What to do and what not to do for a bloody nose

Last night my daughter got a random bloody nose.  It reminded me that until I went to nursing school everyone I had ever encountered had been doing the wrong thing for a bloody nose, myself included. If you get a bloody nose take a kleenex and pinch your nostrils shut while leaning forward and breathing through your mouth. This seems counter-intuitive, no? If you lean forward you may drip blood onto yourself, clothes or something else. If you don't you can possibly have bigger problems.

 One morning before the crack of dawn I had a relative call me in a panic. "Jane woke up vomiting large amounts of blood. What should I do?"
Me: "Take her to the emergency room."
"I don't want to do that. What else can I do?"
Me: "I am not a doctor. Even if I was, I am not close enough to do anything for you. Even if I was, I would still tell you to go to the emergency room."

 A few hours later I called to check back. They decided not to go to the emergency room. Said relative decided that Jane had gotten a bloody nose in her sleep (which she was prone to do) and since she was laying on her back, it dripped down her throat and into her stomach, and the quantity was large enough that it made her vomit. The same thing can happen if you tilt your head back when you get a bloody nose. Which is what I was taught to do and what I always saw everyone else do when someone got a bloody nose. It is better to get a few drops of blood on your clothing, than to vomit blood all over who knows what. When you lean forward into a tissue the blood is will more quickly dry and clot, whereas when you tilt your head back the blood is flowing through a warm humid area (the throat) and won't clot off as fast. Most nose bleeds originate near the front of the nose, so pinching the nose and holding pressure usually will stop the bleeding. And once the blood does clot, don't try blowing the clots out, you can start a fresh bleed. If you have been holding pressure for twenty minutes or more and your nose is still bleeding, seek medical intervention. A continuing nose bleed can be a sign of a skull fracture or a symptom of other illnesses.

Nose bleeds can be caused by many things. Any medication that thins the blood (ibuprofen, aspirin, coumadin, etc.) make you more susceptible to getting a bloody nose. As do hot, dry climates (hello, St George, UT) cold climates (the your heater dries out the air), illness and infection. When your nose is dry, cracked or irritated it is more likely to bleed. When I was in nursing school one of my instructers taught us a simple secret to help prevent us from getting sick, as we would be exposed to so many illnesses in our clinicals. (And we were generally stressed out and sleep deprived which doesn't help your immune system.) The secret is nasal saline. You can buy it over the counter or you can make your own. Whichever method you choose, squirt a small amount in each nostril as often as it takes to keep your nose slightly moist. In order for your nasal mucous to most effectively trap bacteria and viruses, it must be moist. Moist mucous membranes in your nose means fewer illness and fewer nose bleeds.

Trick to Beat Car Sickness

It seems like some of the best secrets come when you've just talking to your friends and neighbours about ordinary stuff. This week a bunch of ladies from the neighbourhood were at the local park when my friend mentioned a trick her sister uses to combat car sickness because her kids are highly susceptible to it. She found that if you put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton-ball, and put a few of such treated cotton-balls in the air-conditioning vents of your car, it drastically reduces the nausea. It makes sense. Smelling or tasting peppermint is often an effective remedy for upset stomachs. I know what I'm packing for our road-trip this summer.

Strawberry Cablams

A few nights ago there was a neighbourhood dessert potluck/goodbye party for a family that's moving. (Great idea, btw. Simple, low-key and effective.) I made these because I had everything for them and going to the grocery store was not on the agenda for the day. They're fast, easy, soft, and as my neighbour says "the cutest cookies ever". All the little girls loved them. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law.

Strawberry Cablams
1 box Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix*
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup white chocolate chips**

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Mix first three ingredients. 3. Stir in chips. 4. Drop by large spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. 5. Bake for 12 minutes. Makes about 16 large cookies.

*Usually I don't think it makes a difference, but I have discovered that for this recipe the Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix gives lesser results.
**She always uses white chocolate chips. I used swirl chips (or squirrel chips as my daughter calls them) because that's what we had.

