Is it a Cold, the Flu, or Coronavirus?
For months we’ve all been reading and hearing about a resurgence of the coronavirus combined with the flu. So…what does this mean?
Every year I hear the same question at the beginning of flu season: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHETHER IT’S A COLD OR THE FLU? This season, the question is a little different: HOW DO YOU KNOW WHETHER IT’S A COLD OR THE FLU OR CORONAVIRUS?
There are some real differences.
Fever is rare with a cold. Fever is common with the flu. It’s usually high and lasts three or four days.
Headaches are rare with a cold but common with the flu.
Cold sufferers may have slight aches and pains. Flu sufferers have definite aches and pains which may be severe.
Extreme fatigue and/or weakness is just not a factor with a cold. Exhaustion is common with the flu – especially at the onset of the illness.
Sore throat, stuffy nose, and sneezing are common with a cold. A person suffering with a cold may have mild symptoms to include a hacking cough. With the flu, these symptoms can become severe.
With colds, treatment includes antihistamines, decongestants. With the flu, the patient needs to consult with a physician about any needed medication.
Coronavirus complicates things.
Many people experience fever as the first symptom of Coronavirus.
The second symptom is often a combination of a cough and muscle pain.
Nausea and vomiting make up the third tier.
These symptoms are usually followed by diarrhea.
And, that’s not all. Some people experience a loss of taste or smell.
And, some people experience deeply reddish-blue toes (chillblains).
Others have headache and dizziness.
The bottom line here is that coronavirus has many symptoms while colds and flu
are much less complicated.
If you suspect coronavirus, go get tested. Waiting around while you try to decide you are sick and contagious or not is not good for you and it’s not good for those around you.
There are several tools at your disposal which can help you early on.
A thermometer is essential. Take your temperature daily.
When I’m out in the community, my temperature is the key to getting into the office where I have an appointment.
The no-touch forehead fever thermometer gun has become ubiquitous on receptionists’ desks wherever I go.
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t take your temperature every morning. Your temperature can accompany your blood pressure reading. You can keep your thermometer gun beside your blood pressure cuff.
Then, you only need one other item: a pulse oximeter. A pulse oximeter estimates the amount of oxygen in your blood.
If you have coronavirus, your pulse oximeter will register a lower oxygen level in your body. This is because with coronavirus, your lungs are inflamed. (Actually, with coronavirus, inflammation is all over your body).
So, if you are concerned about your health because you may become exposed to coronavirus, you can help yourself with your temperature, your blood pressure, and your oxygen level.
If you feel ill, you will help your healthcare professional with these three scores.
For those who aren’t really familiar with an oximeter, it is the little plastic clip placed on your finger when you get your blood pressure measured.
These devices are not that expensive, are easy to use, and you can find an explanatory chart which will explain the meaning of the score.
Whatever you decide, prevention is important. Wash your hands often, wear a mask always when you leave your home, use hand sanitizer and don’t go anywhere around other people if you can help it.
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Thanks again,
Thurman Greco
September Solstice – a Time to Focus on Wellness and Healing for Ourselves and Our Planet
The September Solstice is a time to promote wellness and healing throughout the planet. Please take a moment to dwell on a planet where all beings experience wellness and coexist in honor and support.
Visualize a world where all beings experience positive renewal and growth as wellness and healing become real. Get to know all the wonderful opportunities in your world for growth and hope throughout our planet.
As the planet goes into its next phase, support your spirit and encourage healing and wellness to all plants and animals on earth. Make a place for yourself during this time to encourage spiritual growth.
Think of ways you can invite universal balance in your life. Think of how you fit into your day, into your world, into your goals.
Check in with yourself to give support to your spirit. Focus on a world where everyone works together with respect and harmony in support of all needs.
Create a vision of peace and wellness for yourself. Attract spiritual calm.
Expand your peace and wellness and spiritual calm to include every living thing in the world.
Thank you for reading this meditation.
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Thanks again,
Thurman
It’s Here! A Wellness for All Reflexology Video
It’s time!
THE VIDEO IS AVAILABLE NOW!
What began as reflexology class notes years ago has now become an informative and entertaining video just waiting for you!
One evening several months ago Karen White, Arlene Ferrieri and I drove out to Palenville to my publisher’s studio and very casually produced this video. Our intention is to offer a dialogue about reflexology which is easy to follow and use.
