When kids get a COLD....

Photo Credits to David Castillo Dominici

First of all, we have to understand that kids do get colds, which is especially common in Fall time and Winter. It affects the nose, throat and the sinuses. It's not a new disease that every time our kids get a cold we have to rush them to the hospital right away because they got... a cold. Actually, it's normal to have a cold. In fact, experts say that kids can get as many as 8 to 10 colds a year. When kids get a cold they get immune to that germ that caused them to be sick. That means their immune system strengthens as they get older by bits and pieces of getting cold once in a while.

Doctors will tell us that when we get a cold, we just have to let it run its course. No cold medicines, no antibiotics, nothing can treat it. We just have to deal with the symptoms that goes with it. If we can't treat them how can we prevent them. Proper Hygiene!!

 see Handwashing 101

As a mom I always get stressed every time my kid has a cold. Any parent will agree to me that cold can be so much difficult for both the child and the parents. It can be hell! I was often advised not to give cold medicines since it doesn't really help and it's a real pain making our child take it, anyone agrees on that?

So, I have to find natural ways on how to help my child get through this.. keep reading...

1. For younger children with a congested nose, bring them inside the bathroom with you. You can put a chair somewhere in the bathroom so you can sit there with your child  then turn the hot shower and just let it flow. I did this when my son was a baby and it worked. The steam coming out from the hot shower helped him breathe.

2. Don't underestimate the power of Vicks. This has been my powerful tool ever since BUT studies say that this is not safe for kids under two.  For older kids, I find it very helpful. Aside from the soothing effect that it brings, it also creates a bonding moment between you and your child.

3.Chicken Soup - my son always ask me to cook this for him every time he gets sick. He said it makes him feel better.

4. My magic surprise, the Lemonade - my son doesn't like lemonade at all. But I certainly believe that the Vitamin C coming from the Lemonade can make him feel better. So I made my own Lemonade recipe.

What you need: 

                Lemons
                Oranges
                Orange Slices
                Water
                Honey to taste

How to make it: 

Extract the juice from the lemons and the oranges, put some water, add some honey to taste, then just put the orange slices to make it more attractive to the eyes. Voila, that's the magic surprise. He loved it though!

5. On cold weather, the heating makes the air dry. When the air is dry, it's harder to sleep with cough and cold. To help them sleep, one word... Humidifier. A Humidifier is an appliance that humidifies (moistens) the air in the entire house or even just in your room. Just make sure that you don't forget to change the water in the humidifier.

6. Snacks anyone? Slices of apple with honey on the side is always a hit. Vitamin C from apples and the therapeutic effect of honey have always been a good combination.

The following are websites that offer advises on how to take care of our kids whenever they get sick

Caring for kids

Kids Health

Stay healthy!

Handwashing 101 for kids

Photo credits by wendy007

We have to teach our kids to practice proper hygiene at an early age especially at this point that different types of viruses are popping out. As a parent, part of our responsibility is to stress the importance of a good hand washing ...

I got this song from this website, I find it so cute! Sing this in the tune of Row, Row, Row your boat

Wash, wash, wash your hands,
Get them very clean,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Germs are very mean.

Wash, wash, wash your hands,
We should sing this twice,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Being clean is nice!

If there's no water available, use a hand sanitizer. I always have this in my purse. You never know when you need it! 

Happy Feet

Photo credits to Simon Howden

Ever since I was young I have an extreme fascination of keeping my feet smooth and clean. Because for me, no matter how you claim to be the neatest person on earth, if you have a dirty, cracked feet, I'm sorry but you got to work harder. It's not attractive at all! I've seen people wear those open heel sexy stilettos with ankle straps but 'lo and behold' if you look closer you'll see black cracks  a.k.a callouses, starting in there like a dirty lake. Keeping our feet smooth is a must to both men and women.

When the weather changes, I always notice that my heels start to get drier. Let's face it, water and soap alone are not really enough to keep our heels soft and smooth enough to show them off. Most of the time, dry heels  look dirty even if you just stepped off the shower.

My mom used to tell me to put petroleum jelly then cover the feet with socks overnight to take off the dry skin. Believe it or not, it didn't work for me. That's why I got to find something else.

I used to be a fan of the foot rasp until I've learned about Ped- egg from those Infomercials on TV. It just happened that Ped egg is available in Walmart near my place that's why I got to chance to actually try it. I did try it and it worked! The design is so simple. I find it very ergonomic and it's very gentle to my very sensitive skin.

Ped egg

I usually buy those softening creams, foot scrubs, foot lotions to finish off my foot regime. These are few of the products that I really believe in.. for me, they work so well and they smell great too.

Barefoot foot lotion by Freema

Yves rocher Foot Repair Balm

Yves rocher Polishing Foot Scrub

Then finish it off with a nicely colored toenails and you're off to go... very Zen like!

 Keep a Happy Feet, all for the love of hygiene!

Eczema alert

It's fall time once again! aside from the messy dry leaves that I have to clean up in my backyard, what's dreading me the most at this time of the year is the cold weather. Cold weather means you have to put up your heating. Cold weather plus the dry air coming from the heat pump makes my skin go crazy. I have a very sensitive skin.It cracks when the cold weather sets in. It breaks out on simple irritations. And I didn't just mean zits, but all those scaly red itchy stuff that grows bigger when you scratch it.

