The flu is different from a cold even though both are caused by viruses. The flu can only be caused by three different viruses. The common cold can be caused by over 200 different viruses. People with colds rarely get fevers or headaches. They also rarely suffer from the extreme exhaustion that accompanies the flu virus. But there are many people who get a fever, headache, and suffer from extreme exhaustion and they only have a cold. So, how do you tell which is which?

The signs and symptoms of the flu are:

1. Fever: over 101F - 103 F in adults - often as high as 103 to 105 in children
2. Chills and sweats
3. Headache
4. Cough
5. Muscular aches and pains - especially in your back, arms and legs
6. Fatigue and weakness - oftentimes extreme
7. Loss of appetite
8. Nasal congestion (runny or stuffy nose)

Sometimes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea accompany the flu, especially in children, but these symptoms are rarely prominent. What some people call a “stomach flu” is in reality not the flu at all but an intestional virus.

The fever that accompanies the flu is high. It should begin to decline on the second or third day of the illness. If the fever does not lower within this time period, a doctor is needed. The flu virus can be a deadly problem. The common cold can not cause any deaths. Influenza causes an increase in hospitalization and death every year.

The signs and symptoms of the common cold are:

Fever (sometimes)

Chills and sweats that accompany a fever
Headaches (sometimes)
Cough (mild-to-moderate)
Aches and Pains (feeling miserable all over)
Sinus Swelling
Sore, Scratchy Throat
Sneezing, Blocked, Stuffy Nose
Mild Fatigue and weakness
Loss of appetite (depending on the sore, scratchy throat)
Watery Eyes
Nasal Discharge (a lot)

The common cold can be caused by over 200 different viruses and is easily caught. A cold can be contagious for 2 or 3 days after it’s symptoms begin. So if you think you’ve got a cold, wash your hands often and avoid other people with colds. Reinfection is very common with a cold. When someone has had a cold for over 2 weeks, it is likely that they have been reinfected and the cold has started over.

A few facts about the common cold:
The common cold is more often found in children than adults.
It is more often found in adolescents boys than girls.
It is more often found in women than in men.
And every time you talk, sneeze, or cough, the virus is put into the air and it passes onto someone else.

The symptoms of the flu and the common cold are very similar. Antiobiotics can not cure the common cold. But, by getting a flu shot every year, you are less likely to catch the flu. In children and elderly persons, a fever can sometimes accompany a common cold. Treat all fevers as the same. Check the rest of the symptoms for each to see if they correlate with influenza (flu) or a common cold.

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we give thanks for all God as given to us, family and good friends. The tradition of Thanksgiving started as an expression of thanks for a bountiful harvest and for survival. Throughout history man has celebrated giving thanks to spirits after harvesting their crops. The ancient Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, Chinese and Egyptians all held harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations.

Thanksgiving is usually a time that brings families together in their celebrations, so that all may give thanks for what they have received throughout the year. It is a time for all of us to ponder all the blessings that are present in our lives-think about the wonderful food that is put before us, think about the loved ones we have gathered around us, and think of all the things we possess that other don’t.

Thanksgiving prayers and blessings are an important part of the tradition of Thanksgiving. Blessings give one time to reflect on the good things about life. Often in this hectic society, we loose sight of just how blessed we are. The fact that you are having a meal is a blessing. The fact that you have family to celebrate the day with is a blessing. The fact that you aren’t being spoon fed in nursing home is a blessing. The blessings we have are numerous and a time to give thanks for them when otherwise our schedules would be too busy. You also could add more value added to our thanksgiving with exchange gift for each other. There are a lot of gift ideas which we could take one as our thanksgiving. for example ipod Multimedia player like ipod nano, Ipod Touch makes a great gift Celebrate this Thanksgiving with all the thanks and joy in your heart that the first settlers felt way back when.

