Travel First Aid - Hot and Cold Packs

At home I keep a large reusable Bed Buddy Back Wrap I can microwave for 1 minute anytime I need dry or moist heat, large enough to velcro around any body part.  I also keep a reusable soft gel ice pack in the freezer (plus a 2 lb. bag of frozen rice that coutours around any body part and holds the cold pretty well).  On the road is a different matter.  Most motels don't have freezers worth a damn in the best of rooms, some don't even have refrigerators or microwaves. My pop-up camper has no refrigerator. So, while still taking it easy with my calf and hip, I've been cruising the internet reading up on Hot and Cold Packs for my Travel First Aid Kit.  

Cold Packs: The throw-away cold packs vary in size from 4" x 6" to 6" x 9", operate by squeezing a water pack into one or another chemical for instant cold, are relatively cheap at about $.75 apiece. There are so many brands out there, I can't begin to name them all.  I can probably pick up a few at Walgreens.

Hot Packs:  Throw aways also available, brands too numerous to mention.

On the other hand, unless I'm actually driving down the highway or in an area without facilities (hiking, camping, at our agility field), I am always at a destination -- a motel or trial site, or a McDonalds, where I can just about count on being able to access hot tap water and ice.  So, I finally remembered my Mammy's, GrandMammy's, and Great GrandMammy's old Hot Water Bottle, with the wide mouth you can also fill with ice cubes. 

Wondering if they sell those any more, I looked them up and found several brands ranging from $7-10.  Voila!  I found my solution, and I'll keep one in the side pocket of my dogs' travel bag from now on.  I also have one of those chemical disposable Cold Packs in the First Aid Kit in the trunk of my car, where it has resided, unused, for nearly 9 years.

Hopefully, I won't ever need any of these items ever again, but hanging around at agility trials, there's bound to be some sports injuries that need nursing, mine or other peoples'. it's always good to be prepared.

Upwards and onward to research my next health issue -- High Cholesterol!

Bursitis - OUCH!

On Tuesday, July 5th, I woke up with horrible pain in my left hip. Excruciating pain, out of the blue. I could not find a pain-free position to lie in Tuesday night, so got no sleep until I took a Lortab.  Fortunately, I had a doctor’s appt scheduled for Wednesday the 6th (at age 64, I'm in process of having my first complete physical). Fearing I couldn't drive or walk into the clinic without fainting, I had John take the day off work to drive me. After pointing to my outer hip, the doc diagnosed it immediately as hip bursitis, a condition where the bursa sac swells up and becomes inflamed.  This happened overnight, without any apparent cause.

Big relief, at least I don't have a hip fracture.  I couldn't teach my Wednesday night agility class, and over the next few days I followed the prescribed regimen: rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, and as needed, pain killers. Within 2 days I felt almost normal, a bit of trouble lifting myself up stairs on that leg, and soreness when I first sit down, otherwise walking normally.

I kept thinking, what if I wake up tomorrow morning with bursitis in both hips?  Shit!  Then I won't be able to walk at all.  I better get acquainted with this condition FAST!  So, while sitting on my arse for 3 days, I surfed the web, read up on bursitis, and found I could have stressed the joint limping around with a pulled calf muscle at the Monroe Trial (though I tried so hard not to limp I was taking baby steps the whole weekend).

Here is an informative website describing Hip Bursitis, aka "trochanteric bursitis".  There are several, all saying pretty much the same thing. More interesting to me, I read several online testimonials that ultra sound works wonders on bursitis, injured tendons, ligaments, reduces inflammation, etc, and there are home kits one can buy, ranging in prices from $99 to $299. I've been wanting one of these for years, and a TENS unit, to treat our periodic lower back problems, John's tennis elbow and shoulder bursitis, etc., because I suspect that what heals you at the chiropractor's office is as much the 10 minute sessions lying on the table with the TENS machine and ice pack, plus the at-home exercises, as the adjustment itself. With a long history of back problems, I have logged in a lot of time at the chiropractors' office and long ago was taught how to pop my own vertebra back into place.

