Category Archives: Health

How To Regain Your Confidence To Smile More 

Standard
How To Regain Your Confidence To Smile More 

There are so many reasons to smile in life. From daily affection from your children to having some time to cook up a storm, there are daily occurrences that everyone experiences that should encourage you to smile. Smiling more will maintain a good mood and a positive attitude. Should you dislike your smile or not feel entirely confident when smiling, here is how to regain your confidence and fall back in love with your smile:

Get dental help:

Using dental services can get your smile in top condition so that you feel more confident and happy smiling. You can repair your teeth, transform them to better health, or reshape them so that you like your smile and the overall look of your teeth. Getting help with your teeth will help you achieve your desired outcome as well as the best oral health.

Practice in the mirror:

You might not like your smile because of a quick and unflattering picture. If so, remember that a picture does not always reflect what you look like. You could have been caught off guard yet remember that in your mind and use it as a reason not to smile. If this is the case, then practice smiling more in the mirror. Doing so will help you see how much better you look when you smile. It will also help you practice smiling for photos so that you can see how much nicer you look when you smile for the next pictures you take.

Smile more:

If you often find that you have a grumpy face yet feel happy, why not show off your happiness through smiling? There is no harm in walking around smiling or watching the TV and smiling. Smiling is the best way to feel happy. If you are not in the best mood and want to get out of your slump, then try smiling and notice how much better it makes you feel. You will soon smile more and more and regain your confidence to smile again.

Face the fear:

Everyone has their own unique phobia and if yours is smiling in photos or in public, then face those fears. It is the only way to overcome it. The more you practice smiling in photos and out in public, the more comfortable you will feel doing it. Soon enough, it will come naturally to you to smile in photos and you will look back and realize how far you have come by facing your fears.

Brush as much as you should:

Should you have poor teeth or gum health, it could be the reason that you are avoiding smiling. If so, then make sure to brush your teeth and gums as often as you should (at least twice a day) to maintain good oral health. Better oral health will encourage you to smile more and feel confident in doing so. If you can find time to brush after every meal, then you will be able to achieve optimal oral health.

You are never fully dressed without a smile! Use the tips above and soon you will be flashing your pearly whites all day. 🙂

Featured Image By: Anastasia Gepp from Pixabay

Keeping An Eye On Your Child’s Health This Winter

Standard
Keeping An Eye On Your Child’s Health This Winter

Kids have a habit of picking up every little thing that is going around. It doesn’t matter if it is a cold or the latest dance fad. As parents, we want to make sure that our kids stay healthy so we need to keep an eye on them. Here are some ways to monitor your child’s health this winter:

Know what help is available:

Kids can have accidents and they can get sick at a moments notice so it is important to know what medical assistance is around you. Medicare On Video is a great way to understand what help you can get in the event of yourself or your kids needing help. Local hospitals are often signposted so that anyone can find them, not just the locals. And don’t forget, if you have any doubts, Google can be your friend.

Alert other parents:

It isn’t nice when our kids get sick but if they do, it is important to let the parents around us know so that they can prepare. Their kids might get lucky and skip the bug that is going around but it is always best to warn others if your kids have taken ill. If their kids became ill, you would want to know so that you can prepare. It isn’t a pleasant phone call or message to make but it is better than allowing viruses to run rampage through their group of friends. This is really useful if they are very young or have an issue with their immune system.

Fresh air:

One of the main reasons that the common cold and flues manage to do so well in the winter is because the ventilation in our schools are terrible in the winter. Every cough lets germs float in the air, and without open windows, they stay in the room. If you can, get your kids outside during the weekend and let their lungs breathe in some fresh air. Being in the fresh air helps to boost your immune system and helps to promote a healthy immune response in the body.

