Nursing home abuse still exists - but that's no surprise, is it?

Abuse of the weakest among us is something that has gone on for generations. It may not have been talked about and it may have been tolerated, but it happened. And it continues to happen. We read about child abuse, we read about animal abuse, but we don't read often about elder or senior abuse. But it exists - everywhere, even in nursing homes in Nova Scotia, Canada.

There is no excuse for abuse. You *may* be able to make an excuse for neglect in some cases (please notice the asterix around "may", I am not saying this is the case), but you can't ever justify abuse.

According to an article published by the Canadian Press, there were 30 cases of abuse in one particular nursing over the course of a year, "Opposition politician calls a "disturbing" signal that some caregivers are overworked and undertrained." You can be overworked as you want, that does NOT make you hit or abuse a patient.

Again, according to the article,

"The total list of abuses is broken into categories: physical, emotional, a mixture of physical and emotional, sexual, financial and institutional neglect.

However, a Health Department spokeswoman declined to give a precise breakdown of how staff abused residents, other than to say "over half" of the 30 cases were of physical abuse, or a mixture of physical and emotional abuse."

Over work and understaffing can and does often result in some neglect, things being missed or not being done, but *abuse*? That's just plain ridiculous.

Here is the article so you can draw your own conclusions. What do you think?

 Nursing home residents suffered 30 incidents of abuse

Do you detox your body?

I know many people believe in detoxing their body. They spend hundreds of dollars on detoxing cleanses and many uncomfortable days emptying their bowels in an effort to "clean themselves out." As you can tell by my wording, I'm not a fan of this. I believe that it's hogwash and that eating properly, drinking plenty of water, and exercising cleans out your body as much as it is supposed to be cleaned out.

Those companies and individuals who sell detox products have no way of backing up their claims and scientists have tried. Have a look at this article and let me know what you think: No proof so-called detox products work: scientists.

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Traveling to NZ? Watch that sun!

I'm dark blond, I have fair skin and green/yellow eyes. Yup, and I burn in the sun. I burn *badly*. When I think of all the horrendous sunburns I had as a child, those with the huge blisters on the shoulders that made it impossible to wear anything without being in tears, the dryness from the dehydration, and the peeling skin, I wonder how so many of us survived childhood. Those burns were so bad that today, they're often treated as second degree burns, with burn ointments and treatment.

Wearing sunscreen is absolutely essential if you can't avoid being out in the sun. But covering up is better. Even still, the sun could be strong enough to cause harm, especially in a country like New Zealand. Fellow writer and blogger, Melanie McGinn moved to New Zealand a while ago but still gets burned by the sun if she's not careful.

She writes about how easy it is to get sunburned in New Zealand, likely because the "clean air, the hole in the ozone layer that hovers over us combined with the angle of the summer sun create perfect conditions for sunburn."

I suggest you pop on over to read her piece, Tips: New Zealand Sunburn and Avoiding the Lobster Look. I do so want to visit NZ one day - but I'll be sure to be extra careful. If I can burn under the Canadian sun, I shudder to think how I'd do under the New Zealand sun.

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