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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2016)
16 in other words july21 2016 Voices in My Head: Ask P.J. By P. J. O’Leary Exclusively in this edition of Vernonia’s Voice we present the Advice Column which Vernonians have been clamoring for. Clamoring, according to a recent survey, is Vernonia’s third most popular pastime. Here we go then. Dear P.J. - My wife says I ruined the laundry because I put taupe and periwinkles in with the whites. Are taupe and periwinkles actual things? Are they edible? I’m confused but I just want to help out. her “system” for Tupperware storage consists of the following: Dear Don - Hang in A-Open the cabinet. B-Try to there. Yes, yes, we all want catch whatever falls out first. C- to help out, but do not be Put your lunch in that. afraid to embrace your genetic Hey P.J. - I’m thinking incapability. Confusion and ignorance have withstood the test of trying Yoga. Thoughts? Diane of time as married male survival tools, so do not mess with Dear Diane - I too have standing practice. My wife and thought about Yoga as an option I each have our own systems for for fitness and well-being. I just how best to load the dishwasher. wish it could be a little more Over time her method has been competitive. determined to be “the model,” while mine has come to be Dear P.J. - Sarah known as “chaos theory.” In my Jones from Lake Oswego (I’ll defense, I should point out that call her Eunice for purposes of Thanks, Don anonymity) is coming to visit my husband and me next week. She and my husband once had a dalliance. Should I offer an olive branch? Thank you, Wanda. Dear Wanda - When you break bread with your enemy do not offer an olive branch. Offer some olive loaf, and Miracle Whip if you’ve got it. Put that on some soft bread with thinly sliced cheddar cheese. She may be a shrew, but what the hell is she going to do with an olive branch? Seriously. Natural Path to Health: Super Lice By Dr. Carol McIntyre As many of you are aware, there has been an outbreak of lice in our community for a number of months. Families have been struggling to be rid of it with frustration setting in. It is difficult to eradicate and doing so is a very time consuming and tedious process which includes many loads of laundry, bagging of pillows and stuffed animals, spraying of furniture and of course… removing eggs from hair. All of these things lead to the frustration and the overwhelming feeling that comes with having head lice. For months my family was lice free, despite the children being around other children in school etc… I felt so fortunate. Then it happened. The cycle of treatment began. As I mentioned above, treatment was very consuming. Although only one child presented with lice, we treated everyone to be safe. Toys were bagged, upholstery vacuumed and sprayed and there was much laundry… The point is what I used to treat and finally BEAT the head lice. At first I used a mayonnaise/tea tree essential oil for the hair based on the theory that the mayonnaise suffocates the lice and the tea tree essential oil (EO) kills bugs and eggs. This worked well but eggs were still present so I made a ‘stronger’ EO formula using a base of calendula tea and adding EOs of tea tree, thyme, eucalyptus and others. I used this spray on everyone’s head twice daily and on the furniture. Again, things got better but eggs were still present. I ended up using the over the counter “poison” and actually the lice got worse! It really didn’t work at all… Now, I would like to say that addressing lice with long hair is VERY difficult. The eggs actually stick to the shaft of the hair and have to be meticulously removed. If you do not follow all along the entire length of the hair the egg could remain attached to the hair. Lice eggs have a life cycle between 7-10 or even 14 days so checking every day for 2 weeks after eradication is a must. Be diligent! Ask for help- having two people check through someone’s head with lice goes much quicker and having the support can reduce frustration. As I was putting the children to bed one night, I realized that our son never had it. His hair isn’t short and he and our daughter play together all the time. It seemed odd that there would be no transfer. Well, every night I fill his diffuser with lavender EO. The light bulb went on! It must be the lavender EO. That was the only difference. I immediately filled the diffuser in our daughter’s room and got on the computer. Sure enough, articles about super lice were everywhere. The discussion is that lice are becoming resistant to the over-the-counter (OTC) lice treatments such as RID which contain Permethrin. What I discovered is that tea tree EO was the go-to alternative treatment (which most of us know) but that paired with lavender EO the pair is coined the super lice killer! Tea tree EO contains over 90 different compounds; the main one thought to eradicate lice is terpinen-4-ol which is part of the Terpene family. Terpenes are known for their antimicrobial and anti- inflammatory properties. Lavender EO contains over 100 different compounds ALL of which are members of the Terpene family. My thought is that the lavender EO has a wider variety of terpene compounds which is why it is so useful in killing the lice which are resistant to the OTC treatments. Interesting fact: Terpenes are used by termites to kill enemy insects! I remade my EO spray and added 20 drops each of tea tree and lavender EO to my mixture of calendula tea and other EOs. This new formula was used to spray everything including heads and furniture. After only one day the egg count was reduced and I only found 3 eggs in our daughter’s hair. This combination was what eradicated the lice from our home and allowed me to regain my sanity! Dear P.J. - Are dogs really man’s best friend? I’m thinking of getting one. Leonard. Dear Leonard - You sound like a fella who really needs a friend, buddy! Here’s the deal. Best friend? Sure, whatever you want to think. It’s not like we’re going to seek a research grant to determine their motives. Most dogs respond to basic reward queues. The only fringe group is the Weiner dogs, who will actively pursue opportunities to pee on you while you’re sleeping. There are many websites which provide other detailed information regarding head lice. I think the most important thing is to be diligent regarding laundry and bedding. My routine included taking all bedding including the pillow and putting it in the dryer for 40 min every night prior to bed. While the bedding was in the dryer I would spray the mattress with the EO spray. Laundry was continuous and any shirt/coat worn that day was addressed that day and not re-worn. Having head lice does not mean you’re dirty or un-kept. Lice have no boundaries. It does not discriminate. Our daughter had a very hard time sitting for her head checks and not being able to play with friends. She felt ostracized. It is difficult for everyone but it can be eradicated. My suggestion is to use natural and practical applications that work. Don’t give up and ask for help. As a community working together we can be lice free. If you need a source to obtain the EOs, I have them at the office. Good luck! Be well~ Foster Care System continued from page 6 youth transitioning out of care, suicide prevention, foster home inspections and maintenance of sibling connections. Thirty-one youth identified these priorities during the 2016 Oregon Foster Youth Connection Policy Conference, which took place at Willamette University in Salem, July 16 – 19. Through its youth-led model of civic engagement and leadership development, the Oregon Foster Youth Connection (OFYC) empowers youth to identify pressing issues within the foster care system, determine concrete solutions, and educate policymakers to advocate for change. Since 2009, OFYC’s Policy Conference has been an effective vehicle for ensuring that foster youth are meaningfully involved in the improvement of the foster care system. “The voice of youth is essential when any changes to the foster care system are considered. No perspective is more important,” said Lisa McMahon, OFYC Program Director. For more information, visit http://www.oryouthconnection.org/. TOO BUSY? 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