Add all ingredients together in a glass spray bottle in the order listed above, leaving essential oils to go in last. Shake to combine. Try to use an amber glass bottle if possible to prevent the sun from penetrating the oils inside, which could lessen their potency. Keep Bottle out of direct sunlight and somewhere cool.
The Mr Potato Head scavenger hunt is a great accessible activity that can be set up for AAC (Augmentative and assertive communication). There are many other activities you can use Mr Potato Head for: Following Instructions Developing Fine Motor Skills Team work and interaction Emotions Playing with food Problem Solving Sequencing Senses (Worksheet available below) […]
Dear pain warriors, I hope you are staying safe and well. In our recent survey, when asked “What resources would be most helpful to you right now,” a majority of you responded that you need help handling the added stress and anxiety of COVID-19. With that in mind, we’d like to share details about an upcoming Zoom webinar: on Monday, May 4, at 7 pm ET, pain psychologist Shamin Ladhani, PsyD, will discuss strategies for staying mentally well during a crisis–including the current pandemic. She will also explain some of the emotions we experience during times of crisis, and talk about how stress affects the immune system, which is especially relevant for those with chronic illness. Dr. Ladhani will then take some time to answer questions from the audience.
I hope you can join us. And a reminder: if you’re feeling alone, please consider joining one of our upcoming Pain Connection support group calls. There’s even one today at 2:30 pm ET. Register here. Sincerely,
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “val.” Find a word that starts with “val” or if you’re not doing the A to Z Challenge, find a word that just has “val” in it, and use that word any way you’d like. Enjoy!
Join us for the fun and sharing good media stories.
For more on the Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit Linda Hill’s blog. Here’s the link:https://lindaghill.com
Here are the rules for SoCS:
Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
From an early age, I knew my great-grandmother had superpowers. “Mimi,” we called her.
She was born in the late 1800s, earned a graduate degree from Berkeley in 1919, sipped a glass (or two) of sherry every evening, and charmed us with her wit until the very end. And, like her mother “Nanan” before her, Mimi lived to be over 100.
During the course of her remarkable life that straddled three different centuries and two millennia, she survived tuberculosis (which killed her father), the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1918 Flu, retro-peristalsis (the reversal of intestinal smooth muscle movement), and two C-sections before the discovery of penicillin.
In her late 90s — coincidentally, during the late 1990s — she recovered from a broken hip, sepsis, and flu that would have felled a woman half her age. Well into her hundreds, she still walked every day, required no prescription medications, and ate ice cream every night.
I thought she was invincible
When she died at 103 shortly after a bad fall, it wasn’t an infection that killed her. It was organ failure. Her own body simply turned off the switch.
I think about Mimi — and her immune system — a lot. Apart from the obvious privilege that comes with being a white, middle-class woman in California, she lived a charmed life.
And while Mimi’s immune system never faced this coronavirus, I wonder if some people are just born better equipped to fight infection than others? After all, each of us has that family member who “gets sick a lot” and that one relative who is “never sick” (lookin’ at you, Mom).
We don’t know much yet about what factors can influence our immune systems’ responses to COVID-19. Research shows there are clear genetic differences in susceptibility to other infectious diseases — with much of that variation found in genes involved in the immune system.[1] But our environment likely plays a big role in how well our immune systems function, too.[2] Good news for me because I probably only inherited around 12.5% of Mimi’s DNA.
The more I learn about the complexity of the human immune system, the more I realize it may not have been a particularly “strong” immune response that saved Mimi. It might’ve just been the “right” response. After all, an overzealous immune reaction — like anaphylactic shock — can kill a person.
And an overzealous immune reaction seems to be contributing to COVID-19 deaths.
COVID-19 vs. the Immune System
When a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (aka novel coronavirus), the virus invades cells lining the patient’s respiratory tract and hijacks their cellular machinery to make more coronavirus, which goes on to infect more and more cells.
Next, the body’s immune system starts to take notice. But in some patients, the immune system gets carried away and they become sicker from their body’s own inflammatory response than from the virus itself.
Widespread inflammation of the lungs — triggered by a wave of inflammatory molecules in your body called cytokines — can lead to a condition called Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, or ARDS. In ARDS, the barrier between the blood and the lungs’ delicate air sacs breaks down and the lungs fill with fluid. This breakdown impairs the lungs’ ability to oxygenate the blood and clear carbon dioxide, which can lead to organ failure.
The drugs being deployed in hospitals to fight COVID-19 are not just experimental antiviral drugs like remdesivir. [3] Some of them are drugs that dampen the body’s immune response, in the hopes that they will give the patients a chance to take a deep breath (literally and figuratively) and get back to the business of fighting the virus.
During recent infectious diseases division grand rounds at UCSF, Dr. Michael Matthay, an ARDS expert and professor at UCSF’s Pulmonary Medicine department, speculated that once a patient has arrived in the ICU and developed ARDS, antiviral therapy may “not be effective.”[4] Some experts think it may be more effective to intervene with antiviral drugs during earlier stages of the disease when symptoms are not yet severe.[5] Or, perhaps an immune overreaction only affects certain patients, while others with severe symptoms could still benefit from antiviral treatment.
