*  When your gray hairs are becoming more obvious and you have a couple of weeks to go before you have it colored, part your hair in a zig-zag rather than a straight line. The grays will be much less obvious!

*  Aloe lotion has good results with arthritis sufferers. Just rub the lotion onto the spot that hurts, and the pain will be diminished. Be sure and buy a lotion that is at least 70% aloe (like you find in Garden Cove on Pratt Ave.)

*  If you like mushrooms, buy them sliced rather than whole - you don’t have to wash them as they are pre-washed. The whole ones need cleaning.

*  There is lots of news lately about the dangers of microwaving food in plastic as the ingredients in the plastic may leech out into your drink/food, etc. Buy ceramic or microwavable glass containers to put your food in, don’t heat it up in the plastic container.

*   If you must drink tap water out of your sink, only drink from the cold side as the hot side has more lead in it.

*  You can use your favorite face lotion as a cleanser. Just rub the lotion onto your face at night, then scrub with a washrag that you’ve dipped in warm water. Clean!

*  Many folks have trouble sleeping (especially now with economy worries). Some tips:

*   Keep your bedroom colder at night - most people sleep better in cooler temps.

*  Warm milk and honey does the trick for many people - your grandma was right!

* Take a hot shower right before going to bed.

* Reading a book or magazine works with lots of people, especially if your book is boring.

*  I found that when I slept on my stomach with my face pressed into the pillow, I had more wrinkles in the morning. And some didn’t go away!  So now I sleep on my back, so the wrinkles can move away from my face towards my ears - no more fine line wrinkles!

* Our small businesses are really struggling now. Instead of spending your money at the big box grocery, restaurant &        clothing stores, why not shop at the locally-owned stores such as Star Market, Rebecca’s, Propst, Lewter’s, etc.  They really need our support now!

           

These are presented for your entertainment only - as always, for any medical problem be sure and see your physician.

 

 

Heart Attacks

 

Hundreds of people around the country have been receiving an e-mail message entitled "How to Survive a Heart Attack When Alone." This article recommends a procedure to survive a heart attack in which the victim is advised to repeatedly cough at regular intervals until help arrives.

 

The source of information for this article was attributed to ViaHealth Rochester General Hospital. This article is being propagated on the Internet as individuals send it to friends and acquaintances - and then those recipients of the memo send it to their friends and acquaintances, and so on.

 

We can find no record that an article even resembling this was produced by Rochester General Hospital within the last 20 years. Furthermore, the medical information listed in the article can not be verified by current medical literature and is in no way condoned by this hospital’s medical staff. Also, both The Mended Hearts, Inc., a support organization for heart patients, and the American Heart Association have said that this information should not be forwarded or used by anyone.

 

Please help us combat the proliferation of this misinformation. We ask that you please send this e-mail to anyone who sent you the article, and please ask them to do the same.

 

Sincerely, 

 

Carrie Arneth-Miller

Public Relations

ViaHealth Rochester General Hospital

(716-922-4055)

 

Things you can do if you think you are having a heart attack, as suggested by our medical staff:

 

Stop all physical activity and sit and rest

 

Contact your physician's office immediately to report symptoms and receive further instruction

 

If there is any delay in contacting your physician, and your pain persists, call 911 and proceed immediately by ambulance to the nearest hospital for evaluation and treatment.

 

If you have known coronary artery disease and experience chest pain, sit and rest, place one nitroglycerin under your tongue and then call your physician's office.

 

Wait 5 minutes and take another nitroglycerin if you still have chest pain. Follow your physician's instructions.

 

If there is any delay in receiving instructions and you have taken three nitroglycerin tablets five minutes apart and still have chest pain, call 911 and proceed immediately by ambulance to the nearest hospital for evaluation and treatment.

 

If you have no contraindication to using aspirin, chew and swallow one 325 mg. aspirin while you are waiting for the ambulance.

 

Other information on this issue can be gathered from Darla Bonham, Executive Director, The Mended Hearts, Inc. email to: dbonham@heart.org

 

Heart and other health related information is available on our website at www.viahealth.org

 

Timeless Tips and Folk Remedies

 

People who eat 2 apples a day have less anxiety, fewer headaches, clearer skin, fewer colds, not as troubled by arthritis, and more mental stability when it comes to stressful situations than people who don’t eat any apples at all.

 

When your nose is stuffed, rub your ears vigorously til they feel like they’re burning. For some odd reason, it seems to clear up stuffiness.

 

When you are somewhere and need to be alert but find yourself getting drowsy, do this. Press your elbows against your sides, or press your knees together, hard. Do this for just a few seconds. Your blood circulation will be increased, making you feel more energetic.

 

To strengthen your eyesight, many oriental herbalists believe that chewing a very small piece of ginger after each meal can help improve one’s eyesight, as well as helping your digestion.

