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Monday, October 3, 2011

Hot/Cold Pack Tutorial


 I'm a little "under the weather" this week. I have Shingles. Many of you have had them and many more will get them (I'm sorry!). If you had chicken pox as a child, the virus is laying dormant in your body just waiting for a time when your immunity is low because of illness or stress. Then it attacks. The first couple of days, I thought I had a kidney stone! I had such a horrible pain in the kidney area, I couldn't sleep. It wasn't until the skin around my waist started to feel tender to the touch that I started thinking something else could be going on. Fortunately, I got to the doctor when I only had a very small rash starting. I was started on an anti-viral medication that will, hopefully, keep me from getting as sick as I might have otherwise. My rash runs from my spine around my torso to my belly button. . Mine have not blistered yet, so I'm still in the early stages.Unfortunately, my response to pain is nausea and that coupled with some typical other symptoms - chills, abdominal pain, headache, and joint pain -  I have been laying on the couch doing nothing for the last week! Today, I am much better.
One way to relieve some of the pain and itching (mine don't itch yet!) is a cold pack. Here is a feeble attempt at showing you a quick and easy one to make. This one can also be heated in the microwave and used as a heat pack - just don't get it too hot! Warm is all you need!!! I made a removable cover so it can be laundered and disinfected!

1. Cut a strip of fabric that will fit around your waist and overlap some. It should be twice as wide as you will want because you will be folding it in half lengthwise. Sew across one end and down the long open side.
2. Turn right side out and sew across several inches from the closed end. This will leave an area with no filling that can be overlapped.
3. Fill the tube with rice. Do not pack it in. Leave it loosely filled. You want to be able to wrap it around your body.

4. Cut a strip of fabric wide enough to wrap around the inner tube. Turn all the raw edges under and sew them down.
5,. Sew hook and loop tape on the inside of one long side of the outer covering and the outside of the other long side, as shown. I used scraps that I had saved from a different project. This allows you to remove the outer covering and launder it.


 I hope you never need to use one of these, but if you do, it's nice to have one around. Mine is in the freezer now. I have another one that can be popped in the microwave for about 45 seconds or just until warm (Don't get it hot! It can burn you!). Be sure you know when you need a heat pack and when you need a cold pack - they are for different purposes!




 Now on a happy note, Staci at The Confused Quilter has honored me with a mention in her blog and has "awarded" me as a Versatile Blogger! Thank you, Staci! Staci always has wonderful posts! Please check her out.
Okay, you need for me to tell you 7 things about myself. Here goes:
1. I am fairly shy until I get to know you better. Then I'm a little silly! I am terrified of approaching shop owners and of "tooting my own horn" about my patterns. (Not particularly helpful when you own a business!)
2. I absolutely adore my husband of 41 years! I have never even one day regretted marrying him. He keeps my feet on the ground when I tend to get off into "the clouds" with my plans.
3. I like to bake when I'm stressed. I have bread in the oven as I write. I got off my sick bed to make bread. (My heavy duty mixer does the kneading for me, so it wasn't very hard to do!)
4. I enjoy watching old movies! Especially old Christmas movies!!!
5. I love to read. I have a Kindle and I keep it stocked with books! One of my wonderful memories is of a trip to a resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica where my husband and I relaxed on the beach in hammocks under the palms, sipped virgin Pina Coladas (we're not alcohol drinkers) and read our books. I was reading Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter at the time and I'm sure he had a either a science fiction, James Patterson, or John Grisham book.
6.I enjoy working jigsaw puzzles, but I like the ones that are based on folk art. My family works at least one every holiday season! I will take old ones out and rework them sometimes. I keep a few in the RV in case of rain!
7. I love flowers and trees! I miss living in a forest, but it was worth the sacrifice to be near family. I have baby trees in my yard and lots of flowers. Now I have to live long enough to see them grow up!

You can see pictures and learn a little more about me in Ten Things You May Not Know About Me.


I invite you to check out my sister's blog, Doodling in My Mind. 
(For my British friends, in the U.S. doodle is a verb meaning a type of drawing and it is not a naughty verb! My sister was horrified when she found out there was another meaning to her title!) She is an artist and a high school art teacher. She is the one who pushed me to put my designs in pattern form and then helped me to do it! I would like to pass this award on to her! 
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23 comments:

  1. Oh I feel for you!! my husband had shingles a few years back...very painful....good luck with them....take it easy

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  2. Linda,

    My friend you have shingles, oh no that is so so painful - friends of mine have had it and they had to suffer. Yet, you are in pain and you are doing a tutorial. The weather is getting cooler in Texas even though it was in triple digits the other day. My husband is leaving for Dallas Friday and I am leaving for UK and Germany tomorrow.

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  3. Oh I'm so sorry. I had shingles when I was 13 and it was agony. Hope you feel better soon.