Pay attention to their mental health:

It’s not just your child’s physical health you need to keep an eye on in winter, it’s their mental health too. ‘Winter blues’ may not be taken seriously by some, but many people, especially young people, can develop depression and anxiety at this time of year. If you suspect your child is struggling with their mental health, consult a professional. Your doctor or a dedicated facility like the Eva Carlston Academy can provide support for your child and help them with their condition. Pay attention to your child’s mood and what’s going on in their life to help you stay tuned into potential issues.

Fresh food:

Kids get most of their nutrition through the food that they eat so make sure that they are getting plenty of healthy options. Of course, you can always add multi-vitamins if you think that will help. One of the best ways to ensure that they are getting the most out of their diet is with a wide selection of fruit throughout the day. They might not be keen on broccoli but they might love a bunch of grapes, instead.

Hopefully, you can get through this winter without any major issues and that your children continue to thrive under your watchful eye. Being sick is no fun at any time of the year but especially during the holiday season!

Featured Image By: Jupi Lu from Pixabay

Simple Steps To A Healthy Lifestyle

Standard
Simple Steps To A Healthy Lifestyle

Taking care of yourself is so important. The better you take care of yourself, the better your quality of life can be. It also potentially extends your life. But being healthy can often mean making changes to your lifestyle that may feel expensive, time consuming, and inconvenient. It is, however, vital that you make these changes. Here are a few to start with:

Managing Illness or Injury:

It’s particularly important to take care of your health and wellbeing when you are feeling unwell, hurt, or run down. This will help your body to recover as quickly as possible. If you experience an illness or injury, contact professional medical help – whether that’s urgent care or a standard appointment with your GP. They will be able to ensure that you get the medicine, therapy, or other treatment you need to get better. Recommendations for what you need can vary. Perhaps it is therapy to improve your mental health. A rehab facility for addiction. Or even a peyronies disease treatment greenville (or your local area). The most important thing is that you get the help you need to make your life the best it can be.

Diet:

Of course, what you put into your body is your fuel. So, you need to make sure that you’re fueling your body the right amount and with the right foods. Let’s start by looking at calorie counts. Every person requires a unique amount of calories, but the amounts outlined below should serve as a good rough guide:

  • Children aged 2 to 8 – 1000 to 1400 calories
  • Girls aged 9 to 13 – 1400 to 1600 calories
  • Boys aged 9 to 13 – 1600 to 2000 calories
  • Active women aged 14 to 30 – 2400 calories
  • Sedentary women aged 14 to 30 – 1800 to 2000 calories
  • Active men aged 14 to 30 – 2800 to 3200 calories
  • Sedentary men aged 14 to 30 – 2000 to 2600 calories
  • Active adults over 30 – 2000 to 3000 calories
  • Sedentary adults over 30 – 1600 to 2400 calories

Once you know your calorie count, you should do your best to eat as balanced a diet as possible. This means not cutting out any key groups. It also means eating everything in moderation – not too much or too little of one thing or another.

Exercise:

You should get one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week or seventy five minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise every week. All too many people fail to achieve this. This is often because they can’t find a form of exercise that they actually enjoy, so there is no motivation to engage with it. There are all sorts of exercises out there, so you simply need to think about what you like. Do you like socializing? You may prefer team sports or fitness classes with members and instructors. Do you like building your strength? You could try weight lifting or machinery in the gym. Do you like being in the water? Swimming could be an option for you.

Or maybe you have children and would like to include them in your exercise routine to ensure you’re all getting the physical activity you need. Find a form of physical activity you all enjoy and commit to it. For example, if you enjoy baseball, consider watching batting videos and learning to improve your technique to help your children engage in the sport too. Exercise is crucial for the whole family, not just the adults, so don’t forget to include them. When you find activities that involve the entire family, it will make it harder to miss out on any exercise sessions.

These steps are simple to incorporate into your day to day routine. It’s just a matter of habit and building them into your schedule. Hopefully, you’ll be able to benefit from them because they can really make all the difference!

