Ellen you are NOT checking facts. You are reading the same thing over and over from multiple sources that are NOT reliable. Blogs are NOT reliable! You say: 'I for one am grateful when someone posts for ex re that mulch that caused some dogs to die.' Again, I say you didn't bother to find out what the ASAPA had to say, SOME dogs did NOT die, one did and it was suspect. No one can even varifiy it... according to the A.S.A.P.A. Or does a blogger know something about animals that the A.S.A.P.A. didn't get the memo on? Summary of the eRumor: There are several versions of this eRumor but all of them say that commonly sold cocoa mulch contains theobromine which can be lethal to cats and dogs. One version tells the story of a pet owner who lost a dog because of cocoa mulch. The Truth: It's fairly well known that some animals should not eat chocolate and according to the experts we checked with that warning applies to cocoa mulch as well, although the number of reported animal deaths is very low. The villain is theobromine, a chemical that is similar to caffeine. It can give a boost to humans but dogs and cats cannot always metabolize it successfully and it can be lethal to them. That is especially true of the shells of the cacao beans, which are ground up and used in cocoa mulch, and contain even higher levels of theobromine than the bean. Most packaging of cocoa mulch makes it clear that it's not for human or animal consumption. It also appears that all cocoa mulch is not the same. One manufacturer we checked with, the maker of Mirana cocoa mulch, said that their mulch is the result of a series of processing steps and that the level of theobromine in their mulch is barely detectable. We did find at least one documented case reported in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).. The report says that a dog that had ingested cocoa mulch developed convulsions and died 17-hours later. An analysis of the stomach showed ingested cacao bean shells and lethal levels of theobromine. The AVMA has issued a release because of this new eRumor about cocoa mulch. It says that according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there have not been any reports in 2006 of animals dying from cocoa mulch ingestion. In the years spanning 2004 and 2005 there were 16 cases of cocoa mulch ingestion reported, none of which resulted in death. The ASPCA says that the account of the death of the dog named Calypso that is in the eRumor is 'suspect.' The symptoms are not completely consistent with death from cocoa bean ingestion. The ASPCA says that although vomiting is a common result, the dog is described as having had a single seizure the next day during a walk and then dying suddenly, which is not what would be expected. Here is a link that might be useful: Truth or Fiction

We must have been posting at the same time...... Sable - he does wheeze during his coughing attack. Luckily my FIL is a doc & he has come by daily to check his lungs. That is great about your son taking care of his own meds.....shoot, I'm just trying to get this boy to remember to brush his teeth daily when he wakes up!! Golddust - he has a major sinus infection now. They did a CT scan & showed the cavities or rather not showing the maxillary cavity b/c it is so congested. Segbrown - I am glad Flonase is working for you. My DH uses that also. We are using inhalers that have the fine powder that comes out - he was having a difficult time knowing when to inhale & push the inhaler. I find myself wanting to twist & cock the inhaler for him but he has to be able to do it himself & he does. Total fluke about getting tested for allergies.....I had an appointment b/c of a rash on my arm. Asthma doc & FIL worked together many years ago so FIL tells me to take my DS with me to my appointment just to make sure he was not missing anything. So, I call to ask if I can bring my son & Dr. says yes. Well, after they did that testing on his back - my rash was never mentioned!! I am so grateful that we took him and had him tested b/c this explains so much. I am totally rambling but I really appreciate the support. Smiles:)

Ravencajun, I am so sorry that you had that bad experience. The doctor told me to get Afrin because it helps with the nosebleed. I use it as directed, only when my nose is bleeding. It helps to slow down the flow of blood. What I don't enjoy is standing over the bathroom sink watching my blood run down the sink in a river. That scares the bejeesus out of me and makes me feel weak in the knees. Worse is trying to tilt my head back because I gag on the blood that goes down my throat. I spray with Afrin and put the nose clamp on for an hour to stop it. I'm really not a nasal spray person, I understand the risk of nasal spray addictions and usually only use saline spray or very occasionally Flonase. The first thing that happened when I got into Urgent Care was that they sprayed my nasal passages with oxymetazoline hydrochloride to try to stop the bleeding that had at that time been going on for 6 hours and was really frightening my husband and me. We were afraid that I was going to bleed to death. I promise that once this now intermittent bleeding stops, I will throw out the Afrin, I'm only using it when the bleed kicks up. Sometimes, just showering or slipping a clean shirt on is causing my nose to bleed. It starts bleeding when I am asleep. It's scary to me since I've never experienced this in the past. It is really hard to not blow the clots from my nose, but I don't dare.

BTW, when I needed an extraction before an implant, I had the periodontist do it. They do extractions all day, every day, and they are better equipped to notice and react to a possible emergency. When I was in fifth grade, my friend, who had some serious health problems, died in the dentist's chair. One day she was in class and the next day she wasn't. Joan was the first person, besides my grandfather, that I knew who died. And while I realize, gratefully, that I don't have her health situation, I still take this stuff seriously. Attitude toward teeth is also partly cultural. Where I'm from, teeth are preserved (or if necessary, replaced) at all costs, even if the work has to be paid off slowly. Other places I've traveled, no one seems to think anything is odd about missing teeth, even if they are in the front. (Although did you see the Tiger King follow-up? That guy with all the missing teeth had them replaced. The difference was startling!)