image from sxc.hu

If you’ve have the misfortune of tripping over the cat or dog lately, you are not alone. Seems that these ‘four-legged tripwires’ are the cause of over 86,000 visits to the emergency room each year.  That’s 240 people a day being treated for pet-related injuries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found that while cats are involved in some of the fall, the main culprit is man’s best friend, the dog. Seems that nearly 88% of all injuries were dog-related and females sustained injuries twice as often as males.

No mention, though, of how the pets fared in each of these accidents…

ever have to make a decision that
tore your heart apart?

i did yesterday when i said goodbye to
Maddie, our family cat who has always been
there for me in good and bad.

but she got too sick to carry on and had to be
laid to rest.

Goodbye old friend…

President-elect Obama made many promises during the election campaign, but to his daughters, the biggest was probably that if he’s elected they would get a dog. A tough call, given that his eldest daughter, Malia, apparently has a ‘dog allergy’.

In his first press conference, Obama seemed to think that all would be okay if they found a ‘hypoallergenic dog’. Sounds like a great plan. But according to medical experts, it’s not all that feasible. In fact, soon after the press conference, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology  (AAAAI) issued a statement saying “There is no truly ‘hypoallergenic’ dog.”

According to the Academy, there are many misconceptions regarding dog allergies, chief among them being ‘that people are allergic to a dog’s hair, and it is falsely believed that a dog that sheds less will not cause a reaction.’ Not true!

Here’s the truth. The major allergen is a protein found in all dog’s serum and this protein is shed from their skin through sweat, as well as in their saliva and probably is also in their urine. So it’s next to impossible to find an allergy-free dog.

So what’s a President-elect to do? He’s made a promise that will be impossible to back out of.

Dr Corinna Bowser, an allergy and asthma expert from Pennsylvania recommends that the Obama’s do two things before bringing any puppy home: First, dog-sit a friend or neighbors dog to see how Malia’s allergies fare, and second, set some rules about how they’ll plan on handling any allergy issues.

Brower says “”What we tell our patients is draw an imaginary line in the sand. If the child has an ER visit for asthma or needs significantly more medication, or whatever you want to determine as the line, that’s when the dog has to go. And set these rules ahead of time, because then everybody knows that’s when the dog has to go.”

Combine this advice with the AAAAI guidelines list below and the Obama might just be able to pull of his most important campaign promise.

• Visit an allergist/immunologist to diagnose the allergy and discuss treatment, which may include maintenance medications or immunotherapy (allergy shots).
• Keep the pet out of the allergic person’s bedroom. Animal dander will collect on pillows, leading to worsened symptoms at night and morning.
• Bathe the animal weekly to reduce the amount of dander shed at home.
• Replace carpeting with hardwood or other solid-surface flooring for easy clean-up.
• Vacuuming may not be effective in decreasing allergen levels, but using a HEPA filter and double bags may help.
• Wash bedding and clothing in hot water. While animal allergens are not easily removed by high temperatures, these measures may help.

(Image credit: Newscom)

If you’re heading out into the wilderness for some nature-like fun (not my bag, but hey, to each his own), you may come across a bear at some point. You are in their habitat, after all. And while this is scarier than the release of Gigli, there are certain steps you can take to protect yourself and your family, since most black bears are not interested in people and can usually be scared away. Take a look:

1. Stand up as tall as you can

2. Hold out your arms to appear bigger (if you’re wearing a jacket and have the time, open it up)

3. Speak in a loud, deep voice (what you choose to say is up to you, though I imagine explicatives might be part of the package)

4. Back up slowly

If this doesn’t work and the bear starts charging at you, you should actually fight back - and hard. Try to hit him in the nose, which is a bear’s main sensory organ. However…DON’T RUN! Running will torment the bear, and heavens knows, he can outrun you.

Keep in mind, this advice is all true for black bears, not brown grizzlies (which are found west of the Rockies). If you come across a grizzly, it’s best to play dead.

Hey, I’d rather play dead than become dead, wouldn’t you?

Source: Parents magazine

Bored with the traditional pedicure? Then hop on over to a Washington DC-area salon where teeny carp are used eat away the dead skin on your feet, leaving them smooth as a baby’s bum.

Sound creepy?

It may be a little, but it’s becoming all the rage. So far, over 5,000 customers have indulged in this treatment that feels like your foot fell asleep - just a tickling and tingling.

The fish at-the-ready, known as doctor fish, thrive in hot water where plants and other food sources are not readily available. Consequently, the fish have learned to feed on whatever they can find, including dead, flaking skin. As for your live skin? The fish don’t bother it at all since they do not have teeth and can’t bite in.

While some salon-goers would view this as a scary alternative to conventional buffers and scrapers, the salon’s owner sees this as just the beginning. In fact, he envisions whole-body fish treatments which could help folks suffering with psoriasis and other skin ailments.

For now, fishy pedicures are only available at the one salon, but the owner plans to franchise. Stay tuned - turning your feet into fish food may soon be on your horizon.

