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Health notes

Lifestyles

To include or update items in the weekly Health News list, email information to tmunnell@tribtoday.com or dbigelow@tribtoday.com. The deadline for inclusion for next week’s list is noon Sunday. ST. JOE’S AT THE MALL Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Eastwood Mall. • EXERCISE CLASSES AVAILABLE — Call 330-652-7542 to inquire and register. • FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS: 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Thursdays. • DIETITIAN AVAILABLE: by appointment every first and third Friday; no cost — call ...

DEAR ANNIE: Neighbor’s barking dog keeps baby awake

Lifestyles

DEAR ANNIE: My husband and I recently welcomed our first baby, and we are exhausted but overjoyed. We live in an apartment building, and after weeks of trial and error, we finally started getting our daughter onto a somewhat predictable sleep schedule. The problem is our next-door neighbor’s dog. It barks at everything: people in the hallway, delivery workers, car doors and even the elevator bell. Just when I get the baby down for a nap, the barking starts and wakes her up. Then she becomes overtired, cries for hours and has trouble sleeping at night. I understand that apartment ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Going home to die is rarely the only option

Lifestyles

DEAR DR. ROACH: A dear friend of ours was diagnosed with lung cancer and subsequently had a stroke. Since then, he was told that he had disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and that there wasn’t any treatment for it. The doctors don’t want to do surgery for the cancer because they’re afraid that he might have another stroke, so he’s been left without options. They told him that he could spend his time going from doctor to doctor or go home and be with his family for whatever time he has left. Does all this sound reasonable to you? Any light you can shed on this would be ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Innovative way to test for moisture

Lifestyles

DEAR HELOISE: My husband and I decided to remodel our basement and use it as a hobby/crafts/half-bath/extra TV room, where our teenagers and their friends can enjoy themselves or where we can gather as a family to watch movies. Since my dad had been a builder all his life and knew how to do things, we asked him how we should test for dampness. There are kits that you can buy, but he likes an old-fashioned method where we save plastic dry cleaning bags, cut them into 14-inch squares, and tape them to the walls. We taped all around the edges so that air couldn’t get in or out. After ...

As you age, your garden and plans must evolve

Lifestyles

I used to think gardening was about growing flowers. Now I realize it’s mostly about discovering new muscles I didn’t know I had and old ones I would prefer to keep quiet. Getting older is no fun, especially if you are like me, and you’ve spent most of your time digging, planting and ...

DEAR ANNIE: The gift — and challenge — of having 2 cultures

Lifestyles

DEAR ANNIE: My mother is German, and my father is American. Growing up, I was raised with traditions from both cultures, but I have never felt fully part of either one. Last Christmas, my mother made a traditional German dinner and invited several relatives. I tried to join the conversation, but my German is not fluent, and everyone kept switching to English for my sake. They were being kind, but I felt embarrassed and strangely separate from my own family. A few weeks later, I brought homemade German cookies to an American friend’s party. Everyone loved them, but they treated the ...