Epson Salt, who knew?

Epsom salts are magnesium sulphate heptahydrate, usually shortened just to magnesium sulphate (note also the American spelling “sulfate”). It was originally obtained by boiling down mineral waters at Epsom.
As it turns out, Epsom salts have a variety of uses that benefit athletes, those with injuries, those who want nice hair and those who really want a clean and shiny bathtub.

There is plenty of research relevant to other medical uses of Epsom salts. For instance, on my package of Epsom salts, instructions are also given for internal usage as a laxative — which does work and is actually FDA approved and probably the most common and generally known medical usage. Other uses of magnesium sulphate include the treatment of irregular heart rhythm, low blood magnesium, eclampsia, and severe tetanus.


But there appears to be simply nothing at all published about alleviating aches and pains or “detoxification.” Apparently, researchers just aren't interested, or (more likely) they simply can’t get funding for the work.

That’s right, as I grumbled to myself scooping up the salts from my already wet tub, I noticed the salts were actually cleaning it, same as those powdered cleaning products do, except the salts didn’t make me feel like I was choking on hazardous dust. 

Simply add some Epsom salts and dish washing detergent to a bit of water and bid bye-bye to dirty tubs and bathroom tiles.

When you’re done washing that tub, fill ‘er up with some hot water and throw in some more salts. Soaking in the tub after a good run or any form of vigorous exercise will help soothe sore muscles — which means you won’t feel achy the next day and tempted to skip out on your fitness routine. Epsom salts: keeping you on track to a fitter you.

Since it soothes sore muscles, a hot bath with Epsom salts is also beneficial to those with injuries. Whether you sprained your ankle or are treating that terrible back injury from a few years ago, soaking in Epsom helps because the magnesium in the salts reduces swelling.

While it’s certainly conceivable that increasing levels of magnesium and/or sulphate ions in the bloodstream could help with some pain problems, it’s extremely unlikely that it would help enough different kinds of pain to be generally “good for” pain” This is a really important logical point! Nothing can be a magic bullet that will help all types of pain, or even more than a couple of them.


Similarly, Epsom salts probably cannot simultaneously perform the two tricks most often touted: “relieve pain” and “speed healing.” Those are completely different things.

Epsom salts can even add volume to dull, lifeless hair. Simply mix equal parts of Epsom salts and deep conditioner and warm it up in a pan. Make sure it’s not too hot because you are going to apply that mixture to your hair and leave it alone for about 20 minutes. Rinse and rejoice at your beautiful, bouncy hair.

And since they are salts and all, it should not really come as a surprise that it makes a great exfoliator. So while you’re in that shower, mix a handful of salts with a tablespoon of bath oil (olive oil works, too) and rub it all over your wet skin. Rinse away that dead skin and feel soft the rest of the day

Acquired Brain Injury Day 37

Another good day, Ryder, Danielle, and Adam came in with us today and we spent the day going for a long walk, and watching Ryder in the hospital playground. 

I am absolutely convinced that Colleen is back to at least 95% of where she was before the injury. Her cognitive skills are back, her balance and energy are back. Her short term memory is back except she has no memory of the day of the incident or the time at the Alfred or her first week at the Caulfield.  Her ability to solve problems is also back, as the plans she had presented for the decorations of the ward, were well underway. 

The idea was that Colleen and her Occupational Therapist would go tomorrow to get the supplies they needed. If Colleen was not released on Tuesday the idea will be that they will start putting up the decorations on Wednesday. My hope is that this task will be done without Colleen. 

I am ready for this to end and I see remarkable recovery on Colleens part. She is working hard on her rehabilitation here, but I think it is time to go home and if we have to continue Therapy we should do it in BC where Colleen can be an outpatient. 

The people here have been wonderful, but I am beginning to feel like the man who came to dinner and never left. As well Colleen is, getting frustrated and I know she is really wants to get out of the hospital and have some freedom. Her new ward is bigger and nicer, but she is still restricted in her movements and cannot leave the ward to go down to the Cafeteria. 

The nurses and the staff are quite happy with the progress that Colleen is making and have told her that they are hopeful that she will be discharged after the meeting with the Neurosurgeon in two days. We hope they are correct in their assessment. 

Since Colleen is going to be shopping tomorrow, we talked about the idea that I do not need to come in as she may be gone for almost the full day. I told her I would think about not coming in and would phone her in the morning to tell her my decision. 

