Archive | December, 2009

It’s Handwashing Awareness Week!

6 Dec

When one of our nurses knocked on my office door to tell me that the mandatory Hand Hygiene class for all hospital staff was starting, I sighed: “Oh, for Pete’s sake! I already know how to wash my hands!”  But off I went, muttering.

The class started with the instructor teaching us how to scrub-scrub-scrub our hands, in between our fingers, up and down our thumbs, right up to and around the wrists. We learned to do this for 30 full seconds (it’s longer than you think – try singing two verses of ‘Happy Birthday’ just to make sure). Then, she shut off the room lights and took out her special Lumalite that made any leftover germs on our hands glow a bright turquoise.  I was stunned by the results.   (more…)

How to cope when your hubby is the heart patient

4 Dec

I’ve heard it said, as bizarre as it may seem, that it may be easier in some ways to be widowed than to be the spouse of a recovering heart patient.

If your man has survived a cardiac event, you may even feel grief that seems entirely inappropriate to you, even as you also feel intense relief because he is still alive.

There are role models, as author Rhoda Levin explains, for widows’ behaviour, and appropriate ways to express difficult emotions:

“People respect the time it takes for the widowed to adjust to the changes in their lives. But cardiac spouses have no role models, teachers or mentors.  No one, professional or friend, can tell you what changes you will face as a cardiac spouse – and yet change is now your reality. The challenge of any cardiac crisis is facing this reality, letting go of what is lost, and developing new ways to live your new life together.”

If your man has recently had a cardiac event, you might find one of these three books helpful:   (more…)

Got a minute? Try this mini-relaxation exercise for your heart health

2 Dec

You’re waiting nervously in the dentist’s chair, or white-knuckling a bout of aircraft turbulence, or getting ready to deliver that big presentation at work – or even just wondering how you’ll remain sane given all you need to do between now and Christmas! – and you can already feel the stress tightening its death grip on your whole body, thus increasing the levels of stress hormones that are now coursing through your bloodstream. Not good for your heart!

Instead of tensing up, practise three mini-relaxation techniques, courtesy of Harvard University Medical School’s newsletter Healthbeat, so that you’ll be ready to try them even when time is tight.

When you have only 1 minute:

  •  Place your hand just beneath your navel so you can feel the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Breathe in slowly. Pause for a count of three. Breathe out. Pause for a count of three. Continue to breathe deeply for one minute, pausing for a count of three after each inhalation and exhalation.

When you have only 2 minutes:

  • Count down slowly from 10 to zero. With each number, take one complete breath, inhaling and exhaling. For example, breathe in deeply saying “10” to yourself. Breathe out slowly. On your next breath, say “nine,” and so on. If you feel lightheaded, count down more slowly to space your breaths further apart. When you reach zero, you should feel more relaxed. If not, go through the exercise again.

When you have only 3 minutes:

  •  While sitting down, take a break from whatever you’re doing and check your body for tension. Relax your facial muscles and allow your jaw to fall open slightly. Let your shoulders drop. Let your arms fall to your sides. Allow your hands to loosen so that there are spaces between your fingers. Uncross your legs or ankles. Feel your thighs sink into your chair, letting your legs fall comfortably apart. Feel your shins and calves become heavier and your feet grow roots into the floor. Now breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly. Each time you breathe out, try to relax even more.

Read Canadian Living’s “Ten One-Minute Stress Busters“.

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Q: What helps you relax?

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