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Summer Is Coming -- Here Are Some Tips On How To Handle Heat Stroke

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With the hot summer months approaching we thought this article about heat stroke might come in handy. Heat Stroke: Symptoms and Treatment Heat stroke is the most serious form of heat injury and is a medical emergency. If you suspect that someone has heat stroke — also known as sunstroke — you should call 911 immediately and render first aid until paramedics arrive. Heat stroke can kill or cause damage to the brain and other internal organs. Although heat stroke mainly affects people over age 50, it also takes a toll on healthy young athletes. Heat stroke often occurs as a progression from milder heat-related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat syncope (fainting), and heat exhaustion. But it can strike even if you have no previous signs of heat injury. Heat stroke results from prolonged exposure to high temperatures — usually in combination with dehydration — which leads to failure of the body’s temperature control system. The medical definition of heat stroke is a cor...

The Selfie

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Did you know the first photographic self-portrait was taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839?  Today the Oxford Dictionaries announced their word of the year for 2013 to be “selfie”, which they define as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” Although the rampant proliferation of the technique is quite recent, the “selfie” itself is far from being a strictly modern phenomenon. Indeed, the photographic self-portrait is surprisingly common in the very early days of photography exploration and invention, when it was often more convenient for the experimenting photographer to act as model as well. In fact, the picture considered by many to be the first photographic portrait ever taken was a “selfie”. The image in question was taken in 1839 by an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia named Robert Cornelius. Cornelius had set his camera up at the back of the family stor...

Coffee Break

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  Sure, coffee and tea help us stay awake, but they may also help us stay alive.  Among nearly 2,500 people over age 40, coffee and tea drinkers died at lower rates over 10 years than those who abstained, a study shows.  Each daily cup of joe -- regular or decaf -- cut coffee lovers' risk of death by 7%.  Each cup of tea slashed the risk by 9%. Source:  Nutrition

Getting Older and Forgetting Who You Don't Like!

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My mom is moving. To a senior apartment in a fabulous place. It has a movie theater, a fine dining restaurant, a cocktail hour bar. She’s moving from a 2300 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 full bath townhome. She’s downsizing but to a much nicer place with lots of social activity and more.Although we’ve never, really, gotten along for all my or her life, she thinks (or needs to believe) we are best friends now. She’s constantly telling me “I don’t know what I would do without you.” And, because we’ve never (and still don’t) get along all that well, I tend to think she’s only saying that because there is no one else in the family who can, or will, help her. I have a sister who doesn’t and hasn’t done anything to help her in years. The only other person who helps her is my son who, conveniently, lives 7 miles away and can fix “stuff”. Thank goodness because her *stuff* isn’t the only stuff that needs help; I’m always first or second on the list of “help me, please?”Point being is I think ...

A Hospital Germ Is On The Warpath

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I'm publishing this article from the November 2014 issue of the AARP Bulletin . I've never heard of this bug before, "C.diff", and that it can only be eradicated by bleach. So, start wearing white and mix up a little bleach and water and carry it with you. I think Clorox has wipes with bleach in the wipes - this way you can wear whatever color you want! Hate those bleach dot stains.......... Grace Voros was 85 and enjoying life, watching her family grow and taking romantic walks with the man she fell in love with 61 years ago, when she took a minor fall. She went to the hospital for an x-ray, where tests confirmed she had no broken bones. But while there, she contracted an infection no one in the family had ever heard about, “C. diff,” and died. C. diff, short for Clostridium difficile, is raging through hospitals, infecting hundreds of thousands of patients a year. The bacteria contaminate every surface, including bed rails, bed tables, nurses’ uniforms, ...

Turning The Big 60

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Wow! It just didn't feel like anything. What's up with that? I mean, it really didn't "feel" like anything at all. I'm beginning to believe 60 is, indeed, the new 40! Here's a great link to Readers Digest where 50 Celebs were interviewed and share what they learned by Andrew Zuckerman, author of "Wisdom". Okay, any of you remember these people who are turning 60 this year of 2008? (Remember, the oldest real Boomers will be turning 64 this year!) BOOMERS WHO WILL TURN 60 IN 2008 In no particular order, Americans born in 1948 include: * John Carpenter * Joe Roth * Leslie Marmon Silko * Rhea Perlman * Ronnie Van Zant (d. 1977) * Wayne Kramer * Todd Rundgren * Alice Cooper * Raymond Kurzweil * Teller * Kate Pierson * Stevie Nicks * Dianne Wiest * James Ellroy * James Taylor * Billy Crystal * William Gibson * Errol Morris * Richard Simmons * Elizabeth Blackburn * Jerry Mathers * Phylicia Rashad * John Ritter (...

Memory Loss, Forgetfulness and Aging After 50

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This article is copied with permission from Pam Sissons. You can read more of her writings at the links below. Does memory loss and forgetfulness have to be part of your life after turning fifty? Noticing changes in your memory function as you age is completely normal! Approaching midlife often brings challenges of many kinds – including normal memory loss or forgetfulness. If and when those incidents of memory loss seem to be happening more frequently, they can be frightening.“Where the heck did I put the car keys?” “What was the name of that movie we just saw?” “What did I come in here for?” Changes in memory function can begin in your 40s or 50s and come slowly or gradually at first. The fact is that some memory loss, forgetfulness, or "fuzzy brain" is perfectly normal after turning fifty, and probably does not signal the onset of a debilitating memory disorder or dementia such as Alzheimer's. About Memory Function There are many types of memory that de...