A Cold Snap

There has been a lot of sickness going around especially cold and flu or flu-like illnesses. My husband came down with a cold just after the holidays and I've been down with a horrid cold with complications for two weeks now. When I was growing up, the winters were colder and believe me our house was poorly insulated at best. There would be frost inside on the windows, huge icicles hanging from the eaves troughs and quickly getting dressed before freezing was a challenge. Our bedrooms were downright cold at night as the only heat to them was via the two radiant heat gas heaters downstairs. We had a floor vent in the middle of the hall to help get heat upstairs. While heat does rise, little of it came upstairs. The basement was unfinished with a mud floor so the first level floors were beyond cold in the winter. I can remember my Mom opening windows on a sunny but bitterly cold day, enough to get a good cross-breeze. She would leave the house like that for a couple of hours! She hang clothes on the line on those days as well even though we had a gas dryer. Her reasons were simple. The fresh air got rid of stagnant winter air and killed germs. She was old school, born in 1903, raised on a farm and lived through two World Wars as well as the Great Depression. Let me tell you, she knew a thing or two about living frugally! We bought our first home in the early 80's and compared to my Mom's house it was quite energy efficient. We are now in our sixth purchased home, seventh if you count our vacation home. This house is a far cry from our first house in that it is so energy efficient and sealed so tightly we need an air exchanger. Heating costs are considerably higher than what my Mom paid but in reality a lot of the heating she paid for went out all the cracks and crevices of the house. Although it sounds like an expensive practice to do in modern, air tight homes her method of using cold air is just as effective now as it was then. Our winters have become warmer so what you need is a cold snap where the temperature is below freezing for a few days. Wait for a sunny day during the cold snap then shut off your furnace. Go through the house and spray all touchable surfaces (eg. phone handsets, door knobs, remotes, light switches, keyboards, etc) with rubbing alcohol. This greatly reduces any germs on those surfaces making the cold air treatment more effective. Change the filter as it may harbour germs. Open at least two windows to create a cross breeze. A kitchen or bathroom exhaust fan can be turned on to help remove the stagnant air. Leave your house like this for at least a half hour then shut the windows and start the furnace. This is long enough period to remove stagnant air in the house without lowering the indoor temperature too much. Germs go out the window along with the stagnant air.

'Tis Cold and Flu Season

You are most susceptible to coming down with the cold or flu when your immune system is over taxed.  We arrived home from our winter vacation in the sunny south on December 20, immediately jumped into holiday mode and quite frankly we were exhausted so it is no wonder that my husband easily caught youngest grandkids cold.  He spent the first week of January dealing with his cold while I managed to avoid it.  The following week, against my better judgement I stopped at the gym for a membership.  Later that day she wrote on Facebook that she was dealing with three sick people at home - her husband and two kids.  I had talked to him that morning.  Two days later, I woke with a sore neck but didn't think much of it as my neck is often sore due to an old injury.  By mid-afternoon, the soreness had been replaced with a scratchy throat.  I started with my normal routine of gargling with salt water and sipping on warm water with honey and apple cider vinegar.  The weekend passed but my throat was still sore on Monday.  That afternoon, the coughing started and let me tell you it was beyond horrid.  The first cough felt like my lungs were going to explode followed by my whole body in searing pins and needles.  The next coughing spell quickly turned to vomiting as did each coughing spell after that for the next two days along with that horrid searing pins and needles sensation.  I called my doctor and in the meantime increased my Symbicort and started taking a DM Expectorant which barely took the edge off the cough.  Aside of the searing pins and needles sensation which was very painful, I actually felt fairly good.  There was no fever just the coughing, the sensation, no appetite and feeling tired so I really wasn't concerned.  I figured it was a cold that hit hard and I was right because about 8 days after the coughing started I was fine.

According to some sources, there is a lot of sickness going around and I'm sure there will be a lot more.  Here, in our little corner of beautiful Ontario, Canada the biggest problem has been lack of a hard frost to kill off the germs. There is a rather aggressive strain of flu going around as well.  Despite being high risk, I do not get the flu shot nor does my husband.  The flu vaccine is a whole issue in itself!  However, even though colds and flu are going through the area, we seldom get sick.  I suspect we only came down with the colds this year because we were exhausted.  Here are some of the things we do to avoid contracting colds and flu.