Happy thanksgiving

In the hubbub of getting the Thanksgiving meal ready, many hostesses forget about how to best present their food. A beautifully set table, with a few special touches, can enhance gourmet and simple meals alike.

Think Color

The colors of autumn are some of the richest in nature. Start your table setting with a tablecloth in a deep color that compliments your dishes. Add cloth napkins that match or coordinate with the tablecloth and dishes and you are off to a great start. The consideration of color doesn’t stop there. Make sure that you serve some things within your menu that add to the color of each guest’s plate. Turkey and mashed potatoes make a rather bland presentation so add in some bright orange carrots, golden stuffing, or green broccoli.

Place Settings

Planning your place settings can be one of the most important elements to setting a beautiful, yet efficient, table. Think about the dishes you plan to serve and make sure guests have the appropriate equipment for the task at hand. Are you serving salad on a separate plate? Make sure salad plates and salad forks are available as part of each place setting. Will guests be drinking both water and wine? Make sure places are set with a glass for each. When putting the place settings together, work on consistency. Make sure each fork, knife, glass, and napkin are in the same placement for each guest. This will add to the overall uniformity and aesthetic quality of your table.

Centerpiece

Nothing adds style and beauty like an original Thanksgiving centerpiece. There are many inexpensive options that will give your guests something to admire and talk about. A bit of nature brought in from outside can enhance this seasonal meal. A bit of greenery, pine cones, or leaves in bright fall colors will do the trick. Add special touches like fresh or fake flowers in complimentary colors. Then, to give this centerpiece another layer, add something special that will get guests talking. Snapshot pictures placed in between the natural elements, especially those from childhood, will help get your dinner conversation off to a good start. Do you have a special collection on display somewhere in your house? You could also choose a few elements of your collection, even if it isn’t Thanksgiving themed, to add to your table. If you have children in attendance, it is also fun to let them use the centerpiece to showcase their art and small crafts from school.

There are a few things to consider in putting together your centerpiece. One is lighting. Adding candles and turning down the overhead lights can add special ambience. Another consideration is the size of your centerpiece. Make sure it does not spread too far across the table that it leaves no room for the food! Or, plan to put up a special table or use a sideboard to store dishes once they have been passed.

Whether you are a novice cook or have been entertaining for years, you can enhance your entire meal by setting an efficient and creative table

Happy thanksgiving!!!!

There are many metals and other materials used for piercing in the world today. The most important quality in any piece of body jewelry, ESPECIALLY for initial piercings, is biocompatibility. That will vary from person to person. Some people’s bodies will react well to any metal. You could pierce them with a rusted piece of copper wire (Don’t do it!), and they’ll heal fine. Other people are far difficult to find a good piece of jewelry for. Some people can’t handle metal in their bodies at all. But I’ll rundown the most common biocompatible jewelry out there, and then tell you what people have the most problems with, just for good measure.

SURGICAL STEEL
The most common jewelry used in piercing (except in Europe, where even 316LVM is not allowed for initial piercing). Surgical Steel comes in 4 different grades, based on the amount of chromium, nickel, and manganese in their composition. 300 is the least corrosive of your surgical steel options, hence 316 (the grade) LVM (the standard at which it’s measured). Now, just because you’ve got 316LVM doesn’t mean it’s going to be the right jewelry. The quality of the steel means there’s very little to irritate your skin to begin with , and the smooth finish prevents tiny chips and abrasions in the metal from irritating the sensitive edges of your new piercing.

TITANIUM
This particular metal is quickly becoming a rival for Surgical/Stainless steel as the most common metal used for initial piercings. It is harder than niobium, and significantly lighter than surgical steel. It comes in a wide variety of colors, through a process called ‘anodization’. This increases the thickness and density of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts, making the metal corrosion- and wear-resistance. This coating can absorb dyes and reflect light.