Acquired Brain Injury Day 5

My daughter was planning to go back to Sawmill after Halloween so that my grandson could get back into a routine, and she would be coming down on the weekends.  The fact that I have a two and half hour's ride back home from the hospital, allows me to get my thoughts together.  When I went home last night I told her that her mother had had a slight setback but the Dr. was hopeful that she would be back on track soon.

When I worked I had never used public transportation as it was not suited to my job schedule. However, I am finding a new appreciation for people who took public transportation. I am staying in a town called Rye, which was about two hours by car from the hospital. I am staying with caring extended family, but they could not drive me in every day, so I am taking public transport. I get a ride into the train station (about 45 to  55 minutes from Rye) get on the train for just over an hour, then hop on a tram for another 15 minutes and arrive at the hospital.

When I came in today, Colleen was awake and responsive, the nurses had taken the bandages from her hands because she was responding to directions, to not take out her tubes, but they were still watching her closely.  The medication and the fluids had done their job and the vibration of the arteries had been put under control and had stopped, just after I had left yesterday. Colleen recognized me, although she thought I was her brother. I was thankful for the small steps forward.

I do not look like her brother, but one of the nurses had been talking to Colleen about the fact that she (the nurse) had a brother earlier in the morning. There is often partial recovery of memory functioning and Colleen, who was still trying to make sense of the situation had recovered some of her short-term memory so in her mind, I was a brother, since the nurse had been talking about her brother.  

My hope was that her short-term and long-term memory would return sooner than later. I found out from reading the booklet supplied by the Nurse, that following the initial recovery phase; permanent handicaps are often reported with ABI patients reporting significantly more memory difficulties when compared to people without an Acquired Brain Injury.

One of the coping mechanisms, the nurses suggested was that I try to get Colleen to keep a diary,  In order to cope more efficiently with memory disorders many people with ABI use memory aids; these included external items such as diaries, notebooks and electronic organizers. 

The most popular aid is the use of a diary, and studies have found that the use of a diary is more effective if it is paired with self-instructional training. Self-instruction was related to more frequent use of the diary over time and the diary and the self-instruction proved to be more successful as a memory aid than some of the other aides.

So I was hopeful that Colleen would start to keep a diary; she totally rejected the idea when I first brought it up as she said her memory was fine. We spent the day talking about the importance of keeping rules and we talked about her mom and her aunt. She also asked me if I had seen her grandmother (she had died in 1989) and asked about her dad (he died in 1985), so I had a good idea of where in time she was in her mind. 

We have been together as a couple since the January of 1966 and so I was able to place events she was talking about and remembering in context.  I left her feeling good about her recovery after the relapse yesterday, but the nurses reminded me that there was a high risk of new attacks over the next two or three days.

Back home in Rye, I updated my daughter on the situation and explained that her mom was getting some memory back, and we needed to see that as a positive. Positive thoughts do help win the battle between depression and sadness that can and do overwhelm those faced with the loss of a loved one, through death, dementia or Alzheimers or in my case through loss of memory of self due to Acquired Brain Damage. So far, I was finding it hard some days to maintain a positive focus, but my wife was probably having a harder time than I was at this point.

A Short History Of Cats

We have had cats for almost fifty years, our latest cat is about 18 years old and will not be with us for much longer, so we make his life as comfortable as we can. I am amazed at his ability to communicate his needs, which are simple, to us. I will miss him when he has gone. I was thinking about how therapeutic animals can be to those who are on their own or who are sick and I started thinking about how long humans have interacted with cats.

It seems strange that there was ever a time when cats were not a part of our lives. It's been less that 10,000 years since cats swaggered into our lives. Hardly an eye blink in  the grand sweep of life on this planet. Why were cats so late to join our team? The simple answer is they didn't need us to survive. Cats were surviving just fine on their own. Then, people invented agriculture. Agriculture resulted in large scale storage of grains which attracted the usual and well know group of freeloaders, mice and rats. Grain attracted rodents. Rodents attracted cats who consider them tasty meals. The result was that cats set up housekeeping close to human settlements. Eventually, cats being cats, moved right on in.

