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  • Where You Should Buy Glasses: The Best Deals

    Where You Should Buy Glasses: The Best Deals

    When it comes time to buy glasses, it won’t surprise you to hear that your prescription is going to be expensive. That goes double if you’re buying from your eye doctor’s office, as they have a pretty sizable markup on spectacles. Where should you go to buy your glasses, then? Certainly there’s somewhere you can go to find a better deal on glasses than your doctor’s office, right? Let’s look at some places you can go to save a couple of bucks on your next pair of glasses.

    Best Deals on Glasses

    Getting Your Prescription

    Once your eye doctor gives you a checkup on your eyes, they’ll write you a prescription for glasses. When they do so, ask them for a copy of it. They’ll likely encourage you to buy your glasses from their office, though you’re under no obligation to do so. It’s unlikely your eye doctor will have any issue giving you a copy of your prescription, but if they do, don’t stress!

    Legally, any licensed eye doctor has to give you a copy of your prescription. If your doctor isn’t cooperating in giving you your prescription after you’ve paid for the appointment, you should remind them that it is their legal obligation to do so. If they continue to insist you buy your glasses from them before they hand over such a prescription, it’s time to contact your local medical authority and find a new eye doctor.

    Online or In Store?

    First, consider whether you’d like to buy your glasses online or from a store. Make sure you’ve got your prescription from your eye doctor and consider which option you like better. When you shop online, you get to avoid the long lines and traffic associated with shopping out and about. On the other hand, you’ve also got to wait for shipping, and you can’t try frames on to see how they look on you.

    Shopping in-store allows you to see the glasses on your face before you sign up for the frames. Likewise, you can leave with the glasses you buy in-hand and won’t have to wait for shipping, which is nice. On the flip side, it’s often a bit pricier to go through any in-person retailers, as you can often find tremendous deals on glasses online.

    Costco Wholesalers

    If you have a Costco card and you need a new pair of glasses, you’re in luck. Costco is noted as one of the least expensive places to pick up glasses in-store in the country. All you need to do is bring them your prescriptions! Unlike LensCrafters, who have an average glasses cost of $369, Costco offers an average cost of $184 for their glasses. That’s considerable savings when you look at the glasses: they’re identical.

    Keep in mind that Costco, while inexpensive, isn’t the best deal out there on glasses. There are even better discounts you can find on glasses if you go through certain online retailers.

    Online Discounts

    There are a number of online sites you can go through to save a ton on glasses. Examples include ZenniOptical.com, EyeBuyDirect.com and 39DollarGlasses.com. These websites allow you to get a pretty sizable discount on your glasses through their bare-bones distribution. For examples, Zenni Optical grinds their lenses in China, uses low-cost materials for frames and includes shipping in the costs.

    Often, these sites keep the costs low by offering no ongoing service on the eyeglasses they sell. Once you buy the glasses, they’re yours, and any damage they incur is up to you to fix. However, when you can just buy another pair for under $50, this is a reasonable trade-off for some people.


  • Best Ways to Stop a Runny Nose: Our Tips

    Best Ways to Stop a Runny Nose: Our Tips

    There’s little as frustrating as battling with a runny nose. No matter what you try, it seems like you just keep blowing your nose with no end in sight. How can you take steps to expel this gunk from your sinuses, and what can you do to prevent this in the future? Here are our top tips for getting out ahead of a runny nose and feeling like your normal self.

    Stopping a Runny Nose

    Stop Sniffling

    This one should go without saying, but we’ll start here anyway. You need to stop sniffling! The more you sniffle, the worse off you’re making your symptoms. The mucus buildup in your nose needs to get out of your body, as your sinuses are too full of the stuff already. Get a tissue and expel as much of the runny, gross green stuff as you can stand. If that’s not working, it’s time to move on to some smaller steps.

    Drink Lots of Fluids

    Drink a ton of water, tea, or similar drinks. If you’re dehydrated, it’ll be more difficult for your body to loosen the sinus congestion that’s causing a lot of your stuffiness and runny nose. When you’re properly hydrated, your membranes can be lubricated more thoroughly. This, in turn, results in your congestion loosening in pressure and making your mucus thinner and easier to get out of your nose.