GOLD
Ah, the metal that inspires so many feelings in the peoples…Also safe for body piercing. 14kt is the best gold threaded piercing jewelry, the metal is strong enough to withstand jewelry changes and removal without wearing down the threads. 18kt gold is no good for threaded jewelry, the softness of the material wears out the threads after repeated removals. 14k. and 18k. are your only options for piercing with gold, they are pure enough (14k is 58.5% gold, and 18k is 75% gold), without being so pure that they are too soft, but you still have to watch out for it, because even at 14 and 18k, it’s very soft, and easy to mis-shape or scratch.

BAD METALS!
Metals such as copper, silver, low grade steel, titanium, and gold, contain high levels of impurities, especially nickel. Nickel is commonly responsible for jewelry allergies and other jewelry related piercing problems. Extensive exposure to high-nickel content jewelry can cause Nickel Contact Dermatitis. Contact dermatitis usually shows itself with redness, swelling and water blisters of varying sizes. The blisters may break, forming crusts and scales. Untreated, the skin may darken and become leathery and cracked. Beware of cheap jewelry!

Hand washing is a simple yet important task. Yet a lot of us do not do it often enough and when we do, most of us do not do it properly. When done correctly, hand washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick. All that is required for this simple task is soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer - a cleanser which does not need water.

During the day you gather germs on your hands. These come from a variety of sources, such as direct contact with people, contaminated surfaces, foods, animals and animals waste. You can then infect yourself with these germs when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth if you do not wash your hands regularly enough. You can also spread these germs to other people by touching them or surfaces which they touch, such as doorknobs.

The common cold, flu and several gastrointestinal disorders, such as infectious diarrhoea are infectious diseases which are commonly spread through hand-to-hand contact. The flu can be a particularly serious disease, especially for older adults and those with chronic medical problems because they can then develop pneumonia. A combination of flu and pneumonia is the eighth-leading cause of death among Americans.

Insufficient hand washing is also a contribution to food-related illnesses, such as salmonella and E. coli infection. As many as 76 million Americans get a food-borne illness every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 5,000 of these die as a result of their illness.

It is very important that your children get into the habit of washing their hands to. This will help them avoid becoming sick. You can do this by teaching by example. Wash your hands when with your children and supervise their hand washing. Place hand-washing reminders at children’s eye level. This could be a chart which they mark each time they was their hands. If the sink is to high for children to use, place a stool underneath it so that they can reach. Tell your children to was their hands for as long as it takes to sing their ABCs, “Row, Row, Row your Boat” or the “Happy Birthday” song. This idea works especially well for younger children because they are more likely to rush when washing their hands.

Younger children can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers with your help. Just ensure that their hands have completely dried before they touch anything. This is to prevent ingestion of alcohol due to hand-to-mouth contact. Make sure you store the container safely away after use.

Hand washing is particularly important for children who go to child care. Those under 3 are at a greater risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, which can be spread easily to family members and other people in the community.

Ensure that your child care provider promotes hand hygiene. This includes frequent hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Ask if the children are required to wash their hands several times a day and no just before meals. Make a note whether the diapering areas and cleaned after each use and if the eating and diapering areas are well separated.

Running shoes are popular with all age groups and new styles and enhancements are coming onto the market to offer the consumer something better than those running shoes they currently possess.

Deciding whether to replace those running shoes depends on a multiple of criteria, and also the different problems of age.

YOUNG CHILDREN

Young children are growing. Their shoes need not only to fit, but to give them adequate support and shock resistance. Ankles get twisted easily, and many of the new styles give more support than the traditional running shoes. Children who have problems with laces, whether through laziness or misunderstanding, but loose laces are dangerous and can cause accidents. Here, new running shoes have been made to take account of a child’s inability to keep their running shoes laced. The newer styles use Velcro fastenings and are a super option for children who find laces a problem. The growth of small children is fast. Replacing their running shoes as soon as they outgrow their original ones helps good foot development. If a child shows discomfort with any pair of running shoes, establish where the pain area is. Different styles offer different support, and by looking through the range of sole options, and widths, you can maximize comfort by replacing the shoes.

