Camlan said: "This year, I think I had a brand-new student nurse giving me the shot (under supervision of a qualified nurse, of course). She was a bit nervous, but did an okay job--the shot hurt a bit more than other times, but was that her or me? And it didn't hurt that much, to be honest, although it bled a lot and I ended up with a SpongeBob SquarePants bandaid on it. Worse things have happened." Students giving their first injections tend to push the needle in rather than going in like a dart and that hurts. I taught nursing at our community college before I had my twins and we had our students practice on oranges. We did not let them practice on each other (that's what I did as a student nurse---stupid, stupid, stupid.) Sometimes, I even had to take the students hand and push the needle in. Thank heaven for people that like students. It's funny, watching the newscasters on morning TV get their flu vaccine on live TV by physicians rather than nurses and watching them squeal like babies. Not putting down physicians--my brother is family practice--but they don't give that many injections. Most injections should not hurt except for the occasional liquid that burns going in.

Schoor- in what way was your puppy sick? Vaccine reactions ARE preventable. The vet can pre-treat with an antihistamine and steroid, administer only one vaccine (not the same as one shot) per visit, and not give her the lepto vaccine if it is not a problem in your area. Distemper and parvo are much worse than vaccine reactions, and not being near other dogs is NOT going to protect her! Parvo lives quite well outside by itself. Maybe not through a harsh Canada winter, but certainly all summer. She probably won't need another distemper or parvo vaccine for several years. I get titers for my dogs and will vaccinate if the level is too low, but not before. You should check on the rabies vaccine in your province. I'm not aware of the rabies laws in Canada. But most places are doing a one year rabies first time, then every 3 years after that. Two2go: ask the vet if the type of Lepto found in your area is included in the Lepto vaccine. In many cases, it is not. And getting vaccinated for the other types will NOT protect your dog if she gets exposed to the Lepto that is found in your area. CNVH: my titers for distemper/parvo vaccine cost about $80. My vet uses Antech diagnostic lab, which is very reliable. I was not aware of any in-house vaccine test kits. There is a test kit for parvo, but that is to detect the virus in the feces of sick dogs, not for vaccine status. GWA- I wouldn't call the vaccine titers "concrete" evidence of protection. We don't know at what antibody level every dog would be protected. We do know that antibody levels and protection do not always correlate; in some cases an undectable antibody level is still protective and in others a sky-high titer doesn't help. That's because of innate immunity, the variation in immune response from individual to individual, and a host of other issues. Titers can be used as a guide, but there is still risk of under and over vaccinating. Here is a link that might be useful: Lepto info

Jess: Really like the links you gave on making baby-powder recipe. THANK YOU. I have Calendula flowers in my garden (it's a perennial): "1/2 cup arrowroot powder & 1 tsp chamomile or calendula flowers, powdered in the blender or food processor or a few drops of chamomile essential oil." Chronic sinus can also be from allergies to cat-dander. When I first met my husband, he had 4 cats, I constantly sneezed from the cat's hair. He gave away 3, and kept only one cat. I washed his cat weekly, to decrease the dander, so I won't sneeze so much. Now we have zero cat, bad-allergy. However, probiotics like L. Rhamnosus GG (in Culturelle and Solgar Advanced Multi-billion Dophilus) ... that strain of bacteria is proven to slash pneumonia in half, so it helps with membrane in sinus & lung. I gave my 13-year-old daughter Culturelle, Hyperbotics, Solgar, plus Kefir for that past 5 days. I meant to decrease her oily secretions so she has less facial pimples .. and that ended up lessened underarm odor. She's allergic to chemical deodorant, so she uses Milk-of-Magnesia ... magnesium hydroxide has a drying effect, but doesn't last long. Last night I sniffed her shirt before putting in laundry... Wow !! Barely noticable odor, same with my clothes, I can easily wear the same clothes & undies twice, since the probiotics suppress the bad-odor-causing bacteria. That's the logic for daily consumption of Kefir and pickled veggies: less body odor. There's studies that show babies born through C-section has more allergies than babies born through birth-canal. Below excerpt is written by a microbiologist: "For example, during pregnancy, the composition of bacteria in a woman’s vagina changes so that there is a higher concentration of Lactobacillus, a kind of bacteria that aids in the digestion of milk. While he or she might eventually get colonized, a baby born by cesarean section will miss out on immediately acquiring these beneficial bacteria. Dutch researchers recently published a study in the journal Pediatrics showing that infants with colic have more bacteria that are known to produce gas, whereas anti-inflammatory bacteria that live in the vaginal canal are more common in colic-free infants. Health problems that are more common in children born by C-section, such as obesity, asthma, allergies, type 1 diabetes, food allergies, eczema, and celiac disease. While there is still much we don’t know, alterations to the gut microbiome might connect these conditions to what some have dubbed the "cesarean epidemic" in our country and around the globe." http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/06/02/babies-born-by-cesarean-section-may-not-gain-benefits-of-vaginal-microbiome.html

Sounds like it could be thyroid. On the other hand, I have my thyroid checked every six months now that I take thyroid supplements, (it's fine) and my immune system was crap this winter even though I did every thing imaginable. As for herbs and vitamins, be careful. You may be taking a placebo, very difficult to determine if the active ingredient in the supplement is actually present. Most of the time I doubt it. Would be best to grow your own, but even then, chemical composition varies. With vitamins, it is whether your body can even absorb what you are taking, many things cancel each other out, like asprin/acetominophin and vit. C, for just one example. Calcium and iron for another. Same with foods, vitamin content can drop dramatically when they've bee sitting around or upon cutting them open, etc. Other than what has been mentioned, (hydration, CLEAN humidifier, hand washing, etc.) with the cautionary note about "caveat emptor" (know your sources, freshness, interactions, etc.) another supplement I have had good luck with is lysine. Lastly, lots of sleep, a diet RICH in whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, and SOUP. I don't know if soup makes the vitamins in the ingredients extra absorbable or what, but soup along with other hot liquids helped me finally expel the last of the flu lingering in my lungs. I got a flu shot but it didn't stop the flu from laying me low for two months. Vit. D helps too during the low sunshine times, but it is tricky to get it absorbed. Stay away from alcohol.