Self Care Sunday’s Series; Keeping Your Lungs Healthy

I hope you all had a happy and healthy Easter Sunday last week.

Healthy Lungs

Since I am a Respiratory Therapist; I decided to write today’s article about keeping your lungs healthy. Especially due to the COVID 19 Coronavirus and the complications that can arise from this nasty respiratory virus.

As you know, breathing is a necessary function of life. What you may not be aware of are the differences between having healthy lungs and lung diseases.

A Healthy Lung vs A Diseased Lung

Your lungs provide the oxygen that your body needs for survival. Pushing oxygen through the blood stream and assisting with filtering out carbon dioxide from your body. Damage to the lungs can occur from genetics, the environment and smoking. All these things can cause damage to your lungs.

By now you should already be  aware that smoking causes lung diseases like Emphysema and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease); which cause irreversible damage to the lungs.

Keeping Your Lungs Healthy

1. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants.

2. Exercising frequently increases your lung function.

3. Improve indoor air quality with changing your furnance filter every thirty days, using an air purifier to help filter out pollutants, molds and dust.

4. If you smoke, stop smoking. Talk with your physician or call your local Quitline.

5. Get vaccinations like the flu vaccine and pneumonia vaccines to help prevent lung infections and promote lung health.

The Mechanics of Breathing

Take a deep breath and inhale, hold it for ten seconds and then exhale letting all the air out of your lungs.

Could you feel the air moving in and out of your lungs? This motion is known as The Mechanics of Breathing. As you breathe in and out the lungs exchange air flow throughout your lungs.

I’m not going to spend too much time talking about COVID 19 because it is my observation that we are inundatted with news updates every day.

Know the signs of COVID19 – Coronavirus

Watch for symptoms

People with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Repeated shaking with chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • New loss of taste or smell
CT Scan of Lungs infected with COVID 19 – Coronavirus

When to Seek Medical Attention

If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. Emergency warning signs include*:

  • Trouble breathing
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • New confusion or inability to arouse
  • Bluish lips or face

*This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

Call 911 if you have a medical emergency: Notify the operator that you have, or think you might have, COVID-19. If possible, put on a cloth face covering before medical help arrives.

My wish for you is to be happy and healthy. I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post and that you will leave a comment.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera, CRT, LRT

Self Care Sunday’s Series; My Top 10 Foot Care Product Recommendations

Self Care Sunday’s

Taking care of our feet are one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Especially if one has a history of diabetes. Most of the time I’d go get a pedicure; however with most of the United States under self quarantine orders due to the Coronavirus all spas are closed as of the date I wrote this article.

1. Dr. Scholl’s foot inserts can help relieve foot pain from plantar fasciitis, energy gels for comfort and even athletic supports for ones feet.

You can find them at most retail stores, online through Dr. Scholls website and even Amazon. Prices vary depending on the item you need.

2. Straight Edge Toe Nail Clippers

According to a Miguel Cunha, DPM, founder of Gotham Footcare. “A straight-edge toenail clipper ensures the nails are cut straight across, decreasing the chance of ingrown toenails”.

Price points I’ve found run anywhere from $4.00 up to $20.00. The one from Toolworks cost $5.00 and you can purchase it online. You can purchase one here.

3. Corns and Calluses Care

A corn is a type of callus that develops on the foot from an accumulation of dead skin cells. The hard, thickened patch of skin is usually found on the top, sides or tips of the toes, though soft corns can develop between toes. It is possible for friction to cause the corns to inflame, resulting in nerve pain when friction or pressure causes the corn to press down on the nerve below.

Okay so this isn’t a foot product but I needed a break, and I found this on my friend Denise’s Instagram.

The Health Feet Store has the PediFix Pedi – Gel Corn Pads for $14.95. This is the best website I’ve found for all ones foot care needs.

4. Foot Spa Machines

Groom and Style.com breaks down there top five foot spa machine recommendations in this article, Best Foot Spa Reviews by the different types of spa machines. Most of them contain some combination of water jets and waterfalls to create streams of bubbling water, rollers or wheels to massage the feet, vibrators to encourage blood flow, and a heating element to keep the water toasty. Not all machines will have all of those elements, so you’ll need to pick and choose the features of a foot bath machine to suit your preferences and your budget.

