Home Remedies For Treating Ear Infections

Ear infections can be incredibly painful and it is so sad to watch your child when they are crying in pain with a sore ear.  Even a mild ear infection can be quite painful but a severe infection can be excruciating.  Those who suffer from occasional ear infections will know how bad they are, but imagine if you suffer from chronic ear infections.

I'm sure you've heard the saying 'prevention is better than cure', well there are home remedies that you can use to help prevent ear infections and these can be particularly good for those who suffer from chronic infections.  There are a number of home remedies you can use for ear infection, but if you do suspect your child has an infection it is best to consult your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

One type of ear infection is 'swimmers ear' and this is caused by water in the ear.  Swimmers ear often occurs after someone goes swimming - hence the name.  One thing that you can do to prevent swimmers ear is to dry your ears with a hair dryer after you have finished swimming.  I know it sounds a little strange and you want to make sure you don't have the hot ear too close, but it does work.  The air from the hair dryer will dry the extra moisture that remains in your ear canal and this helps to prevent bacteria from growing in your ear.  The other thing you can do is to wear earplugs when you go swimming to prevent water getting into your ear canal.  These two tips can let you enjoy your day at the pool without worrying about getting an ear infection later.

Ear infections can also be caused by blocked ear canals.  If you have a cold or your sinuses are blocked then the Eustachian tubes can also become blocked, putting pressure on the ear canals.  This can be worse at night when you are lying down as your Eustachian tubes can't drain as well as they can during the day when you are upright.  Some people are prone to getting this type of ear infection whenever they have a cold.

Here are some tips for unblocking your ears and avoiding an ear infection from developing:

1. Yawning or chewing gum will flex the muscles around the ear canal and can help to 'pop' the ears.  The contracting and expanding of these muscles can help the ears to drain.

2. Take a deep breath and then close your mouth.  Then close your nostrils and try to blow out through your nose.  This also helps to pop your ears and drain the Eustachian tubes.

If you or your children are susceptible to ear infections then there are also some herbal remedies that you can get from the health store or pharmacy.  These can help give some relief when suffering from ear infections and reduce that terrible pain that goes hand in hand with these infections. Read More..

Hobbies To Relieve Stress - 3 Cool Tips

The modern world is an amazing place to live. It is filled with all kinds of technological advances that promise to make our lives easier, yet far too many of us succumb to stress and illnesses associated with that stress. Perhaps it's because all of this technology is constantly bombarding and distracting us so we never get a chance to truly relax, and end up feeling overwhelmed instead. But worrying about stress only makes the problem worse, but the good news is that there are several ways to relieve stress.

Some people want to know if hobbies relieve stress. That's a fair question, and the answer may surprise you. The truth is that choosing the wrong hobby can only make you more stressed than if you didn't have one in the first place. Here are some things you should consider before deciding on a hobby that's a good match for you:

1. The best hobbies are those that will help you not think about the obligations and responsibilities you have in your life, at least for a while. After all, picking a hobby that only makes you more tense isn't going to be all that effective. For example, a lot of people like to golf as their hobby. Now this may be fine for some, but if you're too competitive, then what would be a leisurely game of golf for others will turn into a stressful situation for you of you are down by a few strokes. Furthermore, golf tends to be a bit expensive, so if money problems are causing stress in your life, then an expensive hobby doesn't make a lot of sense.

2. Find a hobby that you can enjoy from beginning to end. Going back to golf for a moment, it has the advantage of being pleasurable from the first hole until the last (assuming it fits in with your personality and budget). Something like gardening can be a good choice, too. It gets you outside just about every day, and you can enjoy your hobby, then when it comes time to harvest, you can also enjoy all of the fruits of your labor.

3. Moving beyond the norm is a great stress reliever for a lot of people. The very act of learning something new forces you to focus on it, and that means your focus is not on the things that are causing you stress. There is also the added benefit of enriching your life in some way, which can actually help you cope with stress even when you're not engaged in your hobby.

So, the answer to the question "do hobbies relieve stress?" is "yes, so long as you choose the right ones." The cool thing is that there are so many different hobbies out there, that there is sure to be a few that are a good match for you.

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