Breaking News

Lifestyles

HINTS FROM HELOISE: What to do if you find stray cats

DEAR HELOISE: We live out in the country, and I’m sad to say that too many people dump unwanted pets out this way. Last winter, we found two pregnant cats who were in bad shape. We took them inside and did our best to save them, but one died; the other lived and gave birth to three adorable kittens. What should we do when a cat is suffering from hypothermia? No doubt we’ll see more animals this winter with hypothermia, and we’d like to help them. Our vet is nearly 30 miles away. — Rudy and JoAnna, in Wyoming Rudy and JoAnna, using an electric blanket or a heating pad, ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Anesthesia options for surgery on the eyes are offered

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m 78 years old and in pretty good health. I walk 3 miles four times a week, bike 8 miles once a week, and lift weights twice a week. Besides eye drops for glaucoma, the only medication I take is 20 mg of lovastatin each day. Due to corneal edema, I’ll be having a partial cornea transplant. My surgeon has asked me to decide which anesthesia I want: MAC or LMA. Can you explain the difference between them? Any advice or insights regarding these two forms of anesthesia would be helpful. — C.W.S. ANSWER: MAC is monitored anesthesia care, which is used with a ...

Dear Annie: How and when to unpack your life baggage

DEAR ANNIE: I have now been married and divorced three times, with a total of over 37 years of married life. Though I doubt I will marry again at this stage of life, I would like to find a woman interested in a lasting, serious relationship. In trying online dating services, thus far I have found most women run the other way or quickly giving me the brush-off when I tell them, in the spirit of being honest and upfront, about my being divorced multiple times, plus having been estranged by my three daughters. In sharing these facts of my past, the two options both appear to be doomed to ...

Hints from Heloise: Tips for freezing your corn

DEAR HELOISE: My mother froze a lot of corn, and she used these two easy tricks: After she blanched the corn, she would set the ear of corn on an angel food cake pan and use an electric knife to cut off the kernels. This made cutting off the kernels quicker and easier. And the pan caught the kernels, so there was less mess. — Michelle R., via email DEAR HELOISE: I read Casey’s concern about faded laundry in a recent edition of the Press-Enterprise. As a lifelong clothesline user, I’ll share my hint: I do laundry in the evening when electricity is less expensive and leave it ...

To Your Good Health: Reader says parents ‘crazy’ on gabapentin

DEAR DR. ROACH: You have commented on gabapentin before. This seems to be a miracle drug that they’re giving out to everyone for everything. However, I’m absolutely convinced that this drug made both of my parents crazy. Both were given gabapentin in the hospital, and I absolutely felt that it altered their mental state. For the record, both were in their 80s and were hospitalized after falls. — K.W. ANSWER: Gabapentin (Neurontin and others) is frequently used for several conditions. It’s only indicated by the Food and Drug Administration for a particular type of seizures ...