A Tale...true

Across the road from my house when I was a pre-teen, there was a deep woodland where the neighborhood kids played, mostly war games. It was the 40's. We were nurses, soldiers, civilians, had stick guns, and really got into role playing. There were trails all through those woods and small hidey-holes and bush barricades. One year the gang decided to all pitch in together and dig an underground hut. We "borrowed" shovels and other tools, unknown to parents, and dug out our space in the ground. This activity was a big secret. Pieces of wood, nails, hammers also were part of the project. Finally it was large enough with a scooped-out entrance to be a fun place to be in for short times. There were comic books, benches, flashlights and candles too. We had smuggled in Tootsie Rolls, bubble gum, lollipops, and crackers. The flat roof was made of wood planks covered with branches and leaves to make the entire project invisible. At least we thought it was. It's a wonder we didn't set the woods on fire!

One day, when playing around the area, I stepped on a leftover board directly onto an old embedded rusty nail that went right into my left foot joint that was under the big toe. Yeow! I stepped on the board with the other foot and pulled my sneakered, punctured foot loose. It took some work. I was by myself and later returned home never saying anything to anyone about my injury. It didn't even bleed. About 3 or four days later when my foot was screaming with pain and was hot, even around my ankle, I told my mother about it. She had me soak it in epson salts and gave me sulfa tablets. The next thing I remember was being taken to the hospital and having to have surgery. They said they had to scrape the bone. Apparently not only did I have blood poisoning, I had terrible reaction to sulfa. It was something to do with bone marrow malfunction. My dad had to solicit his lodge members for blood donors and there were many transfusions. The numerous penicillin shots, given regularly in one side of my bottom and then in the other for days, yes - DAYS seemed to get me on a recovery road.

Now there is nothing more trouble in the passageways of a Catholic hospital than an energetic 10 year old, recovering in a wheelchair, running down everyone in the halls, including nuns. They were very glad when I was discharged, so I was later told.

The end of the story here is that I had to stay in the sunroom on the studio couch all day that summer watching my friends rollerskating, bike riding, game playing right outside the windows. The Good Humor man came regularly and my only treat was ice cream once in a while. I read books, Oh, did I read! My mother had many of her and her mother's books saved. Pollyanna and Nancy Drew series bored me. I then turned to the very old volumes of Grimm's Fairytales, Hans Christian Andersen, Aesop's Fables, and poetry. The old, old books were smelly, pages cracked, and very scary reading with horrible etchings but I soaked it up and felt special to have read them! These books stimulated my imagination beyond belief! Today's versions rate zero - nothing at all like those of that time.

I really think this experience demonstrated to me that "telling it like it is" is the best road to travel.

Blah

Been sick for two weeks with allergic reaction to runny nose prescription from doctor.  Never again will I complain about my dripping face faucet. I've had rhinitis for many years and mentioned it at last visit. Four days in, I couldn't breathe. Well, I'm still weak and lacking energy and have no stamina but starting to improve (with more medicines, of course!).

I intend to roast a small turkey in four days!  And....we've had our first snow! Last night and this morning it snowed and continues normally for the season. The 7.0" is ours. This morning it is 30° with a light breeze.

 James is miserable and needs his winter attire!

Click on image to view larger

Ouch!

Be careful, be VERY careful if you ever have any *kinesiology taping done. I have been having severe spasms in my left ribcage area. Not knowing why, I consented to have the area taped by my chiropractor. I have visited him twice since my sacroiliac is out of place again (this is an ongoing issue through many years). After the last visit I actually wondered if I had a cracked or even broken rib it was so painful. I have had broken ribs in my past years due to falling off of horses so I know how it feels. 

I also think the muscle spasms could have been caused my my extreme sneezing spells lately. I have them often and they are sudden and violent and long lasting. 

Anyway, my chiropractor determined that the muscle in that specific area was swollen and heated and explained that the taping would help ease the pain. OK. I asked if it contained latex because I have VERY sensitive skin and often react to things touching my skin.

I left with a 3 inch wide piece of tape adhered all along the area front to mid back. It stayed on for eight hours before removal because I felt tingling and itching getting strong. 

Well, what do you think? I had a horrendous red rash that itched and burned and tested me to the limit of endurance. It was awful. I took a picture to show doctor at my next appointment, but I won't show you here.

I have been treating the area now for 3 days with gentle cleansing and application of good old fashioned *Resinol ointment. It is healing nicely, though slowly. 

Learned my lesson. Added that product to my allergy list! I should have known better. And....there are warnings "out there."

My use of Resinol is a family tradition. My grandmother, mother and I have all used it for multiple kinds of irritations. It works! I swear by it.

* Kinesiology Taping Inf.

