(Quack) Antique Medications Series Two: Part Two - Howell's Cocoa & Quinine Syrup

Welcome to (Quack) Antique Medications Series Two!!

Part Two - Howell's Cocoa & Quinine Syrup

Word Search - In the Body

I wanted to do something fun but secretly educational so I decided to put this word search together.  It only has names of bones from the human body in it.  Below you will find the puzzle, word list and then further down you will see an answers puzzle :)  Enjoy!!

(Quack) Antique Medications Series Two: Part One - DeWitt's Golden Liniment

Welcome to (Quack) Antique Medications Series Two!!

Part One - DeWitt's Golden Liniment

20 MORE Medical Trivia Questions

(Quack) Antique Medications Part Three: Hien Fong Essence

Welcome to the final part of my series for the (Quack) Antique Medications!

Let me start off by saying, this 'search and find' information process was so tedious for this medication it was almost physically painful for me.  I have spent hours online searching out different aspects of the bottle and its contents only to come to the sad conclusion that

dun-dun-dun

(Quack) Antique Medications Part Two: Calomel and Sodium Bicarbonate

Welcome to Part Two of my series for the (Quack) Antique Medications I found while out antiquing the other day!

I will be going over the Calomel and Sodium Bicarbonate medication this time :D

(Quack) Antique Medications: Part One - Bromo Quinne Laxative cold Tablets

I went antiquing the other day and scored some amazing old medicinal items!!  Both the bottles still contain their medications even!  I'm over the moon with these antiquated relics!!!  Soooooo, I've decided to do a little series on these!

In this Part One I will be going over the Bromo Quinne Laxative Cold Tablets

I found this box in an antique store in a city close to me at a steal for only $3!!  After looking through ebay I found a similar box in worse condition then mine for $12 OBO.  All in all not a very sought after or expensive antique medicinal item from our past but still cool none the less.

Antique Glass Syringe Encounter

 One of my Correctional Officers found and brought in this awesome antique glass syringe and a few pieces of other antique syringes 😍  How cool is that?!!

50 Random Medical Trivia Questions

Me Too!!  and I EXTRA love it when it comes to medical trivia questions!!
(It makes me feel super smart when I'm the one everyone at the table looks to for the answer 😂)  Most of the trivia nights I've been to don't have very many medical questions, so I've made up this list of 50 Medical Trivia Questions.  They are just random - some easy, some hard, some you should feel like a rock star if you know the answer!  Feel free to print these off and mix them into your next trivia night!
Enjoy!

Here are 50 Medical Trivia Questions with Answers

SUMPRI Camping First Aid Kit Review

As a nurse and an avid camper, I am always looking for different emergency kits and medical supplies to add to my collection.  (I'm kind of a freak when it comes to being prepared for medical emergencies 😂 You just never know when an emergency will happen and being prepared with the right tools could mean the difference between life and death for someone!)  Sooooo, when I got the opportunity to snag this Sumpri Camping First Aid Kit at an absolute steal of a price in exchange for my thoughts on it, I jumped right on it!!

Educating Inmates Part 3

As noted in Part 2 of this Educating Inmates, for Part 3 I will be going over some of the exercises for both the mind and body that I teach to my inmates to help keep their bodies and minds healthy while incarcerated and of course some of the weird shit people have said to me concerning this topic 😆

Incarceration can be very taxing on the body not only mentally but physically as well.  In small county jails like mine, there are no weight rooms, outside areas or big, common areas.  Exercise space, therefore, is very limited - of course, there is a rec area but in the grand scheme of things, it is very small; and while the inmates do get down to that area a couple of times a week, there is usually too many people to really to do any real type of freestyle exercises.

Educating Inmates Part 2

As I mentioned in Part 1 my of Educating Inmates series, in this Part 2, I will be going over some of the outrageously dangerous misconceptions I have heard from inmates concerning their medications, drug use and diagnoses and how I have educated them - as well as some interesting, random facts on popular meds, illegal drugs and homeopathic medical treatments that might surprise you!!  So grab some coffee and enjoy ☕

Educating Inmates Part 1

One of the biggest and most disturbing things I have noticed during my career as a nurse is the complete lack of understanding from my patients on their medications, drug use and diagnoses.

