Peppermint Tea

Warning: This post is about poop.

It's natural, y'all! Everybody poops.

I get so annoyed by people who refuse to acknowledge it/pretend it doesn't happen. Pooping is an important part of wellness, after all. I have to ask patients all the time about their poop. When did you last poop? What color was your poop? Was it hard, soft, formed, etc etc etc... I often even get to inspect it myself. Patients save it for me per my request and I get to document all sorts of things about it.

I live in the city and by law I have to pick up my dogs' poo every single time they go. I clean the cat litter box daily. I know the bowel habits of my furbabies and sometimes I even get a surprise like a foreign object or parasite.... important things to know, wouldn't you say?

So anyway my point is, pooping is normal and talking about it shouldn't be taboo. I know a married couple who've been together 6 years and don't even fart in front of each other. They never speak about poop and go to great lengths to hide their bowel habits from one another. I can't think of anything more pointless and exhausting! I'm not saying you should be disgusting on purpose, but come on. Be real.

 I recently discovered that peppermint tea is a wonderful way to get things moving. I've always enjoyed a cup here and there and never really noticed a correlation between it and digestive health, but lately I've been trying to cut back on coffee (which really doesn't seem to make me go like people say it does). So without really realizing it I was drinking at least 3 cups a day... and WOOOOOOW I felt like singing. I mean, there's nothing like eliminating toxins to make you feel brilliant, and peppermint tea is my go-to!

So if you are looking for a daily dose of detox, have a few cups of peppermint tea. I promise you will feel .... regular.

Think Before You Pink

A fellow crunchy nursing student recommended I watch the documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc.

I was so pissed by the time I was done watching it. I knew that Susan G Komen was an organization that I couldn't get behind. I participated in several Race for the Cures years ago and when I think about it I get pissed all over again. However I never put much thought in the pervasive "pink power" that has women buying pink flashlights and buckets of KFC.

As I transition into a greener, healthier lifestyle, I'm appalled by the pink shit storm I see everywhere. I pay attention to labels now more than ever and I'm outraged by the toxins in products that are made by companies that are so-called breast health supporters.

The companies pushing pink don't even have to give one penny to breast cancer anything. It's all a marketing bandwagon and it makes me want to puke.

I might piss people off with my ant-pink attitude, but that's OK. Maybe someone will set out to prove me wrong and learn for themselves that Revlon is up to no good.

THINK BEFORE YOU PINK

Child Abuse Awareness

April is child abuse awareness month.

Never did I think child abuse would be something that affected me directly, but it has. I was lucky; I  had an ideal childhood. My biggest worry was which brother was going to wipe his booger on me or fart in my face.

However.... some little ones that mean the world to me have been subjected to a terribly abusive caregiver and my heart is breaking in a million pieces for them.

This April I hope to spread the word that abuse isn't always physical, but it is always incredibly damaging.

My (Future) Humble Abode

The plan: to graduate nursing school in Spring of 2015 and move (back) south.

The humble abode: a fixer upper camper.

Yeap, you read that correctly. I'm going to live in a camper. I want an vintage travel trailer. As a kid my family camped on every vacation in our tents and pop-up Coleman. I honestly thought all families did that until I was about 12 or 13. Family trips to Disney? We camped. Going to grandma's? We camped. We even had Christmas camping.

Anyway, maybe that explains my willingness to refuse the cozy apartment life. Nostalgia. I just don't want to deal with leases and pet deposits and all that crap. I also don't want to pay rent when I can pay a minimal camping fee.

I love the idea of spending this summer fixing up a camper with the help of my Dad. We can customize it and get it ready for me and my furbabies.... I'll have my student loans paid off in no time and my gypsy soul will be well-nurtured. Perhaps when I sign on with a traveling nurse agency I can just relocate the trailer to my next destination.

Essential Oils

Before nursing school, I was a spa coordinator. I LOVED it. I had a nutty boss, but I never got stressed out. How is that possible? The essential oils, I tell you.

I miss the atmosphere of that place, so I often try to recreate it in my little loft apartment. The concrete floors and exposed brick are a far cry from the soft and inviting decor of the spa world, but I have my serenity Pandora station, candles, and essential oils to make up for it.

Recently I've been really interested in the use of essential oils in a more clinical setting. I did a science project in 4th grade where I tested the antibacterial properties of tea tree oil, so it really just made sense for me to kind of dig a little deeper into this idea that essential oils aren't just for massages and aromatherapy.

I am especially interested because I've taken care of countless patients with all kinds of so called superbugs (thank you antibiotic mania) and aside from gowning up head to toe every time you enter the hospital room like you're on your way to some chemical spill, I just don't see that we as a health care community are doing enough to address the issue. Yes, stopping the spread of the superbugs is paramount. But maybe we ought to be looking into destroying the little critters with something other than heavy duty poisons.

Not only can essential oils aid in healing, but they can benefit the staff. Talk to anyone who works in a hospital. The stress factor is off the charts.

I'm all for it! Going to hit up some peer reviewed data and learn more about this trend. Evidenced-based practice is the cornerstone of nursing, and I am off to find out what studies are out there about essential oils in the hospital setting.

Check out this list of hospitals that currently use essential oils:

Alegent Health Bergan Mercy Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Aurora Healthcare System, Foxpoint, WI
Banner Health, Mesa, AZ
Benedictine Hospital, NY
Beth Israel Complementary Care Center, NY, NY
Children’s Healthcare, Roseville, MN
The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, NY, NY
Elk Regional Health Hospital, PA
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, AK
Florida Hospital Medical Center, Orlando, FL
Goshen General Hospital, Goshen, IN
Heather Hill Hospital, Chardon, OH
Ingham Regional Medical Center, Landing, MI
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Oakland, CA
Manilaq Hospital, Kotzebue, AK
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY, NY
Mercy Holistic Health, Cincinnati, OH
Pinnacle Health, Harrisburg, PA
St. Barnabas Healthcare System, Toms River, NJ
St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
St. John’s Riverside Medical Center, Yonkers, NY
St. Luke’s Medical Center, New Bedford, MA
Sentara Healthcare, Wilmington, DE
The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood, NJ
University of Michigan Hospital, MI
Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
Sharp Chula Vista, San Diego, CA
Primary Children’s Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT