I think it was at the last VegOut when I mentioned putting Vaseline on a wound in cases where Neosporin was unavailable. In my flashback, I recall Ender being especially skeptical about this claim. You thought I had forgotten about the shame I suffered in your mockery, but you are wrong!
A handful of studies have found that when wounds are kept moist and covered, blood vessels regenerate faster and the number of cells that cause inflammation drop more rapidly than they do in wounds allowed to air out. It is best to keep a wound moist and covered for at least five days.
Another common mistake is applying antibiotic ointments, said Dr. Mark D. P. Davis, a professor of dermatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. These ointments may keep the wound moist, he said, but they can also lead to swelling and an allergic reaction called contact dermatitis. Plain and simple Vaseline, applied twice a day, works fine.
Actually, scabs can promote scarring, and air-drying is a terrible remedy for cuts.
The most common mistakes people make that lead to scarring, he says, are: letting wounds dry out (an antibacterial ointment or even petroleum jelly should be applied), picking off scabs and waiting too long before getting medical attention for a wound that is large or healing poorly.
Damn straight! Yes, this has been bothering me for the last few weeks.
Today in the wee hours of the day I was awoken by a fresh sensation: Charlie Horse pain. Anyone who’s ever gotten that sudden muscle cramping burst of concentrated pain in their lower legs in the middle of a great night’s sleep knows just how bad this sucks. I tried to look up some information about the causes of the Charlie Horse, but I don’t think everyone agrees on their cause just yet. I read that calcium and potassium deficiency can contribute, but I don’t think mine was caused by that. It’s been about 3 years since I last had one so I suppose I was due. When the ole charliehorsenator strikes you, all you can do is clench your teeth, rub your leg, and count the minutes till the pain goes away. Which is exactly what I did. Then a few hours later, I had to get myself up and hobble to work =(. I guess it could always be a whole lot worse. TGIF.
A cramp can be quickly defused with active stretching of the affected muscle. Cramps in the calf muscle can be defused by outstretching the leg, pushing the heel downward, and pointing your toes toward your head. Standing up with most of your weight on the ball of the foot on the cramping side will also stretch the [calf] muscle and diffuse the pain. If you feel a cramp starting, this will usually stop it from becoming more painful.
Can you imagine being in clinical tests to determine the cause of Charlie Horses? Or having recurring muscle cramps? Grrrrrrggggg, just thinking about it makes my poor calf hurt =(.
If you are easily grossed out, you may want to skip this post. Otherwise, read on at your own risk…
One thing that I’ve been curious about lately are these gross little misshapen light yellow clumps that I sometimes cough up. They are smaller than a pea, and they smell awful. About maybe once a month or so, I feel a tickle in the back of my throat and I cough/spit one of these little devil curds out. However, until today I had no idea what they were. I am pretty glad that I found out that I am not the only one who gets them. Apparently they are called tonsilloliths, and are rather common. In fact, there are even some products that claim to get rid of them.
The quick and dirty explanation is that they are bits of food debris and bacteria that get trapped in your tonsils (in the pits that are fittingly called “crypts”). For extra spice, they also have some mucous from post nasal drip mixed in. There are funky gases like sulfur in them too, which is why they smell disgusting. Yum.
I guess if they bother you a lot, you can get your tonsils removed. However, these hellish tonsil curds are usually not dangerous, and can sometimes be treated by gargling with salt water and using tongue scrapers. I’m just glad to know what they are, and to find out that other people get them too.
On a much less disgusting note, anyone else see the badass new templates that Blogger has?
General | Kabitzin 6/20/2008 | 
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