Book Review: The Hiding Place

Several times in my life people have recommended The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, and for some unknown reason I haven't read it until last week. It's the story of two sisters. They're old maids living with their elderly father in Holland during World War II. One day Jews just start showing up on their doorstep. So they start hiding them and smuggling them away to other hiding places. Eventually they are caught and sent first to prison, then a work camp in Holland and finally an extermination camp in Germany. What makes this book remarkable is this woman's amazing attitude. Despite all that she went through, this woman manages to have a positive attitude and truly learns to love her enemies. I'm not going to spoil the whole story, but here are a few great lessons that are well illustrated in this book.

• Whatever in our life is hardest to bear, love can transform into beauty.
• Even when life is the most difficult, we are richer than we think.
• What feeds the soul matters as much as what feeds the body.
• Whenever we can not love in the old human way, God can give us a perfect way.
• God gives us experiences that will strengthen and prepare us for the future.
• Gratitude can improve even the worst of situations.
• Love and forgiveness can heal the wounded soul.
• There is no problem so great that the power of Christ is not greater still.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones Inspired by Erin's Food Files

I've been following Erin's Food Files for several months now. She makes a lot of things that look delicious, but until last week I hadn't actually made any of her recipes. (Sorry, Erin some of your recipes just seem a little more involved than I generally have time/patience for. Like the Red Velvet Cheesecake. Looks amazing, but not something I'll likely try soon.) I tried four with some successes, and I'm certain that I'll try a few more. I love that she uses whole wheat flour in so many of her recipes.

I saw the Buffalo Chicken Calzones and was certain that it would be a winner. However, I made two major changes. I decreased the hot pepper sauce by more than half and I added vegetables because I thought I could get away with it. As it turns out I was correct. It was still plenty hot and you can't taste the veggies. My husband said "I suspect there are several yummy things in here, but the only thing I can taste is Tabasco." So when I make this again I think I will sneak in even more veggies and decrease the pepper sauce. Also when I was sauteing the chicken I decreased the butter by 2/3rds. It still tasted great. To scope out the original (her pictures are better) and more of Erin's great culinary creations go here.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones

1 lb pizza dough (I used a whole wheat recipe from Skinny Bovine's Kitchen that is very good.)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup pizza sauce (I have recently found that I love Classico's spicy tomato & basil pasta sauce)
1/3 cup finely chopped baby spinach
2 Tablespoons cauliflower puree

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2. Cook chicken in oil and butter until no longer pink. Add pepper sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, mix pizza sauce and vegetables and roll out pizza dough into two flat circles. 4. When chicken is done assemble calzones. Put half of sauce, cheese and chicken on one side of each dough circle. Fold the other half over and press edges to seal. 5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. This makes two very large calzones. Each serves at least two, and they freeze well.

She served hers with a bleu cheese dip. I was lazy and just used Litehouse Chunky Bleu Cheese dressing. But I'm sure her bleu cheese dip is great.

In the past week I also made her Oatmeal Wheat Bread. It was a big hit. My daughter decided that it should be named "Family Bread". We also made her Homemade Graham Crackers. They were ok, but didn't look anything like hers. She served hers with ice cream. I don't think mine could take that, they're too crumbly. I think they will turn into a crust for strawberry pie. I'm not sure what I did wrong there. I also tried her Beer Bread, but without the beer. I used root beer instead of pumpkin ale. It was ok, not as fantastic as I was hoping, but I will take all the credit for that failure. I've done beer bread with Sprite before, I'll have to try her recipe again that way.

Secrets to a Healthier Brighter Smile Without Tooth Whiteners or Extra Trips to the Dentist

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am pretty OCD about brushing my teeth. Honestly, most of my life I have brushed several times each day. Despite this, I have a mouth full of fillings, have a tendency to get tarter build-up and have spent several thousand dollars on dental work. When I was younger, I remember a hygienist  telling me that it looked like I hadn't had a check-up in years. "Thanks, check the chart. I was here 5 months ago." My dentist decided that I have unusually high levels of minerals in my saliva, which results in increased tarter. At one point I was going in for cleanings every six weeks. And of course every time I went in they would talk to me like I was stupid and teach me how to brush and floss my teeth, like I hadn't figured it out yet. Really, even a year and a half ago I was still getting this lecture. :S Finally I went to a dental hygienist that taught me a helpful routine. I thought "Wow, this is great. Why in the world has someone not taught me this before?" It's a little time-consuming to go through this entire routine daily, but even doing this once a week makes a big difference. (But you may need to do it daily for awhile to get on top of plaque and tarter.) And good oral hygiene can improve your over-all health. This routine won't get you immediately from yellow to dazzling white and it doesn't replace routine dental check-ups, but it does make a huge difference in between check-ups.

