Old Health Pamphlet Advice

I found old health brochures from Kaiser Permanente. I took pics from my cell phone. Some of the information is outdated. Maybe these handouts which belong in a museum conjure past memories.

Trouble Sleeping? What you can do about insomnia. Revised Feb 1993.

Get It Right When You Grab A Bite. Good nutrition for teens. Copyright 1988. Revised Jan 1991.

Why All The Fuss About Fiber . . . And what to do about it. Copyright 1987. Revised Nov 1993.

Children Cold Self Care. Copyright 1987. Revised Mar 1988.

The Food Guide Pyramid . . . Beyond the basic 4. 1992.

Breast Self-Examination. Your lifesaving choice. 1991.

Corns, Calluses, And Toenails. Copyright 1994. Revised May 2008.

Calcium And Vitamin D. Copyright 2009. Revised Sep 2012.

Low Back Pain. What you can do. Copyright 2009. Revised May 2012.

Throwback Blog: Me Versus My Sinus Infection

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Me Versus My Sinus Infection written on Apr 3, 2011. I got Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. The blog is my personal cautionary tale how I take care of myself when I'm sick. What do I do. What don't I do. Don't fight fatigue; take a nap. No NyQuil. No orange juice from concentrated. Yes to milk chocolate. No DayQuil. Yes to water; however, no eight glasses a day. No vitamin C tablets. No green tea. No cranberry juice. No pomegranate juice. Yes to Coke. Yes to fully cooked meals. No to saline solutions. No to codeine. No to Nasonex. No to chewing gum. Yes to sleep. No to Ricola. Yes to Chloraseptic throat lozenges. Yes to being calm.

Further, I minimize eating junk food. Eat healthy meals. Eat something when hungry; for example, Snickers candy bars are better than Pop Tarts.

I got a minor stomach flu after my RSV. I blogged Me Versus My Stomach Flu on Apr 14, 2011.

I wrote three more sinus infections blogs: Me Versus My Sinus Infection II on Sep 25, 2011, Me Versus My Sinus Infection III on Mar 11, 2012, and Me Versus My Sinus Infection IV on Dec 7, 2012.

The month of March I battled a sinus infection. I want to document the days I got infected and how I treated myself. I continue to fight my sinus infection as of the time I posted the blog. This sinus infection is one of the worse I can remember. I document the events by date:

February 2011. I experienced many days of fatigue. I took many naps in the afternoon. There were days I fought fatigue by avoiding afternoon naps or sleeping early and skipping homework.

Mon Feb 28 to Sat March 5. Sickness developed. I felt really tired on Sat Mar 5. I should have went home after an event in the afternoon. I took NyQuil and drank Whole Foods orange juice in the evening.

Fri Mar 4. Purchased Trader Joe’s orange juice and milk chocolate.

Sun Mar 6. Cough developed.

Mon Mar 7 to Fri Mar 11. Full sickness. I had trouble sleeping most of the week. I skipped my De Anza classes.

Mon Mar 7. Stopped taking NyQuil and DayQuil.

Tue Mar 8. Sickness got worse. I forgot to drink water. I applied Visine because I had red watery eyes.

Wed Mar 9. Took 1,000mg vitamin C, drank more coke, drank green tea, and drank 100% ocean spray cranberry/pomegranate juice once. I resumed drinking water. I applied Visine again because I had red watery eyes. I coughed mucus that included blood. The mucus cough went away at night time.

Thur Mar 10. Stopped drinking green tea. Drank more coke. Best night sleep of the week.

Fri Mar 11. Got worse. I got a bump below my right ear and above my jaw line. I researched online. Some websites stated my lymph node was swollen because it fought a foreign substance. My guess was I ate a piece of sausage partially cooked. The sausage looked cooked from the outside. I took a few bites and my bump appeared immediately. I made the choice to visit my doctor on Saturday. He has office hours in the morning all Saturdays except the last Saturday of the month.

Sat Mar 12. My doctor was closed on Saturday. I went to the San Jose Medical Center Urgent Care. The doctor diagnosed me I had a sinus infection. He prescribed me an anti-biotic. He also told me to take Mucinix D and use a saline solution.

I went to Costco to purchase my anti-biotic and a three pack of saline solution in aerosol cans.

Sat Mar 12 to Fri Mar 18. Significant improvement. I slept well all days. My cough was in control. I attended classes. I returned the saline solution to Costco because my second can failed to spray the solution up my nose. I used a squeeze bottle solution my dad had for a total of 5-7 times throughout the week. The last two times I used plain warm water.

