Second opinion: Read the Rx label!

I recently was stopped by a couple riding their bicycles in my neighborhood. My reputation as a veterinarian who gives advice hit a fever pitch in my community during the pandemic.

Mr. and Mrs. Snowbird just came back from their home in upstate New York. They, like so many people, adopted a pet during the pandemic and drove their new dog Rascal, a one-year-old Corgi, down last weekend.

Prior to traveling to Florida, they brought Rascal to their veterinarian because they thought he had allergies. Rascal was shaking his head a lot and vocalized when you touched his ear.

The question that they had for me referenced back to their other dog, Ruby, a 14-year-old Schnauzer who had terrible allergies. She constantly licked her paws, scratched all the time, and rubbed her face. I recommended that they talk to their local veterinarian about Apoquel or Cytopoint allergy treatments.

The schnauzer was a happy dog after starting the medication. They were hopeful that Rascal didn’t have allergies because the medication was expensive, but Rascal seemed very uncomfortable.

I asked them about the working diagnosis. They told me that their New York veterinarian thought that Rascal had an ear infection. Two weeks ago, Rascal’s ears were red, inflamed, and painful. The veterinarian took a sample from the ear to look under the microscope and sent it out for culture.

The doctor started Rascal on an ear cleaner and pain medication and told the couple they would start treatment once the culture results came back.

The couple told me the technician at the hospital called and told them that Rascal had a bacterial ear infection and the vet wanted to start him on antibiotics. They also told them to clean his ears once a day and to continue him on the pain medications if he was still uncomfortable.

After two weeks of medication, ear cleaning, and pain medications I told them that Rascal should be feeling and looking better. They said he wasn’t and wanted to know if I could look.

As we walked to their house, Mr. Snowbird said that Rascal is not clinically better. He doesn’t seem to be in as much pain, but the veterinarian said that he would only need the medication for a few days, and he is still on them.

Rascal also hates it when Mr. Snowbird puts the medication in his ear. He mentioned that it seemed kind of cruel to put cold ear medication in an ear but what does he know. I was puzzled because I don’t know any ear medication that needs to be refrigerated, but maybe the medication was compounded specifically for Rascal.

Rascal is a sweet Corgi. He jumped up on me when I entered the house and, true to form, he smelled sour. When I investigated his ear, it was inflamed and sensitive and full of white material.

I was hoping it wasn’t pus. Mrs. Snowbird brought me the medication and it was Clavamox, an amoxicillin product that was meant to be refrigerated and given orally. I asked them if they are giving the medication orally or putting it into the ear.

I have never seen such finger pointing towards each other. Obviously, someone didn’t read the label. Mrs. Snowbird laughed and told me at least I had a funny story to tell people. Little did they know that I write articles.

Gym and fitness during a pandemic

With gyms closed, or at a limited capacity, many people have begun
to work out at home or outdoors. Even though this lets you work out when you want with no set time frames, it is often harder to get a good workout without proper equipment.

We always recommit ourselves to achieve our ideal selves every new year, and fitness and health are often a priority. Without a gym or crazy fad diet, is it possible to stay on track?

“When it comes to exercise, keep it simple,” says Nick Miller, a certified
personal trainer. “Just stay active, especially if you are not too familiar with programming your own workouts. Choose activities that you know how to do and keep you out of pain.”

If you are looking for a wide range of home workouts that will work every part of your body, explore YouTube.

With a click of a button, you can find great alternatives and exercises that do not require equipment.

Want to do an upper body workout? No problem. Search terms such as “upper equipment” or “arm workout no equipment” and a plethora of work out options will be available.

With no end in sight for our new normal, the new year is an excellent time to recommit to our goals and shed some excuses, along with pounds.

According to Miller, “The shutdown gave a lot of people an excuse not to work out, but since the economy opened back up, we have actually seen steady growth in the number of clients looking to improve their lifestyle.

“Being that we’re not a gym, clients are very comfortable in our private facility working one on one with their trainer or therapist.”

It all starts with you. An individual needs to be in the right mindset. Practice mindfulness exercises to focus on the mind and reduce anxiety.

If you fear going to the gym alone or have health restrictions, grab household items, and get creative with at-home workouts. By using items like a chair or couch, you can move your muscles and body in more ways than none.

If a person is looking to make a change to their well-being, they have to want it. Working out is only part of the plan. What a person puts into their body every day weighs more. There needs to be a balance of eating well and keeping active.

“Nutrition can get pretty involved. And every other week, there’s a new fad diet out there that doesn’t work in the long run.

“Sure, you can lose a lot of weight in the short term, but as soon as you start eating normally again, the weight starts coming back,” Miller said.

In the end, it depends on the individual, on what they want to do, and what they are comfortable with. By setting realistic goals and creating a consistent routine, individuals will be on their way to a healthier and happier 2021.

