Archives for March 2010

Smoking Dads

I am really curious on why they give cigar to a man after his wife gave birth. I have seen it in movies and I wonder why. Does anyone know the history of giving cigars right after birth? And if you do, where do you buy discount cigar for occasions like that? Here in our country it was not a common tradition. The common sight is the husband nervously smoking outside the hospital. Oh yes, hubby acted that way, it never fails. I think he consumed more cigars while I was on the delivery room. It was a funny sight no.

We have four kids now, so imagine how much stressed the hubby has been. But all those were instantly washed out when he see his kids. This guy is crazy about his boys, specially CHICO. I realized, since I gave birth to Chico and when he becomes more playful, hubby dreaded leaving the house. He wants to stay with him and play with him all day!

Furuncle Is Pigsa

I have a Furuncle/Pigsa and it hurts like hell. Last night we decided to pop the eye out. I almost die. It was so painful. I was thinking of having it removed surgically but I am afraid of hospitals. I think of bad things that can happen to me during the operation. Now I am treating it with hot compress. And my doctor advised that I take antibiotic for it.

Let’s have a poll. Would you like to see my Furuncle?

What is Furuncle? A furuncle (boil) is a skin infection involving an entire hair follicle and nearby skin tissue.

Causes: Furuncles are very common. Furuncles are generally caused by Staphylococcus aureus,but they may be caused by other bacteria or fungi found on the skin’s surface. Damage to the hair follicle allows these bacteria to enter deeper into the tissues of the follicle and the subcutaneous tissue.

Furuncles may occur in the hair follicles anywhere on the body, but they are most common on the face, neck, armpit, buttocks, and thighs. Furuncles can be single or multiple.

Symptoms:

A furuncle may begin as a tender, pinkish-red, swollen nodule but ultimately feel like a water-filled balloon. Pain gets worse as it fills with pus and dead tissue. Pain improves as it drains. It may drain on its own. More often the patient or someone else opens the furuncle.

The furuncle:

Is usually pea-sized, but may be as large as a golf ball
May develop white or yellow centers (pustules)
May join with another furuncle or spread to other skin areas
May grow rapidly
May weep, ooze, crust

Other symptoms may include:

Fatigue
Fever
General ill-feeling
Itching before furuncle develops
Skin redness or inflammation around the lesion

Treatment:

Furuncles may heal on their own after an initial period of itching and mild pain. More often, they increase in discomfort as pus collects. They finally burst, drain, and then heal on their own.

Furuncles usually must drain before they will heal. This most often occurs in less than 2 weeks. Treatment by a health care provider is needed if a furncle lasts longer than 2 weeks, returns, is located on the spine or the middle of the face, or occurs with a fever or other symptoms because the infection may spread and cause complications.

Warm moist compresses encourage furuncles to drain, which speeds healing. Gently soak the area with a warm, moist cloth several times each day. Deep or large lesions may need to be drained surgically by a health care provider. Never squeeze a boil or attempt to cut it open it at home because this can spread the infection and make it worse.

Meticulous hygiene is important to prevent the spread of infection. Draining lesions should be cleaned frequently. You should wash your hands very well The after touching a furuncle. Do not re-use or share washcloths or towels. Clothing, washcloths, towels, and sheets or other items that contact infected areas should be washed in very hot (preferably boiling) water. Dressings should be changed frequently and discarded in a manner that contains the drainage, such as by placing them in a bag that can be closed tightly before discarding.

Antibacterial soaps and topical antibiotics are of little benefit once a furuncle has formed. Systemic antibiotics may help to control infection in those with repeated furuncles.

Thank you so much Medline Plus

Another Observation

Our contest is about to end and we have so much to share with you regarding our contest. I might even publish a lot of articles about it (watch for it on NOOB). We learned so much from our mistakes and from our contestants. When our contest started we were anxious that we would not meet our goal. We promised our sponsors that we will have 50 and more participants. That is why we continue to change our mechanics, not for page impression but for our sponsors. We even thought of using direct mail marketing to promote our contest. Yes, I thought of printing out brochures and post card and bring it on an event and have other bloggers know about our contest. That is how serious we are on keeping our promise.

Now that the end is nearing, I am happy with the outcome, though it was not as we planned, I think everybody was pleased with the mechanics and its changes. Next week, for sure, a lot of you will have a difficult time waiting for the result. You know that we have 4 winners ($200, $100, $50 and $30) coming from the top points earner and we are going to raffle off 5 $20. If you have won any on the four major prizes, you can no longer win on the raffle. And for my side contest (where you can win $5 for reviewing my other blogs),you can win more than once. Lastly, if ever you are one of our winners, please do not bombard us with emails and comments giving us your paypal. We will ask you to email your paypal to me once. Give us at least a week before we give your prizes, things need to be sort out and of course, we have to leave some rooms for dispute.