Mon Mar 21. Post nasal drip acted up again. My guess was the cold temperatures when I was out of the house on Fri Mar 18 and Sun Mar 20 affected me. I was sensitive to the cold. I’m sensitive to hot weather when I’m healthy.

Tue Mar 22. I visited my primary care physician. He prescribed me five extra days of anti-biotic, codeine, and Nasonex. My doctor said the doctor at the urgent care center prescribed me a “powerful” anti-biotic. My doctor said sinus infection takes a long time to recover. I don’t have bronchitis.

I went to Costco to get codeine and Nasonex. I took codeine and Nasonex before I went to sleep. I went to sleep hours later.

Wed Mar 23. I chewed gum to help control my cough in the afternoon. The gum failed to control my cough when I went to bed. I started to drink warm water. I took codeine and Nasonex before I went to sleep. The cough was the worse when I was lying in bed trying to sleep.

Thur Mar 24. I stopped taking codeine. I continued Nasonex and drank warm water.

Fri Mar 25. I turned on the heater in the house to 62 degrees in the morning. I never turn on the heat in the mornings. I wore a heavier jacket and a scarf to keep warm when I’m outdoors.

Sat Mar 26. I stopped taking all medications. I started to drink Trader Joe’s hot cocoa. I continued drinking green tea and took 1,000mg of vitamin C.

Mon Mar 28. I went back to the gym for a light workout. I was still cold sensitive.

Tue Mar 29. I started my stretches before I workout at the gym. No gym, just stretches. I did 75 sit-ups.

Wed Mar 30. I slept late because I drank tea late. I coughed a lot; however, the coughing stopped immediately when I slept with blankets. I continued drinking warm water and Coke when I ate lunch and dinner.

Thur Mar 31. I stopped drinking Coke. Today was unseasonably warm. I was still cold sensitive such that the morning and the evening I wore long sleeve shirt and pants. I coughed when I wore short sleeve shirt and shorts. I went to the gym for a light workout. I coughed a little. I felt mucus dripping down my throat causing mild irritation. I was able to sleep regardless.

Fri Apr 1. I took 500mg of vitamin C instead of 1,000mg. Coughing and mucus dripping down my throat continued infrequently. Weather was unseasonably warm I brought warmer clothes in case I get cold when I’m out of the house.

Currently. Mild cough and mucus dripping down my throat continues infrequently. I have two or three major coughs lasting at least five seconds. The mucus drippings are good because mucus is moving the foreign substances away from my body. It’s treating me from my sinus infection. I can still sleep. I drink plenty of water. I maintain my thinking I’m cold sensitive.

Q&anp;A

I ask myself questions to understand and to prepare myself the next time I have a sinus infection.

What is Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV? I blogged RSV in March 2008. March 2008 was the last time I had to visit the doctor for a sinus infection. I heard about RSV in the news. Now that I think about it, I have RSV which is my sinus infection. My recovery took me weeks three years ago. The same is happening now. There is no cure. I had to battle and tough it out gradually going back to my normal routine just like what I’m doing now.

What was your treatment if you didn’t need anti-biotics from a doctor? I took 1,000mg of vitamin C, drank green tea, ate Trader Joe’s chocolate because it controlled my cough, drank Simply Orange, ate lots of fruit, took Ricola to control my cough or Chloraseptic throat lozenges to relief itchy throat when I slept, and drank Coke.

Ricola stopped working after the next sickness. I suspected store bought orange juice I drank this time contributed to making my sickness worse. I avoid drinking store bought orange juice for the rest of my life.

My personal treatment worked in 2009 and 2010.

What sickness do you usually get? Stomach flu or coughing with post nasal drip sinus infection or not.

Why do you blog your sinus infection? I want to reference how I recovered my sinus infection or RSV and share to everyone how I recovered.

There were days you showed improvement. Then you got worse. What do you think happened? I ate partially cooked sausage on Fri Mar 11 which I think gave me an infection that lead to a sinus infection. I failed to keep warm that happened on Fri Mar 18 and Sun Mar 20 which I think gave me the RSV. It was a double whammy.

Could you have prevented the sickness? Take naps when I was tired. Eat when I’m hungry. I remember my family and I visited Monterey. I ate little during the one day trip and I got sick days later. The symptoms were the same as my sinus infection; fortunately, my personal treatment was enough for a full recovery.

My eat when I’m hungry attitude saved my Fall ’10 quarter. I ate lots of Pop Tarts and candy bars. I believed I managed to avoid getting sick despite eating all that junk food.

Sleep off the fatigue instead of fight it.