For My Friends With Little and Medium Sized Dogs

Our 13 year old, 15 pound Rat Terrier's behavior during the last two days had us very upset. This dear pet has been overprotected, I'll admit. We love him. We know him. We immediately know when his demeanor changes. First, I should tell you that he doesn't ever run loose without his master keeping a keen eye on him every minute in all kinds of weather. We know his body and his bowel habits completely. He's a good boy and always dependable. He has never even been allowed to associate with other dogs for fear of him "catching something" or having the transmission of diseases at all possible. Yes, we know he should have been socialized as a puppy. We were in err there. He has extreme sensitivity to foods and treats. His diet is and has been the same ever since he, at 4 months of age, joined us. No other dog food has he been fed but one brand. The variety has changed as he has aged. The normal feeding time is always first thing in the morning and then again at 5:30 pm. One can lasts 4 days. We know this because when a can is opened, it is shaken out onto a paper plate, and divided into four sections. Each section is then put into a plastic container and cut in half. Every four days a new can is opened. He gets one half section in the morning and the other half section at suppertime, along with enough hard kibbles to cover the bottom of a small cup. A treat is a few dry Cheerios in the morning and a plain vanilla cookie without icing, broken into several pieces at lunchtime, along with a very small piece of ham lunchmeat. If he eats anything else he will, almost immediately, throw up. He's a "barfer!"

He has a complete veterinarian exam once a year. All shots are current - always. He is given a Heartgard wormer on the first of every month. We cut it up into many small pieces because he will swallow it whole and then throw it up. He loves his worm medicine! He has been treated with flea medicine only when we see a flea. Because he is mostly white, if he has even one flea we will see it. All medicine is purchased at the veterinarian establishment. Because he gets high anxiety, panting, drooling and running around trying to hide when it thunders or there are firework noises in the surroundings, he is given medicine prescribed by the veterinarian. Now to get down to the reason for this story.

On July 31 at noon, we saw a flea. Horrors! I had on hand the new package of Advantix II and administered the product exactly as directed, both directions being printed on the outside of the box and on the inside flier. We thought it was "funny" that we were to put it on his back from shoulders to tail as we had never applied flea medicine like that before. We had always applied it only across the top of the shoulder. We followed the directions. He wasn't even given his monthly wormer medicine because we didn't want so much stuff in his body at the same time.

That evening, he was acting "off" and his little tail was tucked tight. We thought he was in pain or something but hadn't yet connected his behavior to the medicine. All he wanted to do was to curl up on his pillow on the couch and sleep. When he did jump down, he rolled like his back itched. That evening he didn't want to go out to do his business. He didn't do it after being coaxed several times to do so. We thought maybe he was constipated or even beginning to be impacted. This behavior has never happened before.

Yesterday, he continued eating well, but was still tucking tail tightly and sleeping and rolling once in a while. He didn't have a bowel movement at all and at 4 pm we called the vet. The vet was suggesting that perhaps a suppository, not a Fleet, could help him go. Then, when we didn't have any other on hand a teaspoonful of mineral oil was suggested. We didn't have that, either. Well we gave him olive oil with his supper, but he only had two very little marbles when he finally went. I mean size, of course, not real marbles!

After passing the night, hoping he'd be better in the morning, I woke up with enlightenment. My idea was that the flea medicine caused his distress, so I researched it as best as I could on the internet. I've posted a bit of my findings here. I then called the manufacturer of the medicine and was on the line with the consumer assistant for a very long time. Between us, we have come to the conclusion that it was an allergic reaction to the application of the medicine and she really tried to help. It's called "paraesthesia" and has numbed his lower back and tail areas. I will notify our veterinarian tomorrow. Right now he is becoming perky again and has had one good "go" but his tail is still tucked. My husband gave him a bath this AM, thinking he could wash out the stuff, but we now realize that we should have used detergent instead of shampoo. Hopefully he'll recover completely. We want that little stubby tail UP!

Please look carefully at my graphics. WE will go back to using just flea medicine and not the flea/tick combination. We and the consumer assistant now all believe the pymethrin is the culprit.

If we can obtain a receipt from the vet for our purchase, which was last year, we can send it in, along with the box and remaining poison and they will send us a cash refund. If we can't get a printed receipt, we can send the box back with the case reference number and her name to have a trade for a new package of Advantage as we had used in the past. This is a rare and unusual case, but we just want him well and hope he'll be completely recovered soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Side Effects of K9 Advantix II-

K9 Advantix II is a highly effective product protecting your dog from pests, however many potential users have fears of the side effects from using an insecticide on their beloved pets. But what sort of harms can come from the use of K9 Advantix II?  Unfortunately the known risks come with a debate. Fears can range from mild skin irritations to more severe health issues.

Some users have noticed their pet react to burning, tingling, itching or numbness to their skin shortly after treatment. These effects should clear up on their own in a few days. Washing your dog with a non detergent shampoo may help soothe irritated skin and keep the formula from washing off.

Ingredients

Active Ingredients	% By Weight
Imidacloprid	8.80%
Permethrin	44.00%
Pyriproxyfen	0.44%
Other Ingredients	46.76%
Total	100.0%

Waterproof Formula

K9 Advantix II is waterproof, so there's no need to reapply after your dog has a bath or goes for a swim. Studies show that dogs are still protected against parasites after exposure to water, though for best results, dogs treated with K9 Advantix II should be bathed with a non-detergent shampoo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please look at graphics full size by clicking on them.

The graphic below is of the notes I took when on the telephone with the consumer helper.