Zephiyr's Profile

Hey everyone!

Flu season is here... but it's always cold season. So how do you know which one you have? And what kind of difference would it really make? I'm going to give you the lists of the major symptoms of both and tell you how to know which one you have.

First of all, for your cold symptoms we have the headache, dry scratchy cough, runny or stuffy nose, fatigue, sneezing and maybe some ear pain allong with a low grade fever. Low grade is anything below 100.3 degrees. Usually this is a chain reaction that starts while you sleep. You get infected with a cold virus and then it slowly builds strength in your sinus cavities until it makes your nose run and causes a post-nasal drip while you sleep. All the mucus is filled with bacteria and irritates your throat. While your coughing from all the irritation, you can develop a headache and maybe some chest pain, but that's just from working your chest cavity muscles when you cough. A cold usually lasts about 3 to 5 days, but that cough can stick around two weeks after your better, or even longer (darn you persistent cough!).

The best treatment for a cold is to stop it at the source, which would be in your sinuses. Sudafed is my miracle drug, not saying everyone should take it (or as much as I do... I swear I come close to ODing on it every time i get sick) but it helps. Some people don't like taking medicine so some hot tea or soup helps for a while. Just make sure to drink plenty of fluids, especially if you do end up taking any sort of medicine because it can dehydrate you pretty quickly.

Now for the flu symptoms! They are everyone's favorite, I know ;) Now with the flu, your first symptom is going to be a fever, and it will be a persistent fever, meaning that when you take the tylenol, it will go down a little bit and only for a little while before it jumps back up there. Next comes the body aches, muscle pains, fever and chills, headache, (probably) productive cough, runny or stuffy nose, ear pain and possible nausea, vomitting and diahreaha. The possibility of it being the flu jumps with your temperature, if it's over 100.4, it's probably the flu. Common flu symptoms will start about 24 hours after coming on contact with someone else who is infected. You're going to feel like crap for at least 5 days and up to 8. The cough sticks around longer than if you had a cold, up to a month, and it always strikes at the worst possible times (IE, during a moment of silence X_x ).

The best treatment for the flu is rest, and lots of it. It takes a lot of energy to fight off bacteria that want to take over your body, even in a person with a healthy immune system. Drink lots of fluids and try to eat things that won't upset your stomach if you have been feeling woozy. This is going to be a very bland diet like rice, apple sauce, toast and crackers. Nothing oily, nothing fried.

If you don't want to get sick then please, WASH YOUR HANDS! You have no idea the amount of bacteria that collects on your fingers and especially under your nails. It's really disgusting. If you only knew.... And try to stay away from people who ARE sick. You don't have to be a germophobe about it but give yourself a little distance.

If you do get sick, do the rest of us a favor and take a few days off. Even after your symptoms are gone, you can still make people sick up to 48 hours later because you're still carrying the virus with you, like a picture of you and your best friend. And if you must go out, wear a mask in public places. It does make a difference when your spit particles aren't landing on everything when you cough. And don't cover your mouth with your hand! Use the inside of your elbow or cough into your shirt or coat. Didn't I just say that your hands have a lot of germs? This is one of the reasons why!

Ok, stay safe, stay healthy! :yumeh2:

Ok since I really didn't do anything today, I figured I'd at least give you some artwork to oogle, or hate, whichever you prefer. Um... here it is ^^

[IMG]http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab159/zephyrdr4g0n2/IMG_2116.jpg[/IMG]

Enjoy!;)

You asked for it and here it is, (don't say I never gave you anything!) how to take care of your weak and brittle nails. I'll tell you how you can make them stronger and harder so that they are presentable at social gatherings and events ;)

Good nail care can be pretty easy, as long as you have a good balanced diet and drink plenty of water, they almost take care of themselves. All you have to do is keep them trimmed on the sides. So, here's your guide to healthy nails:

Start taking a multi-vitamin to make sure that you are getting calcium, iron and potassium in your diet. If you don't like taking pills then consider eating more seafoods and dairy products. Since your nails are made of keratin, which is a protien, you want to make sure that you are getting enough meats and nuts!

Take a little time each day and apply a lotion to your hands and cuticles, a good one to use is anything with cocoa butter. Try not to use too much scented lotion or ones containing alcohol, these can slowly damage the nails and make them more brittle.

Make sure to wear gloves whenever you can when you are working with chemicals. Even glass cleaner is harmful to your skin and nails.

If your nails are splitting and chipping and breaking off all the time, it could mean that you aren't drinking enough water! Your daily water intake should change depending on the weather and what kind of activities you are doing, but remember, just because it's cold doesn't mean you don't have to drink water!

If you put nail polish on make sure to take a break when you change them. Your nails need a chance to breathe every once in a while, too. If you don't use nail polish that much, consider applying a thin coat of clear polish on the weekends and removing it on monday. A clear coat will actually help protect your nails and makes them seem a little thicker and stronger until your diet balances.

