HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

The quick cool wash on your modern machine can be a life-saver. Jack was sick on his chair this morning, cover off, washed, spun twice and dry enough to put back on immediately because it's man made fibre. All sorted in under two hours....

[Stanley]

If you oversleep lie back and enjoy it!

[Stanley]

I've been watching some videos on Youtube of a splendid bloke in I think Australia who cleans drains. (Search for Drainaddict) He has a fine disregard for what most people would recoil from and last night he was dealing with a drain clogged with fat. It reminded me of my oft-repeated advice to care for your drains and never put fat down them! It sets like concrete and can be very expensive to remove. Have a look at him!

[Stanley]

Just because a small tomato is green doesn't mean it isn't sweet and bursting with flavour. I enjoyed some last night from N Africa which were four different colours, all excellent. They were expensive but Fairtrade which persuaded me.

[Stanley]

Always read the label! The ordinary Co-op plum tomatoes are from Morocco as well!

[Stanley]

If you are about to embark on an enterprise that you think is going to cause a certain amount of pain/discomfort, don't dwell on it, just make good preparations. Remember the old saying, 'Never cross your bridges before you come to them'. My dad's version was 'Don't pee before your water comes ' (more appropriate at the moment). It might not be as bad as you expect!

[Stanley]

And when it does hit, have patience, it will pass. All you have to do is act sensibly and endure.....

[Stanley]

My nurse Helen told me that it was very rare for a patient under BCG treatment to go through nine treatments without getting a bladder infection as I have. I told her it was clean living but I wondered if my obsession with my pint pot and sink had anything to do with it. So, today's tip is to assume that this is right and bleach your pot and sink each morning. Better safe than sorry!

[Marilyn]

If it is an "infection"...why no antibiotics?
Have they tested your urine for infection? (Urine infection in elderly can be serious).

[Stanley]

Read what I said again Maz.... I haven't got any infection beyond the obvious BCG infection which is of course deliberate.

[Marilyn]

[PanBiker]

Have they tested your urine for infection? (Urine infection in elderly can be serious).

Dead right there Maz. During my stay in LGI one of the guys in our bay was found to have a UTI. Never seen anyone decamped faster, within a couple of minutes of the doc and senior ward sister breaking the news to him he was off. Complete with all hospital equipment, bed, drips bedside cupboard and all personal effects. Taken two floors down from the acute care ward we were on. As soon as he was gone the cleaning team followed within a couple more minutes and sanitised the empty bay. Half an hour later we had a new mate to get to know.

[Marilyn]

That's why I think "infection" is the wrong word.
( I would say "reactionary Cystitis with painful Dysuria and Haematuria)

[Stanley]

No treatment is given unless your urine sample is clean and free from infection and I have tested clear all nine times. That's what Helen was congratulating me on, she said that it is unusual.
The introduction of live BCG bacteria into the bladder is described by the consultant and staff as a deliberate infection in order to provoke an immune reaction which is actually what attacks the cancer cells. That's why you are urged to use extreme measures like avoiding splash back and routine sterilisation of the lavatory with bleach to protect any other members of the household from infection by the BCG. My immune system has killed the BCG every time within a week. It must be working well!
I have never had a bladder infection since I stopped all contact with the opposite sex. (Sorry for introducing sex into the topic but it is a fact)

[Marilyn]

ok...
( she says walking backwards with her hands up)
(You can always tell eye drops are working when they sting too. I love it when they sting...)

[Tizer]

...(Urine infection in elderly can be serious).

I won't deny that as you state `urine infection in elderly can be serious'. However, I don't know about Oz, Maz, but here there's a dawning realisation that many UTIs are being wrongly diagnosed due to the widespread use of dip stick tests. They've found that the older we get the more likely we'll have bacteria in our urine but they are often benign, present without causing any adverse symptoms. The dip stick therefore gives lots of positive results for presence of bacteria but in many of these cases the person doesn't need treatment. The over-use of the dip sticks is therefore also leading to increased antibiotic resistance. I head of this the other day on this radio programme. It covers three topics and the UTI bit is halfway through: Inside Health
`Declining male fertility, Diagnosing urinary tract infections in the elderly, Guide to health websites'

[Marilyn]

As an "old nurse", Tizzy, our noses told us more about Urine than "dip sticks"!!!
If it stank/stunk and was dark...and painful to pass...or if it came out of a catheter bag cloudy and foul smelling:..refer on(!) for lab tests.
Infection!
I have known oldies to have strokes, secondary to UTI's. It is not to be trifled.

[Marilyn]

(I do have an exceptional sense of smell)
I'm always getting teased about it by the family.

[Stanley]

Jack always sniffs my pee, if he had a reaction I would recognise it!
At one time I had a lingering bout of Cystitis that plagued me for years, sometimes it was so bad it felled me to the floor, that's why I always have sympathy for any woman that has it. I have been there and it is the worst pain I've ever had. Then one day I had a bad attack and went to a lady doctor in Bacup and she hit it with what must have been the right antibiotic, it cured it permanently. She also sent me to Rawtenstall for a full examination in the days when cystoscopy was done with the equivalent of a garden hose! They found absolutely no problem and I have been clear ever since thank God! My point is I know a full blown UTI when I see one!
That was thirty years ago and my present medical team were amused when I congratulated them on the modern version, I don't suppose any of them ever saw the old equipment.....
I'm sure Tiz is right, there is too much reliance on 'tests' these days and even the medics recognise this. Common sense still has a place in health care and prevention of infections and there is much to be said for old fashioned soap and water!
Beneficial bacteria, I have long held the belief that most bacteria are working for us. The trick is to encourage the good ones and attack the bad! That's today's tip.

[PanBiker]

Labrador dogs are effective in sensing some forms of cancer and there is an ongoing study for other breeds that may also be useful as indicator dogs. Remarkable really but is their sense of smell something like 10,000 times better than ours?

[Tizer]

As an "old nurse", Tizzy, our noses told us more about Urine than "dip sticks"!!! If it stank/stunk and was dark...and painful to pass...or if it came out of a catheter bag cloudy and foul smelling:..refer on(!) for lab tests. Infection! I have known oldies to have strokes, secondary to UTI's. It is not to be trifled.

Yes, that's the way to diagnose it, Maz. The trouble with the dipsticks is they detect very low levels of bacteria even when you wouldn't see or smell anything odd about the urine. So even a very low level of benign bugs results in the person getting a dose of antibiotics. When my father was in the care home the staff were forever diagnosing UTI and sometimes I think they might have been missing the true problem - the person was confused because they were falling into dementia, not because of an infection.

[Stanley]

Ian, I once heard a man I respect talking about a dogs sense of smell and he said that if we thought of the area of sensor elements we possess as a pocket handkerchief and gave a good scent dog a tennis court we would have it about right. I'll go with that, Jack misses nothing and sometimes from a considerable distance. I love to watch him on the Green searching for and homing in on a place where an attractive bitch has had a pee, his main aim in life! It's a typical terrier trait, sight dogs like Greyhounds and Lurchers have different talents.
Today's tip, always trust your companion animal's hearing and scent, they never lie.

[Cathy]

Topped up my collection of supermarket shopping bags this week. Grabbed this one, only 99cents and they replace it if it gets damaged.
Gosh, you can't do better than that.

WP_20190721_14_31_03_Pro.jpg

[Marilyn]

They last for years too, don't they Cathy?
I've got two of the big insulated ones with the zip cover too...and I have repaired them many times by hand sewing the seams with Dental String. (Very strong is Dental Floss/String).

[Cathy]

I had to replace my chilled zip bag recently because my cat found that being inside it and using her claws was a lot of fun.