    As you can imagine, this means you should avoid drinking things that are going to dehydrate you further. This means you should stay away from alcohol and sodas when you’re rocking a cold. We know, you already weren’t dying to pound a rum and Coke when you were nursing a cold, but still, it’s worth noting.

    Hot Drinks, Especially

    We mentioned tea earlier, but that one bears repeating. Your stuffy nose will probably feel a lot better if you drink a big, hot cup of tea. The steam from the heat, the hydration from the beverage and the aroma from the tea are all great for helping soothe your symptoms. Heat and steam are known to help decongest your blocked sinuses and help to open your nose up more.

    Keep a tissue on hand: when you feel that congestion breaking up, it’s like your nose is about to start seriously running. Stop and blow your nose as hard as you can stand when you feel this wonderful breakdown of sinus pressure.

    Hot Shower

    If these steps aren’t cutting it, turn on a hot shower. The steam and hot water will likely have a decongestant effect, much like hot tea, and can help you get the congestion out of your nose. The best thing about doing this in a hot shower is that you can blow your nose as much as you need to and it’ll simply get washed down the drain. No having to burn through tissues, and you’ll feel much better after a long, hot shower.

    If none of this is working, it’s time to bust out the big guns.

    Neti Pot

    A Neti Pot is a type of nasal lavage, or nasal irrigation, in the form of a small pot with a spout. You use the spout to flush water into one nostril and out the other, with the express intent of cleaning out your sinuses. It’s a weird, but extremely relieving, sensation.

    While this might sound gross on the surface, it’s one of the most direct ways to literally flush all of that gunk out of your sinuses. It’s strangely relieving to directly combat the problem in a way that leaves your sinuses clear and your nose free of running and sniffling.


  • Making Extra Money: Working a Side Hustle

    Making Extra Money: Working a Side Hustle

    Whether it’s a part-time job, a gig you pick up or just selling some of your old stuff, getting a side hustle can be a great way to make some extra money. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can feel difficult to get ahead and get a break. If you’re looking for a way to break loose, consider some of these ways to get some extra cash in your pocket and help make your savings account swell. Let’s get our side hustle on.

    Side Hustle

    Gig Jobs

    One of the more straightforward side hustles out there is simply snapping up a gig job. These are often tied to some kind of app service, like Uber or GrubHub. Typically, these include work that you can turn on and turn off at will so you can squeeze in money-making between your normal day job. Jobs like this are ideal for people with less consistent schedules for their main job, such as people who work retail or work at restaurants and have no set schedules.

    It’s often best if you pick a gig job that is in your wheelhouse of skills. If you’re not a great driver, maybe you shouldn’t get into driving for Uber. If you don’t like dogs, maybe don’t go in for a dog-walking app job. In either case, you’re best served if you’re getting into a gig that makes best use of your skills.

    Selling Old Stuff

    Getting rid of your old stuff is a great way to make some quick cash in a pinch. Maybe you’ve got some old video games, or there’s a closet full of clothes you can part with. Often you’re able to make a quick buck by parting with this stuff.

    This goes double for people who are into pricier hobbies. For instance, if you really love painting models, maybe you’ve got some older models you’re not using anymore that you could part with on eBay. Car enthusiasts can often sell spare parts or even older car projects in order to make some cash on the fly.

    Getting a Roommate

    Maybe you don’t have stuff to sell, but you do have a spare room and don’t mind another person being around. You could rent out that room by getting a roommate and get a consistent stream of monthly income. If it’s someone you already know, this can also be a great way to be more social, as you’ll likely spend more time around another person.

    In either case, whether it’s someone you know or a stranger, you’ll want to draft up a roommate agreement that includes when they pay you, how much, and how disputes will be handled. Have them sign this before they move in to head off any potential issues that could show up down the road. The last thing you need is to feel like a prisoner in your own place because you’ve got a nightmare roommate and no recourse to make them pay up or get out of your house.

    Part-Time Job

    The most direct form of a side-hustle is just getting a night job. If you’ve got a consistent schedule for your day job that you can plan around, it’s easy enough to get a part-time job to work with you. Restaurants and bars especially can always use help during nights and weekends, and won’t mind you only working those hours.