Featured Image By: Pexels

How Not Sleeping Enough Affects Your Health

Standard
How Not Sleeping Enough Affects Your Health

Not sleeping enough over any prolonged period of time will negatively affect both your mental and physical health. If you are regularly getting less than at least seven hours a night, you will fall into the category of not sleeping enough. Perhaps you already have started to notice some symptoms of lack of sleep. Or maybe, you are unaware of the consequences. Either way, if you, do not sleep enough, you should make a valiant effort to get more of it, and here are a few reasons why:

Your Immune System:

When you are asleep, your body gets to work on fixing and repairing any damage that has occurred during the day. Beauty sleep is called beauty sleep for a reason! The body is able to help strengthen the immune system and regenerate cells which are vital to helping you fight off infections. Over time, if you do not sleep enough, you will find that you fall victim to more colds, flues, and potentially worse infections.

Your Memory:

While you sleep, the brain changes short-term memories into long-term memories. You may find that not sleeping enough goes hand in hand with a bad memory.

Your Central Nervous System:

Not sleeping an adequate amount can disrupt the body’s ability to send, receive, and process information. Sleep deprivation will exhaust the brain just as much as the rest of you. It will affect your concentration levels and you might find it difficult to learn something new. It can affect your coordination, meaning that you are more prone to accidents. This can have drastically tragic consequences on things like driving, for instance. Your mental and emotional state will be in constant flux. You will have more mood swings and become far less patient. It will also affect your decision-making ability. If you have a chronic lack of sleep, you may even start seeing hallucinations or trigger things such as mania and paranoia.

Depression:

Lack of sleep can lead to depression. Having our mood affected in such a way can have very serious consequences. It may even lead some people to consider suicide or begin drinking or taking drugs. The irony is these habits negatively affect sleep even more. If this resonates with you, then maybe going to rehab centers may help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Your Heart Health:

The health of your heart is affected by your blood pressure. When you sleep, the body regulates blood pressure and helps to prevents heart disease. That means that by not sleeping enough, you may end up with heart complications.

Obesity:

Unfortunately, not sleeping enough may well be a contributing factor to obesity. Some people who do not sleep enough will find that due to their lack of energy, they eat more sugary or fatty foods to compensate. It is a false economy and does not work. Also, being overweight may cause you to wake up hungry in the middle of the night, resulting in more snacking.

A good night’s sleep, clearly, does a lot more than make you feel well rested every morning. Catch some Zs and let your body work behind the scenes to help keep you healthy.

Featured Image By: Pixabay

4 Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Surgery   

Standard
4 Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Surgery   

Do you know what questions to ask your doctor before surgery? When you are deciding if an operation is the best fit for your medical needs, it is important to have all of your questions answered. There are many different factors that will determine if surgery is right for you or not. Here are some questions that should be asked before any decision is made on surgical treatment options.

What type of surgery will I need?

Getting your doctor to answer this question is often the first step in determining if a surgical procedure is right for you. There are three types of surgeries that can be done depending on your medical needs:

Major Surgery:

This includes any invasive process where an incision has to be made into the body and tissues, muscle or fat has to be removed, and some bone has to be cut or modified.

Minor Surgery:

These include operations which do not require major surgery but do require an incision and/or removal of tissues, muscle, or fat.

Reconstructive Surgery:

This type of surgery is performed to correct a problem that has occurred as the result of another condition such as disease.

It is important for you to know about the type of surgery you need since doctors can misdiagnose you. If this happens, don’t hesitate to get help from medical malpractice attorneys so you can be compensated.

What are the potential benefits/risks of surgery?

Ask your doctor about the potential benefits of surgery as different surgeries will offer different benefits based on your needs. For example, if you have a herniated disc in your back that has caused pain for several years, there may be some relief after having an invasive surgical procedure to remove part or all of the damaged section.