TEENS

Teens are rather hell bent on being fashionable, though fashion comes at a price. They will be keen to have a collection of shoes, though here, with wise judgment, you can buy several pairs, some for dirtier work than others, keeping those designer running shoes for best, and alternating their use so that the expensive ones last longer. If a child has foot problems of any kind, trying different styles is a good idea. Some lever the foot so it sits in a different position, and some have arch support, and wise choices may mean you have to buy new running shoes, though by taking account of discomfort, you are giving the long term health benefits that are always wise with children.

Teens play a lot of sports, and the impact value of different running shoes means that some will wear out quicker than others. Do replace those shoes that cause pain, and don’t dismiss the child complaining about it, because the risk of damage to tendons and to injury are increased if you ignore those initial symptoms.

ADULTS

Adults are in a better position to choose to change running shoes on a whim. They have more money, can explore the markets, although even in adulthood, having the correct spring in running shoes can not only enhance performance, but can produce less wear on the feet. Look at the different designs available. Look at the cushioning effect and flexibility of shoes, as well as the support they offer the feet. Never settle for wrong width fittings, as the pain these can cause long term isn’t worth the risk.

There are different running shoes that are suited to different styles of running, and overland running shoes differ from cushioned ones. The new ranges of stability shoes available may offer you options you hadn’t experienced before that actually feel great even over long periods of time. Lightweight wear is also available but bear in mind that they are made for everyday use, rather than heavy duty work.

OVERALL

Remember your feet have to carry you for many years. Never let pain in the foot area continue longer than it has to, or wear shoes that are worn. By doing so, you risk accident and tendon problems, and by ensuring that the cushioning and support you ask of shoes is provided when you buy new ones, you really can not only improve the experience of running, hiking and walking, but do your feet a huge favor.

Sometimes you feel like a nut: choose walnuts, for cholesterol lowering benefits. They’re loaded with omega-3 fatty acids for starters. As most of us now know, omega-3 is one of the healthiest diet choices available.

The properties in walnuts help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and people often see results in as little as four weeks. Almonds and other nuts are also healthy menu choices.

The properties in walnuts appear to behave in ways similar to bile sequestrants in the human body as do other plant sterols and stanols. Walnuts bind the cholesterol in the bile and it doesn’t get reabsorbed. The cholesterol is then eliminated as waste.

Dietary (other)

Walnuts contain unsaturated fatty acids, containing both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fats help keep the blood vessels healthy and elastic. That attribute counteracts the plaque build up caused by LDL cholesterol.

Walnuts are a good source of fiber. Adding walnuts to a salad or eating them as a healthy snack can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. With a little creative thought, walnuts can be added to favorite recipes to provide more healthy diet choices.

Walnuts also reduce the risk of blood clots and contain vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps the body maintain healthy cells.

Medicinal uses:

Walnut leaves contain tannins that appear to have skin tightening and anti-fungal properties. The compound made from walnut leaves is used as a remedy for skin inflammation. In addition, walnuts are useful for people with excessive perspiration.

In Asia, walnuts products are used to treat eczema, herpes, tuberculosis and syphilis.

No side effects are known to exist with consumption and use of walnuts. There is no known medication at this time that would preclude walnuts from the diet. However, too much of a good thing, even walnuts, can lead to weight gain.

Benefits:

The benefits realized in adding walnuts to the diet, in lowered cholesterol, depends on the total calories consumed and the percent of walnuts consumed combined. To acheive the maximun benefits of walnuts, consumption should be 20% of total calories.

Research tells us that almost every kind of nut is loaded with healthy nutrients, but walnuts are the nuts that have been most studied up to now. If you like almonds, hazelnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts, you’ll find them nutritious and healthy too.

Scientists in Aberdeen have found that people with a variant of the FTO gene (which was linked to obesity last year) are literally compelled to eat more food, consuming almost 300 calories more each day than the average person.