I believe another contributing factor was my personal haircut lady at my salon. She was sneezing and had a stuffy nose when she cut my hair.

What could you have done differently? The sleepless nights coughing should have told me my sickness was serious and I needed a doctor to examine me. The doctor might need to prescribed me prescription drugs.

Caution From My Stomach

My stomach acted up on the evening of Sat Aug 22, 2022. I neither felt hungry, upset, needing the toilet for diarrhea, throwing up vomit, nor nervous as if I'm teaching a class in my underwear. My stomach vibrated. Although, I might have avoided serious food poisoning on Thur Aug 18. I went to the bathroom three times on Fri Aug 19. The minor stomach irritations continued today from the food poisoning. No medications have been taken. I have been limiting my meals intake.

What was my vibrating stomach telling me? I may have found the answer. There is a common wisdom trust intuition or listen to your gut. Maybe my gut on Sat evening might be communicating a warning. I could be talking out of my ass. On the other hand, given today's current events in politics, economics, social problems, wars, COVID-19 global pandemic, and climate change, something negatively big is coming soon maximizing the effects on the global population. Be prepared.

A Preview My Future Health Problems

I threw up my breakfast on Sun Mar 5, 2017. I started passing gas burping. Then I started coughing. My stomach began to hurt I eventually threw up. I thought I had the stomach flu. I ate saltine crackers, drank 7-UP, drank ginger ale, ate plain toast, ate Jell-O, and ate rice Sun Mar 5-Tue Mar 7.

I realized today I don't have the stomach flu. I have serious indigestion or bloating. There are no other symptoms such as fever, headaches, or wheezing. I took two Gas-X before I went to bed last night. I realized I should eat yogurt while I feel asleep.

I ate yogurt which calmed my stomach pains in the afternoon. My stomach has been improving starting yesterday. It's like my digestive system is fatigued like muscle soreness. My digestive system needs rest.

Sun Mar 5 was the first time I threw up because I felt bloated. I felt bloated in the past. I anticipate bloating continues to be a lifelong health problem. Moreover, the common remedies for bloating such as ginger ale and saltine crackers no longer cure my bloating.

Minimizing Health Problems

The best way to minimize future health problems is being healthy today. I eat healthy meals three times a day. I minimize eating processed foods and junk foods. Moderation is incorrect. Minimize is correct. I stay hydrated. I exercise four to five days a week. I hope eating healthy, minimizing, and exercising delays and prevents future health problems. I'm going to experience health problems due to aging naturally. If I experience major health problems, then I hope I recover as quickly as I can.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Throwback Blog: Top Ten Bad Breaks And Bad Timings

Blogger’s Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Top Ten Bad Breaks And Bad Timings in Feb 2013. Perhaps the timing is good, ironically, to repost my bad breaks and bad timings. I have been experiencing these during my job search such as being shortlisted without an interview, positions cancelled, and being second place. The job market continues to be tough. I can avoid these if I cheap myself working in data entry again. I'm done with data entry. I have nothing to lose. My current life situation proves the more difficulties I experience, the more bad breaks and bad timings chance.

We all experience bad breaks. We all have been at the wrong place and at the wrong time. They happen beyond our control most of the time. These are part of life. We deal with it. We learn from it. We prepare the next time bad breaks and bad timings occur.

I admit these are small potatoes in my opinion. I could have experienced worse. I believe the more I live, the more difficulties I experience, and the more bad breaks and bad timings come to me. I'm prepared. Here are my top ten:

10. Stomach Flu (Dec 1991). My sister was an extra in The Nutcracker ballet. One of the extras in her group was an executive in a high tech company. He organized a party for all the extras and their families. My family told me it was the best party ever. I missed it because I was bed-ridden with the stomach flu.

9. Super Bowl XXXI (Jan 1997). Blockbuster Video called me to fill in a shift for a sick worker during the time Super Bowl XXXI was broadcasted. My shift was over when the football game was over. I missed the party with my friends. It was the only Super Bowl I missed since I became a football fan.

Side note: All the female employees worked the early and afternoon shifts. The male employees worked the evening shift.

8. Dot Com Stock Market Bust (Mar 2000). I doubled my money in my stock portfolio. I was stupid I didn't take my money and run. My portfolio never recovered. I lost lots of money.

7. An Economics Major With Three Semesters Of Physics (1994-1995). Physics was required for a Mathematics major. I switched majors from Mathematics to Economics on the semester I took my third and final Physics class. What a waste of time.

6. Fanime Con '98 (Feb 1998). The first time I was sick during an anime convention. I survived taking multiple medications. If anyone looked at me, they thought I was stoned.

