Over the counter medicines are drugs that can be sold directly to patients having a valid prescription from a doctor or any healthcare professionals. The reason why some drugs are not allowed to be sold directly to consumers over the counter is to make sure that these drugs will only be given to the right patients with the right illness. Some people may think that they already know everything about drugs, or some might think that some drugs intended for a specific illness that have been prescribed to someone they know, would still be applicable to them; but that kind of thinking should never be pursued.
All drugs have different formulation and ingredients. Some may contain harmful or poisonous ingredients, some might cause drug addiction that could be used for wrong doings, and some drugs might contain an ingredient that can make a person allergic. These are the reasons why not all drugs are sold directly over the counter. Over the counter drugs are regulated by selected regulatory agencies which checks the drug whether it is safe to be taken by common consumers.
Fungal infections are common illness acquired by people and are mainly caused by bacterial infections. To treat these fungal diseases, antifungal agents should be taken just like Fluconazole or Diflucan. The thing about this medicine (Diflucan) is that it is a broad spectrum antifungal agent; it means that it kills a wide range of bacteria. Diflucan are available in tablets and IV (Intravenous injection). Diflucan is used to treat candidal infections caused by the Candida bacteria, urinary tract infections, peritonitis, and pneumonia. Read more…
I’m debating what to do about Halloween.
I loved dressing up and collecting candy as a kid. But as an adult – and someone with a growing awareness of our country’s health crisis – I don’t want to encourage the consumption of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings…you get the idea.
I could hand out boxes of raisins, but I hated that as a child.
I could hand out toothbrushes, but again, that’s no fun.
I could bake something – treats using crispy brown rice cereal and natural peanut butter – but I know homemade goods would get thrown out by vigilant parents.
I have a friend who has her kids put their loot in a pile before bed. During the night the Great Pumpkin comes and Poof! their candy is turned into little games and trinkets from the dollar store. I also know a dentist who gives money in exchange for the kids who turn in their candy.
Hmm.
I was reading a recent issue of Body & Soul magazine and saw a small article on fair trade. Most chocolate, the article said, is exported from the Ivory Coast where kids aren’t going to school because they’re working on cocoa farms to help with family income. Buying fair trade products ensures that the money goes directly to the farmers and their communities instead of all the middlemen. And it just so happens that you can buy individually wrapped pieces of fair trade dark chocolate (according to some studies, dark chocolate does have a few health benefits).
Click here for a link to the article and a list of the companies.
Panic.
It’s a “sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior” according dictionary.com.
I’ve certainly been guilty of it. But it usually doesn’t serve me well. Like the time I convinced myself I had appendicitis and went into such hysterics that I passed out.
I came across this story last week – a construction worker in China was buried alive in the mud with nothing but a gap of air in front of his face (his helmet slid down). He didn’t panic. He practiced meditation and survived two hours on an amount of air that should have lasted five minutes.
I wonder sometimes how I would react in certain situations. What if I was eating in Windows restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11? What if I was in one of the hijacked planes? I don’t think a person truly knows how he or she will respond unless in the situation. God willing, that will never be the case, but if it is, I hope I am like the man in the mud.
I’m at the BlogHer conference in downtown Chicago mingling with 800 other women (promise I’ll link to some great food and yoga blogs once I process all the info that’s pouring into my brain).
The first day, I decided to get some exercise by walking from the train station to the conference center. I was wearing sandals and carrying a heavy laptop bag. I got lost. One hour and five blisters later, I finally arrived. I was smart enough to take a cab back to the train station that night, but once I made it to the suburbs (where I’m staying with a friend) I had to walk another mile to their house. My friend’s husband, Brad, was with me, and he watched as I limped and cringed.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I said as my sandals rubbed against my blisters.
I slipped off my shoes.
“Ow, ow, ow,” I said again as the sharp little pebbles on the roads and sidewalks cut my feet.
“You’re a yoga blogger!” Brad said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.
“Some yogis walk over hot coals and stuff,” he pointed out.
Now that he mentioned it, I did recall reading a passage in a book about firewalking at a yoga retreat. Although none of the yoga classes I’ve attended have involved hot coals, we do practice in bare feet. Still, smooth wood floors and soft sticky mats may help strengthen my soul, but they don’t sturdy up the skin on my soles.
Walking home that night, I stepped off the sidewalk and onto the grass. It was long and cool and damp. It cushioned my bare feet and brushed in between my toes. I completely forgot about my blisters as I focused on how nice it felt to observe the world through from the bottom up. It had been a long time since I’ve walked barefoot in the grass.
To some, barefoot hiking is a hobby. Richard Frazine wrote a book about it called The Barefoot Hiker, and Common Ground, a sustainable living magazine, wrote an article about it here.
How often do we take time to feel the crunch of leaves or the slick slime of moss or the powder puffs of dirt through our feet and toes? Not to mention walking barefoot is gentle on the planet. I think I will start taking off my shoes more often, especially outside.
As quoted on this website, Sitting Bull said: “Healthy feet can hear the very heart of Mother Earth.”
