When the Weeds in Your Life Keep Growing

Most of us hate weeds. They take over our yards and our gardens and make life generally miserable. But what about the weeds in our lives? Can they serve a greater purpose?

Don’t touch those weeds! Here’s a story I wrote several years ago that illustrates what I’m talking about:

Saved by the Weeds

Photo by Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Farming, like other high-risk occupations, requires a great deal of faith, dependence, and trust in God’s timing and goodness.

An Entirely Possible Legend: Vikings Steered Ships Using “Sunstones”

You might think seafaring Vikings–who traveled hundreds of miles on rough seas between 750 and 1050 AD–would be adrift on cloudy days: not only did they lack compasses, but they were often traveling so far north that the sun never set, and thus couldn’t use stars to navigate. But scientists are finding new evidence to support the existence of what was once considered a mythical navigational tool: the sólarsteinn, or sunstone.

It all starts with an Icelandic legend about a man named Sigurd. As Nature News reports:

Indoor Air Quality and Pollution Awareness

Many Americans are aware of the dangers of poor air quality from pollution in the outside world. Pollen counts and air quality index readings are reported alongside the temperature and humidity in daily weather forecasts. Warning labels and news stories have long alerted Americans to hazards found in tap water, consumer goods, and food products, some of the common means of ingesting potentially harmful biological and chemical compounds. However, surveys indicate that the general public does not share the same level of awareness with indoor air quality (IAQ). Although many Americans may feel as though the air they breathe when they are indoors is cleaner and safer than the air they breathe outside, research suggests that, in reality, the exact opposite is true. Generally speaking, indoor air contains much higher levels of toxins and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Chemicals from building products, harmful levels of mold, dust mites, indoor allergens, and other indoor pollutants all contribute to poor IAQ. Polluted indoor air is becoming increasingly damaging to the health of Americans, despite their unfamiliarity with the issue.

Three Steps to Reduce Humidity in Your Home

Excess indoor humidity can make life miserable. People who suffer through humid air in their homes can experience a wide range of problems—anything from frizzy hair, to sleeplessness, to respiratory system illnesses. There are many potential causes for indoor humidity, but they can be remedied rather simply. You can, and should, gain control over the humidity level in your home. Doing so could save you and your family from any number of adverse reactions caused by unwanted moisture in the air.

The first step in effectively combating any recurring problem is to determine the underlying cause. What is humidity in the first place, and why is it in your home? In the most general sense, humidity is the presence of water vapor in the air. Water vapor enters the Earth’s air, or atmosphere, in two main ways: 1) heat from the sun evaporates water from oceans, lakes, and ice, and 2) plants sweat water out in the process of transpiration. Water vapor usually doesn’t stay in the atmosphere very long. It accumulates and then returns to the Earth as precipitation.

What is relative humidity and how does it affect how I feel outside?

If the air is at 100-percent relative humidity, sweat will not evaporate into the air. As a result, we feel much hotter than the actual temperature when the relative humidity is high.

Karl Weatherly/Getty Images

Humidity is somethi­ng we hear about daily in weather reports. Humidity is to blame for that muggy, steam-room feeling you experience on certain summer days.

Humidity can be measured in several ways, but relative humidity is the most common. In order to understand relative humidity, it is helpful to first understand absolute humidity.

How Weather Can Affect Your COPD

Weather and temperature changes can trigger COPD symptoms. Here's what you can do.

By Krisha McCoy

Medically reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD

Weather changes are one of many factors that can trigger your COPD symptoms. Symptoms of COPD, which include shortness of breath, cough, and phlegm production, tend to get worse for some people when the air is very cold and when it is hot and humid.

"Weather extremes are not good," says Barry Make, MD, co-director of the COPD program at National Jewish Health and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. Dr. Make says that temperatures below freezing or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit tend to cause COPD symptoms to flare up.

COPD and Weather: When It's Cold and Windy

Cold air and strong winds are known triggers for the worsening of COPD symptoms. Many people with COPD find that cold air can make it harder to breathe, leading to shortness of breath and wheezing. Frigid temperatures can also cause fatigue. "COPD patients just feel like they are more tired after they've been in the cold," explains Make.

Windy days can be practically problematic. "If COPD patients go out when it is windy and have to walk against the wind, there is more resistance," says Make. Therefore, it requires more exertion to walk, which can be difficult for someone with COPD.

If cold and windy climates bother you, try wearing a scarf or face mask loosely over your nose and mouth, and breathe through your nose on wintry days. The winter muffler and breathing through your nose warms the air before it enters your lungs, which can help prevent your symptoms from worsening.

Dealing With Hot, Humid Air

While there are a few people whose COPD symptoms improve in humid weather, most people's symptoms flare up on days of high heat, humidity, or smog. This can especially be an issue when a front moves in that brings humidity, says Make. "A lot of people with COPD tell you that they know when a front is going to come because of a change in their symptoms," he says.

To prevent a flare-up on the hottest and most humid days of the year, stay indoors in an air-conditioned room. "If it is a high-pollution day, we suggest that our COPD patients stay inside and limit their activities," notes Make. "If it is really hot or really cold, we would say the same."

Should You Move?

Seasonal exacerbations of COPD symptoms can be so bad that people will move across the country in an effort to manage their condition. "One of the most common questions we get is what part of the country is best to live in because of the weather," says Make.

In the past, physicians commonly recommended moving to the western United States, where the air is less humid. But it is now known that the COPD-weather connection is very individualized. "It is variable from person to person," says Make. "Some people prefer more humidity and some less."

It is usually not necessary to move when you have COPD, but if you live in a climate with extreme weather changes and moving is an option for you, talk with your doctor. If you decide to move, spend an extended vacation in the new area before you permanently relocate there.

"If people are going to think about moving somewhere for the weather," Make says, "be there during each season of the year." That way you will know if the move will provide year-round improvement of your symptoms.

The best advice for people with COPD is to pay attention to your symptoms during different weather conditions. With help from your doctor, you can learn how to minimize weather-related flare-ups.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease/weather-and-copd.aspx