How To Pick A perfect Pillow

One third of your life is spent in bed. Shouldn't the pillow you use help you enjoy that time instead of leaving you achy and restless? Here are some tips to finding the perfect pillow- which can lead to healthy, restful and comfortable night of sleep.

Determine your pillow style. The position you sleep in says a lot about the type of support you need in pillow. Stomach sleepers need a soft pillow with little elevetion, back sleepers need a medium pillow with moderate elevation and side sleepers need a firmer pillow with maximum elevation. When purchasing pillow, keep in mind how you sleep to determine what type of pillow to sleep with.

Keep it fresh. Pillows should be replaced every two years to ensure proper health and support. Lumpy or flat pillows are a good indication that pillow has reached the end it life span.

Beware of a pillow past time prime. Even your pillow is not flat or lumpy, do not wait for more than two years to replace it. A pillow past its prime could contain a high level of dust and mites, which increase breathing disorder, asthma, allergies. The older the pillow the more it contribute to sleep deprivation and body aches as well.

Take the rest. One good way to determine if your pillow might need replacing is the following test. Take your pillow and fold them in half. Place a tennis shoe on the pillow. If the pillow trows the shoe off of it, still has some life. If the pillow just sits there with the shoe on top, it's time to purchase a new pillow.

Foods That Drain Your Energy

Ask your friends to name a food that makes them tired, and there's a good chance they'll say turkey—citing the lethargic feeling associated with a Thanksgiving meal. But is there any truth to the allegations? While certain foods do make us tired, the ones you suspect may not be the most common culprits.

Red wine
. If you're a red wine drinker you are probably familiar with the euphoric sleepiness that accompanies it after a few glasses. But why? As we know, alcohol is a depressant, meaning it can have a sedative effect. What's more, scientists in Italy say they have discovered that the grapes used to make red wine have high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin which can explain its sluggish effect. So next time you reach for your favorite merlot, you may want to grab your pillow, too.

Fatty foods
. It looks as though a fatty diet can weigh you down in more ways than one. Fat is notorious for taking a long time to digest-somewhere in the realm of six to eight hours. Blood from your arms and legs is used to aid in the digestion process. This lessening in blood volume in your extremities can make you feel slow and lethargic. Contrarily, whole carbohydrates and proteins digest relatively fast-one to four hours-resulting in higher energy and a faster metabolism.

Turkey
. This fatigue-causing fowl is a famed for making the hours post-Thanksgiving dinner dreary. But is turkey really the culprit? Though turkey contains L-tryptophan-an amino acid that is metabolized into serotonin and melatonin causing sleepiness-it does not contain enough to produce truly tiring effects. The combination of simple carbs, fats, alcohol, and overeating that are often a part of Thanksgiving dinner is what ultimately makes you curl up couch-side.

Energy drinks
. Sure, they're great for that initial burst you need to get you over the three o'clock hump, but energy drinks offer counterproductive results in the long run. British scientists at Loughborough University found that those who drank the high-caffeine, high-sugar beverages had slower reactions and more lapses in concentration after an hour. The best way to combat sleepiness is a drink with useful amounts of caffeine--approximately 85mg--and a short nap.

Low-iron foods
.Iron deficiency, or anemia, is a large contributor to daytime fatigue. Chicken, broccoli, pork, and peanut butter are excessively low in iron. In order to combat anemia, make sure your diet is well balanced. This means eating your allotted daily values in iron, carbohydrates, and protein to optimize your energy for the day.

Skipping meals
. Skipping meals can have a negative effect on your energy. Not eating results in low blood-sugar, contributing to fatigue. The tiredness, in turn, results in less energy for exercise and your daily routine. What's more, when your body is craving food and doesn't get it, your metabolism slows, consequently producing smaller amounts of energy. The best diet for energy and healthy weight loss is eating six small, well-balanced meals.

Your One Stop Resource for Saving Money

Have you ever been in financial nightmare? Well , I have that experienced. It wasn't fun at all.Bills were filling up. Car bills,credit cards bills etc. Sometimes you would not know what to do if you see those bills filling up and you arefalling bihind from payments. It's prostrating specially if your husband is really sick and cannot have work for a while ; and in the top of that you just had a baby so; you also have to stay home to take care of them. To get buy day by day. You end up using those credit cards. Sometimes you get max out, falling behind paying bills. Well I had those days.I had to do some research and end up on Debt consolidation . If your bills is filling up and dont know what to do to shernk the amount of your debts. You need to look for a Debt consolidation . Consolidating your bills involves rolling all your debt bills and your payment will be in one lump some in low amount that you can afford. Debt consolidation will help to reduce multiple high interest payments by consolidating all of them into one loan.


So if you are a situation was like mine, or any debts you are in .You need to turn to bills.com and you might want to try to Debt consolidation or maybe you are looking for refinancing your home loan. This is the time to restore your credit . Get the best mortgage rate possible with advices and service at www.bills.com . Bills.com is your one step resource of saving money.

