How can washing dished get you into hospital for surgery?

Yes, you read the heading right! I was washing dishes on what we planned to be a lazy Sunday afternoon when a plate fell off the drying rack. It broke on the way down on a mixing bowl. I instinctively and without thinking threw my right hand out in order to catch the falling plate and it sliced my right hand open on the fold of the ring finger. The plate broke anyway!

What its snot!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Sinusitis is inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, sinusitis may be caused by infection, allergies, structural abnormalities or autoimmune problems.

The paranasal sinuses consist of 4 different sinuses:

·         Frontal sinus – causes pain over forehead

·         Ethmoid sinuses (divided in to an anterior and posterior sinus) – causes pain and pressure behind the eyes.

·         Maxillary sinus – causes pain in cheek area causing toothache and headaches.

·         Sphenoid sinus – causes pain or pressure behind the eyes and pain is felt at the top of the head.

Jaw Breaker

Most people are unaware as to what a chiropractor can and can’t treat. I’ll make it quite simple; if it’s a bone or joint we can treat it...simply put... everything!

Something that affects quite a few people is TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint disorder) in layman’s terms the jaw joint.

Temporomandibular Joint disorder is inflammation of the jaw joint, which is accompanied by pain and dysfunction. It involves the muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons,

Do you need directions?

Who directs you?

Many many people nowadays own and use a GPS in order to get around in their motor vehicles. There are various makes and models on the market but the basic mechanism is the same, you plug in the address or the co-ordinates and hit 'go' and it calculates the route and proceeds to direct you to that destination.

Depending on the settings you set on the device, it may take on the shortest route in terms of time but it may be a little further in distance and vice versa. You can also choose to avoid high traffic areas or choose to go on freeways etc.

For various reasons, I do not use one. Having said that I used one successfully the other day to get to an appointment in an area that I do know well. Once I go somewhere - I can generally get home. Just for interests sake I used it to get home. What a nuisance. I will say that they are useless in a situation when you know where you are going. Anyway, I took its instructions to a point when it was taking me through some dangerous areas. All along I am spending a lot of time watching the little screen which takes my eyes off the road. Then I started taking a different route (to get into an area that I feel safer!).

At first it was fun to see how fast it would say 'recalculating' and where it would direct me next. It got to a point where I thought device was going to start steaming and explode. It was getting angry with me! Eventually the lady and the device gave up and just kept repeating 'recalculating' and 'if possible make a U-turn'. This device was not able to calculate another route even though I was only about 500 meters off its chosen path. While this is going, I was getting agitated and spending more time with my eyes on the small screen than the road!

Another thing that upset me about the experience was that the device was not able to be heard over the radio. It was not a built in model and the music had to be really quiet for it to be audible.

At the end if that journey, I was not relaxed at all and quite unsettled actually and consequently will only use a GPS device if I have to and only to a destination which I am unfamiliar with. Who directs you when you know where you are going in your motor vehicle? Next time you go for drive - engage your brain!

Why do students fail?

There are only 2 reasons to fail.

Seriously? I can think of many reasons though.

Yes, I am serious. Whether you are at school, varsity, young or old, you will only fail for 2 reasons. This ebook will not only tell you those two reasons but give you methods on how to pass.

Reason 1: Lack of knowledge.

Fairly easy to figure this one out - you just do not have the information to put down on the paper and you fail. Simple. Easy. Horrible to witness.

Solutions to pass:

These solutions are not how to get the information into your head (Far too broad to write on) but rather techniques and hints on how to make sure are at optimal performance when studying that information.

1. Diet. You heard it before and it’s true. You are what you eat. If you eat badly then you will perform badly. A good healthy diet will provide your body and brain with the nutrients to help you retain that knowledge.

2. Exercise. Together with diet - exercise will maintain healthy body but more importantly give your brain a complete break from the studying. This will help you focus when you hit the books again. Do not do a marathon training routine if you have not exercised for a while but rather a 20 minute walk 3 to 5 times a week will do the trick.

3. The 5 minute rule. If you battle to sit down to study - try this. Say 'I am just going to study for 5 minutes'. Before you know it - you will studying and the 5 minutes are over long ago.

Reason 2: Lack of technique.

More often than not this applies to students. You have the knowledge but you fail because of bad exam technique. I personally have failed many exams for this reason. This reason often happens to people further on in their studies when the knowledge is there and its only techniques of getting it on paper that fail you.

Solutions to pass:

1. Papers papers papers. Beg, borrow, and get your hands on past papers or mock exams or whatever you call them. Get them and practise, practice and then practice some more. When doing this there are additional things to do - mark them and analyse where you went wrong. List these points and concentrate next time to correct these mistakes.