Whether it be a major or minor surgery, there are always going to be risks involved. Surgeons are human and mistakes can happen or you might react poorly to the procedure. For peace of mind should something go wrong, you might want to look into lawyers for surgical error claims beforehand. The last thing you want is to scramble to find a trustworthy lawyer after the fact.

Will I be able to go home after surgery? 

Whenever someone has surgery, there is a chance that they can go home from the hospital on the same day as their operation or within 24 hours of being admitted for treatment. However, some patients are required to stay in the hospital for up to five days after surgery. You should know ahead of time what your recovery plan will be so that you can prepare yourself and ensure that proper arrangements are made if necessary.

Will I need a follow-up appointment?

If you have been advised by your doctor to get any kind of surgery, it is important for them to outline a plan for your recovery. This will involve a list of instructions to follow during the first few days after surgery and it is very important that you adhere to these so they can be sure that all goes well with the healing process.

A follow-up appointment should also be scheduled shortly after being discharged from hospital care in order to collect test results, check your recovery, and answer any questions you may have.

If you need to get surgery, the best thing you can do is ask a lot of questions. Make sure you know everything that will be happening to your body before you consent to any procedure. Being informed is the only way to get peace of mind before you have an operation.

Featured Image By: Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

Cost Effective Ways Of Losing Weight And Being Healthy   

Standard
Cost Effective Ways Of Losing Weight And Being Healthy   

One of the main reasons why people struggle to lose weight today is because they deem it to be too expensive. You only need to take a trip to a supermarket to see that the processed, unhealthy foods are exceptionally cheap, while it costs a lot more to get your hands on the good stuff, like fish, organic fruit and vegetables, and white meat. Plus, you then have the likes of a gym membership and exercise equipment to add into the mix. It’s not hard to see why the expense can be off-putting. Nevertheless, you can lose weight healthily without spending a fortune, and here are some ways to do so:

Embrace free exercise options:

Yes, joining the gym is going to cost you money. However, there are many different ways that you can lose weight. You don’t need a personal trainer, nor do you need to buy expensive exercise equipment. What about a good old-fashioned run or power walk? This is one of the best ways to exercise and it doesn’t cost a dime. Also, thanks to the Internet, you can gain access to so many different exercise videos free of charge. All you need to do is a quick search on YouTube or another video site and you will see all different types of exercise videos you can follow, from Zumba to yoga. You no longer need to pay to go to a class.

Rethink your commute:

Another easy and effective way to incorporate free exercise into your lifestyle is to rethink your commute. If you live within a few miles of your place of work, how about biking or walking there? If this is not an option, small changes can make a massive difference. For example, take the stairs and stop using the elevator.

Skip ‘healthy’ convenience food:

Not all healthy foods are expensive – carrots are probably one of the cheapest things you can buy in a grocery store! What is expensive, however, are those convenient ‘healthy’ foods. You know, those 100-calorie snack packs, and the ‘healthy’ ready meals that are available in supermarkets. These are nothing more than budget drainers. You would be much better off buying a packet of dried fruit and nuts and making your own snack packs with sandwich bags. Weight loss has a lot to do with budget control, but do you really need to spend way over the odds for someone to give you the right quantity? You can do this yourself. In fact, if you’re worried that you will overeat, all you need to do is carry a measuring cup with you, and this will ensure that you are always on the right track.

Buy in bulk:

One of the best ways to save money when you are shopping is to buy in bulk. You can buy the likes of frozen vegetables, wholemeal rice, and oatmeal in bulk, and this will save you a lot of money. Another option is to buy a whole chicken instead of buying chicken pieces. You can easily cut the whole chicken up yourself into portions for the week. This will save you a good deal of money over time.

Are you eligible for surgery?

If you are deemed morbidly obese, you may be eligible for surgery. This is something that you may have to fund yourself or you may be entitled to some form of monetary assistance from the government. This all depends on your unique circumstances and where you live. Nevertheless, it is something that is worth exploring further, and this is certainly a case of money well spent if your weight is having an extremely detrimental impact on your health. You can’t put a price on living longer, but as any medical malpractice attorney will tell you, selecting a surgeon carefully is critical.

