The "what's On Your Mind?" Thread -2018

[arouetta]

This talk about disease, there are two things that actually have become more common - allergies and auto-immune disorders. And they are both rising quickly due to the same cause.

In the past when it came to human survival it was classic Darwin. Diseases were no different. Something deadly would go through an area and those with a really good immune system survived and those who didn't have as great of one died. Then the survivors had kids, the next deadly thing swept through and rinse and repeat.

Then you get to the Industrial Age, with Pasteur, Salk and penicillin and in about 100-150 years diseases dropped fast. That's a blink of an eye in evolution terms. However no one can quite tell the immune system cells directly that they can switch from Special Forces mode to Coast Guard mode, so our immune system is still actively looking for a fight. And since it usually can't find anything on a regular basis, sometimes it spots an innocent little protein and screams "That's not ours!! That's an invader!!! ATTACK!!!!!" And it imprints shrimp proteins as a deadly enemy. Worse, sometimes it's a case of mistaken identity and that innocent little protein is actually a domestic skin protein, and now you've got an auto-immune disorder.

Unfortunately there's no good solutions for allergies and auto-immune disorders. Deadly diseases are still out there, and even not so bad ones can mutate, so we need the robust immune system. But having a robust immune system means that since it can't find scarlet fever it may decide to fight something else scarlet, like strawberries or roses. Catch 22.

 

[Willowy]

Ha, yeah, my mom and I were discussing auto-immune disorders and allergies and the statement was made "your immune system gets bored and just starts attacking stuff for no reason". Yep. Poor bored immune systems. That's why my family keeps Zyrtec in business :/.

 

[Margret]

This talk about disease, there are two things that actually have become more common - allergies and auto-immune disorders. And they are both rising quickly due to the same cause.

In the past when it came to human survival it was classic Darwin. Diseases were no different. Something deadly would go through an area and those with a really good immune system survived and those who didn't have as great of one died. Then the survivors had kids, the next deadly thing swept through and rinse and repeat.

Then you get to the Industrial Age, with Pasteur, Salk and penicillin and in about 100-150 years diseases dropped fast. That's a blink of an eye in evolution terms. However no one can quite tell the immune system cells directly that they can switch from Special Forces mode to Coast Guard mode, so our immune system is still actively looking for a fight. And since it usually can't find anything on a regular basis, sometimes it spots an innocent little protein and screams "That's not ours!! That's an invader!!! ATTACK!!!!!" And it imprints shrimp proteins as a deadly enemy. Worse, sometimes it's a case of mistaken identity and that innocent little protein is actually a domestic skin protein, and now you've got an auto-immune disorder.

Unfortunately there's no good solutions for allergies and auto-immune disorders. Deadly diseases are still out there, and even not so bad ones can mutate, so we need the robust immune system. But having a robust immune system means that since it can't find scarlet fever it may decide to fight something else scarlet, like strawberries or roses. Catch 22.

There is one other factor to consider, which is, oddly enough, cleanliness. There have been recent studies that show that children raised in homes that are too clean are more likely to develop asthma. Kids need some exposure to dirt.

Basically, the more we find out about how we work the more we realize how much we don't know.

I remember an S.F. book I read, oh, 20 years ago?, about a generation ship traveling to the stars. Every once in a while the medical community on board would release a new cold virus into the ship's ventilation system, in order to keep the immune systems of the passengers up to par. Everyone found it annoying, of course, but everyone also recognized the need so complaints were more on the lines of "I wish we could dispense with all the colds" than "Would you please stop with the continual colds?!"

Margret

 

[arouetta]

Too clean is right, which is why I mentioned Pasteur. He is the grandfather of antibacterial soap, Purell hand sanitizer, and Clorox disinfectant wipes.

 

[1 bruce 1]

This is the one thing in your post that rang a bell for me. For the past couple of years we've been using All Plus Free and Clear. The "Plus" seems to be some kind of whitening additive, but the "Free and Clear" is supposed to mean hypoallergenic, right? Wrong. One day I went online looking for some detergent coupons and what I ran into was whole web pages of people complaining that when All became "Plus" it also began causing allergies. I put that together with the excessively itchy back I'd had lately and switched to Era, which is just detergent - doesn't say anything about extra strength or "free and clear" or hypoallergenic(!), and after making the switch the itching went away.

It may be time to try different detergents. Or simply, if his asthma never flares up when he's hospitalized, call the animal hospital and ask them what detergent they use on bedding.

Margret

Thank you Margaret that's a great idea!!!
For now I wonder if a hot wash with a splash of white vinegar would be OK until I find something suitable...

 

[segelkatt]

Too clean is right, which is why I mentioned Pasteur. He is the grandfather of antibacterial soap, Purell hand sanitizer, and Clorox disinfectant wipes.

