Check that Cough. Shortness of breath? Medical Day.

"Stephen Schueler, MD, is an emergency physician, teacher, and author. Although he designed the Symptom Checker to feel like a real emergency room intake interview, it is a computer program and not a live doctor."
http://www.everydayhealth.com/symptom-checker/cough?xid=nl_EverydayHealthAsthmaandAllergies_20100222
If you have a cough, the free system checker will give you an idea what is going on.
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If you have shortness of breath two specific breathing techniques can ease it..  These instructions are for people with COPD, but they apply to everyone who gets shortness of breath.  I know I get it once in a while.

1. Pursed-lip breathing:
"Pursed-lip breathing is basically breathing in through the nose and out through pursed lips. This technique is particularly useful when your shortness of breath flares up, and when you exercise.
Practice this technique by inhaling through your nose, making sure to keep your mouth closed. Then purse your lips and exhale softly for at least twice the amount of time as your inhale. Doing this forces you to use the correct breathing muscles and ensures you exhale as much air as possible so that it does not get trapped in your lungs. With less air trapped in your lungs, more oxygen will be able to get into your bloodstream.
2. Diaphragmatic Breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing is a breathing exercise that helps to strengthen your diaphragm, which is the most important muscle used in breathing. Your diaphragm is located under your lungs and helps you expel air from your lungs when you exhale. When air gets trapped in the airways in COPD patients, the diaphragm has difficulty functioning properly and eventually becomes less useful.….."
Full Instructions at: http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/copd/breathing-techniques-for-copd.aspx?xid=nl_EverydayHealthHealthyAging_20100511
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Jay and I both had medical appointments today.  He had arranged his to be on the same day, so that I could take him, as his mother still isn't up to par since her liver transplant.

First stop was Jay's doctor's appointment, he has some congestion in his chest.  I dropped him off, and went a couple of miles to the Conroe Hospital to get my old mammogram.  I had been phoning, emailing and faxing back and forth all week trying to have it ready for today.  They didn't know anything about it, didn't even know the person I had been told to contact.  So their left hand doesn't know what their right hand is doing. The lady I spoke to, is going to take care of it, though, and send my old mammogram to the new place for them to compare.  When I had to change health care plans, I had to change doctors and other service providers.

I went back to get Jay, and they were running late, but we finally got out of there. I drove down to The Woodlands, and we were early for my mammogram appointment.  I had packed us a lunch in the little 12v. fridge, so we had a picnic in the van under the shade of a tree, but it was still hot.  What happened to Spring? 

Even though I was early, I signed in with the receptionist, and then filled out all the paperwork with another  lady.  She escorted me to a dressing room, to don their lovely gown, and a robe.  After putting my belongings in a locker, I was ushered to another lobby, with 10 other ladies all sitting around in robes, waiting their turn.  After quite a long time one of the techs came in and apologized as they were running 45 minutes behind. 

Eventually I was seen, and we got out of The Woodlands as fast as we could, to try to beat the Friday night traffic.  Jay had to pick up his prescriptions at Walmart in Conroe, so I went through my shopping list there.  Of course the prescriptions were not ready, so we had to hang around there, too.

We had left at 9.30 AM, and didn't get back until after 6.00 PM, so it was a tiring day.

RV FIRE Tips. Just Cleaning. FAX.

"As you sit around the campfire with other RVers, you'll hear plenty of discussions on the "do's and don'ts" of RVing. Some of the most heated discussions center on whether or not to leave pilot lights lit when driving or towing your RV down the road. We've commented on this topic before. One thing we hope most RVers can agree on is this:
"ALWAYS shut off your pilot lights or any automatic lighting systems for propane appliances before you refuel--for any sort of fuel. "

"The owner, and Indiana man, inserted the gas hose nozzle in his tank, and when the pump started off, the force of the fuel flow blew the nozzle back out of the tank. Unfortunately, the nozzle was stuck in the full open position, blasting gasoline onto the concrete apron and under this Class B motorhome.
The man speculates that a pilot light, still turned on in his rig, gave the gas vapor an ignition point. While his wife and dog were able to bail out of the rig and save their lives, the rig and their possessions where a total loss."   Source: http://www.dailycomet.com/
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Fire Safety Tip from Mac McCoy:      Tires and Brakes.
Tires and brakes are the culprit in almost 20 percent of fires. A dragging brake can create enough friction to ignite a tire or brake fluid. Some of the worst fires are those caused when one tire of a dual or tandem pair goes flat and then scuffs and ignites, long before the driver feels any change in handling.

At each stop, give your tires at least an eyeball check. Remember a pressure gauge reading on hot tires isn’t accurate.  Tap duals with a club and listen for a difference in sound; you can often tell if one is going soft."
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Another Fire Safety Tip from Mac McCoy:     Shake It!

Invert and shake your dry-powder or dry-chemical extinguisher monthly to loosen the powder. The jarring of the coach does not loosen the powder; in fact, it packs the powder, which may make your extinguisher ineffective.
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Another good and important  read: http://rvnow.rvtravel.com/2010/04/handling-kitchen-oil-fire-in-your-rv.html
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Knowing these facts can save lives:
Mac sells the foam fire extinguishers, which are far superior to the regular ones. "That's why I recommend the NEW foam/wetting agent and/or the NEW wetting agent fire extinguishers. These NEW extinguishers are the extinguishers of the future."
Also:   http://www.macthefireguy.com/34_fire_facts_that_can_save_your.htm
Mac The Fire Guy's site: http://www.macthefireguy.com/
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Yesterday:


 Jay and I cleaned up all the pine needles from the yard, and the ones he swept off the roof from the day before, and burned them.

We also cleaned the siding on the front of the house by the front door, the entrance porch and steps.  The little red, white and blue bouquet has been on my door since 9/11.

There is usually blue indoor outdoor carpet on the steps and triangular deck, but we took it off to scrub the deck boards.  The "Wipe Your Paws" mat does a good job, but the blue carpet sure stops a lot of dirt from tracking in.


The screen porch siding got a wash, too. 
My little Red Maple tree planted to give shade to the house, (eventually), is growing. 
Last year it would give shade to one lizard, I think we are up to three lizards, now!

This morning:

Ray and I vacuumed AC filters, ceiling fans, and put new 'stuffing' in the 3 air cleaners.  We make our own stuffing from AC filters, instead of buying the ready made filters.  About three times a year we renew the carbon filters in them, too, as  you can buy sheets of it.

While we were vacuuming the back of my PC, we undid the extra phone line that I had disconnected, and hooked it up to my main land line.  The line goes to the HP All-In-One first, then back to the PC.  I put a splitter in the phone line going to the PC, and the laptop, so I won't have to switch the line from one to the other.  Getting under my desk and fiddling with anything on the back of the PC is a PITA, and knees!  Especially when the power is out.

As I am on Broadband, I only use dial-up when the cable and/or power is out, so the extra phone line was superfluous.  The phone company assured me that I can still get, and receive faxes, if I am not on the phone.

If you don't have a fax machine handy and you fax often, it might be easier to pay http://faxzero.com/  and fax through email.

I am debating whether to get an Auto Alert, http://www.bomara.com/cps/aa.htm  but unless we have another major hurricane knock out the power for a few days, I wouldn't need it.   But if we did, I would really need it.  Anyone have one of those?  I can recharge my laptop in my RV.  
I have a new Emerson Switchboard, but never used it, as it has such terrible reviews.

I think Spring passed us by, as it feels like Summer today.

Wordless Wednesday - Old War Posters.