Side note: The next time I was sick during an anime convention was Anime Expo '11 in July 2011.

5. Anime Expo '00 (July 2000). The convention was held at the Disneyland Hotel. Disaster from the start. Midnight programming was shut down. A featured movie never arrived. Congoers in costume and Disneyland security clashed. Complaints Disneyland food were expensive. The construction and renovation made it worse as congoers had to detour around the hotel perimeter.

The reason Anime Expo went to the Disneyland Hotel was the Anaheim Convention Center underwent expansion. 2006 was the last year Anime Expo was at the Anaheim Convention Center.

4. Cisco Contract Terminated (Nov 2008). The real estate bubble bursted in the beginning of 2008. It was a matter of time when my contract was terminated. 11 months was a long time from Jan. I believed I was terminated because my manager favored another contractor who had an MBA degree, not necessarily because my department didn't have the money.

3. My Manager Left Me Behind (Sept 1998 and Oct 1999). My manager who hired me at my first job went to a competitor . He also hired me at our competitor. Then he moved to another country months later. He didn't give me enough training in research analysis and being a good employee. He didn't have enough time to mentor me. It was like he ditched me.

2. New General Education Requirements At San Jose State University (Fall 1993). I was really angry to be honest. The new requirements started for all enrolled students except graduating seniors. I had to take extra classes. I could have graduated one semester early if it wasn't for the extra classes . . . and my Physics classes.

1. Graduated My High School Senior Year At A Different High School (1992). I was affected again with a bad economy. The 1990 recession forced my district to close two high schools. The high school I attended for three years was one of the two high schools to close. I really didn't have a bad senior year. I should have been more proactive in being friendlier and I should have accepted attending a different high school.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Top Ten Ways I Lower My Chances Getting Sick

I was sick from Wed May 6 to Mon Jun 16. It was the longest time I was sick. I was sick with a throat infection and a bacterial infection in my left eye. The sicknesses were preventable. I blog a timeline which includes the symptoms, the remedies, and my doctor visit at a later date.

A clean house lowers the chances I get sick. I don't want to live in a house with dust and dirt on the carpets. I don't want to live in a house with sticky floors. I clean the house every 4-5 weeks. Avoiding expired foods and drinks are another way to lower the chances I get sick. I remember getting a sore throat drinking expired cranberry juice. Lesson learned.

Here are the top ten ways I lower my chances getting sick:

10. Take Charge Eating At Home. Sometimes my mom doesn't want to cook. It's up to me to cook tonight's meal. It's worth the time even though I lose my free time doing something else. I didn't get sick in 2013; however, I lost free time job searching and job training. The choice is obvious. Cook instead of risking sickness again skipping dinner.

9. Soda Is My Best Friend. My spice tolerance level is low. My body responds well drinking soda with spicy food. I remember two times I got sick eating spicy food without soda on Feb 1998 and possibly May 2014.

8. No Forcing Myself Working Out. There is no gym workout when any of the conditions is met: incomplete meals, lack of sleep the previous night, or not enough time for a complete workout.

7. Stagnant Air. I'm prone to get sick when the air inside is stagnant and warm or an indoor draft from an air condition vent. An outdoor draft is okay.

6. Take Your Time. Avoid stress. Do everything one at a time.

5. Know The Current Weather Conditions. I dislike a big difference between the daily high temperature and the daily low temperature. For example, my body fails to adjust to a high in the 80s and the low in the 50s. I desire consistent daytime and nighttime weather temperatures with gradual increase and decrease changes. The Spring 2014 weather experienced big temperature discrepancies in Northern California.

4. Get Good Sleep. Proper rest is important to re-energize for the next day. If I can't finish it, then I complete it tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.

3. Listen To My Body. Eat when my stomach growls. Drink when I'm dehydrated. Take a nap when I'm fatigued. Take a break when I'm stressed.

2. Stay Hydrated. Drink water. Drink water on hot days. Drink water on any warm environment. Drink water when I'm working out at the gym.

1. Eat Three Meals. Never skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I go out to restaurants including fast food if I must.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com

Stomach Flu Food Kit 101

I experienced the stomach flu from Thur Dec 26, 2013 to Mon Dec 30, 2013. I want to share my diet which consists of the following: Jell-O, ginger ale, plain wheat toast, and Cheerios. I may eat peanuts. I drink very little water. Nothing else.

The reason I added 101 was because one of my cousin's from Southern California called my diet "Stomach Flu 101".