Ditch the red meat:

Ditching the red meat is not only good for your diet, but good for your bank balance too. Lamb and beef can cost a considerable amount of money and they contain more calories than white meat, such as chicken and turkey. Instead of embracing the red meat one night a week approach, why not go meatless? Turning veggie, even if it is for one night every week, will make it a lot more cost efficient for you to lose weight.

While going vegetarian or ditching red meat altogether is an excellent option, it might not be attainable and that’s okay. A healthy diet does not mean not eating your favorite foods but doing so in moderation and with appropriate serving sizes. If you are committed to a more extreme approach, more power to you. If not, don’t throw out those mince beef recipes just yet! You can still enjoy them a few times a month.

Try something out of the ordinary:

If you’re finding it hard to stick with a standard diet, why not give something different a try? Intermittent fasting or going vegan/vegetarian may be great choices for you – often more economical and with additional health benefits as well. Furthermore, these diets keep things exciting by keeping meals varied while simultaneously helping your journey towards weight loss more interesting! You could even add something like hypnotherapy as part of the mix – Robert Bremer discusses more in this article about its benefits for weight loss journeys!

Make the most of vouchers and coupons:

Last but not least, one of the best ways to save money on your grocery shopping is to make the most of vouchers and coupons. Nowadays, you only need to do a quick search online to find hundreds of vouchers for different stores. You can also make the most of money saving apps too. Also, a lot of supermarkets and grocery stores offer you a discount on your first purchase so it’s worth exploring the option of buying from different stores from time to time. Don’t forget to make the most of loyalty cards as well; those reward points certainly add up over time.

If you follow the advice that has been discussed above, you should be able to lose weight without it impacting your bank balance. While there are a lot of companies that profit from exploiting people’s want to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, you don’t need to buy into what they are offering. Being healthy doesn’t need to cost a fortune!

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Top Tips For Looking After Your Teeth

Standard
Top Tips For Looking After Your Teeth

The ABCs of oral health is brushing, flossing, and rinsing, but they’re not the only measures to take. In order to achieve a sparkling smile, you should go beyond squeezing toothpaste out of the tube – you should get started with the tips below:

Visit The Dentist:

The reason you don’t see the dentist often is likely to be a dental phobia, financial constraints, or just plain neglect. Visit your dentist regularly (the ADA recommends twice a year), and you’ll detect problems like decay, gum disease, trauma, or cancer earlier when they are more manageable, not to mention easier and less expensive to deal with.

Recognize The Age:

Most parents tend to overlook the oral health needs of their toddlers and elderly relatives, but they require regular dental visits just as much as the rest of us. Before they’re coordinated enough to tie their own shoes, children should be seen by a dentist by the age of one. The elderly have their own oral health issues too. As people age, their saliva production decreases, resulting in more tooth decay and discomfort for people wearing dentures. Arthritis and dental decay can make brushing and flossing difficult.

Drink Less Soda:

Having an extra fizzy drink is fun, but it is also partly responsible for the bad effects soda has on our teeth. Carbonated soda contains phosphoric acid and citric acid, both of which act to erode the surface of your teeth. Even though one can or more of soda a day won’t harm your teeth, drinking more than one of them makes them more susceptible to cavities. You can add flavor to water by slicing citrus, crushing berries. or adding mint leaves.

Mind The Sugar:

Tooth decay is caused, in large, by sugar consumption. Plaque forms in your mouth and consumes your tooth enamel and gums as it fuels bacteria. When you indulge in sweetened coffee in the morning or ice cream at night, your pearly whites are bombarded with twenty minutes of acid production. Try cutting down on sugary treats and brushing and flossing every time you eat or snack to avoid being one of the twenty percent of Americans who suffer from tooth decay.

