Use a bottle. Fill up a plastic water or soda bottle with water. Place the pill on your tongue and firmly shut your lips around the bottle opening. Take a drink, keeping the bottle in contact with your lips and sucking to take the water and medication. Do not let air into the bottle.
Tuck your head. Place the pill on your tongue. Take a drink of water and keep it in your mouth. Lower your chin towards your chest. Swallow the tablet and water with your head bent.
Make the pill look like something else. Put it in something that can be taken without chewing, like applesauce, yogurt, or a fruit or vegetable purée.
Modify the medication. Check with your pharmacist to see whether the tablet may be ground or broken into smaller bits that can be mixed with food to make swallowing easier. (This is not an option for coated pills, time-release formulations, combination drugs, or capsules, which are designed to be eaten whole.)
Try a different format. Consult your doctor to see if the drug can be taken as a drink, a topical treatment (such as a cream or patch), or an injection.
This phenomenon undoubtedly detracts from your enjoyment of meals. However, you should be aware that there are numerous reasons why food may taste too salty.
Do you experience seasonal allergies? Postnasal drip, as well as allergies to certain foods, can cause a salty sensation. Potential causes include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), diabetes, certain autoimmune diseases, and vitamin B12 insufficiency. Even persistent dry mouth, which can be caused by a variety of drugs, can make food taste particularly salty.
Even if you have one of these disorders, don't accept having a salty tongue. It's a good idea to discuss the problem with your primary care doctor. Who will work with you to find solutions to your problems, which could be as simple as altering your prescriptions? they may request some basic blood tests to determine the cause.
Have you ever rode an e-scooter or e-bike? These "micromobility" modes of transportation are undeniably convenient, affordable, and fun to use. But did it feel a little dangerous?
Indeed, the number of accidents involving e-bikes and scooters is increasing. Given their remarkable rise in popularity, this may not come as a surprise. Then there's the way riders frequently use them: at high speeds, near automobiles and pedestrians, and on roads and sidewalks that weren't built for them.
Disruptive developments such as e-bikes and scooters are always associated with disadvantages. So, how can we reduce the danger of accidents?
Electric bikes, scooters, and injuries
Between 2018 and 2022, e-bike sales increased from approximately 250,000 per year to more than a million. E-bike and e-scooter rentals have also risen considerably. As e-bikes and e-scooters become more popular, emergency departments observe an increase in the number of persons injured while riding them.
A 2024 study in JAMA Network Open emphasizes this. The researchers used data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. They compared emergency room visits between 2017 and 2022 for persons injured while riding an e-bike or e-scooter to those injured while riding traditional bikes and scooters.
What did the study discover?
During the six-year study period, approximately three million people riding e-bikes, e-scooters, or their conventional counterparts sought emergency room care, including approximately 45,500 e-bike riders and 190,000 e-scooter riders, as well as approximately 2.5 million conventional bike riders and 305,000 conventional scooter riders.
Several themes evolved regarding e-micromobility:
ER care has increased dramatically.
- E-bike injuries have more than doubled each year, from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022.
- E-scooter injuries have climbed by more than 45% every year, from 8,566 in 2017 to 56,847 in 2022.
- 43% of e-bike and scooter riders wore helmets, compared to 52% of conventional micromobility users.
- 7% of e-bike riders and 9% of e-scooter riders had consumed alcohol before their accidents, compared to 4% of conventional bike riders and 3% of conventional scooter riders.
More accidents occurred in urban areas than in rural settings.
- 83% of accidents involving e-bikes and scooters
- 71% of typical motorcycle and scooter accidents.
All cyclists had similar injuries, with scrapes, bruises, broken bones, and head and neck injuries being the most prevalent.
As we age, our appearance changes along with our wisdom and experiences. These changes are most noticeable on our faces.
How the Face Ages
Over time, several changes occur:
Foreheads: They expand as hairlines recede.
Ears: They may get longer due to cartilage growth.
Noses: The tips may droop because the connective tissue weakens.
Behind the scenes, fat in the face, which is evenly distributed when we’re young, starts to lose volume, clump up, and shift downward. This can cause formerly round features to sink and smooth skin to sag. Additionally, the lower part of the face may gain fat, leading to a baggy chin and jowly neck.
Wrinkles also appear, with deep ones on the forehead and between the eyebrows caused by facial muscles continually tugging on the skin. Other folds deepen as fat decreases and moves around, while finer wrinkles result from sun damage, smoking, and natural skin degeneration.
Addressing an Aging Face
While aging gracefully is beautiful, some may want to slow down these changes. Here are some options:
Celebrate Aging: Embrace age-related changes as reflections of life’s joys and challenges.
Facelifts: surgical procedures that remove excess tissue and lift sagging skin. Though effective, they are expensive and may require additional procedures.
Nonsurgical Alternatives: These include rejuvenating treatments, which, while not cheap, can be effective.
Tips for a Youthful Appearance
Sun Protection: Use sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
Creams and lotions: moisturizers can temporarily reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Prescription creams containing retinoids can reduce wrinkles and liver spots by promoting collagen production and altering melanin.