Work Dec 30, 2013

There was no full day kickback on Mon Dec 23. The first two hours were boring. The rest of the day was busy. The owner purchased Chinese food.

I learned more history about the company. The store opened for the first time on June 2009 at another location.

I wished my commute was easy on Tue Dec 24. I stopped at one red light on my final leg after the freeway. I was reminded when I worked at Cisco. I commuted on the expressway such that my morning commute I could drive through green lighted intersections between my entrance and my exit. Tue Dec 24 was also the first time I ate breakfast on the road. I purchased bagels at Safeway.

The store closed at 4pm for Christmas Eve. I clocked out at 4:43pm because pricing must be completed.

My attitude working on Thur Dec 26 was be professional. There were people who worked the day after Christmas. I didn't feel good the entire day. I felt bloated and I had gas such that I gained weight. I went to the bathroom multiple times. I didn't eat lunch. I requested my manager to clock out early because I felt worse.

My choice going home early was a good choice. I threw up minutes after I arrived home. I got the stomach flu. It was the first time I got sick since Nov 2012. I called in sick for Fri Dec 27.

I worked on Sat Dec 28 because of Christmas Day. There was chaos and stress throughout the store; for instance, an in-store event for invited guests only. Nobody took their lunch break. I ate my light lunch on my desk catching up what I missed on my sick day.

I went to the second store located in Los Gatos, CA for another invited only event on Sun Dec 29. There was confusion and workers untrained. The untrained workers included me. Everyone did their best. I was supposed to be at the Los Gatos location for 30 minutes. I ended up staying for 1.5 hours. It was good experience to see how the opening event went.

It was another easy commute today as the holiday continues. My feelings were I wanted to be alone; however, I'm not alone. There was something inside me that wants to reset my entire life. I didn't want to reflect my life. I didn't want to think about 2013. I wanted nobody else present. The last time I experienced wanting to be alone was in Dec 2004. Interesting and unusual. Further, these personal feelings have been experienced driving to and from work.

The store is closed on New Year's Day. I asked my manager earlier today. I'm scheduled to work Sat Jan 4, 2014.

Me Versus My Stomach Flu

I have been recovering from my sinus infection. I got a minor stomach flu last week. I was fortunate I missed one class and it took place during the first week of classes. I want to document what happened and how I recovered like I documented my sinus infection.

Wed Apr 6. I woke up with a stomach ache very early in the morning. I ignored it and went back to sleep. My stomach ache woke me up two hours later. I went to the bathroom with diarrhea. I threw up minutes later in the toilet. I felt lightheaded and weak. I skipped breakfast and went to school.

I purchased saltine crackers and Tums at the De Anza convenience store. It was the first time I took Tums. Saltine crackers definitely helped me avoid throwing up again and Tums probably helped me survive Auditing class. Regardless, I felt lightheaded and fatigued. I coughed a few times because I didn’t drink water as I continued recovering from my sinus infection.

I went home and skipped Advanced Accounting. I slept the entire afternoon. I ate a light dinner consisting of rice, a piece of chicken, and two pieces of cauliflower and drank a small class of 7-UP. I made jello afterwards.

Thur Apr 7. I woke up in the middle of the night because I was hungry. That was a good sign. I ate jello and crackers. I went back to sleep. My health was good as long as I slept. All of my dreams were my body recovering. My dreams were I was awake and I consciously felt my body recovering as I lied down in bed. It was like my body putting together pieces of a puzzle to find the best way to recover, and there was more than one way.

I drank water in sips. There was a pot next to my bed in case I threw up again. My meals were jello, plain toast, saltine crackers, and drinking ginger ale.

Fri Apr 8. My breakfast and lunch were jello, plain toast, and saltine crackers. I ate a small dinner consisting of steak, rice, and zucchini. My stomach felt good. There were no aches and sensitivity. My hunger felt like normal hunger.

Sat Apr 9-Sun Apr 10. I ate lunch and dinner in small portions. For instance, I went out for lunch on Sat Apr 9. I ate half of the lunch in the restaurant and finished at home. My meals at home were smaller than normal. I continued to drink more water gradually. I ate bread and cereal for breakfast. I skipped eating nuts and fruit.

Currently. I believe last week’s stomach ache was a minor stomach flu. It was not an upset stomach. I can’t think of a definite cause. The food I ate days before were home cooked except for the roast pork my mom purchased on Sunday. My mom heated up the roast pork well. Having said that, my guess is the roast pork.

I feel better now and I eat three meals a day. My sinus infection continues to improve as well. The key is drinking water.

The Personal Side Of Me Finding Raymond Mar