Use The Right Toothbrush:

It is best to use a brush with soft bristles. A brush this size should last for two to three months with proper care. Whenever you notice bent bristles, it’s time to replace it – but don’t wait too long. It is possible to damage the teeth and gums even if a straight bristle tip does not become rounded.

Practice Proper Technique:

While most people know that they should brush their teeth at least twice a day, a lot of people don’t bother thinking about how they should do it. Make gentle, short, circular motions with the toothbrush at a forty-five degree angle pointed toward the gum line. Be sure not to over brush each tooth. Over brushing damages teeth and erodes the gum line. If you are practicing proper brushing technique and are still noticing discoloration, you might want to consider a website like Teeth Whitening Direct which can ship whitening strips and kits straight to your door. Incorporate them into your oral hygiene routine to fast track the whitening process for a brighter smile.

Good Flossing:

A healthy mouth and teeth are nurtured by flossing. It can cause friction and damage your gum line when you don’t floss properly, just like brushing. Keep about two inches between your fingers as you wrap floss around your index fingers. You can use an automatic flossing device to break up plaque and keep your gums healthy. If not, make sure that you unroll fresh floss for each tooth while keeping it tight against the tooth.

This guide should help you to look after your teeth and keep them healthy for bright, radiant smiles all of the time! 🙂

Featured Image By: George Becker from Pexels

What’s Going Wrong With Your Health Right Now?   

Standard
What’s Going Wrong With Your Health Right Now?   

What is wrong with your health right now? We can almost guarantee that you are not as healthy as you would like to be, which means that you need to make a conscious change. You don’t want to be stuck in a cycle where you change one thing about your health, to then change another, lacking on the first until it is non-existent. Sometimes, you’ll need to take big action like getting addiction rehab to help your health. But oftentimes, it could also be some minor lifestyle changes that you need to make. In this article, we’re going to be looking at some of the things that could be wrong with your health right now and the things that you can do to combat them:

You’re Not Eating Properly:

The first thing that you need to do is look at your diet. It’s likely the case that you are not eating properly which is terrible for your body. For example, if you are constantly reading up on dry-aged steak news rather than actually cooking healthy meals with the food that you have in the fridge, you’re going to be ordering a lot of takeout. We’re not saying that takeout every now and then is bad, but we are saying that you need to make use of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats if you eat them, and other healthy foods.

Your body needs the correct vitamins and minerals in order to keep going, and you are responsible for giving them to it. If you don’t, you are going to see some changes to your body that you are not going to like.

You’re Not Attending Checkups:

When it comes to your health, you need to be attending any and all checkups that you are called for. This could include anything from screenings to hearing checks. There will be more things you are at risk of developing as you get older so it is essential to stay on top of your health and well being. It may be that a hearing check informs you of your need for hearing aids, don’t worry there are many different types to choose from and they can help you live a better, fuller life.

You’re Not Moving Enough:

It might also be that you are not moving enough. If you are somewhat of a couch potato, then you know that you need to exercise more. If you’re thinking that exercise isn’t your thing, it doesn’t need to be. Nobody is saying that you have to go and sign up to a gym right now, completing high-intensity workouts six times per week as this is going to be far too much. In fact, you will probably hurt yourself if you try to do this. Instead, we recommend that you start going on a walk twice per day for around half an hour. This is enough to get your body moving, get your blood pumping, and help you become fitter.

You’re Not Sleeping Enough:

Sleep is important because this is when your body does all of the things that it can’t do when you are awake. If you are not sleeping enough, you need to make some conscious changes such as removing all tech from your room when you go to sleep at night and going to bed at an earlier hour.

We hope that you have found this article helpful and now see some of the things that could be going wrong with your health right now!