Visit the link above and get the help you need by restoring your credit score back up.

Stop Mosquito Bites from Itching

Those pesky mosquitoes. You've been bitten and you've tried everything to get those darn bites to stop itching -- what are you going to do?

Go into a bathroom and thoroughly wash the affected area with rubbing alcohol [1] before anything else. Pat dry (don't rub it).
Take a nice, relaxing hot bath.
Use your fingernail to press an "X" into the bite. This disperses the protein and stops the itch for a while.
Use the scalding method:
Dip a wash cloth into scalding hot water, but not so hot that it burns your skin.
Press the wet part of the cloth against the bite.
Hold it there until you feel the bite tingle.
Repeat once or twice. Your nerves will be confused and the itching will vanish for hours. The heat causes all the histamine (the protein used by the body to initiate immune responses, which include irritation and itching) in the skin surrounding the bite to be released at once.
Rub any of the following fluids and creams on it:
Baking soda and water paste
Lemon or lime
o Cut into pieces and rub gently on the affected area, or just squirt a bit juice on it.
Nail polish (preferably clear)
o Be sure that the bite is not raw from scratching.
o This keeps it from itching and acts as a seal to protect it.
White or apple cider vinegar
o Make sure it is not an open wound, and brush the vinegar on with your finger.
Hydrocortisone cream
Antihistamine and water
o Rub a little onto the bite and cover with a band aid.
o You can take a Benadryl as well.
Vicks Vaporub
o Keep applying Vicks to the area, especially if it rubs off.
Water
o Rub on with a cotton ball or q-tip.
Aloe vera
Ice or cold water
Lavender oil
Saliva
Toothpaste
Bar soap pieces
Melaleuca oil (also known as tea tree oil)
Saltwater
Oatmeal
Mud
Oil and vinegar
Banana peel citation needed
o Rub it against the affected area.
Common Plantain
o Either roll leaves of common plantain between fingers to extract juice, or chew on common plantain leaves a little bit, then rub the juicy leaf over mosquito bite. The itch goes away in less than a minute.

Remember, it will eventually stop itching.
Dry skin may make you itch more, so, applying some protection lotion could help too.
See your pharmacist, who can help offer advice on the use of antihistamine.


Do not pick the heads off of the bites as they will get infected.
If you feel you must scratch, try patting or (if it really itches,) slapping the area instead. Dermatologists will verify that patting or slapping stimulates the same nerves without damaging the skin.

Whatever you do, don't scratch or rub your bites. This will make the itching worse.

Treat Poison Ivy and Poison Oak

f you ever get into poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac or if you’re having a reaction to one of these plants now, you'll do anything to get rid of the itching. Don’t worry: you’ll get relief in two to three weeks, when poison ivy symptoms usually go away by themselves! Of course if that’s too long to wait—and it is—read on for assistance. Note: for brevity, the following steps refer only to poison ivy, but treatment for poison oak or poison sumac is the same; urushiol, the oil responsible for the allergic reaction, is present in all three plants.

Prevent a poison ivy reaction. Read Prevent Getting Poison Ivy for tips on how to avoid poison ivy and how to wash it off if you’ve just had contact with it.
Visit a physician if you have a known severe allergy to poison ivy or if you experience severe symptoms. Some people react particularly strongly to poison ivy. For these cases, or if you have a reaction over a large part of your body or on your genitals, a doctor may prescribe an oral corticosteroid, but don’t wait too long, as this treatment is most effective if taken soon after exposure. If you experience a fever, swelling of the mouth and nose, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or tightness in the chest, you should seek emergency medical care.
Avoid scratching. As soon as you find out that you have poison ivy (usually 24-48 hours after you have been exposed to it) you'll start getting a rash and blisters.
Wash as soon as possible with a product to remove the rash causing substance urushiol. Urushiol is a resin-like substance that stubbornly attaches itself to skin in about 10-15 minutes and becomes nearly impossible to get off with soap and water. Tecnu Extreme is a poison oak and ivy scrub that removes urushiol. Just use it at a sink to wash exposed skin or hop in a shower with it and go to town, washing your entire body with it--even areas where the rash hasn't broken out yet.
Apply topical hydrocortisone cream. A strong over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream can relieve the itching and swelling associated with poison ivy, particularly if used in the early days of a reaction. Some people find that hydrocortisone cream makes the symptoms worse in the long run. While the ingredients work for several hours, these creams tend to moisturize the skin at a time when drying provides longer-lasting relief. Still, make sure you use a product to remove the urushiol before your use hydrocortisone creams. Otherwise the urushiol may still be on the skin and can spread by getting on sheets and towels, or by scratching.