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  4. well done getting your award and hope you get better with your shingles soon,take care,Linda

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  5. I hope you're feeling better soon Linda. I didn't get the chicken pox until I was 37! Mitchell came home from Kinder with it. Then Austin caught it and a couple of days later, Nelson (only a few months old) and I caught it! No wonder my mother couldn't remember me having it, I never did! One brother also got it as an adult and so the other brother rushed out then to get immunised! Congratulations on your Versatile Blogger award. It's fun finding out little things about other bloggers.

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  6. Oh my friend, I am soooo sorry! Hope you recover soon.

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  7. Linda, I am so sorry that you have shingles, they are so painful and debilitating.. Hope you recover really soon.. Thankyou for the tutorial, and for the little notes about yourself...

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  8. Oh, Linda I am so sorry for your pain. my youngest daughter had them her junior year of high school. The Dr. told us it was the worst case he had ever seen and he had never seen it in someone so young.She was trying to get a prom dress and had to wear several layers so she could try on dresses, as the seeping was so bad. Good luck, I will be praying for your quick recovery.

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  9. oh you poor thing - here's to s speedy recovery!

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  10. Oh Linda, you have my sympathy - my mom gets shingles and they're truly awful, she just paces the floor and cries. Hers attacked the nerves in the same area as yours.
    I use my rice pack for the arthritis in my neck. Lovely, lovely thing to have on hand.

    I enjoyed getting to know you a bit better - and how funny about the word doodling! I never would have guessed it could mean something else, somewhere else. Eek!

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  11. Oh Linda, I am SO sorry you are going through this. They are so incredibly painful and the virus that causes them makes you so very ill. The nausea and vomiting are not just your response to pain, they are also a common symptom of the virus. Please be sure to get the rest you need and stay hydrated! I have had shingles 4 times though they have only been severe twice. The first time was the very worst, I was down for 6 weeks, they were the left side of my head up in my hair and on my face and affected my left eye badly. I asked my doctor why I was so sick when the shingles were just on my face and head...he explained to me that it didn't matter where on your body they appear or how many of the blisters you get, the Virus is throughout your entire system just like any virus. *(Normally you only get them once but the specialist said my repeated episodes over the last few years are due to my Scleroderma and compromised immune system.) Bless your heart, here you are, miserable with Shingles and posting tutorials for us. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for relief and healing sweet friend. Very Gentle Hugs...

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  12. So very sorry you're having this experience! Hope it passes soon. Know they're ridiculously painful. How sweet of you to share your tutorial. My prayers are with you!

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  13. Linda,
    Poor you! I hope you recover soon...it must be horrible. Keep us posted! Wish I could do something to make you feel better.

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  14. Linda, I so hope and pray that your shingles clear up quickly. I was so very fortunate that I only got one spot (about the size of a quarter) but it was right around my right temple area into my hairline. I had immediately started treating it with an anti-itch cream but when it didn't clear up in a couple days, went to the doctor who treated it very aggressively. As it blistered, I lightly powdered it with corn starch - I was so afraid that if the blisters broke it could spread on my face or into my eye. God blessed me with only that one small spot. God Bless.

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  15. Hi Linda, You have been on my mind this today and I was just wondering how you are doing?
    Sending you more gentle hugs and many prayers,
    Nancy

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  16. I am so sorry to read you have not been well. I hope you are on the improve by now.
    The worst part of this is not being able to sew.
    Good luck with a quick recovery.

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  17. Linda, that looks so sore! Your the 2nd of my cyber friends who is struggling with this condition currently. I hope you get better soon.

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  18. Oh no!!!! Shingles is such a horrible thing to deal with. I am praying sincerely that you find pain relief and comfort. Take care!

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  19. Recently, I woke up "thinking" I might have shingles. Turns out, I'd slept on some Dorit*e crumbs! Moral of the story: Don't Eat In Bed! Seriously though, I am sorry that you DO have them. I'll say some prayers for you. Take care of yourself! ~ Hugs ~ Jo

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  20. Oh Linda, I feel so bad for you...I know they really hurt!! I pray you will be much better every day...Kathy

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  21. Oh Linda, that looks so painful. My heart goes out to you. I hope you are able to get relief very soon.

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  22. Oh my gosh you poor thing with shingles, how miserable. I love how you are still creating and blogging through it though! And really? You can use rice as the contents of a heat pack? I had no idea!

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  23. My doctor recently gave me a prescription for the "shot" that prevents shingles, or gives you a much milder case if you do get them. My insurance paid for it and I would imagine that Medicare may also. I got it at my local pharmacy and it just took a few minutes. I had a slightly sore arm at the site of the injection, but no other side effects. It certainly is better than getting the shingles. I would certainly recommend having it.

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