Category: General

Allergies, General, Health, Health Insurance, Product Research, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Find the Lowest Price for EpiPens

Wish I Knew Before

We have food allergies and we need to carry around EpiPens. But we also don’t have spectacular health insurance, so below is a rundown of the options I went through. My takeaway is that if you can’t get an EpiPen or EpiPen alternative for free, you should only pay in the range of $5-low $100s in the U.S. #1 Health Insurance When we had excellent health insurance, I was able to buy a pack of two generic EpiPens for as little as $30. I’ve also seen online that some people have health insurance that can bring the cost down to … Continue reading Find the Lowest Price for EpiPens

General, Health, Kids, MyopiaLeave a comment

Free Printable Eye Charts

Wish I Knew Before

Since I started trying to reverse my myopia and control my child’s myopia progression, I’ve found eye charts to be handy. During the pandemic with distance learning and increase in computer use, I have used eye charts as a way to check my kids’ vision regularly. However, I’ve also found that those sneaky kids have memorized the eye charts so it’s harder for me to check their vision accurately! So below I’ve included links to the best free printable eye charts that I found online as well as links to some eye charts that I can customize.  Standard charts typically … Continue reading Free Printable Eye Charts

General, Health, Myopia, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Eye Massage and Eye Acupressure Points for Myopia

Wish I Knew Before

I reviewed some online literature on eye massage to add to my repertoire of things to try for slowing / reversing myopia. As an acupressure layman, I found the acupressure points and techniques seemed to vary just enough from site to site to confuse me initially. Finally, I cobbled together some basics.  (Note: there are also eye exercises and acupressure points on other parts of the body that directly affect the eyes. I think I will have to review those thoroughly another time.) My basic takeaway The theory is that eye massage improves the blood circulation to the eyes and … Continue reading Eye Massage and Eye Acupressure Points for Myopia

Food, General, Health, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Simple Dang Gui Soup or Tea Recipe

Wish I Knew Before

As I mentioned before, dang gui (angelica sinensis, 当归) soup is my go-to Chinese herbal tonic for whenever I have any issues that I suspect may be remotely related to blood, circulation, or hormones. Men can benefit from this tonic in the same way, too. Whenever I drink it, I feel revitalized and relaxed at the same time, helping my sleep and energy. I swear by it, and so do 2,200+ years of traditional Chinese medicine. (Whenever I think about how Western medicine would never suggest this as a simple remedy because it’s not evidence-based, I’m frustrated by how many … Continue reading Simple Dang Gui Soup or Tea Recipe

Education, General, Health, Kids, Parenting8 Comments

Lessons Learned in the Time of Coronavirus

Wish I Knew Before

I’m home with my family this morning, following guidelines for self-isolation and social distancing. It is so surreal, but here are the actionable items that I’ve learned so far from living in the time of coronavirus. Most of us will survive the coronavirus, and this is why these learnings are important to me. #1 Respond at the first hint of trouble, not at panic time Determining what constitutes as “the first hint of trouble” is open to debate, but I will say that I responded somewhere in the middle between “the first hint of trouble” and “panic time.”  I went … Continue reading Lessons Learned in the Time of Coronavirus

General, Health, Kids, Parenting, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Got Body Odor? And Will Your Child, Too?

Wish I Knew Before

I’d been sniffing the hair on my children’s heads – yes, moms do that. And found that they smell very different. I can’t even describe the smell though – one like vanilla soup and the other like citrus tea. That got me wondering what they might smell like as teenagers and then adults. Would my deliciously smelling kids become stinky people with various body odors? Would I need to arm them with deodorants? Was I going to need to do a 3 week research project on finding the best, non-toxic deodorants?  I’ve noticed that men and women and folks of … Continue reading Got Body Odor? And Will Your Child, Too?

General, Health, Kids, Parenting, Uncategorized1 Comment

To Ice or Not to Ice (Injuries)?

Wish I Knew Before

Updated as of 5/7/2021 My child sprained an ankle and immediately, every well-meaning person around us kept at us with ice, and more ice. The day after the injury, our sporty, super-fit friends quizzed me, double-checking that we were continuing to ice the ankle. All this emphasis on ice gave me pause, because in traditional Chinese medicine (whose philosophy I have followed growing up), ice is never used for an injury. These opposing views sent me running to Google.   It turns out that recent research suggests icing an injury may not be the best way to heal an injury. In fact, … Continue reading To Ice or Not to Ice (Injuries)?