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ANN
BLOOM
IT’S ALL GOOD
Focus on your
physical and
mental health
he month of August is
National Wellness Month,
a month devoted to
focusing on self-care and making
every day count toward a life-
time of wellness, not just phys-
ical well-being, but also mental
health and spiritual well-being,
too.
Wellness can include devel-
oping healthy habits and rou-
tines and managing stress. Well-
ness has a way of promoting
happiness. Small changes can
affect your health in big ways.
According to the Kim Founda-
tion, an organization devoted to
well-being and healthy living,
it can take 21 days for some-
thing to become a habit and 90
days for it to become a lifestyle
change.
The foundation’s website
(www.kimfoundation.org) also
lists being mindful, practicing
self-compassion, focusing on
proper nutrition, and trying
something new as ways to focus
on wellness.
Starting small with things you
enjoy and working on making
them a habit results in wellness.
For example, taking a yoga class,
treating yourself to an in-home
spa treatment, such as a soak in
a tub of homemade bath salts, or
learning to meditate, are all ways
to start on a path to wellness.
Other things that lead to well-
ness include increasing your
water intake and upping fruit
and vegetable consumption.
Cutting back on added sugar is
another way to improve nutri-
tion. The average American con-
sumes 22 teaspoons of added
sugar a day; this includes sugar
in sodas, but also hidden sugar
in salad dressings, condiments
and bread. Walking is a simple
and effective tool for stress man-
agement, as is gardening or any
other form of physical activity,
especially ones that get you out-
side interacting with nature.
Check your sleep habits —
getting enough sleep so you feel
rested and alert contributes to
a sense of overall wellness and
mental clarity. Spending time
with family and friends also con-
tributes to a state of wellness.
Finding a hobby, especially
one not connected to your usual
work, can also help develop a
sense of wellness. For example,
if your work is physical you
might try a hobby that involves
using your hands such as
painting or woodworking.
Practicing the art of grati-
tude and reflecting on what you
do have and focusing on the pos-
itive, rather than on the negative
or what you don’t have can affect
one’s mood and attitude for the
good, which in turn will have a
positive effect on overall wellness.
Doing volunteer work such
as working at an animal shelter
benefits both you and the ani-
mals. It releases “feel good”
endorphins in the brain and the
animals benefit from human
companionship. And who
knows? You might just meet
your new best friend and a
deserving pet will find their for-
ever home.
Too much screen time can
not only be bad for your eyes,
but it can also be a real wellness
damper if you are focusing on all
the negativity on the news and
social media. If you find your-
self doing this, try limiting the
time you spend watching TV and
on your computer with social
media.
Nothing helps one’s wellness
level like a treat such as lunch
with a friend to catch up, a new
book, a latte, a new hairstyle or
a massage — special something
that makes you feel good. Strive
for wellness not only in August,
but every month of the year.
T
█
Ann Bloom has worked for the OSU
Extension Service for 15 years as a
nutrition educator. She studied journalism
and education at Washington State
University. She lives in Enterprise.
Living
Croak
Ribbit
Chirp
Hoot
B
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Attracting frogs and
toads to your garden
WENDY
SCHMIDT
Stephanie
Yao/TNS
BETWEEN THE ROWSE
A boreal toad.
umid days, the air you
can wear, a chore to
even breathe — that’s
the weather toads and frogs
like best. The presence of toads
and frogs is more noticeable at
night, when you can hear their
voices.
Toads and frogs eat lots
of insects, so it’s natural to
want to attract them to the
garden.
Many garden catalogs
offer “toad houses” for sale.
They resemble an inverted
f lowerpot with a hole for a
door.
You can do just as well
making your own toad house
from an unglazed terra
cotta pot. The terra cotta is
porous and will breathe, as
well as keeping some damp-
ness. Evaporation keeps the
pot cool. Set a rock over the
drain hole. Chip a toad-size
hole in the pot’s rim.
Toads and frogs need to
lay eggs in water. A pond
or water feature will do. If
you want tadpoles from the
eggs, you can’t have big fish
unless you create a place for
the tadpoles to hide.
To encourage the neces-
sary humidity, lower leaves
and branches should be left
on your plants, especially
in the shady areas toads and
frogs love.
Also don’t let the soil or
plants dry out. Some large
H
The Virginian-Pilot-TNS
Ruth Wing holds an American bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianu.
rocks sitting around fairly
close to each other help trap
moisture.
