Home Remedies For Ingrown Toenails

Ingrown toenails are no laughing matter, I suffer from them and though I should not I will do “self-surgery” to remedy them.  If you also suffer from ingrown toenails, you know what I mean and the pain you go through.

Here are some home remedies for treating ingrown toenails.

First off – if your problem with ingrown toenails is chronic, you should see a doctor for it.  There are many medical treatments available to treat this problem.  Once you’ve been treated, your doctor will give you tips on how to care for your toe nails so that you don’t have a re-occurance.

Tip #1

If you’ve already developed ingrown toenails, they can be painful.  Soak your feet in warm water to releive the pressure.  The water will soften your toenail and skin and will provide temporary relief from this painful condition.  I’ve found that adding epsom salts to the water really helps.

Tip #2

Get better shoes.  Frequently people that suffer from ingrown toenails wear shoes that are either too small for their feet or too narrow.  If you need a wide shoe – buy it!  Your feet will be much happier, and so will your toes.  Wearing narrow or small shoes forces your toenail to grow where it can – usually the sides, which leads to ingrown toenails.

Tip #3

When you cut your toenails, cut straight.  Don’t cut the nail too short and don’t cut it a curve.  This is what will also cause your ingrown toenails.

Tip #5

If you’ve already developed an ingrown toenail, you may want to wear open-toed sandals to relieve some of the pressure – atleast until you deal with the problem.

Tip #6

To avoid getting an ingrown toenail, if you’ve done everything right including the right shoes you may want to avoid shoe inserts – you know, the extra padding you can buy to keep your shoes smelling nice or to add the extra “bounce” in your step.  There is nothing wrong with them, but adding a few extra millimeters may press your toe against the top of the shoe causing an ingrown toenail.  I like inserts in my shoes, but found that this was causing problems so I’ve done away with them.

If you have any tips that you can share, please leave us a comment!

_{»crosslinked«}

Technorati Tags: how to fix an ingrown toe nail, ingrown toenails

Good Hygiene For Guys

We’ve talked about hygiene for some time now, lately a few of the questions I’m asked are about hygiene and pre-teens and teens.

Hopefully once your son (or daughter) is a teen – they WILL WANT TO make sure they don’t stink.  After all a smelly kid will not be attractive or pleasant to anyone — parents included.

Rather than rewrite what I’ve already written – as it applies to adults as well as teens and pre-teens, here are a few sites that have done a good job on presenting the material.

Heidi Katz of Los Angeles, Calif., never wanted to become the “because I said so” kind of parent. In the past few years, when her son, Max, 11, ignored her pleas for him to use good grooming skills, Katz resisted the temptation to be demanding.

“My child has always kept himself pretty clean, although I’ve met with certainly a lot of resistance lately,” Katz says. “Take a shower. I don’t want to. Cut your fingernails. I don’t want to. Brush your teeth. I don’t want to.”

Katz found material for her son to read about good grooming habits. She took him to the store to find guy-friendly as opposed to unisex grooming products. Now he takes more frequent showers, using body wash and shampoo.

Controlling body odor is not easy, and more boys are starting to develop and become involved in sports at a younger age. Max stays active with his skateboarding, rollerblading and soccer games.  ”He is getting to the point now where he sweats,” Katz says. “He did not used to sweat. He is starting to develop those glands and that capability.”

No Smelly Teens or Pre-Teens – Teaching Your Boys Good Hygiene Habits

More Resources:

Kids Health – Personal Hygiene and Taking Care Of your Body

Hygiene Basis for Kids

Technorati Tags: good hygiene for boys, good hygiene for kids, Personal Hygiene, shower every day

Lose Weight And Keep It Off – Easy Tips #1

Did you know that most people that lose weight tend to regain most, if not all of it within a year?  It’s true – several studies have gone on to prove that 80% of people on diets gain their weight back.

How can you be part of the 20% that DOES NOT gain it back?

Getting Started TODAY

You cannot leave weight loss for January 1, New Years Resolutions, after the summer picnic, or any other event.  Weight loss (and waist management) needs to start today.

It is easy.

When I had gone onto lose 100lbs, I ate EVERYTHING – including the forbidden fruit, chips.  But I made use of portion control.  Go for the summer picnic, or the bbq – but control what you’re eating.

In addition to portion control, and avoiding high fat and sugary foods – exercise.  It doesn’t have to be hard.  I didn’t join any gym or workout like crazy.

I started with walking and riding my exercise bicycle.  10 minutes per day, daily.

Soon 10 minutes wasn’t enough.  So I did 20 minutes, then 30 minutes until finally I could do 60 minutes per day without a second thought (and without getting tired).

By starting slowly and building up, you not only make exercise enjoyable but something you turn into a habit – and once you have a good habit that has formed (hopefully) it’s not something that you will break.

As you watch what you eat, and exercise – you will lose weight and as you lose weight you won’t feel like going back to old habits.

