Cool Down with Hot Summer First-Aid: 5 Tips for Cold TherapyWritten by Louise Roach
When temperature tops 90 and soles of your shoes sizzle on sidewalk, cold therapy is a necessity for summer first-aid. Whether it is ice from your freezer, a bag of frozen vegetables or a convenient commercial cold pack, ice therapy has many more uses than treating bumps and bruises. Here are five summer first-aid tips for cold therapy: Chill heat-related illnesses. During hot summer months, heat exhaustion and heat stroke can be a problem. Symptoms of exhaustion can include dizziness, weakness, a feeling of nausea, excessive sweating and a shallow, quick pulse. With more serious heat stroke, skin is hot and dry, and mental confusion can occur along with a loss of consciousness. Cold packs can be used to keep body cool in excessive temperatures, helping to prevent heat exhaustion. Many athletes cool down after a summer event with an icy cold pack on back of their necks. If symptoms are present, ice packs along with hydration can be used to lower body temperature to a safe level. Always seek medical attention in case of heat stroke as this condition can be sudden and deadly. Ice bug bites. Let’s face it, insect bites are a nuisance, causing swelling, itching and sometimes pain. Icing a bite immediately will keep bug poison from spreading to other parts of body, reduce swelling and inflammation, and numb area, lessening need to itch. Use ice therapy on mosquito, bee, spider, fire ant and centipede bites. If an allergic reaction happens or it is a serious bite, such as from poisonous Brown Recluse Spider, immediately seek medical help. Keep pets cool. Even pets can suffer in summer heat. Keeping them cool can be tricky. An ice pack wrapped in a towel or beneath a thin blanket might do trick if they decide to snooze on top of it. Ice cubes are a cool treat that some animals enjoy. There are also commercial products made specifically for horses to ice their legs down after a ride. Special caution should be taken to never use a product containing toxins or one that might easily break, endangering a pet if they decide it would be more fun to play with ice pack than lay on it.
| | Stress & Burnout: The Adrenal Factor / TidbitsWritten by Jeremiah P. Huck
Stress & Burnout: The Adrenal Factor / Tidbits Psycho-somatics June 10, 2004 I was a psychotherapist for years before I got involved in holistic movements....before I became a shaman. I had a strong interest in psychosomatic problems. The popular approach at that time, which is still common, was that many body problems, pains, etc., were all in head. That there was no actual medical basis for many human problems. I also accepted that as a fact, and saw many clients ....trying to resolve their mental / emotional issues so they would no longer have these false medical complaints, or painful symptoms. [ Many were helped to live better lives with therapy....but that is not point of this article. ] To make a very long story much shorter, let me just say that a range of personal experiences followed by years of personal research led me to become an expert in psycho-physiology. Where psycho-somatics assumed that ' it is all in your head ', psycho-physiology assumes that there is something actually going on in body causing symptoms. Then my research / experience took me one step further. I began to realize that many problems were actually comming from environment, effecting both mind and body! This issue is very complex....I could write books about it......but these tidbits will stay focused on some common [ adrenal ] issues....................So if you are suffering with a whole range of symptoms...I can clearly state that [ it's not all in your head ]. First of all, we are not a closed system....yes there is a skin around us but we are really an energy system, and energy around us does get inside us. Some of this environmental energy helps us, and some hurts us....the environment is a mixed bag, a melting pot of many things. The adrenal glands.....try to handle all stress......it doesn't matter if that stress is caused by our own internal process or environmental factors. Among other things, adrenals work on [ fight or flight approach ]. That means when they are dealing with a stressor, they will try to get you to resolve cause of it by fighting with you inside or fighting with something in environment. Let's say that your fighting with your boss at work...not knowing quite why....the adrenals know why.....they are causing fight so you will address with your boss real issues causing stress. If that doesn't resolve things..the adrenals kick in [ flight ] approach...telling you to [get away from here before you get too damaged]. The adrenals are trying to protect you [ that is their job ] by getting you to quit and find another job.
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