Who were these first cats? The first clue lies in where agriculture was first practiced. Agriculture first took root (no pun intended) in the Middle East in a great sweep from modern day Turkey to Egypt. Within this area ranges the African wild cat, Felis libyca. African wild cats are slightly larger that our modern house cats and are yellow in color with muted stripes. These cats have a docile, almost laid back nature. Interestingly, these cats still tend to live and hunt near human dwellings today. Locals still like to catch and rear young wild cats as pets. When mature, wild cats raised by humans tend to behave very much like our familiar housecats. A very good case can (and has) been advanced designating Felis libyca as the principal founding population for domestic cats. At least two other varieties of wild cat are speculated to have contributed to the genetic make up of domestic cats. One is Felis silvestris, The European wildcat who appears to have contributed darker markings and a peppery spirit to the African wild cat base. Also, from Asia, comes the Pallas or Steppe cat (Felis manul) that appears to have contributed long-haired coats to the mix.

The early period of domestication of cats is vague with only patches of evidence. However, by 6,000 B.C. statues found in Anatolia (modern Turkey) show women playing with domestic cats. Cats had clearly become common and affectionate pets by that time. The earliest written records about cats appear by approximately 4,000 B.C. in Egypt where they were frequently kept to hunt mice and rats from stored grains. It was a good time to be a cat in ancient Egypt. Domestic cats were thought to be the embodiment of the goddess Bast (or Bastet). There was a necropolis at her principal temple at Bubastis that contained mummified cats.

Romans spread the domestic cat northward into central Europe and westward to Britain during the expansion of their empire. Cats were quickly adopted and admired as great hunters.  And they continued to move north and east in Europe.  The Vikings used cats as both rodent hunters and pets. The Viking goddess of love and war, Freyja, was associated with cats. Huge winged cats drew her chariot. It also became the custom to give new brides a kitten in her name. 

The Middle Ages it were a very bad time to be a cat. Cats were said to be witches familiars, in league with the devil. Because of this superstition, cats were routinely killed during festivals. Sometimes they were even burned alive or thrown off tall buildings. The Europeans paid heavily for their cruelty to cats. The deaths of so many cats allowed the rodent population to rise out of control, bringing in the Black Death which killed so much of the European population. ventually, the cats' cleanly ways and hunting prowess redeemed them in the eyes of the people of Europe. By the 1600s, people in France began putting little holes near the bottom of their doors to allow their cats to enter and leave as they please.

In Asia cats continued to be familiar hunters and cherished pets. Cats were often subjects for drawing and painting in China. In Japan, cats in the form of Maneki Neko, usually portrayed as a sitting cat with one paw raised and bent, are considered good fortune. They are often found in businesses to draw in money.

The history of cats is a fascinating one, worthy of much more in depth study. It fosters an appreciation for the personalities and talents of our pets. It helps me as I watch our old tom lay on the steps waiting for us to take him up to bed.

Stroke symptoms

If you are experiencing symptoms of a stroke, you should call your emergency number, which in Canada and the US is  911 immediately. Stroke symptoms may include:

• Partial loss of vision in one eye;
• Weakness, tingling, or numbness in one arm and/or leg;
• Temporary loss of control of movement in one arm and/or leg;
• Inability to pronounce words or speak clearly;
• Unsteadiness, vertigo, double vision, or sudden falls;
• Difficulty swallowing;
• Temporary memory loss;
• Vertigo;
• Loss of balance;
• Personality or mood changes;
• Drowsiness or loss of consciousness; and
• Uncontrollable eye movements or eye drooping.

Carotid Artery Disease
Nearly 700,000 people in the United States experience a stroke each year, 200,000 of which are repeat strokes. A stroke occurs when the blood flow to your brain is interrupted. Your brain gets most of its blood supply through large arteries on each side of the neck called carotid arteries. The most common cause of a stroke is the accumulation of plaque in your carotid arteries, which narrows and blocks blood flow through the arteries. When enough plaque has built up in the carotid arteries to interfere with the flow of blood to the brain, a person is said to have carotid artery disease.

If you have carotid artery disease or if you are at risk for stroke, the physicians at NYC Surgical Associates can often provide minimally invasive treatment. Using the most advanced procedures and the latest technology, our clinical team evaluates your condition to ensure that you receive the highest quality treatment that best suits your condition and needs. Treatments for stroke may include clot-busting medications delivered through catheters to the blocked area, the insertion of a small wire tube, called a stent, to help clear and widen your arteries, or the surgical removal of the plaque blocking your arteries.

As with all of the NYC Surgical Associates treatment approaches, we take a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to your treatment. At NYC Surgical, you will be seen by a group of highly skilled and experienced professionals, including endovascular surgeons. Our physicians are internationally recognized as leaders in the treatment of carotid artery disease.

This information was provided by
David Greuner MD
NYC Surgical Associates 
West Caldwell, NJ
Website - NYC Surgical