    This is a great way to not only keep money flowing in, but also helps you to network even more. Maybe through working as a bartender you’ll meet someone who can get you an interview at their company. This might, in turn, net you a higher-paying job that will let you forego side hustles and more comfortably make ends meet!


  • Ways to Make Your Back Porch Fun This Summer

    Ways to Make Your Back Porch Fun This Summer

    When Summer rolls in, it’s time to have some people over to the back yard to enjoy the nice weather. Between pool parties, cook outs and just taking it easy and having a few drinks, you want your back porch to be a really popping place. Thankfully, we’ve got tons of tips on how to do just that. Let’s look at how you can make your back porch the best summer fun destination in town.

    Making Your Back Porch Fun

    Concrete Patio

    If you’re in need of a new porch to make your backyard parties that much better, consider getting a concrete patio paved in. These are great for a number of reasons. For one, they don’t require the same maintenance and upkeep as wooden porches. For another thing, they’re much more durable and will add a lot to the value of your home.

    On the flip side, the process of installing a concrete patio can be expensive, as well as time-consuming. That said, the end result is a great patio that will make your backyard more attractive and an even better destination for your friends to come visit.

    Patio Covering

    Consider getting your porch or patio covered and screened-in. While this might seem like an expensive ordeal, it’s a great option if you live somewhere with plentiful bugs and intense sunlight. A covered patio is more comfortable to spend the afternoon reclining in, and allows your guests to avoid the bugs and the hot sun.

    You can also install a large outdoor ceiling fan on a patio enclosure if you run power to it and make it sturdy enough. This makes your patio even more welcoming and comfortable. We recommend leaving an un-covered portion of your back patio, however, so you can grill out without having to be in the grass or far from your guests.

    Outdoor Furniture

    Finding the right outdoor furniture is important, but it gets much easier if you’ve got a patio covering. Often, you’ve got to compromise comfort for durability, when the furniture is going to be exposed to the elements. However, if your patio is covered, you can opt for more comfortable, if somewhat less durable, outdoor furniture.

    A nice swing, a cushioned bench, a glass-top table: these all make great, tasteful choices for your outdoor furniture. Another nice touch is a large outdoor rug to make the concrete floor of your patio feel more welcoming, especially to those in bare feet!

    Picking a Theme

    When you’re picking out colors and furniture, make sure you’ve got a theme you’re going with. If most of your outdoor patio has exposed wood grain and looks rustic, maybe a soft, modern-looking center table isn’t the best idea? Pick out a thematic through-line you’d like your patio to have, much the same way you do when decorating the rooms inside your home.

    Consider your outdoor patio essentially an extension of the rooms of your home. Just because it’s outside doesn’t mean it can’t look as great and put-together as the rest of your home! While considering this, you can also hang some wall art on the exterior wall facing your patio in order to make it feel more like a simple extension of your home, not an exterior afterthought.

    Conversations First

    Make sure you arrange your outdoor furniture in a way that is most conductive to hosting guests. And what do you do with guests? You have conversations! Set up your seating around a centerpiece, like a fire pit or nice center table, and make sure that everyone has a good view of everyone else. This helps the space convey its purpose: hosting your friends and enjoying the outdoors while still enjoying the comforts of your home.


  • Finding the Best Realtor: Our Top Tips

    Finding the Best Realtor: Our Top Tips

    Finding the best realtor can be quite the challenge. When you’re selling your home or trying to buy property, you want the best of the best in your corner. Of course, every realtor claims they’re the best there is at what they do. However, all but one of them is lying about that, by process of elimination. So, how do you narrow down the field and find the best realtor in your area? By following our top tips, of course.

    Finding a Great Realtor

    Do Your Research

    The first thing you’re going to want to do is research the field. See what people are saying about the realtors in your area, and who comes highly recommended. A great place to start in this field would be to talk to your family or coworkers. Who did they go with for their realtor, and how was the experience? Look up any name they give you and see what others are saying about that realtor. This will give you a good idea of what kind of job that person does.