2. Practice time management. In exams you have limited time. Analyse the time you have and split it up into smaller chunks as per the question. For example: you have 2 hours (120 minutes). Your paper is 100 marks. That’s 1.2 minutes per mark. If you have a 10 mark question - you only have 12 minutes to spend on it. Once you hit that time limit - stop and move on to the next question. You have to stick to the limit and you have to practice this technique. Otherwise it will freak you out on the day.

3. Read what’s required. My mom always drummed into our heads 'read the question!'. Read the question - then answer it! Simple? Easy? Do it.

4. Plan the solution - plan the answer. Do a rough sketch of the answer before you start writing. This way you will remember to write all the points that you know and will not forget them. Try it on a practice question.

The above information is an excerpt from my ebook and all email subscribers will receive a free copy when you sign up!

Additional material is also in the ebook. Sign up and receive it free!


{EAV_BLOG_VER:155143ab1b5ed6ed}

You’re a pain in my...

I have spoken before about the many causes of muscles aches and pains, such as a vertebra out of alignment, lack of sufficient nutrients, illness, medication, arthritis, certain systemic diseases etc.

I would however like to just give a few tips on what I have found helps relieve the general aches and pains, these tips along with a chiropractic treatment can get you back to tip-top shape.

• Omega 3 is thought to have an anti-inflammatory affect and is one of the reasons why it is the choice essential fatty acid given to those suffering from arthritis.

• Vitamin B supplementation is important as it is easily depleted from our system, tablet form or injections regularly can prevent this. Vitamin B12 is highly recommended as it promotes a healthy immune system and nerve function as well as preventing nerve damage. It aids in protein production and cellular formation. A deficiency can lead to bone loss and spinal cord degeneration amongst many other disorders.

·      Vitamin C is important in wound healing. It plays the primary role in collagen formation which is essential for growth and tissue repair and also functions as an antioxidant. A lack of vitamin C may lead to muscular weakness.

·      Vitamin E prevents the breakdown of cartilage and stimulates the production of cartilage.

·      Magnesium is needed for the uptake of calcium and potassium and is involved in the contraction and relaxation of muscles, the transportation of energy, as well as protein production.

·      Calcium helps muscles and blood vessels expand and contract, aids in secreting hormones and enzymes and sending messages through the nervous system. It also determines the bone density within the body.

·      Potassium is involved in the contraction of muscles. A low amount of potassium will result in muscle spasm.

Some more tips:

• Bathing in Epsom salts helps draw out spasm and inflammation.

• Keep the muscles warm, heat packs help increase the blood supply to the area to aid in healing of the muscle.

• Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day to keep your body well hydrated.

• Always stretch before and after exercise.

• Breathe when stretching and exercising.

• Eat healthy foods.

Contact details:

Dr Angela Pasteilledes

96 Brand Road (inside TAP Kruger)

Tel: 031 201 1442

Cell: 083 233 1187

Email: chiropractic.angela@gmail.com

Facebook: I-Got-Your-Back-Chiropractor

The curse of the English sports fan

Off the top of my head I can think of the following sportsmen and women from the UK who are at the top or at least in the top few percentage in their sport.

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald - golf

Jenson button - formula 1

Andy Murray - tennis

Mark Cavendish - possibly the fastest man in professional cycling peloton

A rugby league that attracts the top players from around the world.

Arguably the best football league in Europe, possibly the world.

A cricket league setup that has attracted the top players for many years.

The problem is that they are all cursed! I call it the curse of the English sports fan. Leading up to an event the English people are amazing in getting behind their sports teams / people - messages, dedications, flags on houses etc. That's enviable in my opinion. When I look at reports and the like from outside the country - I get the impression that the fans really believe that their team is the best and will win. The curse sets in when people just through a bit of doubt in when something happens before the event. A lot of it is sensationalism on behalf of the media to get a big story but the rest of it - no idea why it starts.

During the recent French open Andy Murray came up against Raphael Nadal and a twitter message I got (from an English person) was 'Andy Murray thinks he can beat Nadal - sorry Andy you can’t'. That’s ridiculous!! Top sportsmen have to believe they can win and one bit of doubt could mean not winning.

The curse continues after the event too. The media jump in and the people too. The people are very passionate and the support them team / people had goes from completely for to completely against and they play the blame game and blame everybody on the team and their dog before they will accept the truth about the outcome. This the gets buried, only to fester until the next time something happens and the skeletons get dragged out to haunt the next team even generations later!

England has an amazing sporting ability and infrastructure but the same structure that holds it up is tearing it down.

You have to do your part.

(I am a Christian and this post is written from that frame of reference. There is no bias in it and it is relevant to all religions and their 'gods')

I am amazed how many Christians rely on their God to make it through whatever it is they are going through. To see it is awesome and inspiring indeed. The problem to me is when they rely on God when they have not or are not prepared to do their side of the deal.