For somebody who has a skin like me, life can be so miserable in times like this. There are a lot of things  that you have to follow so your skin won't feel helpless. Nobody wants to talk or even look to somebody with a flaky skin.  

"Beware of the flakes.. not the snow flakes.. but the flakes of the skin you're in!"

1. Drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated

2. Use corticosteroid creams to relieve the breakouts, follow your dermatologists prescriptions

3. Just stick to cottons. Avoid silk, satin and polyester fabrics for the moment since they are really not good to your skin. Cotton can be nice looking too!

4. Do love the unscented ones. This is one of the rules that I usually fail to follow. I am fascinated with those scented lotions, soaps and body wash from Bath and Body works, Victoria Secret, Crabtree and Evelyn and Lush.But my dermatologist recommended these kinds of soaps and lotions to prevent any eczema breakout, mind you they're not cheap! Just 2 keywords "water based" and "unscented" and you'll be fine. 

The following are highly recommended by my dermatologist

Spectro jel

Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser

 

Cetaphil Restoraderm body wash and moisturizer

The petroleum based vaseline cream lotion

5. Stay away from Hot water. Hot water makes your skin really dry. Dryness worsens a person's eczema.

6. Latex gloves are not our friend. For disposable glove users like me, we must switch to Nitrile or any non-latex gloves. You'll feel the difference.

7. Cotton gloves are suggested to be worn on regular housework. When my dermatologist told me this, I was like "Whuuutttt?" But he was serious though...

These are suggestions that I try to religiously follow as much as possible (I try!) because if I don't I have to deal with the scratchy, painful, itchy, cracking and excessive dry skin for the next 4 months.

Manual or Electric? Which one is better?

And I meant toothbrushes by the way...

Let's admit it.. it can be so overwhelming when you go shopping for toothbrushes. Aside from the variety of choices available in the market, the different ads that you hear every single day can really affect your decision on buying.

But how do we really choose?

First off, we have to think, why do we brush our teeth? I know a lot of people will raise their eyebrows once they read this. Regular answer will be “to prevent cavities”, which is true. But to be honest, brushing your teeth is more than just cleaning your teeth and protecting it from cavities. It’s more than having a fresh breath. I see it as a way to a good health.

When we eat, we have to understand that food particles can go in between our teeth and some could stay in the gum area. If it stays in the gum area then mix that with our saliva, it can develop into a hard substance called tartar. That’s why when you feel the back of your teeth with your tongue and it feels rough, then it’s probably that time of the year that you have to take an appointment. Try it..
So when there’s a tartar buildup, it will irritate the gums and develop into a periodontal disease.

Perio what?????

" Periodontal disease (also known as "gum disease" or "Pyorrhea") is an ongoing bacterial infection in the gums and bone which support your teeth. If not treated, this ongoing infection can cause you to lose your teeth. Periodontal infection is responsible for 75% of adult tooth loss. "

But …. How do we prevent periodontal infection? By brushing correctly…

On manual toothbrushes..

Dentists usually advise us to brush our teeth in a 45° angle tilting the brush against the gum line then rolling it away from the gum line. This has been the most useful technique for a long time now. So it’s actually an act of sweeping the dirt away from the gums, as well as of course, away from your teeth. This is true for manual toothbrushes. Just make sure that the head of the brush is small enough to fit inside your mouth. The bristles must be soft too or else it will be too harsh to your gums. You don’t want that.

So if this has been the most useful technique and most dentists and hygienists usually say this at the end of each Oral Hygiene appointment, how come most patients still come back with a periodontal infection? Health problems? Maybe.. Smoking? probably... There are a lot of factors but we shouldn’t deny the fact that maybe because NOT a lot of people has dexterity. Some can brush their teeth wonderfully, but some cannot. They just can’t!

So that’s where the ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES come in. That’s where you see its functionality. But then again, with all the electric toothbrushes available in the market, how do we know which one suits our needs? |It’s really confusing..

In my case, manual brushing doesn’t do anything for me. I feel that it doesn’t clean my teeth at all. That’s why I switched to Electric. Electric toothbrushes are designed to help the people to lessen the fact that they have to tilt the brush at 45° when brushing. Because as I’ve said not all people can do that. All you need to do is basically just move the brush from left to right and the vibration will do all the cleaning. But then again, not all electric toothbrushes work the same. Some will just spin and spin, and will not do anything at all.

As far as I know, I already used most of the electric toothbrushes in the market. Right now, I’m using Philips Sonicare. When I bought it, I fell in love with the design and the sterilizer that came with the kit. It’s far more expensive than the usual electric toothbrushes, but what made me stick to it was that I feel that my teeth are thoroughly cleaned. I just have to position the brush against my teeth and it will do all the work for me.

Bottomline is if you can promise with all your heart that you can brush your teeth correctly go with the manual brushing. If you can’t then use Electric toothbrush. Do not think of it as another expensive purchase, thus it’s an investment to your health.

Just do not forget to brush your teeth for 2 minutes! Happy brushing!