Vasovagal Syndrome

Last Saturday I went to the gym then after, I went to the hospital to visit my Aunt who's in the ICU. We just started the conversation and immediately I feel dizzy so I went out and I found a chair in the Nurse's station. In less than 5 minutes I collapsed, when I woke up I saw the doctor getting my blood pressure. My blood pressure really went down, 100/50, it's the first time that happened to me. Also a week before this I played badminton with my officemates, it was a 2 hour play. When I went home, I feel pain from my chest through my back as if I'm going to faint.

This thursday I went to Medical City for a check up, the physician advised to have a blood test and an ECG . After an hour of waiting, I got the results. The blood test result was normal but I was reffered to the cardiologist. I discussed everything to the cardiologist and also my previous experiences. I can't stay longer in a "dawn mass" because of the crowd. There was a time that I fainted at the middle of the mass.

The cardiologist said that I may have a "vasovagal syndrome". To confirm he gave me option to have a "tilt table test ". It's funny because he said on the evaluation they will give the patient physical exercises with a certain amount of time, if he faints then it's confirmed that he has "vasovagal syndrome ". I guess no need for me to perform the evaluation. He discussed the precautionary measures which I've been doing eversince.

Normally when we are tired our heart rate would go fast and blood pressure should go up. But what's happening to me is my blood pressure goes down the result is less oxygen going to my brain then I start to feel dizzy. I cannot take the drug to let the blood pressure up because of family history for hypertension. To avoid symptoms that may trigger to fainting I was advised to have a high salt diet and stay well hydrated, avoid long exposures to sun. So far my condition is not that really scary, the doctor said that I can continue my daily activities especially going to the gym and playing badminton. We are going to continue to observe my condition and if it happens again I may have to undergo several heart examinations.

President Cory Aquino, The Best Mother

The Philippines find it really hard to say goodbye to President Cory Aquino. August 5, 2009 Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people attended the funeral of the former president despite the heavy rain.

President Cory Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and was the Philippines and Asia's first female president. She is a world renowned advocate for democracy, peace, women's empowerment and religious piety.

But above all I was inspired of her being a mother. She played the role of a father and a mother at the same time to her five children when Ninoy was held in prison for his political convictions. She became widowed in 1983 when Ninoy was assassinated. Despite of all the hardships she remained strong and raised her children to be a better and responsible citizen. Her motherhood was not exclusive only for her children but for everybody, she helped a lot of people.

On the day she died the first thing that came into my mind was who will take place of her role in our society. Jaime Cardinal Sin is no longer here now President Cory as well.

As a mother President Cory will be my role model. I promised to her that I will work hard and do everything for my children, my nephews and nieces to provide them education, guide and teach them values so they'll grow up better and responsible Filipino citizens.

Take Care of Our House Items

We treasure our possessions to last. We invest money to all the things around the house to get high quality. But the price is not the only thing that matters, we should also know how to take care of those. I found simple tips that will help items around the house last for long.

Shoes - place them in an area with good ventilation. Air out your "special-occasions-only" shoes every six months. Walk in them for just a few steps. A local shoe wax and a good horsehair brush would to make shoes looking new.

Rubber shoes - don't leave your rubber shoes inside your gym bag, always put out to dry after use. To clean (1) soak in a basin of water with laundry soap for 5 minutes never use bleach (2) use an old toothbrush to remove dirt but be gentle (3) rinse thoroughly with clean water (4) Never dry them under the sun because UV rays can destroy shoe materials. Wrap the shoes with a dry towel and pop them into the dryer for a cycle then put them infront of an electric fan to dry completely.

Jeans - don't wash them after as often as you wear them unless they get extremely visibly dirty. Denims can be good 3 or 4 wears before hitting the wash. Use mild and bleach free detergent and just cold water.

Electric Fans - give your electric fan a break . If you're using the fan for a whole day, you need to give at least 30 minutes rest to give the motor a chance to cool down to prevent motor damage.