I had read about the study of dirt and asthma a long time ago, like 40 years ago. The way it was put then was that households with a big brother, the dirty kind, had fewer children with asthma and other dirt-related diseases as the big dirty brothers brought all these germs home, babies and small children were exposed to them and thus developed a healthy immune system. As my oldest is a boy, well, a man by now, I found this to be quite true with my other children who were hardly ever sick.
I don't keep any of these newfangled sanitizers etc around, plain soap will do the same thing and not cause new strains of bacteria to develop.

 

[NewYork1303]

Thank you Margaret that's a great idea!!!
For now I wonder if a hot wash with a splash of white vinegar would be OK until I find something suitable...

I was most of my cat items in white vinegar. So I think that would be fine.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I had read about the study of dirt and asthma a long time ago, like 40 years ago. The way it was put then was that households with a big brother, the dirty kind, had fewer children with asthma and other dirt-related diseases as the big dirty brothers brought all these germs home, babies and small children were exposed to them and thus developed a healthy immune system. As my oldest is a boy, well, a man by now, I found this to be quite true with my other children who were hardly ever sick.
I don't keep any of these newfangled sanitizers etc around, plain soap will do the same thing and not cause new strains of bacteria to develop.

I dislike the sanitizers, so I don't keep them around. (I hate the residue!)
(My cat with asthma didn't live in a too-clean place, but I do see the point (and agree) as this cat has never gone outside and has never been "hardy" in the way most cats are.)

 

[Margret]

Thank you Margaret that's a great idea!!!
For now I wonder if a hot wash with a splash of white vinegar would be OK until I find something suitable...

Should work fine (assuming that's the problem - so far it's just a theory). I know people who regularly use vinegar in lieu of fabric softener.

(My cat with asthma didn't live in a too-clean place, but I do see the point (and agree) as this cat has never gone outside and has never been "hardy" in the way most cats are.)

Um, I wasn't talking about cats in that post; I know of no studies showing that it works the same way in cats as in humans. Also, I suspect that you're dangerously close to blaming yourself for your cat's asthma. All we can do is all we can do; if this is why your cat has asthma (which is making some major assumptions) you had no way of knowing, and the dangers involved in allowing a cat outdoors (off-leash) are huge. There's always some kind of trade-off, and we make the best decisions we can with the available information.

Margret

 

[1 bruce 1]

Should work fine. I know people who regularly use vinegar in lieu of fabric softener.


Um, I wasn't talking about cats in that post; I know of no studies showing that it works the same way in cats as in humans. Also, I suspect that you're dangerously close to blaming yourself for your cat's asthma. All we can do is all we can do; if this is why your cat has asthma (which is making some major assumptions) you had no way of knowing, and the dangers involved in allowing a cat outdoors (off-leash) are huge. There's always some kind of trade-off, and we make the best decisions we can with the available information.

Margret

I understand about cats vs. humans and that our bodies are different and handle things differently. My "not too clean" house thing was more or less my pathetic attempt at joking about not keeping my place as nice as it should be sometimes =)

 

[Alicia88]

It seems like Aedan is getting a tooth already. He's been fussy and drooling a lot and wanting to chew on stuff. Massaging his gums makes him feel better and Grandma and I could both feel something sharp and pokey on yhe bottom right. It's too early for this! He's only 2 months old!

 

[tallyollyopia]

I had read about the study of dirt and asthma a long time ago, like 40 years ago. The way it was put then was that households with a big brother, the dirty kind, had fewer children with asthma and other dirt-related diseases as the big dirty brothers brought all these germs home, babies and small children were exposed to them and thus developed a healthy immune system. As my oldest is a boy, well, a man by now, I found this to be quite true with my other children who were hardly ever sick.
I don't keep any of these newfangled sanitizers etc around, plain soap will do the same thing and not cause new strains of bacteria to develop.

I read the same study, and like most modern medicine, it's both true and isn't. There are people who grow up with weak, bored immune systems because the systems had nothing to do--and then there are people for whom that's not the reason why. Case in point: LS. LS was, quite literally, born lactose intolerant (along with a slew of other health problems). One of those problems were allergies; she was allergic to so much that for a few years her nickname was "Spot" (and boy, was she unhappy when she discovered one of our cats was named Spot!), and it's not like her immune system had time to get bored. It felt like RB and I were sick every other week; colds, strep, tonsilitis (it's amazing how many times I had to prove I got that before the doctors cleared me for a tonsilectomy--just boggles the mind) and she still had so many mild allergic reactions that her nickname was Spot, and now is deathly allergic to both wasps and mangoes. So--everyone's different.

I dislike the sanitizers, so I don't keep them around. (I hate the residue!)
(My cat with asthma didn't live in a too-clean place, but I do see the point (and agree) as this cat has never gone outside and has never been "hardy" in the way most cats are.)