“My advice for someone looking to lose some weight without a fad. Eat less more often and keep it clean. Stay away from processed foods and refined sugars,” Miller said.

 

In the blink of an eye

I guess we are all getting older, but occasionally, there is a situation that reinforces the fact that you have become part of the older generation. That situation happened to me this past spring when I was lecturing at Auburn Veterinary School. I was part of a group of speakers talking to the veterinary students about life post-graduation. Speakers from around the country were mentoring young minds, eager to hear about their profession. There is nothing more rewarding.

While I was waiting to speak, I decided to walk around the veterinary school. It was cold outside, so I stayed inside and walked by a man and woman. When I walked by, I could hear them talking about me, and I heard the woman tell the man that she knew me but could not remember where.

I continued to walk around the building when I heard her loudly say down the hall, “she knew it,” and before I knew it, she was walking briskly to catch up to me. She tugged at my jacket and apologized, but she wanted to say hi to me.

She introduced herself as Paulette and said that I might not remember her, but her mother, who recently passed away, was a client, and I would remember Rocko the Rottweiler.

Dr. Glenn Kalick

Rocko the Rottweiler was one of a kind. The owner used to call the dog stupid because I performed four exploratory surgeries to remove foreign bodies from his intestines. A little biology lesson here: Rottweilers have large diameter intestines, so a foreign body would have to be large to obstruct Rocko. Interestingly, each of the four foreign body surgeries was for either the husband’s athletic socks or the knot on the end of a large rawhide dog bone. Rocko was one of a kind. He got into the fishing tackle box and got a fishing hook stuck in his tongue, and the one time he went to the beach, he got stung by a jellyfish. Thank god the owner had pet insurance.

Paulette introduced her husband, who also said he recognized me. He told me I probably would not recognize him, but he spent a day shadowing me for a school project when he was in high school. He told me that he was the kid who fainted when watching me in surgery.

I told him that it happened all the time, and he should not be embarrassed. He said that experience changed his career aspirations from wanting to be a human surgeon to pursuing his love for numbers, and now he is an accountant.

It was great to see Paulette and her husband, but it was strange that it happened at a veterinary school in Alabama.  I asked her if she was here because her pet was sick. She said she didn’t currently have a pet because she was too busy traveling. So, I had to ask her again, why is she there? My daughter is in Vet school at Auburn, and we are taking her out to dinner after the conference.

So, here is the circle of life. I took care of the grandmother’s dog, and I am lecturing to the granddaughter at veterinary school. Where did the time go? I ended up going to dinner with the happy family and hope to continue to mentor the young veterinary student throughout her career.

Apps can help keep you organized

November is about being thankful for everything: Health,
family, & friends.

This time of year can be stressful and challenging for many because they need a bit of organizational direction.

As an organizer, I’m constantly asked by friends and acquaintances how to get organized for Thanksgiving and the holiday season. My answer is simple: Plan ahead.

Let’s talk about Thanksgiving. As a result of the current pandemic, this November may not necessarily be about big Thanksgiving get-togethers, but you still may be hosting and you’ll need to start to get organized and plan.

Starting early and not waiting for the last moment is key.

1. Make lists of what you need to purchase. One of my favorite things to do is to use the Amazon Alexa app to create “shopping lists.” Not only can you create any type of list with Alexa, but you can tell her what to put on it. So as you are planning that recipe or hoping you’ll remember to buy a bouquet of flowers, just ask her to put it on your shopping list. This eliminates the need for a paper list (that inevitably gets left on the kitchen counter..lol) and it’s automatically populated in your Alexa app.

Another option to manage your to-do list is called TeuxDeux. It’s simple and doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles…try it!

2. Consider using an inventory app like Sortly. There are quite a few home inventory apps out there, and keeping track of your items and where they are in your home can be a tedious process. If you know what you have in your home and where it is, taking out what you need for any holiday or occasion will be a snap. You’ll be happy to avoid the headache of trying to find the things that you need at the last minute.

3. Thanksgiving brings us to the holiday season and everyone’s time is so precious.

To keep track of all of your online purchases, try an app that syncs with your Gmail app called Arrive. Not only will it track your online orders from Amazon and Walmart, but it will also give you status updates with UPS, USPS, FedEx and DHL.

No more searching through emails!

4. Trying to locate your holiday decorations can be challenging if you don’t have a “home” for them all. Consider organizing these items in clear, plastic, labeled bins. This will keep everything neat, tidy and you’ll always know where to find what you need.

Happy Holidays to you and your family from the Lisa eOrganizer team!

Lisa Haubenstock is a Professional Organizer and owner of LisaTheOrganizer, LLC. servicing Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. She is a member of NAPO and serves on the board of the South Florida chapter. She holds certificates in household management and residential organizing.

Email Lisa at Lisa@lisatheorganizer.com.