be attempting to influence a person who is probably accustomed to giving advice, not taking it.
Tactics that work… Read the rest of this entry »
Beautiful Burning Wildflower
Posted: August 19, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: burning wildflower, giant hogweed Leave a comment »
dec.ny.gov
BEWARE BEAUTIFUL WILDFLOWER THAT CAN BURN YOU
Gardeners, hikers, campers and most especially children — in fact, anyone who spends time outdoors — should be on the alert for a dangerous weed that can be found in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest and increasingly in many other states. It’s a strikingly tall and attractive plant, with enormous leaves and a hoola-hoop-sized flower head with clusters of tiny white flowers. Strangely enough, it’s also a member of the carrot family.
Called giant hogweed, this particular plant has sap so poisonous that the US government officially decreed it a “noxious species” in 1983, preventing its sale and importation. Unfortunately, it’s already here — and hard to get rid of.
If you come into contact with the sap of a giant hogweed plant and then expose yourself to sunlight, the sap will cause your skin to blister so badly that it’s potentially as dangerous as having third-degree burns.
Oh — and one other thing — if the sap gets in your eyes, it can cause blindness. Read the rest of this entry »
Mysterious New Tick Disease
Posted: August 15, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: babesiosis, Mysterious New Tick Disease Leave a comment »
Getty Image
Along with the pleasure of being outdoors in the summer, there is an important downside for many people — disease-causing deer ticks. Mostly we worry about Lyme disease, but be warned — there is a second, more mysterious deer tick disease making the rounds. Unlike Lyme disease, which is caused by a bacterium, babesiosis (pronounced bah BEE zio sis) is caused by a parasite that enters a person’s red blood cells. While Lyme disease usually signals its presence very early on with a target like rash, babesiosis does not have any such overt early display, so it’s especially important to be aware of its symptoms.
The good news is that symptoms are so mild in many adults who contract babesiosis that they’re hardly noticeable… and they often self-resolve without a problem. (In other words, once the parasite dies out, you are completely free of it.) Other people, primarily but not only those with impaired immune systems, don’t fare so well and develop malaria-like symptoms that can be very severe. Left untreated, these symptoms can be associated with complications in the lung, heart, kidneys and/or the liver, all of which can stop functioning. Read the rest of this entry »
Sleeping with Bedbugs – UPDATE
Posted: July 21, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: bed bugs, bedbug update, sleeping with bedbugs Leave a comment »Bedbug Cases Could Triple This Year
Bedbug infestations are most common July through September. Infestations were widespread last year, so the bugs are already widely embedded. Bedbugs are difficult to eradicate and can live for a year without feeding. Self-defense: Check for bedbugs in your box spring and on your headboard, as well as bedbug feces, which look like small black dots. If you discover an infestation, call a professional. Your home may have to be treated three or more times over two weeks. Using over-the-counter sprays can make the infestation worse because bugs that are not killed will spread.
—————————————————————————————————
Don’t Sleep with Bedbugs!
Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite… the bedtime nursery rhyme you may remember from your childhood could now be keeping you awake at night — bedbug infestations are all over the headlines!
Because the powerful pesticide DDT so effectively eradicated them decades ago, bedbugs hadn’t been much of a problem here in the US until recently. But now that DDT (and other pesticides like it) are no longer used and travelers are bringing bedbugs back from areas where these pests remain common, bedbugs are back — with a vengeance. A joint study by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the University of Kentucky found that 95% of pest-management professionals have been called in for at least one bedbug infestation in the past year compared with just 25% 10 years ago.
Bedbug Basics
We should start with a bit of bedbug Read the rest of this entry »
A Fever May be Good for You
Posted: July 12, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: fevers, normal body temperature, when fever is a good thing 1 Comment »
tap78 (sxc.hu)
IS FEVER YOUR FRIEND?
Why Should I Volunteer?
Posted: July 8, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: volunteer, volunteering is good for your health, why you should volunteer Leave a comment »
nellart (sxc.hu)
Volunteering improves your health. Volunteering creates a sense of belonging and can relieve depression and chronic pain and reduce risk for heart attack and stroke. Read the rest of this entry »
How to Boost Your Social Security Benefits
Posted: July 3, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: How to Boost Your Social Security Benefits Leave a comment »
What’s Ahead for Social SecuritySocial Security is supposed to be a security blanket for most Americans, but lately it hasn’t felt all that comforting. Because of the cost-of-living formula used by the Social Security Administration, benefits recipients are not receiving an increase in 2011 for the second year in a row. And under current rules, the entire Social Security system is in danger of becoming insolvent. To avoid that, the cochairs of a bipartisan commission on the federal deficit recently proposed raising the normal retirement age, increasing the annual limit on income that is subject to the Social Security payroll tax and other controversial changes.