    While you’re doing your research, keep an eye out for any complaints against the realtor. You can usually look their name up at the city and see if they have their license, and if any complaints have been formally lodged against them. If they have such a complaint, then you can confidently dismiss the idea of working with them. The same goes if you can’t find evidence that they are properly licensed.

    Buying or Selling?

    If you’re buying a place, and you’re a first-time buyer, you’re going to need a lot of guidance. As such, you’ll want a buying agent who is calm, patient, and able to explain the process to you. This is someone who will guide you through tours of homes and help you understand what your budget means in relation to the home, and what maintenance the place might need.

    A selling agent will help you understand what you need to do to make your home as attractive as possible to sell. This needs to be a person with a great eye for what sells quickly, and who can help to present your home in the best possible light.

    Discuss Important Issues

    During your research phase, you’ll want to make sure you figure out how much of a rate realtors in your area normally charge. What cut of the property sale, if any, will they be getting? Do they work for a firm that takes a cut, or are they working as contractors under their own employ? Figuring out how this person gets paid is an important first step, as you want to make sure you’re on the same page.

    While having this discussion, make sure you also get a feel for this realtor’s style. Are they like you, do they share your buying or selling values? If there’s a personality incompatibility, the buying or selling process is going to be miserable, so you’re better off finding a realtor you’re a better match with.

    Trusting the Agent

    You need to make sure that this realtor is a person you can trust. You’re trusting them to facilitate a major purchase or sale for you, and you need to trust them to be an advocate for you. If you can’t trust them with important information, like your marital status and what your long-term plans for the property are, then this isn’t someone you need to be working with.

    Make sure you’re getting an experienced agent. When you’re discussing things with this agent up-front, you don’t want to be their trial case. Unless this person has experience selling your type of property, you don’t want them overseeing things.


  • Finding the Best Acid Reflux Treatment

    Finding the Best Acid Reflux Treatment

    Acid reflux, also known as heartburn, is an issue that occurs when your stomach acid washes up into your esophagus, causing pain and discomfort. It can be difficult to find relief for this frustrating condition. If you’re looking for the best treatments for acid reflux, you’ve come to the right place. Today we’re discussing the best ways to avoid acid reflux, and the best treatments for when you’re suffering from it.

    Acid Reflux

    Avoidance

    The best thing to do is to just avoid acid reflux altogether. You’re likely aware of some of the triggers of your heartburn, but maybe you’re not as familiar with others. Let’s look at some of the common things you’ll want to avoid when it comes to acid reflux.

    Eating Late

    Avoid eating late at night. The later it is when you eat, the worse off you’ll be when you try to lay down for bed. Often, laying down after a late meal is a surefire way to agitate your stomach and send acid spilling up into your esophagus. This results in the continual chest pain and burning that are typical of heartburn. In order to avoid this, make sure you don’t eat within four hours of the time you’d like to get to sleep.

    Red Meat

    You may also want to avoid red meat in your diet if you have bad acid reflux. Not only will red meat exacerbate your heartburn symptoms, it’s also not very good for you in the first place. Consider eating fish for entrees instead, or even forgoing meat altogether for some meals. This will not only help your acid reflux, but it will also be good for you overall!

    Carbonated Drinks

    As tasty as sodas and seltzer waters are, the carbonation is terrible for acid reflux. It can often excite your stomach acid and irritate your esophagus. This, in turn, leads to your stomach acid splashing up into your esophagus and trigging heartburn. The same goes for highly acidic drinks like juices. If you have bad heartburn, consider drinking water with your meals instead of sparkling water or juice. It’s also a lot better for you in the long run.

    Large Meals

    One of the most surefire ways to trigger your acid reflux is by indulging in a very large meal. Whether this is a splurge you’re enjoying or just you being quite hungry, eating a lot of food often gets your stomach acid going and can cause heartburn. Consider having more meals throughout the day of smaller portions, as this will allow you to avoid triggering your acid reflux.

    Antacids

    One of the most straightforward treatments for heartburn is to take antacids. These help to neutralize your stomach acid so that even if it does splash into your esophagus, it won’t cause as much discomfort as it normally would. Common examples of such medications are Tums and Rolaids. These can help to offer instant relief.