They claim that their findings uphold the view that some people definitely find it harder to lose weight than others.

The team from the Rowett Research Institute and Aberdeen University studied 150 people from North-east Scotland. Aged between 21 and 60, a fifth was obese and 34% overweight.

Their research has shown evidence that a link to the “at risk” variant of the gene causes an increased food intake in humans. They suggest that their data clearly shows that people are literally driven to eat more food and because they have the variant gene, it may be harder for them to lose weight.

Dr Colin Waine, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, welcomes the new findings and says that it helps us to understand why some people who successfully lose weight still have trouble, saying “There must be millions of people who have successfully lost weight but could not sustain it over the long term”, and adding that, “Over weeks, months and years, 300 extra calories a day is going to make you balloon.”

I find this interesting information from a personal point of view because I have a good friend who suffers from morbid obesity. It certainly would help to explain why over the years he has slowly become bigger in size yet eaten, (as far as I know) ordinary meals, and very often hardly anything at all.

He will be able to have an operation to help him control his eating habits, but as his wife tells me helplessly: “What eating habits? All the operation will mean to him is that he will be able to starve himself much easier.” The irony is that the operation can only go ahead if he is willing to lose three stone first.

He can’t want to lose weight that much, if he finds it hard to lose just three stone, do I hear you ask? Well perhaps you would like to tell him that yourself. He will then be able to give you graphic details of his five attempted suicides, tell you about his four children that have not had a “proper” father for the last five years and break his heart over his failing marriage. He can tell you about the shame that he feels when he has to go out in public, and the misery he feels when he sees the looks of disgust from other people. He can barely walk the length of his front room and has been classed as disabled for the past two years.

He is an ex-army man with an intense feeling of pride for his family and a deep and abiding love for his wife. But he feels that for his sake and his family’s sake, he would be better off dead.

Does this sound like a man who is deliberately stuffing his face because he is simply greedy? Do you think that he has a choice in how much he can eat, or how little?

Obesity is a worldwide problem. It will not go away simply by providing people with a better education, an encouragement to eat healthily and adequate exercise.

It needs sorting out at a much deeper level, and our scientists are so close to finding out what the real problem is. At last, obese people may have a chance to turn their lives around. We just need to know for sure, that’s all.

So the very next time you come into contact with an obese person. Please don’t look away with disgust or point and make a comment. He will see you, he is not blind, he will hear you, he is not deaf, he will understand what you are saying because he is not stupid.

He is a human being like anyone else.

History of Massage Therapy

Massage is one of the oldest therapies in the world. It is a touch therapy which is not only a pleasurable and relaxing experience, but also brings countless healing benefits .A massage treatment can relieve tension in the body, calm the mind and nourish the soul. There is evidence that every culture throughout the world has used massage in some form or other; and every language, ancient or modern has a word for massage.

The Ancient and Classical World
Ancient Chinese medical texts, dating back some 5000 years, advocate stroking the body to “protect against colds, keep the organs supple and prevent minor ailments.” In ancient Egypt, bas-relief carvings dating back more than 4000 years show Pharaoh Ptah-Hotep receiving a leg massage from a male servant; while centuries later, Queen Cleopatra is recorded as enjoying a foot massage during dinner parties. Enjoyment of massage was not restricted to the wealthy, however. Ancient records show that even the lowliest of Egyptian workers were paid in wages of body oil sufficient for daily use.

In ancient Greece, massage was highly recommended for treating fatigue, sports or war injuries as well as illness. The Romans were equally fond of massage, and incorporated it into their bathing rituals. The Kama Sutra and ancient Ayurvedic scripts contain many references to sensual massage, which was used for pleasure, spiritual practice and general health and well-being.