Q: Why are benefits not rising when it feels like living expenses are going up and up? Read the rest of this entry »
Where is There an Honest Auto Mechanic?
Posted: June 29, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: honest auto mechanic 3 Comments »
greyman (sxc.hu)
How to Find an Honest Auto Mechanic
An auto mechanic tells you that the clunking sound you hear means that your car needs thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs. But how can you tell whether the mechanic has diagnosed the problem correctly? And how do you know whether he/she would charge a fair price?
”Auto mechanic” is among the least-trusted professions in the US, according to a 2010 survey by sales and management training company Sandler Training. Many mechanics are honest and skilled, while others have earned that mistrust — and it isn’t always easy to tell the good from the bad.
Here are ways to improve your odds of selecting a competent, honest mechanic or auto-repair shop, even if you know next to nothing about cars… Read the rest of this entry »
Is It a Food Allergy?
Posted: June 28, 2011 Filed under: Food & Cooking | Tags: difference between food allergy and food intolerance, food allergy, food intolerance Leave a comment »– OR A DIFFERENT PROBLEM?
An astonishing number of people now have food allergies – not. A number of recent studies have found that most people who believe they have food allergies actually don’t — one small study puts that figure as high as 90%! This state of affairs led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to release new guidelines to provide a uniform strategy for diagnosing and managing food allergies. I spoke with Matthew Fenton, PhD, chief of the asthma and allergy branch of NIAID, to find out more…
WHAT’S YOUR REAL PROBLEM? Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t be Shocked — Electroshock Therapy Works!
Posted: June 25, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: electroshock therapy Leave a comment »
Palla (sxc.hu)
Think of Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of McMurphy in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It brought electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and the controversy surrounding it to the cultural forefront back in the 1970s. Well, the subject is once again in the news. Many people, including patients and psychiatrists, believe that ECT can be an invaluable tool in the recovery from clinical depression, while others criticize it as unsafe, extreme and even unhelpful.
Earlier this year, a cadre of influential mental health organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, teamed up to urge that the FDA downgrade the risk rating of ECT devices to medium-risk from high-risk, a move that would put them in the same risk category as syringes and surgical drills. After reviewing the request, an FDA advisory committee in March recommended against taking this action — not because the procedure is known to be unsafe but because there’s little research that proves it is safe, particularly long term. Proponents of ECT argue that this will make it difficult for many patients who would benefit by having access to ECT, with some saying that such a ruling even may make the treatment unavailable altogether.
SAFETY TESTING HASN’T BEEN DONE Read the rest of this entry »
New HPV Test for Cervical Cancer
Posted: June 24, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: Cervical cancer, HPV test Leave a comment »
NEW HPV TEST FOR CERVICAL CANCER SAVES LIVESComplaining to the Airlines
Posted: June 24, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: airline complaints, travel Leave a comment »
yoshiaka (sxc.hu)
How to Complain to the Airlines
Icky, Sticky Sunscreen
Posted: June 9, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: icky sticky sunscreen, sunscreens Leave a comment »
Kriss Szkurlatowski (sxc.hu)
How to Check Your FICO Score
Posted: June 2, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: FICO score Leave a comment »Best Ways to Check Your Score
By far the most important piece of information about your creditworthiness is your FICO credit score. Today’s lenders and insurance companies rarely dig into the details of a credit report. They typically just check the FICO score — which can vary somewhat depending on which credit-reporting agency’s data is used — and judge the applicant based on this score. Even though there are ways to get estimated FICO scores and alternative credit scores for free, there are only two places to obtain your true FICO score, and neither is free…
Fair Isaac, which compiles the FICO score (800-319-4433, www.MyFICO.com. $19.95).
Equifax (866-493-9788, www.Equifax.com, select “Equifax Products,” click the “Single Use Products” tab, then select “Complete Report.” $39.95).
In May 2010, the US Senate approved an amendment to a financial industry overhaul bill that would give consumers a free look at their credit scores when they are rejected for a loan, credit card, insurance rate or apartment based on their scores.
Meanwhile, several free online credit score estimator tools can give you a reasonable idea where your score likely stands, including…
Bankrate.com (www.Bankrate.com/calculators.aspx, select “FICO Score Estimator” from the “Credit Card Calculators” section).
Unusual Allergies
Posted: June 1, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: allergic to exercise, allergy, cell phone allergy, clothing allergies, unusual allergies Leave a comment »UNUSUAL ALLERGIES
People have allergic reactions to some surprising and funky things — like sex, cell phones and underwear. While everyone knows to watch out for dust mites, dairy, ragweed and the like, many people are dealing with rashes, hives and sinus issues without realizing that they have an allergy. What are some of the lesser-known things that people may be allergic to? I called Thomas Brunoski, MD, a practitioner of nutritional and preventive medicine in Westport, Connecticut.
