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The FDA had to warns people this week not to be treated with ivermectin, a drug often used to de-worm horses. Yes, people seem to be buying the stuff themselves from pet food stores and using it to self-treat for COVID-19.

If this sounds familiar, you may still remember it when people used antiparasitic drugs on fish tried to protect themselves from the virus last year. At least one person died in the process.

The excitement for these alternative treatments comes from the same people who don’t want to wear masks or take COVID vaccines. Although hundreds of millions of people have been vaccinated and the vaccines have proven overwhelmingly safe, a worryingly large segment of the population would rather trust a drug that has not been shown to work against the coronavirus.

Or summarized like a medic on twitter: “I love the irony of a thousand people screaming ‘I’m not a sheep’ while buying sheep wetting.”

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All right, what is ivermectin and why shouldn’t I indulge myself?

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug. It’s found in some prescription-only products for humans, but the easiest and cheapest way to get your hands on some is to go to your local feed store and purchase horse dewormers or one of the other ivermectin products made for animals. (It’s found in heartworm medication for dogs, for example.) But since horses and cows are large animals, the doses for them are similar: for example, a 9 inch tube of toothpaste is a single dose for a 1,250 pound horse.

“People should never take veterinary drugs” the FDA sighs audibly. These drugs are often more concentrated than the human intended versions, and the inactive ingredients are not necessarily approved for use in human medicines or human food. Basically, it doesn’t mean it’s safe for you or your loved ones just because it doesn’t kill a horse.

Ivermectin is also a real drug. Medications have side effects and interactions, and ivermectin is no exception. The FDA says:

Even the concentrations of ivermectin for approved uses [in humans] may interact with other drugs such as blood thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (balance problems), seizures, coma, and even death.

If you have COVID or are concerned about exposure, you should get tested, stay away from others until you feel better, and get medical help as needed (from a folk doctor, not a veterinarian) take advantage of.

And please watch out for your friends and relatives who may receive poor information about COVID prevention and treatment from Facebook or other sources. The vaccines are far safer and more effective than any unproven treatment, whether it’s equine dewormers, essential oils, or prescription drugs bought from a friend’s sketchy doctor.

In difficult times we often find ourselves falling back on a single, dominant emotion, even if another might be “more logical”. For example, your default emotion may be fear, which you will feel during stressful times, although a more appropriate emotional response might be anger, sadness, or frustration.

That is your dominant emotional style, said Alice Boyes, Ph.D., Author of the book “The Healthy Mind Toolkit, “in one new article she wrote for Psychology Today. In times of stress, a “dominant emotion” is the emotion we are exposed to by default and is often related to how we interpret and respond to situations. To return to the fear example, your reaction may be due to a tendency to blame yourself for situations; If your dominant emotion is anger, it may be due to the assumption that others are trying to hurt you.

Why it is important to be able to feel a range of emotions

We stick to our dominant emotion because we know that and are most familiar with each other. However, being able to experience a range of emotions is important as this is often the key to a healthier and happier life.

One way to think about emotions is to look at all of the different emotions as beings Part of a balanced ecosystem. There are many different components within an ecosystem, all of which are important for a healthy system. However, when this balance is disturbed and an emotion becomes strongly dominant, the overall health of the system becomes unbalanced.

As studies show, people who experience a wide range of emotions tend to better mental and physical health, which includes lower rates of depression. One possible reason is that a mixture of emotions, even if they are negative, can help prevent a single emotion from getting completely out of hand.

Two ways to reduce your dominant emotion

Feeling too much of an emotion is exhausting and can burn you out. According to Boyes, there are two ways that can help you withdraw from your dominant emotions.

The first way is to think through other possible interpretations of the situation. As Boyes notes, her dominant emotion is fear, for which she usually blames herself. However, as she slows down and assesses the situation and tries to think through other reasons for what happened, her other emotions can surface.

The second option is to focus on the calmer feelings that have been drowned out by your dominant emotion. “When I tune in to my smaller emotions, they come to the surface more.” Boyes wrote. These other feelings can help you find different solutions to your problem while also helping you have a more balanced perspective.

As Boyes points out, these strategies for reducing your dominant emotions can have many positive benefits. This includes feeling relieved, increasing your creativity, finding new ways to solve problems, and motivating you to try alternative approaches that you might not otherwise think of.

As Boyes noted, when it comes to feeling these other emotions, “It’s okay if feeling your nondominant emotions unsettles you and maybe leaves you a little at sea. You can feel insecure and still benefit. ”

Photo: Timolina (Shutterstock)

On sticky summer evenings, dinner is required that is quick, easy, and requires minimal cooking – perhaps a salad, bread, and a sausage board with your favorite cured foods. However, if that’s on your menu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest a minor change: reheat the meat.

Why? There is currently an Italian-style meat-related salmonella outbreak but at this point the source is unclear. Here’s what you can about that. should know CDC investigation, including the safe consumption of an antipasto platter.

