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?
Call your LOCAL bookkeeper
R
Y
OLL
A
P
PLUS LLC
Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819
edisheldon@gmail.com
Licensed tax consultant • Full service payroll
Personal & small business bookkeeping • QuickBooks assistance
CORPS, S-CORPS, LLC, Partnerships • Personal one-on-one service
LTC #29629 - Oregon licensed tax consultant
RTRP #P00448199 - designated as a registered tax return preparer by the Internal Revenue Service
The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information
on tax return preparers, go to www.IRS.gov.