• hand washing - Hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of germs.   We are constantly washing our hands throughout the day and we use the waterless hand sanitizer.  We have hand sanitizer in both vehicles, in coat pockets, in my purse and throughout the house.  It is used several times throughout the day.
• don't touch the face rule - It is surprising how many times you touch your face in a day but this is one of the best ways to get germs into your body.  Becoming aware of how many times you touch your face can help you reduce that.
• avoid people -  Avoiding people is a rather effective way not pick up germs and it is a lot easier than you would think.  During the cold and flu season we stay out of hospitals (germ cesspools), doctor's offices, malls, grocery stores and in short unless we really need to go out, we don't.  We don't have public transit here so that's easy to avoid but if we did, we would not use it during cold and flu season.  We continue to entertain but at a reduced level and while this could expose us to both cold and flu, the risk is considerably lower as our friends and family tend to stay home when they are sick.
• healthy eating -  In general, my husband and I eat healthy on a regular basis not just during cold and flu season.  We tend to eat home cooked from scratch, home canned, hormone-free grass-fed beef, AND we avoid food additives, preservatives, HFCS and excess salt.  We eat salad daily as well so in general, I really don't need to modify this for the cold and flu season although I may add extra onion and garlic (anti-bacterial).  
• avoid sugar - During cold and flu season we avoid sugar especially white sugar.  Sugar supports the growth of harmful bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.  We aren't big sugar users to begin with but avoiding it helps prevent secondary infection (usually bacterial) should we have a viral infection (cold, flu).  If we need a sweetener, we use raw honey, agave nectar, molasses or stevia.
• natural remedies - Wherever possible we avoid using pharmaceuticals in favour of natural remedies.  I am supposed to take Symbicort daily but I don't unless I have respiratory problems.  My top natural antibiotics are oil of oregano, raw honey, tea tree oil and garlic..
• dietary supplementation - My husband does not use much in the way of dietary supplementation but I do to support and boost my immune function.  This allows me to avoid using Symbicort.  Dietary supplementation should always be geared towards the needs of the individual.  Along with immune supporters, it is necessary (or suggested) that dietary supplementation to support liver and urinary tract function be included to help rid the body of toxins.
• hydration - Proper hydration is necessary any time but during cold and flu season it becomes more important.  The reason being, dry mucosal membranes are more prone to infection.  If you have a cold, hydration is very important in helping you clear mucous.  The problem is, homes heating during the winter are dry so you are losing moisture to the dry air and if you have a fever you are losing even more moisture.  This is the time to boost water consumption and avoid dehydrating drinks like coffee and alcohol.  
• sanitizing - I keep a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol on hand.  Once a day, I go through the house and spray surfaces where hand might have touched (eg. tv remotes, telephones, door knobs, light switches, keyboards, etc).  This really helps to knock down the germs in the house as the alcohol kills 99% of germs on contact preventing the spread of germs.

Check Those Expiry Dates

My husband is down with a cold graciously shared by our youngest grandchild.  Given the fact we just recently spent time in a busy airport filled with holiday travellers, spent time in a couple of malls infested with germs, and we are tired from our vacation, it is little wonder a few germs could get the best of him.  Neither of us are big into using any medications other that dietary supplements.  I am officially on two prescription drugs but even my doctor knows I only take them if I absolutely need to.  Neither of us get the flu shot even though I am considered high risk.  Instead, we believe in healthy eating with dietary supplementation if necessary, adequate sleep, a bit of exercise, well you get the picture.

When my husband gets a cold, he insists on using Nyquil.  I personally don't like this OTC product because it even knocks him out and he is a large man.  Aside of that,  it doesn't help the body naturally clear itself of the viral infection, which is what the common cold is.  Drying up muscus secretions can lead to chronic sinus infections and other complications.  So tonight, my husband pulled a bottle of Nyquil from the medicine cabinet but before he could take a dose, I told him to check the expiry date.

All medications including dietary supplements have expiry dates.  Unlike the expiry dates on food where the quality is diminished and yet the food may still be safe to consume, the expiry dates on many prescription and OTC drugs mean the drug should not be consumed after that date.  One of the reason is, all these products are synthetically made and synthetic chemicals breakdown over time.  In some cases, one or more chemicals in the drug start to breakdown and they can form toxic by-products that can be quite dangerous even toxic when consumed.  In other cases, especially with sunblocks, the active ingredients breakdown becoming ineffective meaning you can get a rather nasty sunburn even though you thought you were protecting yourself with sunblock.

I'm very, very careful to go through our medicine cabinet every month.  Living between two houses makes it a bit more difficult because items travel back and forth but still, it is even more reason for me to check to be sure something doesn't get pushed to the back.  His bottle of Nyquil was expired.  He had pulled the bottle from his overnight travel bag likely because that's where he remembered it was and I had never thought to check that bag.  I gave him a fresh bottle of Nyquil and he is sleeping like a baby but this serves as a reminder.  Teach everyone in your home to always check the expiry date before consuming any prescription or OTC drug including dietary supplements.  Never consume either if past the expiry date.