I hope you like it!
And, the price is sooo right. Simply go to
www.thurmangreco.com and click on videos.
There it is! It’s waiting for you and your donation. Every penny is destined to feed the hungry. No one received any payment for providing this video.
It is our hope that you will enjoy this video and find it informative as well as entertaining.
Please refer this blog post to your preferred social media network.
It is my dream that people will be as happy with this video as they are with the book, which is going into its third edition.
If you like this video, I hope you’ll send thoughts of gratitude to Karen and Arlene and everyone at Turning Mill who gave of their time with love.
Thurman Greco
Use the reflexology you keep in your toolbox – Part 6
One nice thing I like about reflexology: it’s adaptable.
You don’t have to do a lot to prepare for a reflexology session. Don’t get me wrong. Your session preparation can be as elaborate as you can imagine and desire. It can include music, incense, essential oils, enfolding comforters, gentle lighting, and anything else you want to add to support your client partner.
But when the going gets tough, all you have to do is gently touch a person’s hands or feet for a few moments. Reflexology warm-ups and warm-downs are powerful. And there are few to no contraindications to touch a person.
And, a person doesn’t have to be lying by the side of the road to qualify for a gentle touch and nothing more.
Reflexology works well with other modalities. I love to add Reiki therapy and chakra healing but there are many more modalities that work fine. The choice is up to you.
On a gurney or roadside, I would certainly add Reiki but, honestly, it’s not necessary. Reflexology will do the job quite well.
Popular reflexology holds which are appropriate for gurney or roadside situations include simply holding the person’s hands or feet.
If I can’t make contact any other way, a hand placed on a shoulder can be effective.
I like to begin a session with a gentle solar plexus hold. After that, I might hold the person’s heels to offer comfort and support. Gently holding a person’s lymphatic reflexes for a minute can bring calm.
And, truthfully, Reflexology’s job is to bring about homeostasis. This happens in a session, no matter the circumstances.
At your table, reflexology will generate a different result during each session. That’s because your client is different every day on a cellular level. This daily difference produces a unique outcome at every session.
But, no matter the circumstance, reflexology is a heavy lifter in your toolbox. It will not let you down. After a session, don’t waste even a minute thinking you should have done something else or touched the person’s feet or hands another way. Your hands did the right thing at the right moment for this person.
Thanks for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
THANKS!
Thurman
Healing Music – an important part of your toolbox – Part 5
Music is an important component of healing because everything has its very own musical component.
When we speak to one another (or to ourselves), our voices transmit a unique spiritual music. Each person’s voice is individual.
When we move, our bodies send a tempo representing our feelings at the moment.
Everything around us is musical because we are all composed of energy.
When we offer reflexology or Reiki therapy or chakra healing or any number of other healing modalities, each one has it’s own music. But, that doesn’t mean that an added layer of healing music isn’t important. The healing music you play while you heal a person contributes to that person’s wellness.
I have known healers who used only one or two musical selections for everyone. Other healers had stacks and stacks of cd’s to choose from.
I have also known client partners who preferred a specific song. One client partner wanted only a special song playing when she entered the healing room. She wanted nothing more. For her, healing began when she heard the music she chose. Her choice: “Nada Himalaya” by Deuter. New Earth Records produced this CD.
My thoughts on this: Whatever works for your client is the right choice.
The important thing is not whether I like the music or not. My preferences don’t matter. The important thing is that the person who needs and receives the healing responds positively to what she hears.
I have client partners who only want to hear chants. Others dislike the chants and don’t want to hear them. My job is to discover what music each client prefers and have it playing during each session.
If you don’t know what to offer, you can’t go wrong with some quiet Bach or Pachelbel. Music by Steven Halpern or Deuter have been staples in healing rooms for decades.
But, whatever you select, your choice is important, very important.
Not long ago, I lost a client because of the music I selected. This woman was a recent regular client – coming to my table weekly. She appeared to be happy with my services and healing modality environment.
She enjoyed a variety of music and I had enough CD’s to offer a different selection at each session. Then, one day, she walked into the healing room and immediately went on alert. She was even a little fearful. I didn’t know why.
Before the end of the session, she commented to me that I was playing her “favorite song”. The musician was not well known and only had one CD out. She revealed me that this love for the music we were listening to was a deep dark secret that she had never shared with anyone.