Most of my patients do not know both the brand and generic name of their medications let alone how they work within their bodies, their possible side effects or how long the medication is supposed to work for.  They don't know how the illegal drugs they are using affect their body systems in the long run or even how they are made AND crazily enough, over half my patients have no idea what their actual diagnosis is that made them get prescribed their medications or what the diagnosis means for them!

Granted, a handful or more of my specific patients (inmates) are bullshitting the system to get their hands on prescriptions that they do not need (cough, cough drug seekers cough, cough) but even in these instances, most have no idea how the medication actually works within them.

Is this lack of education due to just not caring?, blind faith in the medical community or their dealer?, laziness of the medical professional whom prescribed the medication? or just straight up inability to comprehend the educational matter concerning the medications?  I am not completely sure what the absolute correct answer is but I believe it to be a little of ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Simple Grounding Mental Health Exercise

Stress / Anxiety / Turmoil

With the upcoming holidays in mind I wanted to share with you one of the mental exercises I give to my inmates to help with keeping their emotions in check.  It's a quick and dirty start to helping gain control over your feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious.  

I've had very good feedback with it from those that have given it a fair try.  The best part is that this mental exercise can be used anywhere, at any time, for as many times as you need and the steps are easy to remember!

Used properly this exercise can help you to focus on the now and find some peace from everyday stressors.

Self care and reflection is an important daily ritual you should be doing... well, on the daily!!

Urine Drug Screens and False Positives in Correctional Nursing

One thing I had not even considered until I was in Correctional Nursing was the possibility of false positives with drug screening.

  

Critical Thinking in Correctional Nursing

The biggest attribute a nurse needs to be successful in Correctional Nursing is Critical Thinking skills.

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness."
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

It is a skill that needs to be honed.

Fun Hand and Foot Card Game Directions With Pictures!!

Looking for a fun card game to play? I've got just the one for you to try. It's called Hand and Foot. Some of you may have heard of the board game, canasta rules spin-off or online version - this may be similar but we have perfected it - lol! This game can be played with 2 or more players - we usually play with 4. Now I have to warn you, it seems difficult at first but once you play a game or two it's super easy and super fun!

What You'll Need for 4 Players:

Paper and Pen - to keep score
4 Decks of regular playing cards, jokers included!









Optional Needs for 4 Players:
Healthy snacks to munch on as you’re playing - nothing sticky; you don't want your cards sticking together!
Beverages
Music playing in the background for ambience

Set Up:

Have the 4 players sit down at the table 2 on one side 2 on the other :: Now the person crisscrossed from you at the table will be your card Partner - so make sure you choose your spots at the table carefully!

Divide your score keeping paper in half and pick your team names. We always use the shirts we are using, like if I am wearing a t-shirt that says shark bait and my partner is wearing a buffalo chicken t-shirt we would name our team 'Chicken Bait' or 'Buffalo Sharks' or some other variation. Put the team names at the top of their perspective columns.



On the left hand side of your paper put a 1 with a circle around it and the number 60. This indicates that you are on round 1 and the point value needed to go down for round 1. After each round you will change this to read as whatever round you are on ie; round 2 would have a 2 circled with the number 90 next to it.


Shuffle your 4 decks - including the jokers - all together really well. Once they are all shuffled each person needs to deal 2 stacks of 11 cards in front of themselves and put all the rest of the cards in the middle of the table in a big stack.

Then take the 2 stacks of 11 and give them to the person on your left. Those will become their hand and foot. Of the 2 stacks you receive, one stack is going to be for your hand and one for your foot. Without looking at the cards in each stack pick one and set the other one off to your left. The one you choose will be your hand and you will start with that stack.

Pick one person to be first and put thier first initial next to your circled 1 and number 60. This helps you keep track of who went first and who goes first next round. Once you pick that initial person to go first the next 'first person' will be to their left. (clockwise)

Now you’re ready to start the game!

First let’s go over the objective and points then we will get into the game play.

Objective:

Be the team with the most points after 6 rounds of play.