    H2 Blockers

    Another great option for preventing heartburn is the use of an H2 blocker. These have a somewhat complex mechanism of working, but they essentially block your body from producing as damaging of acid. Examples include Zantac and Pepcid. These are usually taken regularly as a way to combat the worst of heartburn symptoms.

    Proton-pump Inhibitors

    Proton-pump inhibitors are great for when H2 blockers aren’t working. They’re a bit more intensive, and work on a different mechanism than H2 blockers, but they’re often much stronger. Prilosec and Nexium are two well-known examples of this type of medicine. You don’t usually start with these, as they’re much more intensive, but they’re a great fallback if H2 blockers aren’t working.


  • Saving Money on Printer Ink: Quick Life Hacks

    Saving Money on Printer Ink: Quick Life Hacks

    Let’s face it: there’s no reason for printer ink to cost as much as it does. There has to be some way to keep the cost of this (apparently precious) resource down to a minimum, right? Today we’re going over some top tips to keep your costs down when you’re buying printer ink, and how you can keep up with your office’s needs.

    Saving Money on Printer Ink

    Refill Cartridges

    You actually don’t have to buy all-new cartridges every time you run out of ink. You can head to places like Walgreens and have your cartridges refilled for a fee. You can usually refill a cartridge four to six times, assuming its in good condition and you don’t do anything to compromise it.

    Doing this not only saves you money, but it’s good for the planet. You’re not supposed to throw away the cartridges, but many people still choose to do so. Instead of disposing of your old cartridges, though, you can have them refilled to save money and save the planet.

    Refilling on Your Own

    You don’t even really need to go to a business to refill your cartridges. You can do it from home, if you have the right tools and patience. With the right refill kit and a steady hand (do this over the kitchen sink) you can refill the cartridge with ink all on your own. No one said being frugal wouldn’t get messy, though! Don’t do this over paper or furniture. Or anything you don’t want covered in ink, really.

    Buying Third Party

    Even when you do need to buy new cartridges, don’t buy straight from the brand-name. Third party, or “compatible,” printer ink cartridges are a great way to save money. Buying from third parties means you get to avoid the upcharge from printer companies like HP. While name-brand ink cartridge makers will tell you to avoid third-party cartridges, there concern isn’t for the health of your printer, but for the health of their wallet.

    Getting third-party cartridges from off-brand companies is fine as long as you’re getting the right size ink cartridges. In order to keep the costs even lower, you could opt for having them regularly delivered through a service like Amazon.

    Remanufactured Cartridges

    Why stop there, though? You could also opt to buy “remanufactured” cartridges. These are ink cartridges that have been previously emptied, but have been recycled and refilled. You can often find these for as little as half the price of new cartridges. Just remember that these might be eligible for fewer full refills than brand-new ink cartridges.

    Essentially, remanufactured cartridges are cheaper up-front, but can be more expensive in the long run. It really depends on how many refills you can manage to squeeze out of them. On average, though, these are a great way to get a refill if you’re out of cartridges and don’t have an empty one to refill.

    Draft Printing

    If you don’t need the prettiest printed copy, set your print job to “draft print” style. This will use less ink and toner, and generally looks a bit shoddier than full settings. However, this is a great way to save ink. If you’re just printing something out for personal reference, not something that needs to look amazing, this is a great way to save ink.

    Finally, make sure you remember to recycle your ink cartridges when they’re dead. Even if they’ve been refilled six times and can’t be used anymore, it’s important that you don’t just toss them in the trash. Often, places like Office Depot and Staples will offer you rewards program points for bringing in older ink cartridges. This is a much better option than just tossing them into the garbage!


  • Best (and Worst) States for Retirement

    Best (and Worst) States for Retirement

    When it comes time to retire, that doesn’t mean you should have to give up your financial viability. In order to keep more of your retirement savings and income, you should look into moving to one of the more retirement-friendly states. Today we’re looking at two of the best states to retire to, and two of the worst states to retire to, and explaining what makes them earn their place on the list.

    Best and Worst Retirement States

    Notes on Retirement

    It’s worth noting that the vast majority of people in the US stay put when they retire. After all, most people have family and friends in the city they retire in, or they’re enjoying having a fully paid-off house in the region, so they have no real desire or need to move. However, some people simply want to find a nice place to live out their retirement years and don’t mind moving across country to get the best tax rates and locale for their golden years.