 

For some reason, the full moon has a direct effect on diabetics. Check your calendar and when you see that there is to be a full moon, be EXTRA careful and conscientious with your diet and medication during this time.

 

If you’re alone and something gets lodged in your throat, do the following:

1. Make a fist with one hand and place the thumb side against your abdomen 

2. With the other hand, grab your fist and press your fist in and upwards in sharp, thrusting moves.

 

Another method is to press your abdomen forcefully against the back of a chair or a railing, forcing air out of your lungs and the object will be expelled.

 

Some foods that are especially good for diabetics are: Legumes (chickpeas, black beans, black-eyed peas, fava beans, lentils, pintos); bulghur wheat instead of rice; wheat bran; fruits and veges, especially broccoli and whole grain cereals.

 

To heal a small cut without scarring - take the skin from inside a raw egg and place it, wet side on the cut. You will heal quickly with no scarring.

 

A classic remedy to relieve gout is cherries. Eat four ounces of cherries of fresh Bing cherries every day. If it’s not in season, a good alternate is cherry juice or concentrate (at health food stores) - have one tablespoon 3 times a day. Frozen, canned or cherries in a jar is OK too. Or try strawberries - these and cherries have a good effect on gout as well as arthritis pain.

 

Another arthritis aid is to have a cat sit on your knees, or wherever you have pain from arthritis. Legend has it that cats do the same thing as Chihuahua’s are supposed to.

 

Get out of a mild depression by getting into gardening. Indoor is good too, but with spring upon us outdoor is best. Growing plants can give you a new appreciation for life and a chance to bury your unhappiness.

 

Those who have been through a trauma such as a loss of a loved one often find that writing in a diary can be very helpful. At least once a day, write down your innermost feelings, don’t censor yourself, let it all out on paper. This is said to really help in the healing process.

 

Exercise is good for everything. A good brisk walk can make you feel good about yourself almost immediately.

 

Smoker’s cough can be helped by doing the following: Take six apples, remove core, skin and seeds. Slice the apples into small slices and put them in a pot, add 2 cups of honey. Cook these over low heat til it has a syrupy consistency. Let cool, then put in a jar and refrigerate. Take two teaspoonfuls of the mixture between meals and whenever you feel a cough coming on.

 

 

 

Grandmas' Remedies

 

How to stop smoking:

When tempted to smoke, eat an apple or an orange instead. Drink freely of water and eat fruit and vegetables, and the smoke will begin to taste bad. Continue doing so and living well, and soon the appetite for smoke will lessen and finally disappear. Find a strict vegetarian who smokes, if you can.

Do not attempt to "taper off", it usually results in a long period of agony and fails at last. Remember what tobacco does to you.

 

 

 

How to get rid of that Head Cold:

 

Hot Chicken Soup

Soak a handful of rosemary tops in warm water til soft. Combine with a pint of hot cider, 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper and 1/8 tsp ground ginger. Drink the liquid while hot.

Make a tea from ginger and honey. Make a thyme tea for sore throats.

Use a mustard foot bath to clear a clogged head. Add one tablespoon dry mustard powder to a footbath of 2 gallons hot water. Soak feet in the bath for 15 minutes.

Fill a shallow bowl with honey and add 2 cloves. Make 6 cuts in a lemon and soak it overnight in the honey. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the honey and take teaspoons of the mixture when needed to relieve symptoms.

 

If you can't sleep, try this:

Take 1 tablespoon of honey every evening at dinnertime, and you should have less trouble falling asleep at night. If a spoonful of honey doesn't do the trick, try a mixture of 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of honey. Take 2 tsp of the mixture as you are getting ready to go to bed. If you still can't sleep after an hour, take 2 more teaspoonfuls of the mixture.

 

A flayed and dried mouse, crushed into a powder and taken for three days straight, helps treat diabetes.

To stop a nosebleed, bathe your nose in vinegar.

Give your colicky child mild ginger tea.  It's great for digestion & gas problems.

If you feel depressed, eat a lot of oregano on your pizza.   Better yet, forget the pizza and just have the oregano.  It is known to ease that down, depressed feeling.

To cure insomnia, Mark Twain used to say, "Just lie near the edge of the bed and you'll drop right off!"

An ointment made from white lilies and hogs' grease will help heal burns.

If you have bad breath after eating garlic, chew on a sprig of parsley.

For apparent death from drunkenness, raise the head, loosen the clothes, maintain warmth of surface, and give a mustard emette as soon as the person can swallow.

If your husband tipples, add a very little bit of butter almonds to all your dishes.  Bitter almonds are said to prevent drunkenness.

Before Viagra, many foods were thought to do the same job.   Cloves, red rose petals, and common garden basil were all considered helpful.   Basil was particularly popular as it was also supposed to be a mail contraceptive.