A round begins with the dealing of the cards and ends when one person plays all his cards (hand and foot). Each round gets more difficult as you progress. In order for you to lay out in the first round you have to have at least 60 points worth of cards i.e.; 3 Aces or 2 Aces and a wild

Round Lay Down Points:

Round 1 = 60 points
Round 2 = 90 points
Round 3 = 120 points
Round 4 = 150 points
Round 5 = 180 points
Round 6 = 210 points


Points:

2 cards are wild (they become whatever you need them to be EXCEPT 3's) = 20 points each
4 - 9 cards = 5 points each
10 - K cards = 10 points each
Aces = 20 points each
Jokers are wild (they become whatever you need them to be EXCEPT 3's) = 50 points each
Black Sets = 300 points
Red Sets = 500 points
Black 3's = 0 points (they are worth nothing, they do not take away points or add)
Red 3's = 300 negative points (you don't want to have one of these at the end of a round!)

Red Sets:

To make a Red Set, you must have at least 7 of the same number i.e.; 7 Aces (color and suit do not matter). Once you have at least 7, close up that line-up and place a RED Ace on the top. You or your partner can always add more Aces to the pile under the red one.

Black Sets:

To make a Black Set, you must have at least 7 of the same number using the wild 2's and/or the joker cards. You must have more 'naturals' than wilds in your set though i.e.; max number of wilds to make a set would be 3 with 4 same numbered cards. Once a set has been made and closed with a card on the top you can only put cards that match the set in that pile.





Partners may play on each other’s boards to complete sets.

Partners may NOT have the same card numbers on their board as their partner has on theirs i.e.; if partner A has Queens laid down partner B cannot lay Queens down on their own board, any Queens partner B has, has to go to partner A.

Game Play:

The first player picks up 2 cards from the middle of the deck and puts them in their hand. Then they must decide what to keep and what to discard. You discard 1 card at a time. You must always have a discard unless you are 'going out' - winning a round. In that case you may play your last card onto yours or your partners’ board. After you discard the play then moves on to the person to your left.

In the first round you must have at least 60 points to lay down on your board. This can be accomplished simply - like with 3 Aces - or it could be something like 4 nines, 4 sixes and 4 twos, or any combination of point cards that equal 60. Strategy Hint: You don't want to lay too many different things down before your partner does especially if they haven't gotten down yet. It makes it harder for them and takes longer to save up enough points. Remember they can't lay down the same numbers as you. After your down you have to wait till your next turn to play on your partners’ board.

After the Discard pile has 5 or more cards in it you may start to take cards from the discard pile. You have to take the top 5 cards and you have to be able to use the very top card from the pile. For example say the person before you discards a 6 and you want it, you pick up the 6 AND the next 4 cards from the pile. You have to play the 6 on your or your partners’ board before the end of your turn. The extra 4 cards you took can be played on either board or kept in your hand, and then you discard 1 as usual. *You may not pick up the pile if a 3 is on the top of the discard pile! 3's cannot be made into sets or placed on your boards!! Do not collect them! Discard red 3's as soon as possible, they are negative points!!

During game play you are working towards getting all your cards down on either your board or your partners. Once you play your whole hand you can then pick up your foot. If you discard the last card in your hand you cannot play from your foot until your next turn, if you play your last hand card on your or your partners’ boards you may start playing from your foot right away. Your turn does not end till you discard or play the last card you have from your foot.


Doing it this way will allow you to 'set' the other team. You could get through your hand and foot pretty quickly and go out leaving the other team with them not having been able to play from their foot. This is great for you because any cards left from their hand and foot are negative points for them.

*You may not want to go out if your partner still has a lot of cards still. I would not recommend going out if your partner has not either started their board or played from their foot still. Also you must ask permission to go out from your partner. You never know if they might have a red 3 or two in their hand still. This does not mean table talk!! Your partner should not know what you have in your hand and vice versa. You cannot ask if they are saving Aces for example because you want to lay them down on your board. They can only respond with answers like 'yes you can go out' or 'not yet'.

As you are playing you need to keep track of your board. Once you hit 7 cards of the same you must pull it into a set. A Black set has some combination of jokers and face cards. If you have this type put the cards in a pile with a black card of your number on top. You may still add as many more cards of that number as you can get, just put them under the top card. For example if I had 5 Aces and 2 wilds, I would pull them into a stack with a black Ace on top and every Ace me, or my partner, got would go in that pile but under the top card. At this point you can no longer put wilds in that set. There is a maximum of 3 wilds for each black set on your boards.