Featured Image By: Pexels

Adults Can Rock Braces Too   

Standard
Adults Can Rock Braces Too   

If there is one thing that we’re noticing more and more of, it is adults getting braces. After all, is there anything more attractive and confidence boosting than a beautiful smile? If you are self-conscious because you have crooked teeth, it is never too late to put it right. A lot of people assume braces are only for children, but this could not be further from the truth. Read on to discover how orthodontists can help you to achieve the perfect smile with adult braces:

Why have adult braces become so popular?

With every generation that passes, our teeth are staying stronger. However, just like the rest of your body, the challenges of aging can take over. We tend to assume that our teeth only really move when we are kids and we are still growing, but that’s not the case. Our teeth can shift naturally or because of the medication that we have taken. Therefore, more and more adults are turning towards braces to help them with this. We are also noticing more adults wearing braces for purely cosmetic reasons. It seems that we are now more concerned with our smiles than we have been. We want to feel amazing and look amazing too.

There are, of course, adults who are getting braces today simply because they didn’t get them when they were a child. Such issues that can be corrected include the likes of a jaw joint disorder, incorrect jaw position, cross-bites, under-bites, overbites, crowded teeth, and crooked teeth. If these problems are not treated, they can cause issues with chewing and speaking, earaches, headaches, TMJ, gum disease, and tooth decay. Even if you are an adult, it is still better to get braces now rather than never getting them at all!

How long will you need to wear braces for?

Everyone is different so the best thing to do is book an appointment with an experienced orthodontist who offers a range of dental services and will be able to advise on this. Nevertheless, most people do tend to wear braces for around eighteen months. Generally, the time spent wearing braces is a lot shorter than it used to be. The installation process is quicker too, usually taking between an hour or two. It is advisable to visit your dentist on a regular basis so that the braces can be adjusted as needed, ensuring that your teeth are being gently pushed in the right direction.

So there you have it: an insight into adult braces and how they can be beneficial today for a straighter smile and healthier teeth.

Featured Image By: Unsplash

Getting Back To Work With An Injured Finger   

Standard
Getting Back To Work With An Injured Finger   

No matter what kind of injury, you need to make sure that you don’t exacerbate it when you return to work. For a lot of people, a finger injury might not seem like a big deal. However, if you spend a lot of your time working, it can really get in the way. As such, here are a few tips to help you get back to tapping away without worrying about exacerbating the injury any further:

Take on a little less work:

It might not sound like the solution that you want, but you may simply have to get used to the fact that you’re not going to be able to type as much as you could. Most finger jams and sprains don’t take more than a few days to heal but, in the meantime, you shouldn’t think that you can keep up with your pace just by relying on your other fingers. This is going to strain other parts of the hand much more than they’re used to, which can then lead to repetitive strain injury in the hand or wrist, which can see you taking even longer to get better.

Make sure that it’s resting:

If you’re typing at the keyboard, you need to make sure that you’re not using the injured finger to do so. You need to keep that finger in a state of rest as much as possible. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure that it’s dressed to avoid using the fingers any further down your hand (so, don’t use your pinky if you have injured your ring finger, for instance.) Learn how to wrap a jammed finger so that you can keep it compressed and prevent it from wiggling too much while you’re typing, as well. It might take a while to get used to typing without all your digits on your side, but it is worth it.

Managing the pain:

Even if you’re able to avoid using the affected finger while you’re working, you’re still going to be moving the digits around it, which can affect the tendons controlling that finger. Micro-movements can still cause the pain to get a little worse. For that reason, you might want to look at some of the natural ways of easing pain that you can rely on during the day to make sure that you’re alleviating some of the stress that you might be causing. If the feeling starts to tick a little higher on the pain chart, it’s important to stop and rest for a while. Don’t work through the pain, that can only make it take longer to recover fully.

You might be going a little slower than usual for a while, but it’s important to make sure that you give your finger the time it needs to heal. If you have to talk with your employers or clients about maintaining expectations until you’re back at full strength, then you simply have to do it.

Featured Image By: Pixabay