And it may be that keeping keeping your cat in like you are you helped save him because he's naturally weak.

It seems like Aedan is getting a tooth already. He's been fussy and drooling a lot and wanting to chew on stuff. Massaging his gums makes him feel better and Grandma and I could both feel something sharp and pokey on yhe bottom right. It's too early for this! He's only 2 months old!

Wow! Prepare for a lot of sleepless nights.

 

[tallyollyopia]

Okay, serious story about a misunderstanding between two coworkers and a funny story about feral kittens by my store. The kittens first, because I like happy things.

So, our store gets fresh doughnut deliveries every night (well, almost every night). Last night our doughnut guy came in, got us our delivery, etc, but he did something new that he's never done before: he left the panel side of his van open while he went into the store. Suddenly he came back in, shaking like he'd seen something terrible. "Tally! Tally, there are cats in my van!" I looked up at him and asked how big they were and he said, "They're kittens! Kittens in my van Tally! Why are there kittens in my van?" So I smiled at him and told him that they were looking for their forever homes, and he got even more excited. "And they picked me? Me? Oh, I've got to get them home!" Side note--I don't actually know if the other stores on my route got their doughnuts last night.

Yesterday there was a horrible misunderstanding between OL (Other Lead) at the store and GWDLS (Guy Who Doesn't Like Singing). To start with, OL has had some serious trouble with Slacker--he's been coming in late or not at all (and is only still employed because people keep quitting), and has been giving all of us--all the employees above him in rank at the store--grief. (I roll with it, because I roll. I know this is a temporary issue.) OL, however, lets his needling remarks get under skin. To top it off, she also had to work on a regular basis with the lying chauvinist (who, as it turns out, told some outrageous lies in order to get "financial aid" from unsuspecting people). So, her reaction is completely understandable.

GWDLS, on the other hand, is honest, hard working, and trying to learn a million things at once because he wants to bounce into his next job as a lead so he can claim management experience (not a bad strategy, all things told). He also has a five month daughter who's teething, which I know because his GL (if the two of them get married they get kicked out and they don't make enough to afford living and food, never mind living and food and transportation--my town doesn't have a public transit system, and it's kind of spread out) came into the store with him once to buy a bottle of milk for her mother, and had the cute baby girl in tow (according to both of them the baby is in that awkward stage some babies get where they don't stop crying or fall asleep unless someone is actively carrying them). So, his reaction is understandable as well. (I wouldn't have made the same choice, but he does take a long view.) Also need to point out--none of them are local; they moved here to take advantage of the fact that, around here, there are places that are actually hiring.)

Here's what happened: Around four or five yesterday afternoon (middle of second shift), GWDLS received a text from his girlfriend's mother: At Hospital with Baby. Unresponsive. So, GWDLS desperately tries to text back, to call, to reach someone to find out what's going on. No one responds. He tells OL about this--and OL assumes he's lying to get out of work and tells him to stick to his shift. Not only that, but she's humored that someone will try this on her twice (because LC used the same sort of story to get out of work a couple of times), and lets the humor show, which naturally ticks off GWDLS. From there it escalated and it's at the point that GWDLS is asking the manager to rework the schedule so he doesn't have to work with OL any more--he's more than willing to work with anyone else, but he doesn't want to work with her. Which is understandable.

Unless and until I am asked about it, I'm not planning to interfere. Like I said, this is one of those situations where it's easy to see both sides. The person I have a bone to pick with is the customer who outright laughed at GWDLS when he said what was going on. That customer is a regular--and I will speak with him later. I can't do anything other than lay guilt on him though--but I will. This is just a tangled mess.

 

[LTS3]

It seems like Aedan is getting a tooth already. He's been fussy and drooling a lot and wanting to chew on stuff. Massaging his gums makes him feel better and Grandma and I could both feel something sharp and pokey on yhe bottom right. It's too early for this! He's only 2 months old!

Be careful if you use OTC teething pain relieving products like Orajel. Many are not for use in children under 2 years old or so. I saw an article about a very young child having a really severe reaction to an Orajel product: Mom Issues Warning About Teething Gel After Her Daughter Nearly Died

There's also this: Benzocaine and Babies: Not a Good Mix

I'd stick with cold teething rings and wash cloths to be safe.

 

[arouetta]

I never did go in on my day off, without a car it was too easy to not find a way to work. However my boss was closing with me last night, so I did get to talk with her. I barely got a quarter of the way through my planned speech before there was no reason to continue.

She's probably in her 50s and when she heard about the coworker not tagging due to the lack of a printer she actually rolled her eyes like a teenager. Not at me, but at the flimsy excuse, and she said "Always an excuse."

Turns out the girl who always left the fitting room a disaster is already gone, another girl is already gone, and the one with the printer excuse is almost certainly out the door as well.