The Downside of Sunblock

We live in beautiful Ontario, Canada where we have a boat, a pool and we vacation close to 3 months of the year in Florida.  The problem is I have melasma, hyperpigmented patches on my face.  The recommended treatment for melasma is to use some type of lightening system (chemical, natural) then protect the face with the highest SPF broad spectrum sunblock you can find.  I have gone all natural as far as actually treating my melasma including using a custom made turmeric mask (more on that in the next post).  I am still using an SPF 110 sunblock and therein lies one problem.

Aside of the melasma, did you know that strong sun exposure can cause your hair to turn grey quicker?  'Tis true!  It works in reverse of tanning by bleaching out the melanin that gives hair it's colour.  Both my husband and I noticed more greying after being in Aruba

Chemical sunblocks contain a few chemicals that can actually cause more problems then they solve including making your skin more susceptible to skin cancer.  I've been paying premium prices for the ultra high SPF protection and while I heard of some of the chemical warnings, I did not know that the skin cannot absorb anything higher than SPF 50 protection.  Essentially, I have been wasting my money for extra protection my skin wasn't able to utilize.

The second problem with sunblocks is it reduces the production of Vitamin D.  In fact, many living in northern climates as we do have a Vitamin D deficiency.  The body makes Vitamin D via sun exposure so it stands to reason that in northern climates where your are covered from head to toe during the winter months and your face is protected with a high SPF sunblock, sun exposure is blocked so your body can't make Vitamin D.

The third problem is some of the chemicals in sunblocks can make you physically sick.  Not only can they cause allergic reactions, they can cause gastrointestinal problems because they are absorbed through the skin.  The worst part is, as I found out, you might not suspect your sunblock is the cause of your gastrointestinal problems.

Finally, sunblock can block your pores creating rashes and skin break-outs.  They can cause you to feel hot and sticky even if they say they are dry.  Beware of those who say they are dry with a lightweight feeling as those sunblocks can really end up drying your skin as well.

We are moving away from using chemical sunblocks wherever possible.  There are a multitude of ways to avoid strong UV exposure.  Be aware that UV exposure comes through windows including vehicle windows and from indoor lighting.  UV exposure can also be strong between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM even with cloud cover.  We spent most of the month of October at our vacation home in Florida.  I was beyond pleased to be asked "Weren't you just in Florida?  Where's your tan?"  Now, those who live in Florida year round know how to avoid the sun.  I was also impressed during our Aruba vacation how folks avoid sun damage without resorting to using a lot of sunblock.  Here are a few things we are doing to avoid chemical sunblocks at both of our homes:

• avoidance - We tend to avoid being outdoors when the UV rays are the strongest.  If we are in one of our vehicles we use the drop down shades on the side windows to block UV rays.  At home, we filter out direct sunlight so we still get the warmth during the winter months with greatly reduced UV exposure.
• shade - I'm a shade seeker.  I don't like being in the direct sun.  If walking, I tend to walk on the shady side of the street.  If waiting, I stand under the shade of a tree and even at the pool both at home and at our vacation home, I'm the one sitting in the shade.  We have devised ways to create shade on the boat, at home on the decks and around the pool, as well as on the golf cart so we don't have to be in direct sun to enjoy the great outdoors.
• clothing - Did you know there are actual SPF ratings for various fabrics?  What you wear especially during the strong UV exposure hours can make a huge difference.  Covering up is inexpensive and surprisingly can be cooling especially for women if you wear summer frocks that let the air in while blocking the UV rays.  During the heat of the day, put on a long sleeve, white cotton shirt to cover your arms.  Wear long but light weight pants or skirts as well.
• hats - A broad brimmed hat is a must to keep the sun off your face.  I have several of them as does my husband who is an avid golfer meaning he gets a lot more sun exposure than I do.  I like the straw hats with wide brims because they tend to be a bit cooler on the head while shading the face and neck.  
• parasols - Parasols are a fancy type of umbrella designed to keep the sun off your face.  They were very popular during Victorian times where milky white skin was seen as a beauty asset.  They remain popular in cultures cultivating the milky white skin (eg. Japan, Asian cultures) but can be seen world wide now as folks travel.  I was surprised to see several of them during our visit to Disney World this past October.  Now, parasols make perfect sense because they provide you with instant shade something that is difficult to find at theme parks.    They are available in ultra compact sizes and if you don't want to splurge on an actual parasol, an ultra compact umbrella will achieve the same thing. 
• natural skin correctors - There are a number of natural skin correctors that reverse the damage from sun exposure.  They include: turmeric, honey, milk, lemon juice and aloe vera. Of those, aloe vera is very effective when used both before and after sun exposure.  Vitamin C, E and L-cysteing as well as pomegranate extract, ellagic acid and ferulic acid are natural ways to reduce melanin production as well.