I had, inadvertently, invaded a private space she was not prepared to share.
Do I need to tell you what happened to this client?
Every client has a private space where no one can be invited in. One of the jobs of a healer is to find the door, make sure it’s locked, and throw away the key.
The music you share in your healing space is as intimate as the work you do.
Thanks for reading this blog article! Please share it with your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Feel good about your feet!-Healing tools in your toolbox. – Part 4
Once you see the soles of your feet as more than just the bottoms of your feet, you find your soul. You have a better understanding of the path you travel to a deeper consciousness.
I’m a reflexologist, teacher, writer, speaker, dowser. And, whether I heal, teach, write, speak, or dowse, my intention is the same.
I want us all to become more conscious of our unique selves.
I want us all to take charge of our own healing.
I want us all to release things we don’t need anymore. This will make room for changes that are important for our current time and place.
As we journey through life, we discover things about our selves that we never knew. We rediscover things we once knew but forgot. And, finally, we see things about our selves which we may have felt weren’t important but now realize they are.
My job is to help you find your feet.
Once you see the soles of your feet as more than just the bottoms of your feet, you find your soul. You have a better understanding of the path you are traveling to a deeper consciousness.
After awhile, everything falls into place. For some, this shortens the journey. For others, it takes months or even years.
Historical references to our feet as healing conductors can be found in the Physicians’ Tomb in Saqqara, Egypt in wall paintings dating back almost to 2400 BCE.
Ancient Chinese writings describe pressure points on thumbs and toes.
The Medicine Teacher Temple in Nara, Japan has stone carvings of Buddha’s feet.
In India, Vishnu paintings highlight points corresponding to reflexology points on feet.
Ayurveda medicine incorporates foot reflexology.
When I work a person’s feet, I feel as if I’ve opened a book filled with stories, all waiting to be told. This is the Language of Your Feet.
But, many of you already know this. You practice reflexology, or some other healing modality, either as a hobby or as a profession.
But, however we describe our Reiki therapy, our healing modalities, our Yoga classes, our music, our meditations – let us never forget: These are tools to use throughout life. They exist to get us through the tough times, the crises. They “get us down the road” as my grandmother used to say.
I’m so grateful we have these tools!
Thank you for reading this article. Please share this post with your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Practicing Reiki-Part 3
When I enrolled in my first Reiki therapy class, I was primarily interested in learning something I was curious about. A massage therapist, I regularly participated in continuing education programs. I liked to learn new things to use in my healing practice. Reiki therapy interested me because it was so hidden in my area.
I learned Reiki therapy was easy to use, and extremely adaptable. In short, I loved Reiki.
For the next few years, I was in a Reiki therapy class somewhere learning something at every opportunity. I liked to tell my classmates that I loved Reiki therapy classes and somehow the universe saw to it that I had enough $$$ to pay for every class I signed up for and that my car had enough gas to get me there.
But, not everyone who studies Reiki therapy is a massage therapist seeking continuing education credits for annual certification.
Whether healing professionals or not, a question in every student’s mind was “What am I going to do with my new skills?”
Reiki therapy is a keeper skill. Once you receive an attunement, it stays with you – whether or not you consciously use it. Reiki accompanies you on your life path.
Reiki helps you create your life story. Because each of us experiences a unique life journey, Reiki therapy is different and inique for each of our needs. No two people experience Reiki in the same way.
If you received a Reiki attunement 20 or 30 years ago, you still use it.
Books were few and far between when I learned Reiki. Today, Reiki books are everywhere it seems. You have the luxury of picking up any Reiki book that attracts you.
We can all thank Diane Stein for that. Diane Stein changed the game in the healing world when she wrote a memoir/expose about her career as a Reiki Master. “Essential Reiki” is probably still found in book stores and libraries today.
I have a suggestion for you if you are attuned to Reiki and are not sure what to do next:
Get yourself a spiral notebook, or bound journal, or whatever.
Get yourself an appointment book or calendar.
Call around and tell people you have learned Reiki therapy and are doing your clinicals. Schedule 100 sessions.
Include your hairdresser, neighbors, friends and anyone else who might take you up on your offer. Find five people with health issues. This can include things like MS, headaches, allergies, low thyroid, cancer.
These five people will receive five Reiki sessions as close together as you can schedule them.
Everyone else receives one or two sessions.
