Self Care

[Arzosah]

There's major agreement over on the "What are you doing" thread about us being at the start of the long slow slide ... working on self care/looking after ourselves, is more and more important, I think - the NHS is on life support itself, if we can get by ourselves without burdening it further, or exposing ourselves to winter germs in overcrowded waiting rooms, then I think thats a good form of prepping.

What do I already do (and fail at, quite a bit of the time):
- hydration. "If you feel thirsty, you've gone too long without a drink". I fail at that regularly, but I do spur myself into action when I remember.
- sun protection. *So* much skin cancer in my family - hat, SPF50, sunglasses, staying out of the sun during the summer peak hours (but remembering to get some exposure during October - March to help with vitamin d production).
- getting "enough" sleep. I fail *so* badly at this one - I've decided to break the sleeplessness cycle with OTC tablets once a week, I can't live like this.
- currently, for covid - ventilation on the very rare occasions I'm around other people indoors, a mask, sanitiser aplenty. And I do still wash the packaging of my shopping, though I hear that might be hygiene theatre for anxious people. Don't know. Count me as anxious, possibly.
- flexibility. Stretches after breakfast, when I'm about to start doing stuff. Just a few minutes, but it does feel better.
- eating as few processed foods as possible. I buy a kilo bag each month of rosti potatoes, they're like my cocaine I have to limit it to one bag because my taste buds have no moderation whatsoever.
- this is an odd one: close my eyes if I'm thinking or on the loo or whatever. I studied the Bates Method when I was in my 20s, and it was mentioned how hard we work our eyes, and why not close them to give them a rest when we don't need them. And if you need to watch what's around you when you're on the toilet, you've got bigger problems than me
- keep prescriptions and treatments up to date. I still don't have any glasses prescribed, I just use the zoom on my mobile phone if I need to see detail. I should probably change that. And I could really do with a hygienist's appointment at the dentist, but I need to make phone calls etc before that. Using interdens brushes has been a real help - a few years ago, my dentist told me that the X rays he'd just taken were functionally identical to those taken 3 years previously.
- trying to eat a variety of foods - difficult, given my reliance on frozen veg, but I try.
- I also try to use some supplements, a multivitamin and C and D when I remember, but frankly it's been months since a supplement has passed my lips.
- cutting down on stress. The credit card fraud perpetrated on an account of mine has left me with £6745 hanging over me, and the company are being incredibly unhelpful. Everyone else who's had this happen (and I know there've been many) has had it resolved very speedily. Not me. I get very sweary inside my head at the situation, and the stress is really impacting me right now. Family are helping, but it's rough, I must say.

Anybody got anything they could chip in here? Keeping ourselves going is so important.

[diamond lil]

Well I've got bad ME/CFS and the husband hasn't been great since a triple bypass in 2019. So now we avoid stress like the plague, stress is a killer. I work to make life easier for us both and step back from any hassle. Family have been driving us nuts so we've broken off all contact with oldest son and the daughter.
I take a lot of supplements. Vits and minerals and bone pills and iron. If I'm having a bad spell then I will be inside for days at a time and so I take high dose vitD.
I make a lot of soup, using green veg as a base. I cook from scratch and don't eat rubbish.
But we can't exercise, I can't walk far and he won't go walks without me. I live in fear that one of us falls and ends up in hosp indefinitely. I don't see what else we can do because we're crumblies

[jansman]

You make some great points there Arzosah. As Mrs.J and me get older ,we feel it! Self care is going to be crucial in the future; as you say,the NHS is on life support itself.During the first Lockdown we both experienced dental problems that could only be treated with antibiotics. Mrs J got away with it,but lack of actual intervention for me meant losing teeth further along the line. I take my dental care rather seriously now,as even my private dentist cannot just fit me in like he used to.
The delays to post cancer treatments that my wife experienced were another eye-opener too. It made us realise that if such urgent treatments ( and some have died because of it) can be delayed,then for any lesser problems,you are frankly,stuffed.

[Arzosah]

Exactly, like both of you, I'm older, and nowadays problems that are "minor", ie non life threatening, are right at the back of the queue, even though they have a huge impact on quality of life and your ability to look after yourself. So high dose vit D like Lil uses are a really good idea. Jansman shows up the problem exactly, from the sound of it - a dental infection that needed antibiotics plus treatment only got antibiotics. Very sorry to hear that, jansman.