Airconditioner - cgeck the owner's manual for proper cleaning methods. Cleaning the filter ensures that air enters the machine and allergens that can cause respiratory problemsstay out. Position the unit away from the sun. Plants block vents and reduce the units ability to exhaust air.

Washing machines - empty pockets before loading clothes into the machine. Split your file into smaller loads but be sure to use enough water. The water level should not be less than half. Don't overload your washing machine it does consume more power.

GlassesShop Online Optical store

Just last week my daughter Nicole asked if she can have a new pair of eyeglasses since it was 2 years ago since we changed it. Her eyeglasses are now small for her face. Nicole is now a preteen and she asked if she can have an eyeglasses that has a latest design. In my family I'm the only one that doesn't have eyeglasses, the last time I had my eye check up they said I still have 20/20 vision. My husband and my 2 kids started wearing eyeglasses when they were still young.

I searched online and I found Glassesshop an online optical store. This is a perfect online store for my family since they have different designs for Men, Women, and Kids and their prices are very competitive. They have new designs like Personalized Copywood Eyeglasses and Portable Clip Ons. It's nice to know that additional UV protection for your eyeglasses is free. We all know that exposure to bright sunlight may increase the risk to develop cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, including cancer.

I was amazed with their virtual try on glasses they have models with different face shape where you can try your selected glasses. Fashion wise, it's great because before you place an order you are sure that the design is appropriate to your face shape.

Best of all, they have Thank You Points. It's a reward, you earn points everytime you purchase on their website. You get points 10% of the amount purchased, every 1 point is equivalent to $1 and can be used on the next purchase. They ship to international customers and on selected countries they offer free shipping for every order that is more than $100. I don't have to go anywhere I can just order the eyeglasses for my husband and my 2 kids at Glassesshop, really convenient to me. I would also recommend the store to my relatives and friends.

Congenital Cataract (part 6)

Last thursday we went back to AEI for the follow up check up of Andy to her ophthalmologist. They had Andy read letters using the eye test chart. At AEI evrytime you visit for checkup, they'll have you check by their optometrist first before the ophthalmologist checks your eyes.

Few days before our visit to AEI, Andy complained that sometimes her eyes are itchy. I asked Dra. Pik Sha about it, she advised to have it cold compressed to relieve itchiness. She also prescribed an eye drop. The itchiness could be caused by the dust. Also I noticed that on her left eye the pupil is not round in shape, it's like a triangular shape. Dra. Pik Sha explained that since before the surgery the pupil was not located at the center of her eye, it was somewhere on the upper part of the eye, it will be hard to have a round shape pupil.

So far Andy's eye has completely healed, Dra. Pik Sha has not seen any problem inside her eyes. We are going back after 3 months so they can check if we have to change Andy's eyeglasses.

Which is better, soap or sanitizer?

During the AH1N1 outbreak, we would always see on TV ads health professionals advising people to frequently wash our hands at the same time doing a demo the right way of hand washing to prevent the spread of germs.

Which works better, is it soap or sanitizer? While alcohol based gels removes more germs, plain soap and water are fine for everyday washing according to our health experts. But neither works unless we do it right. With soap it takes 15 seconds of lathering to reduce bacterial count by 90%, 30 seconds to get 99.9%. Also health experts advised to dry our hands for at least 20 seconds with a towel. With our wet hands germs are more likely to spread compared to dry ones. With sanitizers, studies shown that most people don't use enough. We need to cover all surfaces of our hands - the tops, between fingers and the palms.

Gel sanitizers will evaporate into the skin and kill bacteria, but soap and water washes away more germs according to one of our health experts.

Family Day!

Since last week the kids we're asking to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but I was sick so they don't have a choice but to just stay at home last weekends. Until last night after my work, we (hubby, me, and the kids) went out to have dinner then watched Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen at SM San Lazaro. The kids enjoyed the movie, that's how simple we celebrate Family Day. What's important is the kids had fun.