And good news for the rest of us. Target corporate always severely restricts the hours in first quarter. Company wide, a lot of people that were holding close to 40 hours a week are now down to around 20-25, and you can guess at those of us who got less. One guy, don't know where, said a couple of weeks ago he's been getting 8 hours a week since January. Well, my boss is not hiring new people at this time because she wants to give the rest of us better hours. Woot!

 

[Alicia88]

Yay for the kittens!
I wasn't going to use oragel, anyway. It can also harden the time and prolong teething. I was told about teething oil. I think I'll ask the pediatrician about it because I've never heard of it before and I don't know if it's safe.

 

[Margret]

It's too early for this! He's only 2 months old!

Wow! Prepare for a lot of sleepless nights.

Isn't this the definition of parenthood?

So--everyone's different.

This was written in another context, but it's what I want to say about the teething. Everyone's different. Babies develop to their own timetable, no one else's. As long as they're healthy it's no reason to worry, but it does mean that you may as well jettison all the schedules that you'll find in the books about parenting. Hang onto the books - they have other useful information - just don't count on the schedules being accurate.

I read the same study, and like most modern medicine, it's both true and isn't.

The one I read never said it was universal, only that children were more likely to develop asthma if their homes were too clean. So many things have multiple causes, and we just don't know enough to always be able to pin down the actual cause in all cases. For instance, remember my uncle with cerebral palsy? There are a whole slew of different (but similar) disorders that are all classed as "cerebral palsy," and the cause isn't always as obvious as it was with my uncle. I babysat a baby girl once whom I had to take to Children's Hospital every other week for physical therapy for her cerebral palsy. In her case it was caused by being born prematurely, and the "palsy" manifested itself (to my eyes) in only one way - she had the most adorable lopsided smile. (I'm sure there was actually more which probably manifested as she grew to a toddler, or would have without the p.t., but that was as much as I could see.)

Another example: stroke. There are two kinds of strokes: the kind caused by a blood clot in the brain, and the kind caused by bleeding in the brain. Right now doctors are routinely prescribing aspirin to elderly patients to prevent blood clots - I'm old enough that I've been given that prescription. But then what happened when I needed a needle biopsy because of an anomaly on a mammogram? I bled so much that they were unable to actually get a sample from the anomaly! They sent me home with an ice pack in my bra and instructions to go to the nearest E.R. if it started up again in the middle of the night. I had to wear ice packs in my bra for 2 days after that! I'm now totally off of aspirin and I take vitamin K every day, because if I don't I get nose bleeds. (And a follow-up high-tech mammogram several months later, with separate ultrasound imaging, revealed no changes in the breast other than the scarring caused by the botched biopsy, so I don't have breast cancer, lest anyone here should worry about that.)

So, our store gets fresh doughnut deliveries every night (well, almost every night). Last night our doughnut guy came in, got us our delivery, etc, but he did something new that he's never done before: he left the panel side of his van open while he went into the store. Suddenly he came back in, shaking like he'd seen something terrible. "Tally! Tally, there are cats in my van!" I looked up at him and asked how big they were and he said, "They're kittens! Kittens in my van Tally! Why are there kittens in my van?" So I smiled at him and told him that they were looking for their forever homes, and he got even more excited. "And they picked me? Me? Oh, I've got to get them home!" Side note--I don't actually know if the other stores on my route got their doughnuts last night.

You've done a good thing, both for those kittens and for that young man. Of course, you have also now established yourself in his mind as the interpreter of all things feline. Expect many, many questions as the kittens grow up.

Well, my boss is not hiring new people at this time because she wants to give the rest of us better hours. Woot!

That must be a great relief, to many people at your store.

Margret

 

[Katie M]

I'm going to try to get an appointment at the WVU dental school. I think my tooth may be infected. Occasionally, my lower left jaw hurts, with the pain going up to my ear

 

[Margret]

I'm going to try to get an appointment at the WVU dental school. I think my tooth may be infected. Occasionally, my lower left jaw hurts, with the pain going up to my ear

That sounds like an emergency! Yes! Grab the first appointment you can get!


Margret

 

[segelkatt]

It seems like Aedan is getting a tooth already. He's been fussy and drooling a lot and wanting to chew on stuff. Massaging his gums makes him feel better and Grandma and I could both feel something sharp and pokey on yhe bottom right. It's too early for this! He's only 2 months old!

Never too early for a baby to get teeth, there have been reports of babies being BORN with teeth! They don't always come in at the usual places either. In my family (my younger brother and myself, all of my children) we get the teeth next to the middle teeth first, the ones on the bottom, then the ones on top, giving the baby the appearance of baby Dracula until the middle teeth come in next.
If you use a pacifier put it in the freezer, the cold will be soothing to the sore gums.