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NOVEMBER 2019
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‘EAR, NEWS, AND THROAT’
THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING
HowDoctors CelebrateTheir Birthdays
20 years later, so make of that what you will.
When you’re a kid, having a birthday on or around a major holiday sounds great. Double the celebration, right? Anyone who actually has their birthday near a holiday can tell you this isn’t the case. Usually, all your friends are busy with their family, and if your birthday is too close to Christmas, people often try to lump them together. My birthday is on November 27, usually falling on or right around Thanksgiving Day. Fortunately, no one has ever tried to lump my birthday with Thanksgiving, and I usually got to enjoy being out of school on my birthday! That said, during my adult life, my birthdays have never been huge deals. When I was in college and med school, I’d always come home to visit my family for Thanksgiving, so I couldn’t go out with my friends. The exception to this was my 21st birthday. That year, I was home from college at the same time as two of my good friends from high school. At the stroke of midnight, as soon as I was officially 21, they took me out to all the bars. It was the craziest night. We only had an hour and a half to squeeze in a full night of partying before the bars in town closed. There’s a greasy hamburger place in my hometown that’s been around since my dad was a kid. Despite being located in Lynchburg, Virginia, it’s called The Texas Inn, but everyone in town calls it The T-Room. After the bars closed, my friends and I ended up at The T-Room, where the famous dish is the Cheesy Western. This is a cheeseburger topped with a fried egg and onion relish. It’s usually not very good, but when you’re 21 years old and celebrating your 21st birthday, the Cheesy Western is the most amazing thing in the world. As a doctor, today I would not advise celebrating your birthday the way I did — but I’m still with you almost
My 21st birthday remains one of my favorites, and not because of the excessive drinking. I really value spending quality time with my friends and family. I’ve never been much of a gift guy; to be honest, I don’t like getting presents. This is the opposite of my wife. She loves giving and getting gifts.
During our first Christmas together, Renee and I had only been dating for a few months, but I thought I’d found the most thoughtful gift when I got her a teapot and some tea from a restaurant we really liked. I wasn’t prepared for Renee’s gift scavenger hunt, which ended in a new iPhone. It was overwhelming, but over the years, we’ve figured each other out. For our anniversary this year, we went to Tahiti and Bora Bora, just the two of us. It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten. This year, my birthday is the day before Thanksgiving. I’m really looking forward to it because the entire family will be in town. Most of Renee’s family already lives in town, my brother-in-law will be coming in, and my
parents are coming down, too. We’ll probably go out to dinner at Perry’s. Though, with Thanksgiving being the next day, we might take it easy instead. I don’t want to overindulge two days in a row.
Then again, it is my birthday. And you only turn 41 once, right?
“This year, my birthday is the day before Thanksgiving.”
–Dr. Seth Evans
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With Disney+ launching this November, you'll get access to tons of great classics as well as new original series and movies, like the live-action "Lady and the Tramp" remake. While Disney fans are excited about this, the original film is still perfect for the whole family and has some great life lessons for your kids. Here are some of the best takeaways. Explore the world around you. "There is a great big hunk of world down there with no fence around it.” This underrated quote, said by Tramp, perfectly encompasses one of the main lessons of the film: explore! Life is all about seeing what's out there and testing your limits. Without Tramp’s ambition to explore, Lady would never have discovered her love of spaghetti or the joy of running carefree through the city. Celebrate your differences. This film celebrates differences and encourages viewers to do the same. Tramp rouses hen houses and avoids dog catchers. Lady was pampered with a fancy dog collar and cushy places to sleep. Despite coming from different ends of the dog park, they find a shared love for adventure and, of course, Italian cuisine. Embrace change. Early on in the movie, Lady's comfortable life slips away from her as Jim and Darling Dear welcome their new baby into the household. Jim starts to refer to Lady as "That Dog" shortly after the baby's arrival. After getting lost and meeting Tramp, she gains a new life partner and creates a family of her own, showing children that, while change can be a daunting thing to face, it's often for the best and comes with a silver lining. These are only a few of the lessons highlighted in this Disney classic. Gather the whole family for a fun night in and see what other lessons you can learn. The original film was such a cult classic, but the remake is sure to deliver. It's expected to release on Nov. 12, 2019, so mark your calendars.
TOO BUSY TO WORK OUT?
5 Simple Ways to Stay Active
Being active doesn’t have to mean going to the gym every single day. An active lifestyle can be as simple as going for a walk around the neighborhood for a few minutes a day. There are plenty of ways to exercise during daily activities like shopping, spending time with your kids, or hanging around the house. Park farther away. A lot of people will spend several minutes trying to find a parking space as close as they can to the entrance of a store. However, parking a little farther away will help you score a better parking space and make sure you get your steps in for the day. Do some yoga. You don’t have to push yourself to your absolute limit in order to stay active. There are other, gentler ways to exercise than running 5 miles a day. Tai chi or yoga are excellent low-impact alternatives to keep your body fit and healthy. Reduce TV time. It can be tempting to plop down in front of the television after a long day at work or after dinner, but you can also use this time to be active. Get the family together for a walk around the neighborhood, take a few minutes to dance to some of your favorite tunes, or do some light cleaning around the house. Put a spin on date night. Forget dinner and a movie. Instead, try taking your date out for a round of miniature golf, indoor rock climbing, an evening stroll, a bike ride, or dancing. You’ll have more fun while doing your body good. Grab a leash. Having a dog gives you plenty of opportunities to stay active. If you don’t have a dog, try asking a neighbor or friend if they would like their dog walked, start a dog-walking service, or volunteer at a local animal shelter. There are plenty of ways to make staying active a part of your daily routine! With enough creativity and motivation, you can turn any activity into an active one.