Try not to ever discard a wild!! If you have to discard something discard a play card that plays on your partners’ board! As the rounds get harder you will find that when your partner goes down before you, you have to save those play cards for his board but still save others to make the point mark so you can go down!

All rounds are played in the same manner; the only thing that changes is the point value to get down on your board.

At the end of each round you first add up any sets you and your partner have and put that number on the score board - so if you end the round with 3 black sets and 1 red set you would have a total of 1400 points). Then you take any remaining cards you and your partner have and subtract that from the cards on your boards. After that you take all the cards left remaining on your and your partners boards and add them together (including all the cards in your sets! Those are points as sets and as regular card points! For example the 3 black sets from above were Aces, 4's and 7's - each with 1 wild and only 7 cards - you would have 240 points there). Put the card total under your set total and add the 2 numbers together. That is your score for that round!

Reshuffle and deal again to begin the next round. At the end of all 6 rounds whichever team has the most points is the winner!

Like I said, it seems pretty complicated but once you start playing it is a blast! Gameplay gets much easier after you play a time or two!

I would LOVE to know what you think of this game! Did you try it? Did you love it? Did you find the directions above confusing? Have you played this game with different rules? If so what was the difference? What were some of the team names you came up with and how did you come up with them?

***Disclaimer*** These are NOT the official Hand and Foot rules. This post is directions for how me and my friends play! It is just for fun.

How to Read a Pet Food Label

How many of you look at your dog food labels? When you do, do you understand what it says? I recieved this handy dandy guide to helping you read your dog food labels from the great folks at Hills Pet Nutrition and thought I'd share it with you!


How to Read a Pet Food Label

As pet owners, what is the one thing we all have in common that we do every day which impacts the health of our pets? We feed them! It’s very important that we feed them a pet food that is going to help keep them healthy and live a long, happy life. Since dogs and cats have a condensed lifespan compared to humans, nutrient deficiencies and excesses in their food can have a greater impact on their health. Feeding them a food that has high quality, balanced nutrition may help the long term health of these pets.

Choosing the right food is based on what?

When it comes to determining which pet food is right for your pet, it’s as simple as 1-2-3.
1. Life stage – How old is your pet? Is he a puppy or a kitten? An adult? A mature adult?
2. Lifestyle – Does your pet live indoors, outdoors, both? Is he your running partner, or on your lap while you read a book?
3. Health status – Is your pet healthy, or needing special nutrition?

Life stage: Why choose a pet food for the age of my pet? Good question. Let’s answer that with a question: Is it healthy to feed a teenage boy (ravenous all the time!) the same foods you would feed your grandpa? No of course not. First of all, their metabolism is completely different, as are their nutritional needs. The same goes for pets. That’s why the philosophy of providing your pet with a food that is appropriate for his age is critical.

Here are Hill’s life stage guidelines:
Growth life stage – high nutritional demands for growth and development
o Puppies and kittens age 0 to 1 year Maintenance (Adult) life stage – nutrition that maintains good health
o 1 to 7 years for small & medium breed dogs
o 1 to 5 years for large breed dogs
o 1 to 6 years for cats Mature adult life stage – nutrition that supports healthy aging
o 7+ years for small & medium breed dogs
o 6+ years for large breed dogs
o 6 – 11 years for cats Senior
o 11+.years for cats

Lifestyle: Pets have different energy needs based on their environment and activity. Makes sense, huh? For active dogs, a food that provides calories to sustain their energy is needed. For doggies who curl up on the sofa (& help keep us warm!), their nutritional demands are not as high. We need to help our pets avoid unwanted pounds that they can gain if they’re not burning extra calories.

Health status: This one is a little tougher on us as pet owners, but realistically, our pet doesn’t mind as much. For pets who have a special need like a low calorie food for weight control, or for those pets who have a more serious situation such as kidney issues and need a therapeutic food, the third consideration is health status. Pets who are pregnant or nursing have special nutritional needs, too. Your veterinarian can help you answer the question about your pet’s health status.