After doing my research, I decided to order the $98 MPO US 1000 3rd Edition Professional Ultrasound Unit and the $75 MPO-8000 - Combo Professional Digital TENS & Muscle Stimulator.  If they work, they will be in my First Aid kit when I go to trials, and anybody there that pulls a muscle can use them.  FYI, I tried buying these items from a local Medical Supply house and was told I needed a doctor's prescription, so I had no choice but to order online.  It really ticks me off when I'm told I'm not allowed to take care of my own self.

I also want to add instant ice packs and heat packs.  I'll look that up next.

Upwards and onward!

.

Halloween Day Practice w. Sheryl

Despite our infirmities, Sheryl and I managed to squeeze off one practice session at the agility field, at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Halloween Day, one week after the Kiln trial. Loralie had set up the XS course from Kiln trial last Sunday (the one I didn't sign up for, duh!), and could not have run even if I had signed up, due to my knee injury.  We walked the course several times and I decided to run Maxie as if going for a Q.  We actually made it!  I tried some distance handling and layering techniques on subsequent runs, and some of them worked surprisingly well.  However, layering behind the dog walk was a total bomb.  Maxie took the dog walk every time.  Lucky ran the course in segments and did well for an "Advanced Beginner".  Not ready to Q, however.  She is comfortable with all the obstacles, her contacts are pretty good, but with such long strides she is often over the next obstacle in front of her before I can signal a turn.  She doesn't make tight turns, either.  My timing with her needs some practice, as well as keeping her focused on me.  With such short hair and muscular body, she is beautiful to watch, though.

Sheryl ran Charlie once but her siatic nerve was hurting her so bad, she more or less decided she'd better take it easy a few more weeks.  That means no practice sessions together for awhile.  It is discouraging for her, I know.  Me too. A few years back, in Polly's Beginners class with Maxie, I'll never forget running Maxie over the A-Frame, on leash, when my siatic nerve got pinched and I collapsed in pain, almost yanking my puppy off the top of the A-frame.  Scared me silly, and hurt for weeks.  Fortunately, Maxie wasn't phased a bit.  Jerk sideways, then stopped near the upper edge, looked down and wagged his tail and waited for my next move. He's not very skiddish, thank goodness.  But I limped home, nearly in tears of fear and disappointment.

Several of us have talked about having another handler being able to run/train our dogs if we get hurt in future, so I gave it a whirl running Charlie. He ran the whole course for me, broken up with treats at the table and after the weaves, and was fairly enthusiastic, with Sheryl in clear sight.  We were both amazed by this.  I will ask Noel to practice running Maxie before or after Wed night class, and anyone else who wants to try it is welcome. I wouldn't mind trying to run other students' dogs as well. Running a border collie would be a fun experiment!

Tracey and Lego, MXJ5, Kiln, MS

Besides the injuries keeping us both down, it's been raining for 3 days so Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night classes have all been cancelled.  Forced indoors, I've been taking the time to read Tracey Roth's agility blog.  Tracey is a fellow LCCOC club member who has been training and trialing in both AKC and USDAA agility since long before I got into the sport. She owns and trains about 9 dogs, many of them mixed rescues, and she's been blogging every few days about her dog training/trialing experiences since October 2005.  It's a bunch to read!  Not all of it is riveting, but on the whole it shows the tempo of a dedicated young working wife who lives on acreage out in the country with chiropractor husband and a bunch of dogs, trains them at home almost daily, builds her own equipment, teaches classes, helps run dog clubs and put on events, and shows in lots of obedience and agility trials.  Whew!  She is a busy gal!



Portia blows out the candles
on her fabulous "black cat" cake.

 Sunday afternoon I went to Portia's 8th birthday party, with the Halloween theme as she was born on October 31st.  It was a cool party and I got to connect with some old neighborhood friends I don't see so much now that I'm involved in dog agility.  I bought her a starter sewing kit and her mother reported that by that evening she was sewing!  I mean, what do you get an 8 year old girl?  A tug toy or bag of sows ears just won't cut it.



Michele waves the "magic wand"
over the birthday girl, and
gets branded with a horseshoe!

Oh, and I also gave her a "magic wand", which is what a "fairy god mother" must give to her "fairy god child" at some point.  Here's a picture of that, which Sheryl will recognize immediately as something we thought would be a good "doggie distraction" during our practices but so far have never gotten around to using. I found an excellent use for one of them!