Let me paint a few pictures. They may not all apply to you, but I hope you get the overall point.

1) You are writing a big exam and you did not do any studying and you fail or do not get the mark that you think you 'deserve'. You blame God.

2) You are expecting to get the big raise and or promotion. You have done nothing more than usual or over and above what you normally do. You do not get the raise or promotion. You actually get a disciplinary reprimand for not doing your job. You blame God (or your boss).

3) You enter an athletic event but do not train as you should or hoped to. You land up doing a bad time or even drop out and do not finish. You blame God

The question is: how is God going to help you when you have not done your side? Yes he is all powerful and can do anything. I believe that and trust Him to do that. I will illustrate it another way: I register for a course in art with a local teacher. I do not go to classes and at the end of the course I pray and pray that God will get me through the exam with an awesome painting - sorry - not going to happen!

Stop blaming God for your shortfalls! I am to blame here - I can honestly say I do not blame God very often but I have asked the big questions of Him.

My theory to this is simple and it's an adaption of my mom’s old favourite saying before exams. She always says 'do your best and guess the rest'. Good advice. My saying is 'do your best and let God do the rest'.

He ALWAYS does his side of things - what’s your excuse for not doing your side?

Health Day Recap

Yes, even the doctors get sick. So here is a recap of the posts by Dr Angela so far.

I cannot hear you!

Take me back to the stone age

What’s the norm Doc?

Calling Mr Sandman

A cat …...

Benefits of Chiropractic manipulations

Contact details:

Dr Angela Pasteilledes

96 Brand Road (inside TAP Kruger)

Tel: 031 201 1442

Cell: 083 233 1187

Email: chiropractic.angela@gmail.com

Facebook: I-Got-Your-Back-Chiropractor

My South Africa by Jonathan Jansen

My South Africa is the working-class man who called from the airport to return my wallet without a cent missing. It is the white woman who put all three of her domestic worker's children through the same school that her own child attended. It is the politician in one of our rural provinces, Mpumalanga, who returned his salary to the government as a statement that standing with the poor had to be more than just a few words. It is the teacher who worked after school hours every day during the public sector strike to ensure her children did not miss out on learning. 

My South Africa is the first-year university student in Bloemfontein who took all the gifts she received for her birthday and donated them - with the permission of the givers - to a home for children in an Aids village. It is the people hurt by racist acts who find it in their hearts to publicly forgive the perpetrators. It is the group of farmers in Paarl who started a top school for the children of farm workers to ensure they got the best education possible while their parents toiled in the vineyards. It is the farmer's wife in Viljoenskroon who created an education and training centre for the wives of farm labourers so that they could gain the advanced skills required to operate accredited early-learning centers for their own and other children. 

My South Africa is that little white boy at a decent school in the Eastern Cape who decided to teach the black boys in the community to play cricket, and to fit them all out with the togs required to play the gentelman's game. It is the two black street children in Durban, caught on camera, who put their spare change in the condensed milk tin of a white beggar. It is the Johannesburg pastor who opened up his church as a place of shelter for illegal immigrants. It is the Afrikaner woman from Boksburg who nailed the white guy who shot and killed one of South Africa's greatest freedom fighters outside his home. 

My South Africa is the man who went to prison for 27 years and came out embracing his captors, thereby releasing them from their impending misery. It is the activist priest who dived into a crowd of angry people to rescue a woman from a sure necklacing. It is the former police chief who fell to his knees to wash the feet of Mamelodi women whose sons disappeared on his watch; it is the women who forgave him in his act of contrition. It is the Cape Town university psychologist who interviewed the 'Prime Evil' in Pretoria Centre and came away with emotional attachment, even empathy, for the human being who did such terrible things under apartheid.

My South Africa is the quiet, dignified, determined township mother from Langa who straightened her back during the years of oppression and decided that her struggle was to raise decent children, insist that they learn, and ensure that they not succumb to bitterness or defeat in the face of overwhelming odds. It is the two young girls who walked 20kms to school everyday, even through their matric years, and passed well enough to be accepted into university studies. It is the student who takes on three jobs, during the evenings and on weekends, to find ways of paying for his university studies. 

My South Africa is the teenager in a wheelchair who works in townships serving the poor. It is the pastor of a Kenilworth church whose parishioners were slaughtered, who visits the killers and asks them for forgiveness because he was a beneficiary of apartheid. It is the politician who resigns on conscientious grounds, giving up status and salary because of an objection in principle to a social policy of her political party. It is the young lawman who decides to dedicate his life to representing those who cannot afford to pay for legal services. 

My South Africa is not the angry, corrupt, violent country those deeds fill the front pages of newspapers and the lead-in items on the seven-o'-clock news. It is the South Africa often unseen, yet powered by the remarkable lives of ordinary people. It is the citizens who keep the country together through millions of acts of daily kindness.