Once you answer these questions, your choice is focused on meeting your pet’s nutritional needs. What is the key tool you should use to help you make this decision? The pet food label is the tool you should use. Now, the trick is deciphering the label to find the right information you need to make an educated decision.

How do I decipher information on the label?

While the label may seem a bit daunting to the naked eye, honing in on key pieces of information on the label will make the task of understanding what you’re choosing much less challenging, and you’ll feel much more confident in your choice.

Let’s take a closer look.

There are a lot of nice photos on the bag, marketing claims, bursts, and lots of small print. What does it all mean? This article is going to tell you about the most important information to you that you will find on the label. This information resides in the AAFCO Statement.

AAFCO stands for Association of American Feed Control Officials. A basic goal of AAFCO is to provide a mechanism for developing and implementing uniform laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds.

AAFCO Statement
The AAFCO Statement provides the two most critical key points of information on a pet food label.
1. What life stage is the food nutritionally balanced for?
2. Which method (formulation or feeding test) was used to determine the life stage for which the food is nutritionally appropriate?

Both of these key points are found in the AAFCO Statement located close to the ingredient panel. Some manufacturers place this on the side of the bag while others place it on the back. Consumers need to locate this information. It's typically like reading the “fine-print.” This information is aside from the marketing claims made on labels, yet it is the information that answers these two critical questions.

Let's break it down using these two examples:

Label A




Label B




Label A Brand X cat food was formulated based on a nutritional guideline; basically like following a recipe. The “Formulation Method”:

 Does not require feeding the product to an animal
 Actual feeding or digestibility trials are not required
 Results can be determined more quickly

Brand X Cat Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages. Animal feeding tests using Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) procedures substantiate that Brand Y Dog Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs.

 There is no guarantee of pet acceptance or nutrient bioavailability when utilizing this method
 Is less expensive to develop the food

The food has been “formulated” in a computer based on AAFCO guidelines, and then it ultimately gets “test fed” on your pet.

Label B Brand Y dog food was test fed using the “Feeding Trial Method.” This method is the gold standard for determining nutritional adequacy for a specific life stage. It is the preferred method. The “Feeding Trial Method”:

 Requires the manufacturer to perform an AAFCO protocol feeding trial as the sole source of nutrition, including required veterinary exams & biological data collection
 Feeding trials are the BEST way to document how pets will perform when fed a specific food using AAFCO Standards

BEST OPTION: Pet food labels with the AAFCO Statement saying the food has been test fed is the optimal choice.

Let’s look at these two examples again.

Label A


Label B





Label A Brand X Cat Food provides nutrition to meet the needs for all life stages. What does that mean? Start your kitten eating this food and continue feeding this food to your cat forever. But, just as we discussed earlier, a human’s nutritional needs change as we go through life, so it does for cats and dogs. When a pet food is for all life stages it must provide nutrition for the most demanding: GROWTH (kittens & puppies). Do cats and dogs need all that extra nutrition as adults and seniors? No, they don’t.

Label B When a food states it provides complete and balanced nutrition for a specific life stage: growth, maintenance (adult), and reproduction (pregnant or nursing), the nutrients in the food are optimal for that life stage.
It can be hard to tell what the life stage a food is for by simply looking at the front of the bag. Some labels have images of adult pets that would lead consumers to believe it’s for the adult life stage. However, looking at the AAFCO Statement, the food very well could be for all life stages meaning it is a growth food. Consumers should always check the AAFCO Statement to assure they’re feeding their pet the best food for their special pet.

Pet food labels can be confusing, but understanding what information you need from the label demystifies the challenge. To choose the right food for your pet, choose the one that is nutritionally appropriate for his life stage, lifestyle, or health condition. Then be sure you look at the AAFCO Statement to assure the food had been test fed.
Brand X Cat Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.

Want more information on Pet Nutrition?  Here is a superb site that has a TON of information available about finding the best food for your pets and much, much more!!  HomeoAnimal - The Ultimate Pet Nutrition Guide

*Disclaimer* I was not compensated in any way to post this information. I received this information through email dialogue and thought it was awesome enough to pass along to you, my readers!