[Arzosah]

And now ... bowel movements

Yes, I know, most of us (including me) have a toddler-sized IQ when it comes to this, but there are Genuine Issues. I've tried to focus on authoritative sources, but I was losing the will to live, which is not good given the title of the thread, so here we go.

Digestive Disorders Review
A good overview, and for me, it includes things like heartburn that I know is painful, but that I've got no experience with: https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorde ... ealth-tips
Classic lifestyle changes are recommended, as follows:
- Cut back on fatty foods.
- Avoid fizzy drinks.
- Eat and drink slowly.
- Quit smoking.
- Don’t chew gum.
- Exercise more.
- Avoid foods that cause gas.
- Avoid sweeteners that cause gas such as fructose and sorbitol. They are often found in candies, chewing gum, energy bars, and low-carb foods.

Squatting position on the toilet
Squatting when passing a bowel movement. I ended up using a page from a commercial site (hello, Squatty Potty, I'm looking at you) which surprised me, I've seen the information around for a long time. Obviously, a commercial product isn't needed - putting a box or a couple of bricks in front of the toilet will work just fine, or if you're out and about, literally going on tippy toes while on the toilet https://www.squattypotty.com/blogs/blog ... our-toilet.
Helps with constipation, haemmorhoids, colon disease, urinary infections, and pelvic floor issues. Good heavens.

Direction Of Wipe
https://www.healthline.com/health/wipe- ... xedContent
Uh huh. The linkie says it, wiping front to back (at the back!) is the way to go, although mostly for women. Without that, you get kidney diseases, As I once read in a science fiction novel, "Why would you put the playground in between the sewers?" Think about it

[Le Mouse]

I will put my hands up and say I am poor at self-care. The whole covid-shielding omnishambles completely ruined my fitness levels and I'm finding really hard to improve them, to the point that it's also affecting my asthma. I've put a fair chunk of weight on and it's not going anywhere.

I have been lucky with dentists, in that mine made sure to call all patients who had appointments due in lockdown in turn once we could go back to dentists, and I'm getting my gum disease under control so hopefully I can avoid losing teeth for a while yet. I'm now obsessive with interdental brushes. Floss doesn't cut it anymore!

I'm not good at managing stress. I suffer from depression and a bit of anxiety and am medicated for it (thank god!). As Mum's carer, I've been finding her heath problems more stressful. She had an eye issue recently and I ended up going round the houses (pharmacy, two opticians, walk in centre, and finally a national eye care service) just to get treatment for what seems to be a very minor eye infection! Covid seems to be becoming an excuse for already struggling NHS services to shuffle non life threatening issues to the very bottom of the pile, making the people suffering them even more uncomfortable.

I do take vitamin supplements just to keep myself topped up. I try to eat well, but have a small weakness for a bit of junk. I'm currently trying to wean myself off diet coke and in fact all fizzy stuff as that seems to have caused some minor health issues.

I watched Politics East this morning and there was a young woman who was forced to give birth at home with no more medical help than her husband and 'nice Roy the 999 call handler' because her planned home birth midwife no longer existed and the birthing unit was closed entirely. So if a lone birthing mother can't get help, the rest of us are stuffed frankly! I think today I shall make a list of things I can do to try and help myself. And I'll try and fit in some yoga as that ticks the fitness and de-stress boxes quite well

[diamond lil]

Was there not a film on tv ages back about preppers post armageddon where the hero died of an infected cut hand? This is how it happens and what we need to watch out for.

[jansman]

And now ... bowel movements

Yes, I know, most of us (including me) have a toddler-sized IQ when it comes to this, but there are Genuine Issues. I've tried to focus on authoritative sources, but I was losing the will to live, which is not good given the title of the thread, so here we go.

Digestive Disorders Review
A good overview, and for me, it includes things like heartburn that I know is painful, but that I've got no experience with: https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorde ... ealth-tips
Classic lifestyle changes are recommended, as follows:
- Cut back on fatty foods.
- Avoid fizzy drinks.
- Eat and drink slowly.
- Quit smoking.
- Don’t chew gum.
- Exercise more.
- Avoid foods that cause gas.
- Avoid sweeteners that cause gas such as fructose and sorbitol. They are often found in candies, chewing gum, energy bars, and low-carb foods.

Squatting position on the toilet
Squatting when passing a bowel movement. I ended up using a page from a commercial site (hello, Squatty Potty, I'm looking at you) which surprised me, I've seen the information around for a long time. Obviously, a commercial product isn't needed - putting a box or a couple of bricks in front of the toilet will work just fine, or if you're out and about, literally going on tippy toes while on the toilet https://www.squattypotty.com/blogs/blog ... our-toilet.
Helps with constipation, haemmorhoids, colon disease, urinary infections, and pelvic floor issues. Good heavens.

