Sleep is essential to one’s well being. And a disrupted sleep can wreak havoc in your work and day. Most of the time sleep interruptions come from external causes and can be easily remedied.

One of these causes might be bed bugs.  These are flat, reddish-brown, oval insects the size of an apple seed. They only feed on blood and become swollen and reddish after a blood meal.  They can survive without eating for a year though under cool conditions and prefer to be more active at night when people are asleep.

You would usually found them in cracks and crevices around homes and even in furniture – mattresses, sheets, electrical outlets, headboards and even picture frames. Hotels and hospitals are not spare because they can also go hopping from other personal belongings like briefcases and luggage.

How to Know if Your Home is Infested

One of the first signs of bed bug infestation is bed bug bits. You can see swollen, red and itchy spots appear on your body. You can also see brown spots in your mattresses or pillowcases. These are fecal matter or skin shedding bed bugs leave after growing.

How to Treat Your Home

When you have proven that there are bed bugs in your home, the first thing you need to do is wash all your linen and beddings at very high temperature. Anything that cannot be washed needs to go.

Vaccum every spot in your house. You can also spray alcohol on visible bed bugs.

You should also determine where you get bed bugs. If it’s outside the house, make sure to wash your clothes or have it on a separate bin outside the room once you get home. (This is the primary reason why bringing of personal beddings in hotels and hospitals are strictly prohibited.

When it still is out of control and keeps coming back, hire a bed bug exterminator or a pest control company. They will be able to really look for where the bed bugs are hiding and apply the proper chemicals in a safe manner.

Before hiring a pest control company, make sure to follow these tips:

1. Ask for references of people you can check with that they have done services for in the past.
2. Check their full license.
3. Ask if they have insurance like public liability and professional indemnity. This is important especially if you are going to be treating establishments.
4. Ask about their standard procedures and guarantee.
5. Ask about any preparation before treatment that you should do.

Friends have been telling me this ever since I told them I have a hard time losing all my extra weight. I can easily log in five miles a day to my personal defense but have to admit I am guilty of unhealthy eating. I load up on sweets and juices, I can’t help it.

If I don’t want my efforts to be wasted I need to make sure that I eat right too. It would be a waste of effort if I run 5 miles a day and pig out after. I will be sure to hit a plateau.

These days, going under the knife or getting surgery is safer, with advanced medical equipment and better medical doctors/surgeons. This is why cosmetic surgery or enhancement procedures are a hit, most people are no longer afraid of going under the knife. Vanity is one reason to enhance one’s beauty or physical appearance.

Out of all the cosmetic surgery procedures, breast augmentation is one of the most popular. According to studies, about five to ten million women all over the world have breast implants, their ages being varied as young as in their teens to late 60s. With breast cancer one of the leading causes of disease among women, breast reconstruction has also been an option.

As discussed in the graphic above, breast implants can come in two kinds – saline and silicone.

Saline implants are what they name implies – they are filled with sterile salt water and come pre-filled or may be filled at the time of surgery to allow for minor modifications. Silicone implants only come pre-filled and made up with a soft elastic gel.

Here are some of the decisions you need to make: the shape and size of your implants (teardrop implants are more natural looking), the type (silicone or saline) and the profile. Your surgeon should be able to give you a projected “look” in 3D via a computer.

Besides from the implant you need to decide on, you also need to be oriented on the type of incision your surgeon will make. Ask them to explain the different cuts so you can decide on the one you will be most comfortable in. Base you decision on possible scarring scenarios, your post-surgery care and possible reconstruction to add more or take it out.

You might need a few consultations before you decide. Just make sure you are fully informed before signing anything!