Technorati Tags: easy weight loss, lose weight and keep it off, Weight Loss

10 Sports/Hobbies Fat Peole Should Not Try

OK, so these are all in jest – it’s nice to poke fun at ourselves sometimes.  Right?

• Number 10 – Hang Gliding – You expect that flimsy structure and wind to keep aloft a 400lb body?  Yah, sure.
• Number 9 – Gliding – same reasons as above.  You expect that the plane will keep your 400lb body aloft?  Yah, sure.
• Number 8  – Skydiving - you expect that tiny parachute to keep up 400lbs?!?!  Seriously, most schools will not accept you if you’re over 220lbs.
• Number 7 – Cave Exploring – hey, there are some really tight spaces in caves; and unless you want to become part of the cave – forget about it.  Seriously.
• Number 6 – Mountain Climbing – do you really think that those ropes will hold you up?
• Number 5 – Paragliding – ok, ok, ok ANY sport or hobby that requires you to be tethered to anything to keep you aloft, don’t think about it.  This includes stuff like Wingsuit Flying.
• Number 4 – Shark Diving – you’d make a tasty morsel for the sharks. 
• Number 3 – Paint Ball – only because we make easy targets.
• Number 2 – Kayaking – ummm… I don’t think they make kayaks that big.
• Number 1 – Horse Riding

Enjoy!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: sports hobbies fat people should not try

Obesity: Food Kills, Flab Protects

Found an excellent article on New Scientist today: Obesity: Food Kills, Flab Protects.

To read it, click DOES FAT PROTECT.

Enjoy!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: does fat protect, does flab protect, food kills, obesity

Is Snacking All Day Instead Of Meals Unhealthy?

When I started to lose weight, I ate three meals per day AND I snacked in between meals.  Snacks were never high-calorie foods, but low-calorie AND low-fat foods – typically it would be things like baby carrotts, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers or other vegetables.  I’d also add fruit to the mix and preferred apples and grapes (watch grapes as they are high in natural sugars).

But I didn’t stop there – I would have snack crackers, but checked the labels to ensure that they were not high in fat or salt.

Other snack ideas are nuts - preferably un-salted, pretzels (in limited quantities – NOT the whole bag).

I also made sure that I drank plenty of water to keep myself hydrated.

Technorati Tags: snacking, Weight Loss

Obesity In The US

While there are statistics all over the place about the high cost of obesity, and the damage it causes the health care system – whether that be in Canada, the US or any other country one thing is certain that as the economic times have changed which has forced many families to take on more – such as both parents working or parents having to take on 2nd jobs and leaving kids behind to fend for themselves obesity has increased.

Parents that have to work, naturally will have less time to spend with their kids – as a result those kids may spend more time on the couch instead of outside playing.  In fact when you look at the playground, who do you see?  Generally kids where one parent is at home – not very often will you see kids by themselves.

While that is quite a generalization as there are skinny kids that may not be outside playing, are they necessarily healthy?  Just because you’re skinny doesn’t mean healthy.

I came across an excellent article about Obesity in the US on the CDC website – http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html.  They provide an animated map of the US that shows obesity rates from 1985 to 2008.  The 1985 map is primarily white, with some states in the < 10% or 10% – 14% categories.  Fast forward to 2008 and it’s anywhere from 20% to as high as OVER 30% with only one state in the 15% – 19% range (Colorado).

The article goes on to show the rate of obesity among minorities – white, non Hispanic, Hispanic and black non Hispanic.  It’s clear from the graphs that obesity is in epidemic proportions in many ethnic communities.

The final image that they provide is the prevalance of obesity by county and right below that the number of cases of diabetes.  It becomes clear when you view both of these that there is a high correlation between obesity and diabetes.

The fact is that we need to do more to lose weight – and not just an empty promise to ourselves that we’ll start “tomorrow”.

Here is to your health!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: obesity in the US, Weight Loss

Top Tips For Walking

Getting regular exercise can be difficult – I know.  But there is something you can do for yourself that is easy, and does not take a lot of time and is good for you.  Walking.  But how can you get walking into your schedule?

Just look at these tips…

• Walk to work.
• Walk during lunch hour.
• Walk instead of driving whenever you can.
• Take family walk after dinner.
• Walk to your place of worship instead of driving.
• Walk kids to school.
• Get a dog and walk it.
• Replace Sunday drive with Sunday walk.
• Get off a stop early & walk.
• Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV.
• Make a Saturday morning walk a group habit.
• Walk briskly in the mall.
• Park farther from destination and walk.
• Walk instead of sitting around.
• Take your dog on longer walks.
• Drink lots of water.
• Walk the beach instead of sunbathing.
• Walk to a co-worker’s desk instead of emailing or calling them.
• When walking, go up the hills instead of around them.

Simple steps (excue the pun) to get you up and out walking!

Here is to your health!

Mohamed

Technorati Tags: walking, walking for fun and fitness

Next Page »