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Balanced Living
Download pdf version of this month's Balanced Living (560kb) Five Steps to a Safer KitchenJune is Home Safety Month
Poison controlCall the American Association of Poison Control Centers at (800) 222-1222 as soon as you suspect poisoning. You'll be routed to your closest regional center. Never wait to see if symptoms occur. If the poison victim has collapsed or isn't breathing, call 911. For more information:
www.homesafetycouncil.org Pulling Ahead of HeadachesJune 1st to 7th is National Headache Awareness Month
And this jackhammer crew keeps busy: An estimated 45 million Americans suffer from chronic headaches, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In fact, for half that number, that pounding pain will be severe and possibly disabling. For most of us, though, relief is as close as the medicine cabinet: About 90 percent of all headaches are harmless episodes that can be treated with overthecounter painkillers alone or together with rest, ice packs, or relaxation techniques. Just what is a headache?Most often, that pain in your head is caused by one of two things:
In general, headaches fall into three classes: tension, migraine, and cluster. Tension headachesThe most common type of headache (accounting for about 90 percent) is the tension type. Some people describe them as a band of pressure or tightness around the head, at the back of the neck, or at the base of the skull. Some can last weeks, months, or even years. "A headache is nature's way of telling you that there's been an overload on the nervous system," says Joseph P. Primavera 3rd, Ph.D., a psychologist with the Jefferson Headache Center, part of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. "In a sense, it's like blowing a fuse in your brain. For most people, the 'fuse' will reset in a few hours, whether or not you take a painkiller, and the symptoms will gradually recede until you're feeling fine again." A lot of stress factors contribute to headaches, says Seymour Diamond, M.D., executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation. "The first step in controlling chronic headache pain is pinpointing the nature of its causes and symptoms." Migraine headachesUnlike tension headaches, you can blame migraines on those temporary changes in the diameter of blood vessels serving the brain and scalp. While some people call any severe headache a migraine, the real thing is usually much more intense throbbing pain accompanied by nausea and even vomiting. Migraines can also bring heightened sensitivity to light, sounds, and smells. Migraines affect 28 million Americans, who often inherit the affliction. Research has also shown ties to diet, stress, menstruation, and environmental changes. Cluster headachesCluster headaches bedevil about a million U.S. residents, mostly men and mostly at night. Like migraines, cluster headaches follow changes in the brain's blood flow. Unlike migraines, they last less than an hour and occur in predictable "clusters," threeto eightweek periods in which they can strike several times a day. Cluster headaches produce extremely severe pain, incapacitating victims even more than migraines. But cluster headaches can enter long periods of remission. The causesDoctors aren't sure what causes migraines or cluster headaches, but they've identified foods and food additives that can trigger a headache. Have you heard of "Chinese restaurant syndrome"? It's the headache some of us get after a favorite Chinese meal. It comes from the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG), also found in some frozen foods, lunch meats, canned and dry soups, and many other processed foods. Then there's a class of chemicals called nitrites, used to preserve bacon, sausage, canned ham, smoked fish, and other meats. Nitrites can affect the body much the same way as low levels of serotoninblood vessels in the brain dilate, sometimes producing a headache.
Only 5 to 7 percent of the Americans who suffer chronic headaches seek medical help. But Dr. Diamond stresses that "if you're getting headaches almost daily, you need a doctor." Ditto if your headaches "are increasingly unresponsive to overthecounter medications." Take your headache to a doctor, he adds, if you experience "neurological manifestations" (such as flashing lights, blurred vision or slurred speech, numbness, weakness, or less feeling in a limb), or if the headaches seem to be triggered by exertion such as exercise, sneezing, or bowel movements. Other red flags:
A trip to the doctor can help eliminate discomfort. Treating your headacheOverthecounter medications are the first line of defense for treating the common headache. Some other methods:
For more information:www.headaches.org Estate Planning: Get Organized Now
Among these are:
Most of us carry this information around in our heads and never discuss it with our family members in a comprehensive way. Our loved ones must do their best to sort it all out later. Avoid Unnecessary LossesCostly or painful losses can result from a failure to organize your affairs. Stocks, bonds, bank accounts, real estate, and insurance policy benefits may go unclaimed and be turned over to the state government. This happens surprisingly often. Each year, millions of dollars go into state treasuries because the rightful property owners couldn't be found. On a more personal level, relatives or friends may not be promptly informed of a death, and valuable pieces of family history may not be passed down to future generations. Fortunately, losses like these can be avoided with a little bit of planning, sorting, and organizing. Organize Your Information
To organize your wishes, plans, and important personal information, you can turn to selfhelp products. You may want to use a readymade system or design an approach that suits you better. However you choose to organize your affairs, what's most important is that you create a clear, easily accessible system that will light the way for your family and friends. When you've got everything in order, be sure to store your information in a safe place. You might consider keeping everything in a fireproof metal box, file cabinet, or home safe. And be sure to discuss your new records with those closest to you. Your careful work won't help them unless they know where to find important papers when the time comes. For more information:http://fhahelps.personaladvantage .com/logon?target=estate_and_retirement_planning
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Simple actions can keep your kitchen a happy, healthy place. Your kitchen is often the hub for family life but it's also rife with risks. While you can't foresee every hazard, you can make your kitchen safer with five simple steps:
First, you burned breakfast. Then, you were late for work. And on your way home, the car had a flat tire, making you miss your daughter's softball game. Now you've got this throbbing headache that has gone from a minor annoyance to a major jackhammer pounding away in your skull.
And certain foods that contain tyramine (such as hard cheeses, peas, navy and lima beans, fresh bread, yogurt, alcoholic beverages, and chocolate) can trigger headaches especially in people who get migraines.
Estate planning isn't just about legal issues there are practical ones as well. After you die, your loved ones will have to handle many tasks and decisions that usually aren't covered by basic estate planning documents.
Making things easier for your family is not difficult, but it may be timeconsuming. It's best to break the task into manageable sections and take it one step at a time. Start by thinking about some broad categories of information:
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