Besides being useful in
ridding gardens of insects,
toads and frogs are environ-
mental indicators. They are
among the first species to
disappear if things turn toxic
to life. Biologists and ecol-
ogists monitor the presence
of frogs. If you see frogs, it’s
safe to assume that the envi-
ronment is toxin-free. That
may be why the sighting of
frogs evoke smiles.
To summarize about
attracting toads and frogs:
1. Water often.
2. Let plants be close and
keep the lower branches
and leaves to encourage
humidity.
3. Encourage humidity
with the use of mulch or
rocks.
4. Have a water pool, even
if only temporary in early
spring.
5. If your pond has fish,
add a brush pile half in and
half out of the water at the
edge.
Frogs are also a food
source for animals. They
fill the air with their peeps,
trills, whistles, grunts, and
snores. Their music adds
dimension to our evenings.
Try to learn the identity of a
specific frog or toad by their
song.
Enrich your garden by
purposely attracting frogs
and toads, and share your
garden with other creatures
by making it a habitat.
█
Wendy Schmidt is a longtime gardener.
She lives in La Grande.
Want to beat the sunburn? Here’s what works
Mayo Clinic News Network
Great summer days are full of
relaxation, fun and plenty of sun-
shine. Unfortunately, spending
too much time in the sun can lead
to a sunburn. Your skin may be
inflamed, painful and feel hot to
the touch.
Any exposed part of the body,
including your lips, earlobes and
scalp, can burn. The symptoms
of sunburn usually appear a few
hours after sun exposure.
Unfortunately, there’s no fast
fix to soothe a sunburn. Once
you have sunburn, the damage is
done. After a few days, your body
will begin to heal by peeling off
the damaged skin’s top layer. A
bad burn can take several days to
heal.
In the meantime, here are
a few things you can do to
treat sunburn and ease your
discomfort:
• Keep skin cool and moist.
• Apply cold compresses, such
as a towel dampened with cool
water, to the affected skin several
times a day. Or take a cool bath
with baking soda. Apply aloe
vera lotion, moisturizing cream or
a nonprescription 1% hydrocor-
tisone cream to the affected skin
several times a day. Try cooling
the product in the refrigerator
before applying for extra-soothing
comfort. Avoid products con-
taining alcohol, which can further
dry out skin.
Juan Moyano/Dreamstime-TNS
Unfortunately, there’s no fast fix to soothe a sunburn. Once you have sunburn, the
damage is done.
• Avoid products that contain
benzocaine.
• Beware of sunburn treatment
products containing anesthetics,
such as benzocaine. There’s little
evidence that these products are
effective. In some cases, they can
irritate the skin. Benzocaine has
been linked to a rare but serious,
and sometimes deadly, condi-
tion that decreases the amount of
oxygen that the blood can carry.
Don’t use benzocaine on children
younger than age 2 without super-
vision from a health care profes-
sional, as this age group has been
most affected. If you’re an adult,
never use more than the recom-
mended dose of benzocaine, and
consider talking with your health
care professional.
• Leave blisters alone.
If blisters form, don’t break
them. Doing so only slows the
healing process and increases the
risk of infection. If needed, lightly
cover blisters with gauze.
• Take an over-the-counter
pain reliever.
If needed, take anti-inflamma-
tory medication, such as aspirin
or ibuprofen, according to the
label instructions until redness
and pain subside. Don’t give chil-
dren or teenagers aspirin. It may
cause Reye’s syndrome, a rare but
potentially fatal disease.
• Treat peeling skin gently.
Within a few days, the affected
area may begin to peel. This is
simply your body’s way of get-
ting rid of the top layer of dam-
aged skin. While your skin is
peeling, continue to use moistur-
izing cream.
• Drink extra water.
This helps prevent
dehydration.
Talk with your health care
team if your sunburn covers a
large portion of your body with
blisters, sunburn is accompanied
by a high fever or severe pain, or
severe sunburn doesn’t begin to
improve within a few days.
To prevent future episodes of
sunburn, apply sunscreen fre-
quently and liberally. Select a
broad-spectrum product that pro-
vides protection against ultravi-
olet A and ultraviolet B radiation
and has a sun protection factor of
at least 15.
Be careful in the sun if you
take medications that make sun-
burn more likely. A common
example is tetracycline taken
orally for acne. Finally, use
common sense when outdoors.
Cover up and stay in the shade as
much as possible.
█
Trent Anderson, D.O. , is a family medicine
physician in Lake City and Plainview,
Minnesota.