Source (with photo)

Ah, summer. Tis the season for grilled dinners al fresco, lazy days in the hammock, and…mosquitoes!

Image details: Mosquito served by picapp.com

Sure, you could grab your can of OFF! or even some hard core DEET, but if you’re looking to go a little more natural (and green) consider one of these alternatives. Unconventional? Yes. Effective? You bet.

1. Lemon Eucalyptus - This scent is yummy for humans, purely disgusting for bloodsuckers. Even better, it is claimed to be one of the most effective repellents available. Find it at Drugstore.com.

2. Soybean Oil - Probably not a great idea to slick cooking oil all over yourself, but you can find this zapper in Bite Blocker, which is available at Amazon.com.

And the wackiest of all?

3. Catnip Oil - Turns out Fluffy’s “fix” is 10 times more effective than DEET. The stuff can even keep bugs at bay for up to 6 hours a pop! But instead of raiding the kitty aisle, look for products with this great and natural additive online.

Great news for us. Bad news for bugs. Happy news for the earth.

Happy Summer, y’all!

Image details: Frog served by picapp.com

Okay, this is one of those stories that sounds funny at first, but when you dig into the meat of it, it is soooo not funny. At all.

If you’re in the New York City area and you’re feeling a little frisky, please do not try your hand at ingesting toad venom - a supposed aphrodisiac. This kind of sexual adventure actually killed a 35-year-old man recently, and as I see it, death is not at all worth a few moments in the sack. Agreed?

This toad venom, sold illegally under the names Piedra, Love Stone, Jamaican Stone, Black Stone and Chinese Rock is being sold at sex shops and neighborhood stores. And oh, by the way, it is totally banned by the Food and Drug Administration. Good plan.

True, the fella mentioned above ingested the venom, rather than applying it to his skin (as is the “right” way to use it), but nontheless, authorities say there is no safe way to use this poison. In fact, it contains chemicals that can disrupt heart rhythms. And that’s not cool.

So once again, I say: Watch out. Keep away from the toads. And all will be well.

Make this a sexy Saturday, y’all. Naturally.

Read the whole scoop here.

It’s all about animals this week…

Prothestics are not just for humans. Seems that even the animal kingdom needs a little help every so often. Here’s a fascinating collection of animals that have benefited from science. There’s a dolphin with a rubber tail, an American Bald Eagle with a nylon-composite beak, a Belgian Shepard with a carbon paw, and a kangaroo, a parrot, a kiwi, and an elephant with a prosthetic leg.

What’s on your cat’s mind? If you don’t know and are worried about their behavoir help is at hand in the form of animal communicators, aka ‘Pet Whisperers’. They even have their own magazine “Species Link: The Journal of Interspecies Telepathic Communication”.

Why rabbits love liquorice (and elephants can’t jump). Bet you didn’t know that ’slugs have four noses’, ‘the sperm of a MOUSE is longer than the sperm of an elephant’, and ‘dolphins sleep with one half of the brain at a time, and one eye closed’. Fascinating trivia for the next time you run out of conversation.

And finally…

The Monkey with a Robotic Arm

Finally, sleeping after no sleep for three years - most new parents expect that their sleep will be disturbed, at least during the first few months after having a baby. But imagine ‘no sleep for three years’. That’s the case for the Lamb family of St.Petersburg, Florida.

 Their son Rhett suffers from chiari malformation , a structural defect that puts pressure on the brain stem which controls vital functions such as sleep, speech, circulation, and breathing. But thanks to experimental surgery designed to relieve this pressure, Rhett (and his parents) are now sleeping…

Unable to Forget - although most of us would love to have better recall of past events, no one wants to remember every single life event. After all, there are somethings in life that you just don’t want to remember. But for one woman, all events - good and bad - are stuck in her memory and won’t let go. She is Jill Price, author of ‘The Woman Who Can’t Forget’.

A Personality Test for Your Cat - The Feline-ality program, developed by Dr. Emily Weiss of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is little like a ‘What Kind of Cat are you?’ quiz.

Might sound entertaining but this program, currently running in 45 shelters, aims to end the animal-human mismatches that often results in the cat being returned to the shelter. Prospective adoptees fill in a questionaire which gives them a color code. This color code will match up with a suitable cat personality - ‘leader of the band’, ‘the personal assistant’, or the ‘private investigator’ - that will make for a happy home for both human and cat.

Image details: Thinkstock Single Image Set served by picapp.com

Great news for kitty lovers: Turns out your feline friends do more than keep your toes warm at night - they help keep your heart healthy, too.

A recent study from the University of Minnesota found that owning a cat can slash your risk of dying from a heart attack by up to 40 percent. Evidently, having kitty around can help soothe away the harmful effects of stress and anxiety. Suddenly, dealing with the litter box doesn’t seem quite so vexing, now does it?

Of course, it’s best to keep exercising and eating right, but if it’s been one of “those days”, spend some extra time with your furry pal and make your heart (and your pet) happy.