Avoid biting your nails! I know that this can be tough, some people do it without thinking about it or do it when they get nervous. It's a really gross habit and with all the bacteria that collects under your nails, could make you sick. If your nails need to be trimmed, use a nail clipper. Practice good hygene and you won't look like you just came out of a jungle when you are in front of people.

There is a special cream for your cuticles, they mostly use it if you are going for a manicure. It's really good for them, and you should try to trim your cuticles at least once a week with a cuticle trimmer. I've never actually used one myself but my cuticles stay pretty short. You can pick one up in the health and beauty section of almost any store near you if you're interested.

Also, make sure that you are getting enough vitamin B. If you're not, one of the tell tale signs is that you have ridges along your nails. This also makes your nails weaker because they are not growing properly.

Trim your nails at least once a week, you will probably end up doing it twice a week once they are growing nicely. Try to cut them so that they are only slightly rounded or squared off in the front, it makes them more stable and less prone to breaking. Make sure when you cut your nails, don't cut too far down on the sides, this could cause your nails to become ingrown or infected. If that happens it will have to be removed! You've been warned :shock:

Hey everyone!

It's me again ;) Alright, today I thought that I would give you guys a quick and easy (sorta) ab work out that you can do just about anywhere. I like to do it when I'm just sitting around watching TV, this way the TV distracts me and I don't notice how much my abs are burning for the exercise.

It's a really simple exercise, the key to this is the repetition and doing more than one set (if you can).

Start out with laying flat on your back with your feet straight out in front of you. Interlock your fingers behind your head making sure that you can't see your elbows in your periferal vision. This makes sure that you are just working your abs and not using your arms to pull yourself up. Pulling yourself could strain your neck! I know because I've done it before... it's not fun.
In that position you are going to do 25 crunches. Make sure that they are good crunches and you pay attention to your form. Bring yourself up slowly until your shoulder blades are off the ground and then back down. Use slow controlled movements!

The next position that you transition to is pretty much the same but you bring your knees up to a 90 degree angle. Do 25 more crunches like this. Good form. Don't use your arms.

From there you are going to roll your hips to the right as far as you can while keeping your shoulders on the ground. Put your right hand behind your head and your left hand on your abs. Again, do 25 crunches. Doing them in this position works your obliques! Once you finish on the right side, roll to your left and do just the opposite (left hand behind head, right hand on abs.)

Next position is laying flat on your back again but this time lifting your legs off the ground and holding them at a 90 degree angle. You can cross your ankles if you like, it helps with stability a little. Guess how many crunches you will do this time? Did you say 25? Then, you got it!

Last position is the toughest. Hold your legs straight up while you lay on your back. You are going to reach for your toes, making sure to come up enough so that your shoulder blades are off the ground. Do 25 of those and you are done with the first set! Give yourself a pat on the back!

Alright, after doing these exercises and possibly moving into another set (if you think you can) it's a good idea to take a few seconds and stretch. The best stretch ever is called the "upward dog" in yoga. If you don't know what that is all you have to do is roll onto your stomach and push up with your hands while you make sure to keep your hips on the ground. Lean your head back and look up to the sky to deepen your stretch.

Doesn't that feel good?

This is just one exercise that you can do to work your abs, there are many more and I will be posting more soon!

Enjoy :D

Yea, it's that time of year again... when we stay indoors more and eat more. With more food comes the calories so here's a little hint on how to keep your thighs in shape and still eat what you want... you can do this because you'll be burning the extra calories that you take in doing this really simple exercise! And believe me, you will feel the burn ><

Here it is, this simple exercise starts to tone up your thighs and butt the first time you do it. We call them "Iron Mike's." But to put it simply it's like a lunge.

This is how you do it:

Start at a standing position, feet together, hands on your head or at your hips, whichever you are more comfortable with ( I suggest your hips if you don't have good balance!).
Next step forward about 2 feet, with either your left or right foot. Then take the knee that is facing the ground and lower yourself until it touches the ground. Don't rest it there, just barely graze it and don't slam it into the floor either. Ouch!
Next as you come up(squeeze your cheeks and abs at this point!), bring the foot that you didn't step with back up to your first foot. You should be back at the starting postion.
Then all you have to do is repeat the steps, changing which foot you step with each time.

You should do this at least once a day. Try to do as many steps as you can until you feel like you can't walk anymore. Your thighs and butt will be sore but no pain no gain! Make sure to stretch afterwards, a good groin stretch and thigh stretch. Hold each one for AT LEAST 20 seconds, go longer if you have the time. Do the same exercise the next day, trying to do more than the day before. Make sure you drink lots of water!

I've been doing it for 3 days now, and I can already see the results, and I can feel it too. It's a really good simple exercise. I hope this helps everyone like it has helped me!;)