What we know about the salmonella outbreak

There are currently two Italian meat-related salmonella outbreaks in the United States, with a total of 36 reported diseases and 12 hospitalizations in 14 states. according to CDC.

Those who got sick told investigators what they ate before they got sick, and that was the same for both outbreaks: salami, ham and “other meats found in antipasti or sausage assortments,” reports the CDC. It is currently unclear whether the two outbreaks are related to the same food source.

How to eat meat the Italian way safely

While CDC investigators work to pinpoint exactly which Italian-style meat is responsible for these outbreaks, the agency is instructing consumers at higher risk of developing severe Salmonella to keep all relevant meats at an internal temperature of 165 ° F or up “Steaming hot” to be heated up before eating. This group includes people aged 65 and over, children under the age of four and people with weakened immune systems. For more information on salmonella, see the CDC website.

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What to do if you think you have salmonella disease

If you or someone you know has any of the following symptoms, according to the CDC, it is important to Call your doctor right away:

• Diarrhea and fever over 102 ° F
• Diarrhea for more than 3 days that does not get better
• Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you can’t hold any fluids on you
• Signs of dehydration such as: not peeing too much, dry mouth and throat, and dizziness when standing up

Photo: Lane V. Erickson (Shutterstock)

Managing storage on any device can be a challenge. Your Mac will often say, “Hey, I’m full, friend, without warning. Erase some things. ”Of course you are required, but there is a catch:“ Other ”files hold a lot of data, and your computer doesn’t tell you what those“ other ”files are. How are you supposed to delete the files if you don’t even know what they are?

What are the ‘Other’ files?

In macOS, other files are just that – files that don’t fit well into categories like music, movies, documents, and photos. Often times, these Other Files are system files that Apple does not want you to interact with, simply because it is usually not required.

Many of these files can be cache files, which are data intended to help start and run applications and services. Over time, however, these files can add up, and their total storage size can cause more problems than they’re worth, especially if you no longer use the app or feature they are tied to.

Not all other files are junk, however. Apple includes certain types of files in this collection such as PDFs, ZIP files, DMG files, fonts, and other useful or important data. Because of this, even though Apple has revamped its storage management system over the past few years, Apple still doesn’t want you to interact with or delete other files.

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You can see how much space on your hard drive is being used by these “other” files by clicking the Apple icon in the upper left corner About this Mac> Storage. After you let the system scan you will see a number of file types. miscellaneous will end up being very dark gray.

Clean up the cache

If you’re looking for a quick and easy solution to clearing your Other Files, start by clearing your cache. While Apple doesn’t disclose where these files are kept, you can get there by pressing Shift + Command + G, typing ~ library, and then finding the one Caches Folder. While you can completely delete this folder, it is possible that you will delete something important in one of your active apps.

Your best bet is to scan this list and delete things related to apps that you don’t use, especially if these files are large. But remember that the cache is constantly being filled by apps and services on your computer. As soon as you continue to use your Mac, the cache will fill up again.

Use a third-party cleaning tool

One way to bypass Apple’s restrictions on other files is to use a third-party cleaning tool. These tools can bypass macOS and show you all of your files on the system. The best of them do this in a way that also makes it clear what you are seeing so you don’t have to be a Mac file expert to know what you are doing.

One of the best is DaisyDisk, but it ships with a $ 10 price tag after a free trial. CleanMyMacX is another fan favorite, but its features are mostly hidden behind a paid subscription. If you want to pay, do it; Both are great apps. However, you can take advantage of some free features to clean up your files.

For example, let’s look at CleanMyMacX. Start with System waste. For the most thorough scan, grant the app full hard drive access. Click “Grant access, “then click”System settings“In the popup. Now click the lock at the bottom left, authenticate yourself, click the check box next to CleanMyMacX, then “Exit and reopen. “

After restarting the app, go back to System waste and click on “scan. ”Allow CleanMyMacX to access different folders on your computer as you scan. Then click on “Evaluation details”And you’ll see a full list of files that CleanMyMacX has found to be wasting space. Click “Demonstrate”Next to each item for a full breakdown of the files below. Right click on it and then select “Show in Finder“To go straight to the junk file.

Image: Jake Peterson

Now you can simply delete that file, return to CleanMyMacX, and repeat the process for any files that you want to delete. While it can be a chore, it’s free and you take down some huge files that you may not have found by yourself.

You can also clean up other areas of your computer with CleanMyMacX, which can certainly help with disk space. But just know that the Others category is only affected by the “System Junk” files.

This isn’t your only free option. There are apps like OmniDiskSweeper which are 100% unpaid and can help locate large files. The problem is that if you don’t know what you are doing it can be a little complicated; The app looks essentially like Finder, only with file sizes next to each item. It’s easy to see what is taking up the most space on your computer, but it’s not easy to tell if these files belong to Others or if they are important files that you shouldn’t delete.