What Is Post Nasal Drip?

Here’s a really gross fact for you: the glands in your nose and throat produce one to two quarts of mucus a day. In as little as two days, you can produce a gallon of snot. Mucus is actually a good thing for your nose and throat. It helps keep things moist and clean up in your nose. Mucus can help humidify air and trap foreign matter. Mucus is actually a good infection fighter because it traps things that could cause you to get ill. Usually, we swallow mucus without thinking about it. But the feeling of it collecting in … Continue reading

Five Weird Pregnancy Symptoms

There are a number of weird, though perfectly normal, side effects to pregnancy that no one tells you about.  You might get all or none of these, and it could vary from one of your pregnancies to another. 1. Bloody Gums.  Early in the second trimester I began noticing a bit more blood than normal when I flossed.  I went to my routine dentist appointment, and the hygienist confirmed that yup, that’s just something that can happen when you’re pregnant.  Chalk this one down to hormones; they’re making your gums (and other parts) more inflamed than usual.  Pregnant women are … Continue reading

Fixing Your Leaky Faucet

You might think this one belongs in the Home Blog… until I tell you that the nozzle I’m talking about is the one on your face. Post nasal drip can be a real annoyance! Mucus is a part of life — and a necessary evil when it comes to breathing. Your nose has to warm and humidify the air you breathe so it doesn’t damage the lungs on arrival. Glands in the nose and sinus cavities produce approximately two quarts of fluid every day to keep membranes in the respiratory system moist. That fluid has to go somewhere, and sometimes … Continue reading

Lovage

What a romantic name — lovage sounds like it comes from “love” and “age” if you ask me. (Though it probably has a totally different origin!) Lovage was most popular during the Middle Ages — even the emperor Charlemagne kept lovage on the grounds. The herb was planted in both kitchen gardens and medicinal gardens. The roots of lovage were thought to be where the best medicine resided. They were used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, sore throat, kidney stones, and stomach problems. Some herbalists used lovage to relieve menstrual problems. The plant was used as a diuretic. Chewing on a … Continue reading

Where Coughing Comes From

Coughing is a common ailment that sends plenty of people running to the doctor’s office. Occasional coughing can be good for you — it can clear out particles in the lungs that can lead to infection. Persistent coughing isn’t quite so helpful. Most of the time, a cough is a symptom of something else. Maybe you’ve got allergies or post-nasal drip. Maybe a medication (like a nasal spray) is making your throat irritated. Maybe something more serious — like a heart condition, serious sinus infection, the flu, or gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD) — is hiding behind that cough. Your doc will … Continue reading

Taking Care of Kids When You’re Sick

No sooner had I finished writing about recharging our batteries when I was hit with a summer cold that has kept me in bed for the past two days. Seems like when I was younger I could shake a cold in a few hours now it takes days! Being sick, even with something as simple as a summer cold, can be challenging when you’re a parent. This is especially true when you are a single parent with young kids. Let’s face it, kids are sugar and spice and all that jazz but they don’t feel our pain. And even when … Continue reading

Score Another Victory For The Great Sinus Experiment

A few days ago, I woke up with a sore throat. It must be allergies, I told myself. Post nasal drip, because I have a certain brown dog who hogs all the pillows and I end up sleeping flat on my back. But the sore throat stuck around. Yesterday it was joined by a stuffy nose. And a headache. My nose and sinuses got more and more congested as the day went on, and I finally had to conclude that it wasn’t allergies. It was the beginnings of a sinus infection. I pulled out the Echinacea and goldenseal and took … Continue reading

A Messy Wednesday

Looks like all three of us in the Amodio household (apartmenthold) aren’t feeling well today. I’ve been having some sort of allergy attack, complete with stuffy nose and post-nasal drip. On the four-legged front, Moose didn’t eat his breakfast — and he never misses a meal. And Lally barfed twice in the living room. A fun day for all. Of course, I was out of my usual favorite pet mess cleaner: Nature’s Miracle. That stuff is truly great for getting colorful messes out of the carpet AND neutralizing the scents that tempt pets to revisit the spot. But since I’m … Continue reading

Week 5: 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child

Well, we’re almost to the end of our 8 Weeks To A well-Behaved Child program. This is week 5 and we’ll learn how to discourage misbehaviors by withdrawing attention. But first a review of last week. In week 4, we learned how to use reminder praise and increase compliance with expectations. Our assignment for the week was to use the five-step method of increasing compliance at least five times this week and to also describe any instances when we used any of the previous weeks’ methods during this week. The one thing I can vouch for is that small kids … Continue reading