The Conair Foot Spa has basic features and depending on your budget, it may be the right one for you. Priced around $45.00 at Walmart.

1. Foot Cream, Lotions and Moisturizing

http://www.castlebaths.com

My all time favorite bath products are from Castle Baths. There skin care products are safe and they use real ingredients in everything they make. Cancer free and there products are amazing.

Happy Birthday

The Happy Birthday Gift Basket has wonderful creams and lotions to treat anyone on their special occasion. The basket costs $82.95 and well worth every penny.

Take care of yourself because there’s only one you.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera

Saving Money On Black Friday Deals For 2019

 

Black Friday, November 29, 2019 offers affordable deals with substantial savings both online and in stores.  The average consumer saves hundreds even thousands of dollars on this one day.

Making A List – What is the objective you are trying to accomplish on Black Friday?  Might I suggest writing your list in a way to help visualize the cost and items you’re wanting to purchase.

My Black Friday Shopping List 2019

  1. Dave – New TV for bedroom, fishing poll, Harley Davidson apparel –  Walmart $129 – 200  43” TV,  $20 – $40 Fishing Poll, HD varies $50 – $200.00
  2. Sally – New Tablet, Room Décor, Makeup, Curling Iron – Walmart $50 – 150, Varies $15 – 50 each, Varies $15 – 30

Browsing The Internet For Deals – While I was browsing the world wide web, I came across this fantastic site called; Slickdeals .  What will you find that is different from other sites?

  •     Store Coupons
  •     Video Game Deals
  •     Deal Alerts which you can setup to your liking
  •     The Top 10 Black Friday Deals -TVs are obviously a hot-ticket item each year, but there are plenty of other price breaks to be had. Laptops, smart home devices, video games and small kitchen appliances are always popular this time of year. Check back here in early November to see which deals are the best ones for 2019.Here are the top 10 discounts from 2018 (as voted on by the Slickdeals community):
    1. 65-inch TCL 4K HDR Roku Smart LED TVSale Price: $398 | Reg. Price: $598
    2. PlayStation Store’s Sony PS Plus 12-month Digital MembershipSale Price: $39.99 | Reg. Price: $59.99
    3. GameStop’s Nintendo Switch Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Bundle + $50 GameStop Gift CardSale Price: $299.99 | Reg. Price: $359.99
    4. Kohl’s’ Google Home Hub + $15 Kohl’s CashSale Price: $99 | Reg. Price: $149
    5. Target’s Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS)Sale Price: starting at $199.99 | Reg. Price: starting at $279.99
    6. Kohl’s PlayStation 4 Slim 1TB Spider-Man Bundle + $60 Kohl’s CashSale Price: $199.99 | Reg. Price: $299.99
    7. Best Buy’s Roku 4K Ultra Streaming Media PlayerSale Price: $49.99 | Reg. Price: $99.99
    8. Best Buy’s Sony 1000XM2 Premium Wireless Noise Cancelling HeadphonesSale Price: $199.99 | Reg. Price: $349.99
    9. Instant Pot LUX80 8-Qt Pressure CookerSale Price: $59 | Reg. Price: $99
    10. Best Buy’s Dell Inspiron 15.6″ Touch-Screen LaptopSale Price: $399.99 | Reg. Price: $599.99

Stop by and browse through their site.  With so much to offer you may not have to even leave your house or office.

Using Rewards Credit or Debit Cards – Using your rewards credit or debit cards adds up more points, which saves on purchases throughout the year.  Cash back credit cards are popular because they offer tangible benefits.

Not all cash back offers are the same.  Money Crashers offers valuable tips about this very topic.

“Some offer the same cash back rate on all purchases. Others offer higher cash back rates on certain spending categories, such as groceries or gas, and lower rates on everything else. Others offer bonus cash back on spending categories that rotate every quarter. A few accrue cash back on purchases and monthly payments. And some cash back cards even hew to hybrid models, with cash back on certain spending categories and different types of rewards (such as airline miles) on others”.

Reward Yourself – When all is said and done, find the time to reward yourself for accomplishing such a huge task.  Go out for cocktails, lunch, take a spa day, take a trip, hell just do whatever you want to.

Shopping is what one makes of it.  Have fun, smile and be happy.

Gain The Advantage,

Alicia Osmera