    On average, about 1.5% of retirees end up moving between the ages of 55 and 65. That’s a pretty small amount, statistically, though the practice isn’t exactly uncommon. Of course, there’s a glaring exception to this rule, but we’ll get to that shortly.

    Wyoming

    Wyoming is the second best state in the country for retirees for one simple reason: it’s got no personal income tax. This alone is enough to make it a major draw for retirees looking to keep more of their hard-earned money. That said, Wyoming is somewhat far from many major regions in the country, and is hardly the most metropolitan of states.

    Wyoming’s relative distance from big cities, beaches and the hustle and bustle of modern American life can be a draw for some people, however. It’s laid-back, rustic feel is exactly what some people what when they retire.

    Florida

    Far and away the biggest state for retirees, Florida has earned its “snowbird” reputation honestly. The state, like Wyoming, has no personal income tax, and it offers a distinctly different climate and atmosphere from the Midwest. Many retirees from New England love moving to Florida, both for the tax breaks they get as well as the sun, sand and beaches.

    Far and away, if a retired person is moving after they retire, they’re most likely moving to Florida. This has given certain communities in the state a reputation as being entirely for Northerners fleeing the harsh climate of the Northeast for the warm beaches and sun of the sub-tropical state.

    Worst States for Retirees

    One of the worst states for retirees, West Virginia has one of the nation’s lowest life expectancies, and it also has one of the nation’s largest concentrations of resident aged 65 and older. In spite of these seemingly contradictory facts, it’s even stranger to consider that West Virginia has the lowest percentage of workers aged 65 or older of any state in the country. In short, it’s not the sort of place you want to retire to.

    Another state to avoid as a retiree, Alabama has the absolute lowest life expectancy of any state in the US. A number of factors contribute to this, such as overall lower quality of life, worse medical coverage and worse education compared to other states in the US. However, it hardly makes the state one worth considering moving to.

    Finally, some other states that retirees tend to avoid include California and New York, as these states have some of the highest costs of living of any in the US. Also on that list are Hawaii, Connecticut and Alaska, which sport astronomical costs for housing and high taxes on income and sales tax.


  • Know the Signs of Termites

    Know the Signs of Termites

    One of the most damaging and destructive forms of insects for your home is the lowly termite. Few creatures on this planet, barring maybe the mosquito, earn quite as much ire as the termite. Drywood termites, in particular, love to live in door and window frames, skirting boards, and even your wooden furniture.

    It’s important that you know the signs that point to termite infestations. These wood-devouring little arthropods can go undetected for months, or even years, tearing up your home all the while. Once you know the signs to look for, however, you can root these evil little bugs out and set your home right.

    Know What to Look For

    People often confuse termites for white ants, though this is a mistake. Termites do look similar to ants in some ways, and even have some similar behaviors. However, there are some distinctions you should take note of when you see a light-colored “ant”. Firstly, remember that there’s no such thing as a white ant.

    Termites have two pairs of wings, like ants, but their pairs of wings are the same size. Ants have one larger and one smaller pair of wings. Termite antennae are completely straight, not bent like those of an ant. The dead giveaway, as we’ve indicated, though, is that termites are white or cream-colored, and no white or light-colored variant of ant is known to exist.

    Swarmers

    The presence of swarmers, or flying termites, is a dead giveaway that there will soon be termites eating through the wood in your home. These flying swarmers are usually seen just after a heavy rain, at least in the drywood species of termites. Drywood are the ones you need to be worried about, so keep an eye out for these flying bugs after rain.

    Flying termites, unlike ants, can be male or female. They’re typically younger members of their species that are looking to find a mate. Upon finding a mate, they seek out a proper nest (like the inside of your doorframe) and set out making a colony. A sufficient food source can sustain a king and a queen for as long as ten years.

    The Tell-Tale Sound

    There’s a rather distinct sound that is made by termites who are working away at eating your home. It’s a slight clicking, something low and quiet that’s difficult to hear unless you get close to the affected area. This clicking sound is the worker termites banging their heads against the wood to warn the colony of impending danger.