Direction Of Wipe
https://www.healthline.com/health/wipe- ... xedContent
Uh huh. The linkie says it, wiping front to back (at the back!) is the way to go, although mostly for women. Without that, you get kidney diseases, As I once read in a science fiction novel, "Why would you put the playground in between the sewers?" Think about it

This is a real issue. My stepdad died of colon cancer 20 years ago. His digestive/ waste system went haywire in the run up to his death. As a family it was our joke that conversation generally leant towards toilet humour much of the time. At that terrible time,I can remember him saying,” it’s not so funny when it doesn’t work properly “. So true.

[Arzosah]

I will put my hands up and say I am poor at self-care. The whole covid-shielding omnishambles completely ruined my fitness levels and I'm finding really hard to improve them, to the point that it's also affecting my asthma. I've put a fair chunk of weight on and it's not going anywhere.

Thanks for posting all this, Mouse. I'm so sorry you're suffering on these issues. Most of us are at least a bit overweight, I think, but asthma throws a whole new spanner into the works. Is there a linkie you can think of for self management that would fit in with this thread? I'm thinking self management must be secondary to asthma drugs, but hopefully there's some input you can have.

I have been lucky with dentists, in that mine made sure to call all patients who had appointments due in lockdown in turn once we could go back to dentists, and I'm getting my gum disease under control so hopefully I can avoid losing teeth for a while yet. I'm now obsessive with interdental brushes. Floss doesn't cut it anymore!

I've not been back to my dentist yet and I can feel things twanging, so I need to get to grips with that, but I've been sent paperwork about the NHS practice going private, so .... work to be done.

Gum disease - heart problems are a real issue, sadly. I'm posting this here because you've said you're getting it under control - alarmism is not my intention. The links are from the British Heart Foundation, the NHS and Harvard University.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo ... ral-health
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-bo ... m-disease/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-he ... mon-thread

I'm not good at managing stress. I suffer from depression and a bit of anxiety and am medicated for it (thank god!). As Mum's carer, I've been finding her heath problems more stressful. She had an eye issue recently and I ended up going round the houses (pharmacy, two opticians, walk in centre, and finally a national eye care service) just to get treatment for what seems to be a very minor eye infection! Covid seems to be becoming an excuse for already struggling NHS services to shuffle non life threatening issues to the very bottom of the pile, making the people suffering them even more uncomfortable.

That's an important point - that if you need to take care of this stuff, it's stressful in and of itself, and also it can expose you to infections and germs of all sorts

I do take vitamin supplements just to keep myself topped up. I try to eat well, but have a small weakness for a bit of junk. I'm currently trying to wean myself off diet coke and in fact all fizzy stuff as that seems to have caused some minor health issues.

I'm lucky about the fizz in that I've simply never liked it, and I was vain enough as a teenager to wean myself off sugary drinks, health was neither here nor there. My Christmas shopping for my own food day to day includes more rostis than usual, and a GF veggie pizza. Normally, it's just one bag of rostis per month.

I watched Politics East this morning and there was a young woman who was forced to give birth at home with no more medical help than her husband and 'nice Roy the 999 call handler' because her planned home birth midwife no longer existed and the birthing unit was closed entirely. So if a lone birthing mother can't get help, the rest of us are stuffed frankly! I think today I shall make a list of things I can do to try and help myself. And I'll try and fit in some yoga as that ticks the fitness and de-stress boxes quite well

OMG. I mean, that happens, with the best will in the world - happened to a friend of mine in the taxi 15 years ago. But for it to happen because the midwife isn't practising, and the birthing unit closed yup, the rest of us are stuffed.

Yoga is a good idea - it doesn't suit everyone, of course, but the dual function is great, I like that. That's a whole area that needs paying attention to on this, and frankly in my life as well! There's lots of areas where self care can really help, as long as it isn't faddy.

[Arzosah]

Was there not a film on tv ages back about preppers post argmageddon where the hero died of an infected cut hand? This is how it happens and what we need to watch out for.

Wouldn't surprise me, Lil, though I don't recognise it - so, yes, one element of self care is definitely noticing cuts and protecting them from infections while they heal. Another little research topic I'll put on here in a bit.

You're about to have a private message, by the way.