The Power of Touch

How would you like to lower your husband’s or wife’s blood pressure? Or protect your grade-school children from being involved in an immoral relationship later in life? Would you like to add up to two years to your own life? (Almost sounds like an insurance commercial, doesn’t it?)

Blessings,
Gary (& Norma) Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

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What’s the Rule of Thumb?

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Rest Ministries

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This is a fun site to visit, Rules of Thumb, if you have a few minutes and want to be entertained as well as informed. They have nearly 60 “rules of thumbs” in the health section. All of these are short, and I wouldn’t bet my life on them but they are interesting.

For example if you want to determine the effectiveness of a calcium tablet (of a particular brand), the rule of thumb is stated as. “To see how long a calcium tablet will take to break up in your stomach, place a tablet in a few ounces of room-temperature vinegar and stir vigorously every five minutes or so. The tablet should disintegrate completely in 30 minutes or less. If a tablet remains mostly intact after a half-hour, chances are it won’t be of any value to you.” The source given is Consumer Reports, USA

Another interesting rule? As a rule, men will have figured out approximately what an item will cost and will have the needed amount or more waiting on the cashier. Ladies on the other hand, will wait until they are told what the needed amount is and then open their purse or clutch and dig out the money.

You can also look up topics like “durability.” For example, the rule of thumb about wearing shoes is that if you switch back and forth between three pairs of shoes, they will last as long as five pairs worn out one pair at a time.

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Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, brand name RIMSO-50) was the first and remains the only FDA-approved bladder instillation specifically for interstitial cystitis (IC).  Approved in 1978, its exact mechanism of action is still not fully known, though it is thought to have several effects positive effects:

• Reducing bladder irritation and pain (anti-inflammatory)
• Helping to relax the bladder and pelvic muscles (antispasmodic)
• Relieving pain by depleting the level of substance P levels from bladder nerves
• Increasing bladder capacity by breaking down scar tissue by preventing the formation of collagen, a protein the body uses to create scar tissue

Because of its ability to penetrate the bladder lining, some healthcare providers add DMSO to “bladder cocktails” to aid the absorption of other bladder-instilled medicines, such as heparin, steroids, bicarbonate, and analgesics (pain medicines).

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Many IC patients dread or avoid routine pelvic exams and Papanicolaou (Pap) smears because the examination can be painful and precipitate flares. But cervical cancer, which the Pap smear detects in its precancerous state, is a serious disease. It’s the leading cause of cancer death in women in developing (Third World) countries. It used to be one of the leaders in the United States, too, but thanks to Pap smear testing, there has been a 70 percent decline in deaths over the last five decades. Pap smear testing has sent it down to 11th on the US list of women’s cancer killers.

How Often Do I Need A Pap Test?

Although Pap tests are important, they may not have to be done as often as you think. Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American Cancer Society (ACS) recommend that women have an annual pelvic exam — but note that not all women need an annual Pap test.

American Cancer Society guidelines:

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2009 Sunscreen Guide

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Rest Ministries

For most of us with illness, if our illness doesn’t make it necessary for us to stay out of the sun, our medications do! Here is a link to the 2009 Suncreen Guide .

They state, “Surprisingly, 3 of 5 brand-name sunscreens either don’t protect skin from sun damage or contain hazardous chemicals — or both. An Environmental Working Group investigation of 1,614 sunscreens rates the season’s best — and worst.”

It’s been 4 weeks ago that I went to the fair – wearing sunscreen – and my forehead is just about done peeling. I think it peeled about 3 layers and had moments of being bright red. (Not nearly as cute at 40 as it was at 16).

Here is a listing of Sun-Sensitive Drugs.  Enjoy the hot summer months left, but be careful!

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Effective communication is a complex business. If you go into it expecting things to flow easily and without a lot of effort, you’re just kidding yourself. I recommend that you adjust your expectations from “simple” to “complex,” especially in three key areas:

1. Expect problems and misunderstandings. Even the best communicators sometimes fail to understand others, or they fall short of making themselves understood. We’re all human. We don’t always follow through on what we know to be best. We don’t always use the proven techniques that we know work. Often we don’t even know for sure why we act or feel a certain way. Effective communicators expect problems and misunderstandings.

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Gary (& Norma) Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

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 Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc.
c/o Jennifer C. Jaff
18 Timberline Drive
Farmington, CT 06032

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Ever wonder if you are missing something in life? Our pace in life seems so fast. It can force us to get frustrated over things like our email is going too slow or the cell phone’s reception isn’t good enough. We have access to so much but we don’t seem content. I think you need to laugh more. Smiles and laughter begin in the heart.

Blessings,
Gary (& Norma) Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

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I Don’t Feel Lucky That My Illness is Invisible, But Am I?

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Rest Ministries

Oftentimes we only see the negative side of living with an illness that invisible to most people. But as time progresses, so does my own illness, rheumatoid arthritis. I can now see that there are advantages to having an illness that can be hidden or revealed, based on one’s own desires or certain circumstances.

I rarely see the changes in my own body, such as my hands or feet deformities, unless I see a reflection in the mirror, for example when I am trying to clothes in a dressing room at a store.

I’ve heard children ask their mom, “What is wrong with her feet?” as they’ve looked under the divider from a nearby dressing room. I can’t help but wonder how people don’t realize I have some sort of illness when they see my hands and fingers.

In the documentary about Farrah Fawcett’s journey with cancer, her son made a comment like, “I know she will be okay. She just looks so good.”

Those of us with invisible illnesses were likely yelling at the television because we too have heard, “But you don’t look sick.” But it was true. There were days when she did look like the blond bombshell we all remember from the posters. But there were many other days when she looked like someone fighting for her life.

There is no doubt it can be frustrating to look healthy when you are feeling like you have the flu times ten. And yet, if we were to really be honest, do we want to look as bad as we actually feel?

There truly are some benefits to having a disease that isn’t immediately noticed by everyone you come into contact with. Lets take a second look at a few of those perks.

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Workers with chronic illnesses face chronic uncertainty, forced to worry not only about their health but about their jobs as well. The protections afforded chronically ill workers in the United States are thin and somewhat vague. To protect their health and their jobs, workers must navigate employers’ policies, which may include short- and long-term disability plans, as well as a patchwork of federal laws and regulations.

A recent study by the Center for Economics and Policy Research, a Washington research organization, found that among 22 rich nations, the United States was the only one that did not guarantee workers paid time off for illness.

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