For a cough, make a syrup by steeping a stick of licorice in very hot water.  Wait until it's just cool enough to drink.

For a bad head cold, take a red onion, bruise it well and boil it.  Add a little clarified honey and a big spoon of mustard, and when well boiled, breathe the fumes twice a day.

Winter cherries are said to prevent kidney stones by provoking urination.  This is probably why a tea of wild cherries used to be thought of as a cure for "Cupid's Measles."

Edgar Cayce used to swear that eating 3 almonds a day would prevent any kind of cancer.

To promote urine, beat saffron into a powder, mix it up with black soap and spread it on a piece of leather.  Lay it on the navel of the patient and in one hour's time the effect will appear.

If you need to stay awake and don't want caffeine, mix a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper in a quart of juice - any kind with no sugar or preservation added.  As soon as you feel sleepy, take a slug.

Pinto's doing a number on your stomach?  Prevent gas by doing this.  Soak your beans overnight; throw away the water next day.  Bring to boil with new water and an onion, throw away the boiling water and the onion, and add more fresh water and your beans and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Old-timers swear by garlic oil for earache.  Just puncture 1 garlic oil capsule and let the contents ooze into the ear.  Gently plug your ear with a puff of cotton.  The earache may ease considerably within half an hour or so.

To purge the digestive system, make a syrup of crushed rhubarb, sugar and water.  A strong man requires two ounces to cleanse the system; others need only one ounce.

Bruised mint steeped in distilled water is a sure cure for hiccups.

For fever, bathe the body with the juice of marigold leaves mixed with vinegar.

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Rules for Bathing in the early 1800's

 

l. Bathe one hour before breakfast, or what is much better, one hour before dinner.

2. The stomach should always be empty when we bathe.

3. Never take the cold bath when the temperature of the body is below the natural standard.

4. To prepare the tepid bath, which is the best in a warm climate, the rule should be this: Bring the water to that temperature which feels neither hot nor cold to the arm, or some part of the body usually covered, and after entering the bath raise its heat to that point which imparts the most agreeable feeling.

5. We should take exercise before and after the warm bath; the importance of this is every day evinced where bathing is practised.

6. After leaving the water, the body should be briskly wiped with a coarse towel, and immediately covered with sufficient clothing to excite or preserve the healthy temperature.

7. We should never remain long in the water; from ten to fifteen minutes is sufficient.

8. Every second or third day is often enough to take the bath.

It’s bad luck to sweep out trash or carry out ashes after sunset.

If you spill a jar of face powder, a bad quarrel with a friend will ensue

If you desire to become a good seamstress, allow a lizard to run across your hand.

A young woman seeking a husband should stick seven needles into a lighted candle while praying to the Virgin Mary, until the wick is consumed. By doing this she can obtain the love of the man of her dreams, while rendering him impotent with other women.

Never invite thirteen guests to dinner, or one of them will suffer very bad luck.

If a hen is set in the light of the moon, the eggs will hatch roosters who will refuse to leave the henhouse.

Should a man and woman pour tea together, they will have a baby within the year.

Check your cup of coffee in the morning. If the bubbles on the surface float in your direction, you will soon come into some money you didn’t expect.

Always plant peppers when you’re good and mad at your wife, and give your gourd seeds a good cussing or they will never come up.

It’s bad luck to sweep out trash or carry out ashes after sunset.

If you spill a jar of face powder, a bad quarrel with a friend will ensue

If you desire to become a good seamstress, allow a lizard to run across your hand.

A young woman seeking a husband should stick seven needles into a lighted candle while praying to the Virgin Mary, until the wick is consumed. By doing this she can obtain the love of the man of her dreams, while rendering him impotent with other women.

Never invite thirteen guests to dinner, or one of them will suffer very bad luck.

If a hen is set in the light of the moon, the eggs will hatch roosters who will refuse to leave the henhouse.

Should a man and woman pour tea together, they will have a baby within the year.

Check your cup of coffee in the morning. If the bubbles on the surface float in your direction, you will soon come into some money you didn’t expect.

Always plant peppers when you’re good and mad at your wife, and give your gourd seeds a good cussing or they will never come up.

If you’re getting out of a chair and it tips over, you will NOT be getting married during the coming year.

Don’t plant onions next to potatoes - the onions will put their eyes out.

If you thank a friend for gift seeds, they will never grow right.

While your fruit trees are in bloom and it thunders, the orchard yield won’t amount to a hill of beans.

If you are getting out of a chair and it tips over, you will NOT be getting married during the coming year.

Don’t plant onions next to potatoes - the onions will put their eyes out.

If you thank a friend for gift seeds, they will never grow right.

While your fruit trees are in bloom and it thunders, the orchard yield won’t amount to a hill of beans.