• Start with a dry toothbrush (toothpaste only). The dry stiffer bristles help to scrub off plaque. Brush all tooth and gum surfaces, cheekside and tongue side. Do this twice a day.
• Every evening before brushing, floss. Wrap floss around each individual tooth, slide up and down, firmly.
• Don't skip any areas that may be tender. If there are tender areas brush with a toothbrush softened in hot water.
• After flossing and brushing, soften toothbrush with hot water. Then dip toothbrush in Listerine and massage with bristles directed at the gum line, moving only 1/2 a tooth width at a time. Massage all surfaces. You are planting and massaging, not brushing.
• Rinse with Listerine for 30 seconds. Do not swish with water afterwards. You want the Listerine to stay on your gums and teeth for as long as possible, to effectively kill germs.
• Don't forget to brush you tongue for fresher breath.

Since I have started doing this I haven't had any cavities, minimal tarter, only routine check-ups and no more scaling and planings. (If you don't know what a scaling and planing is, count yourself lucky.) And my tooth brushing has normalised to two or three times a day.

Ways to save money that are good for the environment too.

1. Cook from scratch- There's a great deal of potential savings here when compared to eating out, buying packaged foods and mixes. And cooking from scratch is often healthier. Plus less packaging, less waste.
2. Start a garden- My husband and I were debating on whether are garden is actually cost efficient. Thus far we've spent $50 and gotten two miniature strawberries. But then there were a lot of up-front costs that we won't have to do again like garden tools. Perhaps this will save us money as we get better at it. I did make the argument that growing your own herbs is definitely cost effective and I have managed to successfully do that one.
3. Unplug your appliances- I've heard several times that you can decrease your power bill by 10-15% by unplugging your appliances when not in use. I am not about to unplug my major kitchen and laundry appliances when they're not in use. That is too much work. But unplugging computers and the TV at night is reasonable.
4. Check out home improvement rebates- A few months ago we had our attic insulation redone. Upfront cost- $860. Rebate total- $823. So it cost $37 out of pocket and is estimated to save us $290 each year on power and heating. We also got rebates for buying new energy efficient appliances (which we had to purchase anyway.) These are just a few examples. There are many other opportunities out there. See what you have in your area.
5. Plant a tree- If you plant it on the south or west side of your home and it provides any amount of shade it can decrease your air-conditioning bill, plus it increases the value of your home.
6. Make use of your library- I'm certain that I would save thousands of dollars if I went to the library as often as I go to Barnes and Noble. It's a weakness of mine, but I'm getting better.
7. Reuse plastic containers- I reuse Cool Whip containers to freeze vegetable purees. There are hundreds of other possibilities.
8. Get your kids to play outside- Turn off the tv and computer once in awhile. The exercise is good for them too.
9. Cook with a crockpot- These appliances are actually pretty energy efficient. And in the summer time they don't heat up the kitchen like your stove and oven, thus saving $ on your power bill.
10. Take care of your car- Making sure your tires are inflated can save money on gas. And maintenance is cheaper than replacement.
11. Have your kids color on both sides of the page. The little things add up.
12. Buy in bulk-This only applies to some things. I buy fruit, cheese, laundry detergent and baby wipes in bulk because I know that whatever I buy we'll use. This isn't a good idea if what you buy will go bad before you get to using it. Figure out the price per ounce and comparison shop.
13. Find alternative methods of cooking- Recently I went to a preparedness fair where they taught us how to cook using solar ovens and wonderboxes. I'm excited to give them a try.
14. Walk or bike when its feasible- Another thing that's good for your health too.
15. Reduce what you have to wash- I only wash jeans after they have been worn twice. (Unless they've been smegged.) It makes them last longer and it reduces what you spend on detergent, water and power. Plus it's that much less time folding and washing laundry.
16. Get organized!- Being organized can decrease what you spend on things that you don't need. Plus it can save you time and just make your life easier.

Happy Earth Day! Does anyone have any other great ideas that belong on this list?