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THE DIRTY TRUTH Is Hydrogen Peroxide Good for Cleaning Ears … Or Anything?
people who grew up treating every cut or scrape with fizzing hydrogen peroxide, but there’s no research to suggest hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria or helps wounds heal better. At high concentrations, hydrogen peroxide can kill bacteria or viruses, but this isn’t a level of hydrogen peroxide you would ever want to use on your body. In 1987, a study published in The Journal of Family Practice determined that hydrogen peroxide doesn’t prevent bacterial growth. Another study published in The American Journal of Surgery found that hydrogen peroxide also failed to reduce
What’s the best way to clean your ears? If you’ve thrown out your cotton swabs — and you should, because they’re a terrible way to clean your ears — then you’re probably looking for a new method to remove irritating earwax. One popular at-home treatment calls for pouring a little hydrogen peroxide into the ears. Almost everyone has a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in their first-aid kit, so this seems like a cheap, convenient way to clean out your ears. But is it effective?
the risk of infection at the incision site of appendectomies. In addition to not killing bacteria or preventing bacterial growth, the caustic nature of hydrogen peroxide can actually destroy healthy cells and slow wound healing. If you need to clean a small cut or scrape, it’s much better to use mild soap and water instead. And if you want to remove earwax from your ears, we recommend oil-based drops, ideally baby oil or mineral oil. Either one will do a much better job at cleaning your ears than hydrogen peroxide.
Hydrogen peroxide isn’t the worst way to clean your ears. Any sort of liquid will soften the earwax in your ear, and the fizzing, bubbling nature of hydrogen peroxide can help push the wax out of the ear. However, hydrogen peroxide isn’t something you should use in your ears regularly. This caustic chemical can irritate the skin inside your ear, leading to pain and inflammation. Furthermore, if you have a hole or an ear tube in your eardrum, you should never put hydrogen peroxide in your ear. It can be incredibly painful if hydrogen peroxide gets behind your eardrum.
In addition to not being a good way to clean your ear, hydrogen peroxide might not even be a good way to treat wounds. This news is shocking to
HAVE A LAUGH
Green Beans With Ginger and Garlic Inspired by Food & Wine Magazine
Turkey is, for the most part, a healthy and lean protein. Thanksgiving sides, on the other hand, tend to be a little more indulgent. This year, eschew the classic, creamy green bean casserole in favor of this lighter, healthier, and altogether tastier option.
Ingredients
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger • 1 tsp crushed red pepper • Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 lbs whole green beans, ends trimmed • 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. To the side of the stove, prepare a large bucket of ice water. 2. Cook beans in boiling water for 4 minutes. Immediately transfer to ice water. Drain and pat dry. 3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in ground ginger and crushed pepper. Add green beans. 4. Cook together for 2–3 minutes. 5. Transfer to plate and serve.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Page 1 The Most Important November Holiday
Page 2 Life Lessons From ‘Lady and the Tramp’
Page 2 Simple Ways to Stay Active
Page 3 Get This Out of Your First-Aid Kit
Page 3 Green Beans With Ginger and Garlic
Page 4 Word From the Westies
Hours: Monday–Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
TURKEY AND PUMPKIN AND SWEET POTATOES, OH MY!
How theWesties CelebrateThanksgiving Izzy here! Emma and I are just thinking about our favorite Thanksgiving foods. We’re good dogs, and we know we’re not supposed to beg, but it gets really hard on Thanksgiving. Everything smells so good! I know a lot of people want to share the feast with their four-legged family members, so today, we’re looking at how you can share the bounty without jeopardizing your pet’s health.
When you can control exactly how much human food your pet gets, it’s alright to give them some Thanksgiving leftovers as a treat. Just make sure to compensate for the extra calories by decreasing their regular food or treats that day.
The Rule of Table Scraps We’re betraying the rest of dog-kind by telling you this, but you should never give your dog or cat table scraps on Thanksgiving. A little piece of turkey won’t hurt us, but if you’re sneaking food to your dog, odds are the rest of your family is doing the same and not being very careful. Veterinarians see a huge increase in emergency visits for dogs with pancreatitis right after Thanksgiving because they overindulged. If your pet is begging to partake in the feast, put them in another room and make sure your whole family agrees not to give your dog or cat any table scraps. What About Leftovers? When stored in the fridge, Thanksgiving leftovers are only safe to eat for up to four days before you risk food poisoning. Basically, you have until Monday, Dec. 2 this year to eat all those leftovers before they need to be thrown out. Can your pets help with that?
It’s also important to make sure those leftovers are safe for your dog to eat. Turkey should be boneless, skinless, and unseasoned. Raw pumpkin is great, but pumpkin pie filling is not. And while sweet potatoes are great for dogs, sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows can make us really sick!
On behalf of all dogs, thank you for looking after our health during the holidays.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Izzy & Emma
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