I've found the most interesting discussions in that right side bar under Recent Posts! Sure hope your daughter is coping with the pain, John, and will be improving very soon. As to pain meds: earlier in June of this year (2014) I had miniscus surgery on my right knee and have been dealing with the pain of that recovery. The knee (and the pain) are doing better, but I'm not back to 100% yet - or even 85 to 90%. I took Tramadol for a while for pain before the surgery until the night I had little twinkly lights running around on the bedroom ceiling - my first (and I hope my only) hallucination. Then I was perscribed hydrocodone acetominophen after the surgery June 10. Now I want to try to get off that and the doc said to take Tylenol or call him for another prescription of the hydrox-aceto. I'm such an anti-pill person you would not believe, but I've had to come to terms with meds to get through the past six months. I just talked to our nurse practitioner here at our office and will try getting off the hydrox-aceto by taking one in the morning and 2 extra strength Tylenol at night and see if that manages the pain while I continue to recover. Thanks to all for your posts.....I read every one. Teresa

Hi Popi, Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. Hi Finedreams, Glad you quit smoking. :) I agree that telling kids that smoking is bad for you, and that it is illegal and that has a whole other set of issues associated with it. That's what I was trying to say with the water and headaches. I know my mom is right, and she is very well versed in health matters as a public health nurse, it's just that we were so anti- (any) drug/unhealthy items growing up, including pain medication like asprin, and that killer of millions- sugar! that I have a hard time when drugs aren't clearly defined and want my daughter to get the right language so she doesn't feel deceived later. Simply coming home and saying "drugs are bad" (well, what are drugs?) "drugs are cigarettes and beer and wine" is not effective teaching to me. They aren't giving the whole story, and I feel this is a disservice to my child. I disagree though, that "light drinking here and there can cause a serious damage" if the drinking is not associated with drugs or alcoholism. The Mayo Clinic, among other highly ranked establishments of health, validates that drinking red wine in moderation is good for the heart. In fact, in 1992 Harvard researchers included moderate alcohol consumption as one of the "eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk." http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/red_wine.html I'm not advocating people going out and getting drunk, but I have seen the effects of the blanket NO on Drugs war and in my NSHO it doesn't work. A study by U.S. and New Zealand scientists has shown that about 3 million heart-disease-, stroke- and diabetes-related deaths are caused by high blood sugar levels each year world wide; one health author notes that the only way to raise blood sugar is by consuming sugars and refined carbohydrates. http://www.naturalnews.com/021037.html What would you say if someone told you that alcoholism has its roots in sugar addiction? Problems with overconsumption of alcohol often begin with eating habits as children. Since all alcoholic drinks contain sugar, it is a wonder that this association is often overlooked. Children are easily made to believe by their parents and other authority figures that various foods regularly eaten by the whole of society are actually good for them and contain substantive nutrition. Although sugar is not technically in the same category as alcohol or drugs, food with refined sugars and processed flour as well as candies and desserts represent the initial stepping stone to sugar consumption that can plateau out as alcohol abuse in adolescents and adults. http://agriculturesociety.wordpress.com/2006/10/17/alcohol-and-the-sugar-connection-just-in-time-for-halloween/

All above, and since many drugs are produced outside the US, and there are always new drugs on the market it has been rough on many of the medical providers. Also the insurance companies almost demand you get generic and in many cases generics just won't work. The research into new drugs does cost money, but then if they were produced in this country it might help. Put more people to work and not have to worry as much as so many being recalled--like Tylenol which is very hard to get because of contamination. Also since we are overwhelmed on TV and advertising to get this drug for this illness, etc, we are only ourselves to blame. After all it is the job of the drug companies to convince us that we cannot live without their meds. And the medical staff just does not have time to check out everything we demand or the sales reps insist they have to have.

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind washing the rind of a fruit. Not being snarky at all Rose, but if you saw a dog pee on it, or it had been laying in mud, or someone sneezed on it in the store...... would you then wash it? You don't know its exposure. My point is it can't hurt, but it sure could help to rinse off a variety of contaminants, not just harmful bacteria. The intent isn't to "sterilize" food, but to wash off gross contamination. I do agree with you that to some extent that that people are obsessed with "germs". And the media & companies who profit from it are part of the cause. Most people do not have a good understanding of germ theory & have the misconception that we need to get rid of ALL "germs", while in fact germs (bacteria) both protect us & are functional in our bodies. Shows like Dr. Oz also sometimes give people an overblown idea of their risk for contracting infections. Saw his show the other day & some of it was just over the top in terms of "germ avoidance", imo. But that aside, as I stated in my OP, I believe my risk is probably small even if my melon was Listeria contaminated because I am healthy. But we do have several people here who ARE immunocompromised as well as suffer from chronic illnesses & they DO have to avoid disease causing organisms.