The Middle Ages and Beyond
After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Arab world became the center of learning and culture. Avicenna(980-1037), one of the greatest Arab physicians, added to the medical knowledge, and described the use of healing plants, spinal manipulation and various forms of massage in great detail. Meanwhile in Europe, touch became associated with “carnal pleasures” in the eyes of the Catholic Church, and massage was denounced as a highly sinful activity. The Renaissance however, saw a revival of interest in classical medicine, and massage gradually became more respected by mainstream society.

Towards the Modern Age
It was at the end of the 19th. century however, that a Swedish gymnast, Per Henrik Ling(1776-1839) restored to favor therapeutic massage in Europe. Having cured himself of rheumatism, Ling developed a system of massage that was based on physiology, gymnastic movements and massage. He received royal patronage for his work. A few years later, St. George’s hospital in London opened a massage department, and “Swedish” massage therapy soon became part of mainstream medical practice.

From the 1960s onward, personal growth centers, notably the Esalen Institute in California, adapted massage therapy into a holistic treatment that could balance mind, body and emotions, rather than simply relieving muscular aches and pains. This holistic approach is now widely used alongside mainstream medicine as a complement to conventional medical treatments.

Modern Day Living
With the pressures of modern -day living, and the increased incidence of stress-related illness, the touch therapy of massage plays an important part in everyday life. Aching backs and shoulders after a tiring day at work hunched over a computer, or spending most of the day on one’s feet, strained leg muscles after exercise for both athletes and non-athletes, or circulatory problems from a sedentary lifestyle, are some of the occupational hazards of adult lives. Massage can ease some of the day- to-day tensions of life and help us to feel relaxed and at home in our bodies. Working on both physical and psychological levels, massage has the ability to relax and invigorate the person receiving it.

Massage allows time for replenishment of innate sources of vital energy. This is particularly relevant in a modern world, where stress is known to be the root cause of many serious physical and mental conditions.

Pickled Herring: A Good Source Of Omega-3 Fatty Acids And Vitamin D

Pickled herring is good for you! It is also considered to be a delicacy in many parts of the world, including Scandinavia, Iceland, Holland and Japan, to name just a few countries.

Dozens of tourists and Dutch people, some still wearing wooden shoes, stood in line to buy the delicacy from the elderly Dutch gentleman, behind the counter. With their guilders (the Dutch currency at that time), tightly clutched in their hands, they waited patiently to be served. Then one by one, they would hold their pickled herrings up, throw their heads back and consume them. (I wondered if some people even took the time to chew the herrings!) For me, this was something totally new and different. It certainly sparked my interest in herring!

The herring is a small, oily fish belonging to the genus Clupea. The North Atlantic Ocean, Baltic Sea, North Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean, are all places where herring thrive as huge schools of fish, swimming in the shallow temperate waters. They are generally caught in the spring, as they head towards the shore. (1)

There are approximately two hundred different kinds of herring that have a single dorsal fin lacking a spine. In the Baltic Sea, their size is approximately fourteen to eighteen centimeters in length. These are the ones that I saw when I was visiting Holland. They are much larger in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (2)

Herring has been a staple food in many countries of the world for over 3000 years.

Pickled herring is only one way that herring is prepared for human consumption. Herring can also be eaten raw, fermented, or cured. (3)

“Why is pickled herring good for you?”

Pickled herring contains Omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, as well as vitamin D.

While there is growing concern about PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxin in herring, it appears that as long as the fish are small, or under seventeen centimeters, there does not seem to be a major health risk. If they are larger herring, then limited consumption of herring is recommended. (4)

Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in growth and development, heart health and circulation, etc. Vitamin D is important for calcium and phosphorus absorption, bone formation and a healthy immune system. (5)

Perhaps another reason that herring are good for people has to do with the reality that these fish feed on phytoplankton, when they are young. It is filtered through their gills as they swim. Phytoplankton releases oxygen and diminishes carbon dioxide. At this time, there are an increasing number of studies being done on phytoplankton, with respect to human health.