    Another sound you will easily by able to tell termites by is the sound of them just chowing down on your furniture or home. It’s a faint sound, but it’s distinctive. It sounds like someone munching, just at a very low frequency and, you know, inside of your furniture.

    Check Your Wood

    A quick way to check for major termite damage is to tap on the wood surfaces of your home. If you hear a hollow or paper-like sound as a result, you know that you’re dealing with termites. Drywood termites eat wood from within, and often leave a small amount on the surface. This leads to them often being difficult to spot with the naked eye. However, tapping on affected wood should quickly reveal the truth. If your wood sounds lighter or more hollow than you think is natural, it’s time to call out an exterminator to handle your termite problem.

    Another thing to check your wood for is frass, or termite droppings. Frass is an indicator of drywood termites, and is commonly checked for in termite inspections. Unlike some other forms of termites, drywood termites don’t use their droppings to form their tunnels. Instead, they push the dark, powdery excretions out of openings near their nests.


  • Ocular Migraines: Causes and Treatments

    Ocular Migraines: Causes and Treatments

    If you suffer from ocular migraines, the words alone could cause you to feel that dull ache in the side of your head. Ocular migraines are loosely defined as migraines that affect only one eye with odd visual impairments. Often, they are prefaced by flashing lights or partial blindness, and they could include mild to severe pain on one side of your head.

    Today we’re going to look at the causes, symptoms and potential treatments for ocular migraines to help you set yourself back on track. Those who suffer from these types of migraines often can’t carry out normal tasks through the pain of the migraine, so this is an important topic for many people.

    Causes of Migraines

    As it turns out, science is currently unsure as to why migraines occur. They only affect about twelve percent of the population, and they can often seem to have little link to physiology. However, current science suggests that the origins of migraines are neurological. In many cases, triggers of migraines can be emotional. Stress and depression can be triggers, though excitement and surprise can also bring on migraines.

    Scientists presume that migraines are caused by something in the brain that triggers and unusual communication between the nerves that communicate with the brain. This often involves the blood vessels and muscles of the head, which, in turn, can lead to the intense pain of migraines.

    Ocular Migraines

    Unlike normal migraines, ocular migraines have an optical component. Their causes are likely similar to those of normal migraines, but with an emphasis on the nerves of the eye instead of just nerves that communicate with blood vessels or muscles. Other causes could include spasms in the blood vessels of the retina, manifesting as unusual spots in the patient’s vision.

    Potential triggers can include low blood sugar, caffeine, bright or flashing lights, stuffy or overly cold rooms and even high emotions. Often, those who suffer from these migraines can tell when they’re coming on, as they have a number of telltale symptoms that crawl up on the sufferer. These include tightness of the neck or shoulders, light sensitivity and nausea.

    Symptoms

    Ocular migraines include symptoms of extreme pain in one side of the head or behind one eye, primarily. Impairment in the vision of one eye is also common, though it can occasionally occur in both eyes. Typically the pain in one’s head during a migraine throbs or pulses, rather than persisting across the length of the event.

    It’s common for sufferers of migraines to note that the pain gets worse the more they move around. Often, those with common migraines will simply lie in a dark, quiet room and wait for their migraine to pass. Migraine symptoms can often occur in tandem with nausea, high photosensitivity or sound sensitivity, and even vomiting from the intensity of the pain.

    Treatment

    While migraines are incredibly discomforting, they’re thankfully not terribly dangerous to your overall wellbeing. Typically, migraines will simply go away after about half an hour on their own, so most people don’t require any treatment for them at all. That said, there are some cases in which the pain from migraines is so intense that the sufferer needs treatment.

    For preventative treatment, you’ll need to see a doctor. Some may prescribe anti-epilepsy medicine such as Topamax, which can play a role in stopping migraines. Sometimes beta blockers, which are a type of blood pressure medicine, will be prescribed, which helps with blood vessel-related causes of migraines.

    As for treatment during a migraine, try to just take it easy during an episode. Drink water and take an NSAID if you’re experiencing a lot of pain. Aside from that, there’s not a lot you can do to stop a migraine already in progress.