Record each session in your Reiki journal. Include the person’s name, address, contact information, and a short description about the session.
At the end of these 100 sessions, you will have learned much about Reiki, yourself, healing, and life.
Join or start a Reiki circle. In a Reiki circle, you’ll meet new people and share Reiki on a regular basis.
But, what if you don’t want to do any of these things?
Your new-found Reiki therapy skills are with you – assisting you throughout each day. You carry the Reiki energy with you every where you go on your life journey.
How cool is that?
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Eczema is both a spiritual disease and a way of hiding.
Spiritually, you have negative attitudes about unpleasant events in your life. You want to hide yourself and how you feel.
Eczema is a fairly common skin condition which is become even more common. Your skin becomes inflamed, red, and itchy, as you react to soaps, detergent, household chemicals, food, house dust, and other environmental irritants.
Eczema’s itchy patches appear on your skin before the redness. Allergies, immune system overload and stress cause Eczema. Flaking skin and a rash appear on your legs, hands, face, neck.
Eczema likes inner knees and elbows of children.
If the condition doesn’t improve within a week, or if it becomes infected, you need to see a medical professional.
Regular reflexology, Reiki, and chakra healing sessions will help manage its side effects during treatment. Regular sessions will also encourage homeostasis as your body normalizes itself when immune system overload is minimized as you clean up your environment.
Eczema triggers which cause outbreaks include animal dander, anger, cleaning products, drugs, foods, fragrances, poor circulation, stress. One of your tasks with Eczema is to identify which products are your own personal triggers.
The most common foods provoking Eczema attacks include milk, eggs, wheat, fish, and foods with soy.
A journal may help you. Keep a diary and pinpoint some potential food and environmental triggers. This will make your eczema experience easier for you.
Eczema happens when your immune system is overloaded so a clean environment is critical. This includes air, your body, car, home, work place, and the water you drink and wash with.
When you clean out the toxins, your health will have a chance to improve. When this happens, your reflexology sessions will be more effective, and you will have a better chance to manage Eczema’s side effects.
In the middle of this, try to get a little sun every day.
This information may be a bit daunting. However, cleaning up your body and the environment where you live and work is easier than you might think. For starters, throw out all your cleaning supplies and cosmetics. Replace them with non-toxic products which won’t worsen your situation.
Then, clean up your diet by cooking and eating only foods which have no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives. Eat nothing with additives.
It has been said that health begins and ends in the color. You may decide to have a colon cleanse followed by a liver cleanse. The important thing is to treat your digestive disorders.
When you clean up your environment and clean out your body, it will be easier for you to cope with stressful situations.
I cleaned out my body and my home and my car and my workplace. It was an effort but much easier than it seems.
First, I identified the products I felt were the least threatening to my body. I did my research and identified Dr. Bronner’s soap as my household cleanser. I chose my creams from three companies: Dr. Hauschka, Jurlique, and Weleda. I chose Jurlique and used it for years. I finally switched to Weleda because I could buy it locally at Woodstock Apothecary.
But, I never replaced the cosmetics I threw out. I decided I didn’t need them. I’ve saved myself many hours and much money by not wasting money on or time applying make-up to my face every day. I saved the cosmetics for parties.
Dr. Bronner’s soap worked well for me because my body liked the product. I chose the peppermint formula and still use it every day My transition to Dr. Bronner’s was easy because the company has a “cheat sheet” with all the recipes I needed. Dr. Bronner’s is also on You Tube. I also liked Dr. Bronner’s because I could buy it everywhere.
I chose my first recipe when I bought a small, glass dropper bottle and filled it with Dr. Bronner’s. I use one drop of Dr. Bronner’s soap when I brush my teeth. (Yes, it tastes just like soap!)
My clothes experienced a transition, too. For starters, I really now have very few pieces in my wardrobe that need dry cleaning. (Non-existent dry cleaning bills were a nice surprise!)
I use Dr. Bronner’s to clean every room in my house. The Cheat Sheet had all the recipes.
CHAKRA
Eczema is a fourth chakra imbalance.
REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK
immune system, nervous system, lymphatics, digestive system, circulatory system, liver solar plexus
ESSENTIAL OILS
bergamot, carrot seed, frankincense, geranium, helichrysum, juniper, lavender, myrrh, peppermint, sweet orange, tea tree, yarrow
FIELDS OF HEALING
Conventional medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Herbalism. Eczema responds well to many types of healing. Begin with conventional medicine and then branch out to alternative, complimentary, and integrative medicines.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
Keep damaged skin moist using an oil-based cream. Apply emollients liberally and frequently, preferably twice daily. Use a humidifier to moisturize dry, indoor air.
TREATMENT GOAL
If you can avoid the itch-scratch-itch cycle and prevent potential infection, your situation will improve.
OTHER THINGS YOU MAY TRY
Bathe in lukewarm water using soaps that don’t contain perfumes or dyes. After you bathe, pat your skin dry. Follow this with a rich, thick, moisturizing cream.
Reduce your exposure to allergens. Allergy shots may be appropriate.
Treat yourself to about fifteen minutes of sun every day.
SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK
Is the real me trying to come out. What am I trying to escape from?
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
You Have on your Screen a Special Healing Blog
You have on your screen the blog with information I would love to have had when I was a young mother with two active, inquisitive children.
This is also the information I would love to have given to my daughters when they started their families. So now, I pass on this information to you as well as my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to use as they travel through life.
The information in this blog is a ticket to your healing adventures. After all, wherever you go, if you’re caring for someone else or yourself, you’re on a journey. This information has you covered.
I’m sharing information which took me decades to discover and organize. You’ll find it presented in easy, practical, uncomplicated ways to use in today’s world.
The information I share has stood the test of time. Medical training isn’t necessary to to read and understand the words on these plot posts.
For thousands of years, reflexology (for example), has been used to successfully treat health issues from common ailments to serious disease. Because I’m a reflexologist, you’ll find references to this modality on many pages. That doesn’t mean you need to be a reflexologist to read, understand, or use this book. It’s there for you if you want to adapt it to your needs. If you know nothing about reflexology, you can still benefit from its philosophy about health and healing.
Reflexology teaches you this: Your body is different every day.
My healing practice teaches you this: your body is not just physical. Indeed, your components include physical, mental, emotional, spiritual aspects.
Future blog posts will focus on your health, healing, and wellness. I’ve planned posts on your body systems. I’ll include important foods in each system as they apply to its healing.
I’ve planned future posts focusing on chakras.
I plan to list more and more ailments and remedies alphabetically.
Each entry will include spiritual qualities unique to that specific disease. I’ll be listing essential oils although I won’t be describing how to use them. That is a different subject entirely.
These blog posts are designed to be practical and easily adaptable to your needs. I hope you will enjoy them.
Thurman Greco
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And, enjoy good health!
Maintaining Your Good Health – Inner Fitness for Life
We each have an inner core, a spiritual center needing encouragement, support and protection. Your inner core lets you travel through life with minimal bumps. When encouragement, support, and protection are deficient in some way, you run a risk of developing a lack of self-confidence. There are ways to give yourself a boost. Life is easier with a strong inner core.
THINK POSITIVELY
Put yourself in a positive frame of mind before you even get out of bed. Ask yourself: “What can I be happy about? What makes me happy?”
CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
Volunteer someplace. Get a job. Read a local paper. Use your library. Get into your community.
INCLUDE EXERCISE OF SOME KIND…EVERY DAY
In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Fountain of Youth in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. The Fountain of Youth still exists and keeps people everywhere healthy. There is at least one branch of it in your neighborhood, located on the sidewalk or roadside where you can walk every day. If that’s not a good option for you, the other nearby branch is in your local fitness center. You’ll be healthier and your body will thank you if you visit one of these branches every day.
CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
De-cluttering is a bit of a fad and it’s okay with me. This grounding and uplifting exercise has become part of my daily schedule. I spend fifteen minutes every day clearing out clutter in a room. There are books written about it. Reading one is a good idea if you need a starter boost. Whether or not you read a book about de-cluttering, your inner self will be more fit when you adopt this habit.
REVIEW YOUR SITUATION
Now might be a good time to journal about important events in your life. Or short stories. Or poems. Or anything that seems appropriate for you. You don’t necessarily need to focus on what happened to you. The important thing is what you did with what happened to you.
SUPPORT YOURSELF
Do something nice for yourself. Think nice thoughts about yourself. Your nice thoughts about yourself are a treat, a gift you give you give to yourself. You deserve it.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please share this article on your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