So what can make some peoples’ immune response to COVID-19 different from others?
Sex and the Immune System
We’re beginning to see clear sex differences in the rate of COVID-19 infection and mortality: not only are men more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV2, but they are also more likely to die from the disease. In a recent European surveillance report from the World Health Organization, about two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths that week were men.[6]
Some of these differences could be environmental. In many parts of the world, for example, men smoke more than women (which reduces lung health) and men are more likely to have preexisting chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, or high blood pressure.
But biological sex is known to play a differential role in the immune system. Women are much more susceptible to autoimmune diseases in which their own immune systems turn against them and attack healthy tissue such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus.
At the same time, women often have a more robust immune response to pathogens like viruses and bacteria — a pattern that may be repeated with SARS-CoV-2.
Some researchers are speculating that women may have a stronger immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in the early stages of a viral infection than men. [7]Compared to SARS (the classic kind), COVID-19 viral replication seems to peak earlier and at higher levels during the course of the disease, meaning an early and robust immune response could be the difference between life and death. [8]
A delayed immune response can be doubly dangerous. After the virus has a chance to wreak havoc in the lungs, an overzealous immune reaction can set off a widespread inflammatory response that causes further damage, accelerating progression to ARDS.
But sex is not the only variable that influences our body’s ability to fight infection.
Age and the Immune System
You’ve probably heard by now that mortality from COVID-19 is much higher among older people. [9] (Though it’s important to note that all age groups are susceptible to severe infection and young people can die from it too.)
Apart from being more likely to have chronic “comorbid” conditions such as heart disease, type II diabetes, or high blood pressure, older people are more likely to have dysregulated immune systems. [10]
Like a trailer slowly fish-tailing out of control, our immune system’s ability to cope with pathogens decreases as we age, and our inflammatory response increases.[11]
Fewer precision-guided missiles. More carpet bombs.
While we may never be able to stop or reverse the aging of our immune systems — and genetics likely play a role that’s outside of our control — there are certain things we can do to slow it down and keep it in a “goldilocks zone” for as long as possible. [12]
Exercise. Get enough sleep. Avoid stress (where possible). And eat a healthy diet.
This week, US supermarket chain Publix announced a new initiative to purchase fresh produce and milk to assist farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Publix will be donating these products directly to Feeding America member food banks in its operating area. The initiative, which is expected to result in more than 150,000 pounds of produce and 43,500 gallons of milk donated to Feeding America food banks during its first seven days, is expected to run for several weeks.
The program will support Florida produce farmers, southeastern dairy farmers and the growing number of families looking to Feeding America for fresh fruits, vegetables, and milk during the coronavirus pandemic.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
“As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “In this time of uncertainty, we are grateful to be able to help Florida’s produce farmers, southeastern dairies and families in our communities.”
With numerous reports of farmers discarding produce and milk that isn’t being sold—mostly as a result of school, restaurant and hotel closures—Publix hopes to address the needs of both the farming community and its local partner food banks through this initiative.
“We are thrilled about Publix’s initiative to buy additional milk from Southeast Milk for processing and donation to Feeding America member food banks,” said Southeast Milk Inc. President Joe Wright. “It’s a win-win for our farmers who are feeling the impact of decreased demand and the families who are in need of nutrient rich milk during this pandemic.”
“Like so many others right now, Florida farmers are in a time of need. We are humbled Publix is purchasing additional fresh vegetables from us and other local farms to donate to food banks throughout the Southeast,” said Pero Family Farms Food Co. CEO Peter F. Pero IV. “Thank you to Publix, the participating food banks and their volunteers for making this initiative possible for those less fortunate while supporting local farms.”
“In addition to providing much needed produce and milk to food banks, this initiative provides financial support to farmers during this challenging time,” Publix’s Jones said. “We’re honored to be able to work with these groups and do good together for our communities.”
Throughout the company’s history, Publix has supported organizations working toward alleviating hunger in our neighborhoods. Since 2009, Publix has donated more than $2 billion in food to people in need and has pledged an additional $2 billion in food donations over the next 10 years.
Publix Super Markets Charities recently also made donations totaling $2 million to support Feeding America member food banks during the pandemic.
This is just one of many positive stories and updates that are coming out of the COVID-19 news coverage this week. For more uplifting coverage on the outbreaks, click here.
“We are the World” Blogfest” aims to spread the message of light, hope and love in today’s world. We are challenging all participants to share the positive side of humanity.
Also, pls add a link to your post here (This Facebook link will go live at 24 April 12.01 am GMT): https://www.facebook.com/1340888285958297/posts/2935629353150841/ Thanks for participating, and we look forward to your WATWB posts. Welcome participants and encourage all to join in during future months. #WATWB comes on the last Friday of every month.
Welcome back to Weekend Music Share; the place where everyone can share their favourite music.
Feel free to use the ‘Weekend Music Share‘ banner in your post, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #WeekendMusicShare on social media so other participants can find your post.
Thank you to all the front life workers across the globe, we can not make it without your perseverance and sacrifice. I appreciate you stopping by today! Please keep your distance and wash, your hands. Have a great weekend! Melinda
Nicole HemmenwayInterim CEOU.S. Pain Foundation
lookingforthelight.blog 