PUT DOWN YOUR CELL PHONE Read the rest of this entry »
Do You Really Need An Annual Pelvic Exam?
Posted: May 31, 2011 Filed under: For Women Only | Tags: Cervical cancer, do you really need an annual pelvic exam?, Pap test, Pelvic examination Leave a comment »
ilco (sxc.hu)
Web Radio for Seniors
Posted: May 21, 2011 Filed under: Living Life | Tags: elderlaw radio, web radio for seniors Leave a comment »
coscurro (sxc.hu)
Web Radio Network Helps You Age Better
ElderLaw Radio (www.ElderLawAnswers.com) features experts to help older seniors and their families handle legal issues… health matters… family issues, ranging from disputes between generations to nursing-home choices… and personal situations, such as making the transition from working life to retirement. Access is free.
Source: Harry S. Margolis, elder-law attorney and cofounder, ElderLawAnswers
Where are my Flip-Flops? – Update
Posted: May 15, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: flip flops are bad for your feet 2 Comments »
- tooleya (sxc.hu)
When people wear flip-flops, the muscles at the front of their shins work harder than they do when they walk barefoot.
Also: The decreased cushioning from the thin soles on most flip-flops results in increased pressure on the foot, causing lower-leg pain.
Better: Buy flip-flops with heel cups and arch support, which allow the leg to work more naturally.
Source: Bottom Line/Personal
May 15, 2011
Flip-Flop Flaws
According to a new study, the ubiquitous summer shoe may be bad for your ankles and feet.
Summer is when the rubber hits the road. We’re talking about flip-flops, the ubiquitous sandals that consist of little more than a sole held onto the foot by a Y-shaped thong. Flip-flops used to be relegated to the beach or the locker room, but in the last few years they seem to have become the footwear of choice for a whole generation. Back in 2005 some members of the Northwestern University national champion women’s lacrosse team drew flack for wearing flip-flops when they met with President Bush at the White House.
Questions of etiquette aside, flip-flops may not be the best choice for health reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
Facebook – Are they Really your Friend?
Posted: May 14, 2011 Filed under: Living Life | Tags: Facebook, facebook danger zones, facebook friends Leave a comment »
Michal Zacharzewski, SXC
FACEBOOK — FRIEND OR FOE?
Facebook, which started as a playground for Ivy League college kids, has now captivated the adult market — by which I don’t mean anything off color! The social network has literally changed our ability to connect with others wherever they might be, and people over age 50 are now the fastest-growing category of users, representing 42% according to recent Pew research. It’s easy to see why. For example, I have a friend who was worried about a former neighbor now living in the Middle East, but she had no contact information. Her teenage daughter suggested Facebook, and in less than a minute, my friend had located the woman… within 10 minutes, she learned that her friend was fine… and a half-hour later, the two were “chatting” and enjoying looking at one another’s photos from the holidays and recent family vacations!
NOT YOUR THING? Read the rest of this entry »
Ladies – Boost Your Energy
Posted: May 10, 2011 Filed under: For Women Only | Tags: energy boost, instant energy surge Leave a comment »FOR AN INSTANT ENERGY SURGE… Read the rest of this entry »
Facial Moisturizers with Sunscreen Protection
Posted: May 4, 2011 Filed under: For Women Only | Tags: facial moisturizer, facial moisturizers with sunscreen protection, sunscreen protection Leave a comment »FALSE CLAIMS IN MOISTURIZER ADS
What a smart business move it was for cosmetic and skin-care companies to formulate facial moisturizers that also contain broad-spectrum sunscreen (meaning that they provide UV-A and UV-B protection) to save our vulnerable faces from the sun’s damaging UV rays — the ones that not only cause premature aging of the skin, leaving you with brown spots, lines and wrinkles, but also melanoma, the deadly skin cancer.
Trusting that these products actually will protect you turns out not to be such a smart move, however! A new study tested 29 facial moisturizers that promised to offer broad-spectrum UV protection, ranging in sun protection factor (SPF) from 15 to 50, and found that only a few of these products really did the trick.
Shame on the marketers! I talked to Steven Q. Wang, MD, a dermatologist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and one of the study’s authors, about how this could be so, and he explained the problem: Most of the moisturizers protect you from UV-B waves — in fact, the SPF number on the label refers only to UV-B — but they don’t protect you from UV-A waves. Read the rest of this entry »
Eat Your Eggs
Posted: April 30, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: eat an egg a day, eat your eggs, eggs Leave a comment »
pablopi (sxc.hu)
The New Way to Think About Eggs
In the past, people were warned not to eat eggs every day due to concerns about cholesterol and heart health — but that has changed.