A poison ivy rash
A poison ivy rash
Apply calamine lotion. As the Coasters said in their immortal song Poison Ivy, "You’re gonna need an ocean / of calamine lotion." Calamine lotion can ease the itching and soothe blistered skin. Apply regularly and liberally. Far advanced over calamine lotions are products that contain diphenhydramine hydracholoride. Look for a product that has an antiseptic in it, too. That will help keep the rash area from being infected. Unfortunately, these types of products only treat the symptom--which is the rash. That's why they should be used after you have used a product to remove the urushiol.
Take a shower with an urushiol removing product. They remove the urushiol so the rash won't spread. If the rash has started, use a urushiol removing product immediately. You may be able to lessen the severity of the rash and dramatically shorten the time it takes to heal.
Apply cool, wet compresses. Moisten a clean washcloth in cool water and apply to skin for several minutes. Re-moisten the cloth as needed to keep it cool. Using cold whole milk instead of water has proven more effective for some people, and an ice compress can relieve particularly nasty swelling or burning.
Take oral antihistamines to help you sleep. Antihistamines, such as Benadryl, generally offer only mild relief from the symptoms of poison ivy, but if taken before bedtime their combination of anti-allergy and drowsiness-inducing effects can help you get some rest.
Contact your doctor for a cortizone shot in extreme cases. Along with other medication your doctor can prescribe, this will alleviate all symptoms within a few days. It will get rid of the itching within just a few hours. Generally, this will relieve all symptoms for a couple of weeks.


At night, trouble sleeping may occur. If you have had enough of the hot water remedies, try soaking your feet in an ice bath for 10-15 seconds at a time.
If you use hot water to substitute for scratching, higher water pressure and temperature will increase the pleasurable "scratching" sensation. Using water that is slightly cooler then scalding can provide 2-3 hours of relief from itching.
Poison ivy blisters are not contagious. The only way you can contract or spread the poison ivy rash is by coming into contact with urushiol. As long as the skin is thoroughly cleaned so that none of this oil remains, there is no danger of spreading the poison ivy reaction to other parts of the body or to other people.
If your child gets into poison ivy, oak, or sumac, cut his or her fingernails very short to minimize skin damage from scratching.
A quick internet search (or a conversation with your friends and neighbors) can yield a ton of home remedies: aloe, vinegar, salt water, and vitamins, to name just a few. Sometimes these work, and sometimes they don’t. If the steps above aren’t working for you, however, you may want to experiment with some of these.
Swimming in a pool with chlorine may assist. The chlorine cleans and disinfects the rash. Spend as much time as possible in the pool. Try at least 3-4 hours at a public pool. After doing this the itching will usually stop completely, it will start to go away within days, and will barely spread.
Bleach also seems to work well when it comes to treating poison. If the poison is on your hand, find a small bowl and soak your hand in it for several minutes. It will sting quite a bit, but it would clean it right out. If you have poison elsewhere on your body, fill the cap with bleach and cup it against your skin. Just don't spill any on your clothes or carpet!!! Be sure to wash yourself off afterwards and apply calamine lotion or even Neosporin if the skin is broken.
Taking a 2-3 minute shower in cool water can help stop a poison oak/ poison ivy rash from spreading. The cool water tightens and sometimes even closes your pores, whereas hot water would open them and possibly make the rash worse.
Make a paste of St. John's Wort and apply to the itchy area to get several hours relief from itching. St. John's Wort can be found in the wild, or you can find it is a dried powder in gel capsules sold as an over-the-counter nutritional supplement. Make sure you get gel capsules, not pills. (St. John's Wort is a folk remedy for many skin conditions.)
Surprisingly, poison ivy and oak are related to the mango tree and its fragrant, succulent fruit. In locations where mangoes grow (e.g. Hawaii), travelers with a history of poison ivy or poison oak dermatitis will often develop the same rash on their hands, extremities, or corners of their mouth if they are exposed to the skin (from peeling the mango skin with their teeth), or contact sticky mango sap (while picking from a tree). If you have a history of poison ivy/oak rashes, let someone else pick the mangoes and prepare them - then you can enjoy the flesh without an itchy, weeping red rash.


Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions and the advice of your doctor or pharmacist when using prescription or non-prescription medications.
Use common sense when trying home remedies. Some of the suggestions you may hear or read about may actually be harmful, so exercise caution and ask your doctor’s advice before trying anything questionable.
Do not apply ice to skin for more than a few minutes at a time.
Do not apply calamine lotion or topical creams around the eyes or on the genitals unless recommended by your doctor.
Keep open sores clean to prevent infection. If infection does appear, contact your doctor.
Don't take a bath when you have poison oak or ivy because the rash causing substance urushiol, which can come off your skin during a soak, can float on top of the water and re-attach itself to your skin when you rise from a bath.

Things You'll Need

Calamine lotion, Burrow's Solution
Clean washcloth
Topical hydrocortisone cream
A product to remove urushiol from the skin
Water
Cup
cotton swabs
money to buy all of the above
patience