Recent finding:
My Stinky Car
Posted: April 28, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: get rid of that odor in your car, New car smell Leave a comment »
- arinas74 (sxc.hu)
Does Your Car Smell Funny?
Lots of smells can invade an automobile, some that are benign and others that signal trouble. Here, common car smells, what they are trying to tell you and how you or your mechanic can get rid of them… Read the rest of this entry »
Your Filthy Grill
Posted: April 25, 2011 Filed under: Food & Cooking | Tags: filthy grill, how to keep your bbq grill clean Leave a comment »
klsa12 (sxc.hu)
Grilling can be messy business, and grill cleaning often is neglected. That’s unfortunate, because conscientious grill care improves the taste of grilled foods — grills coated with baked-on grease and grime impart unpleasant flavors — and dirty grills tend to break down faster as parts clog and corrode. They even can be safety risks. Accumulated grease suddenly can ignite, burning anyone standing nearby.
Whether you’re just an occasional griller or a year-round devotee to a gas or charcoal grill, here’s how to keep your grill clean… Read the rest of this entry »
How to Communicate With a Jerk
Posted: April 23, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: how to communicate with a jerk, toxic people Leave a comment »
Kriss Szkurlatowski (sxc.hu)
Communication is challenging enough with the “normal” people in your life — the ones who want to cooperate and make life better for everyone. When you are forced to deal with jerks — people who don’t care about social give-and-take — communication can seem next to impossible, leaving you drained and upset.
Jerks tend to trigger powerful negative emotional reactions that take a long time to recover from and that interfere with clear thinking.
As a psychiatrist, I refer to jerks as “toxic people.” Read the rest of this entry »
Cleaning your Major Appliances
Posted: April 16, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: major appliance cleaning, when not to clean your oven Leave a comment »How long your appliances last isn’t just a matter of how well they’re built. How you treat them matters, too.
Here are some simple tricks to keep your major appliances running as long as possible and avoid expensive repairs.. Read the rest of this entry »
Scams Directed at Young Adults
Posted: April 6, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: scams directed at young adults Leave a comment »
- asifthebes (sxc.hu)
Scams That Catch Young Adults…
and Other People, Too
Many scams rope in people who are not yet wise to the ways of the world. Here is advice for young adults that may benefit us all… Read the rest of this entry »
House Plants and VOCs
Posted: April 4, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: houseplants, Indoor air quality, power of house plants, VOCs Leave a comment »
ludrossi (sxc.hu)
Houseplants help remove chemicals released into the air by paints, cleaners, glues and other products. The plants’ physiological processes help remove some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the day, and tiny organisms in the soil remove VOCs when the plant is not as active at night.
Plants that remove the most VOCs: Purple waffle plant, wax plant, asparagus fern, English ivy and the purple heart plant.
Source: Bodie Pennisi, PhD, associate professor, department of horticulture, University of Georgia, Griffin, and leader of a study that tested 28 common houseplants, published in HortScience.
What To Do For Your Toothbrush
Posted: March 30, 2011 Filed under: Health | Tags: how to care for your toothbrush, Toothbrush Leave a comment »
jaylopez (sxc.hu)
How to Care for Your Toothbrush
You rely on it to promote oral health — but a toothbrush that is not properly maintained may house bacteria and viruses that transmit colds, flu, cold sores and other ailments. What to do for your toothbrush…
Give it a good home. When several toothbrushes are jumbled together, germs can migrate from brush to brush — so use a holder that keeps toothbrushes upright and separate. Place the holder at least six feet from the toilet — water particles can travel several feet with each flush. (Better yet, close the toilet lid before flushing.) Read the rest of this entry »
Cell Phones & Radiation
Posted: March 28, 2011 Filed under: Safety | Tags: cell phones & radiation Leave a comment »
Kriss Szkurlatowski (sxc.hu)
The 4-Letter Cell-Phone Safety Trick
Cell phones have become integral to everyday life, and no one (including me!) is in the mood to hear that they are really unsafe.
But I’ve read a few things lately that make me think twice about how much time I spend on my cell phone. I believe this issue merits some serious consideration and perhaps some changes in our habits. For one thing, brand new research demonstrates that when an active cell-phone antenna is held against the head, it brings a measurable change to brain activity in that area. While the researchers of this study are careful to say that this doesn’t show that cell phones harm the brain, it’s clear that it’s not only the substance of the conversation that affects our brains when we’re on our cell phones — there’s something else going on, too, and we need to learn more about what that means to our health. Read the rest of this entry »
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