I've been doing 3 mile walks 3 times a week for about 5 yrs now..... along with the vitamins, niacin for it's cholesterol lowering.... lost 12 lbs.... still need to drop 15-20.... heart disease runs in my family so I NEED to do this stuff and need to cut my food portions more. I'm now working on the bicycle more as I want to do a cross the state fund raiser this June..... 180 miles!

Now...you shouldn't make so many assumptions about Lil's diet. :D

You can have mine. :D

Be well my friend. :)

I want to thank everyone who contributed their ideas and well wishes in this thread. I definitely agree that added water intake, excercise, handwashing and the like are all preventative ways to gain a better grasp on health. I appreciate you letting me know what is working for you.

Something you might want to consider is Airborne... developed by a teacher... might need to be a staple in your medicine cabinet :)

I wondered if anyone had tried it. It's in the stores here and I'm certainly considering it. I go back to school Monday and am seriously concerned about relapsing yet again. One of the problems I face is that my portable has been wet in the past and I am sure it is coated in mold spores. I'm not usually an allergic person but this may be an extreme.

Being in the business, I'm well aware of what steps must be taken once it's established that mold is present in an a work environment. There are plenty of professionals that perform air quality testing, and surface testing for every known allergen and condition known to mankind, but they're not cheap. Because of the cost, and the high price that comes with being officially informed that such a condition is present...not many business/landlords/etc jump to extend the offer of an investigation. Nevertheless, it's your right as an employee to be able to work in a healthy environment. That's why OSHA exists. Before you go to your superiors on the record and officially report your concerns, I suggest conducting your own (less conclusive yet still informative) test. Home Depot sells home testing kits that detect the presence of mold.

For $9.99, you will know for yourself whether or not there's a presence of mold.

I understand your reluctance to stir up trouble, but please remember that it's your right to not be subjected to a hazardous environment...and it's the kids' right too. How mad would you be if you learned that your children's classrooms had mold? I know I'd be at the principal's office the next day demanding action be taken. Now obviously if the test comes out positive you can't tell the parents about it, but you can tell the administration that there's exposure..."If any parents find out about this, there will be lawsuits...count on it. And I can't afford to be held liable because I know about it." We live in a litigious society, and most of the time I think suits are frivoulous...not in this instance. The health department could shut down the school and demand EVERY classroom be tested!

Sorry, I don't mean to seem aggressive, but mold is a serious issue. And on a personal note, I don't want you sick.

i recently heard a radio programme in which they examined the reasons we get sick (or don't). stress was the single biggest contributing factor as to why we catch various bugs. women are way more suseptable than men and even more so if she is caring for a son/daughter who requires more care than the average child (terminally ill, behavioral issues, etc).

think about your life and all the changes - from the good and the not-so-good - in it lately ... i think i can see why you're getting sick. perhaps just the good old methods of immune system boosting will get you by till you adjust, and things settle down some.

(((hugs)))
a healthy new year to you, lil! :)

Thanks for the hugs and good advice. WI~ like I told you, I'll start bitching in 3 years when I have tenure and begin my evil plot to take over the public school system ;)Wyndhy~ if stress is the culprit then I'm just fucked because teaching is a super high stress field. I know that teachers on average suffer from more immune disorders like lupus and fibro myalgia than any other profession. I should look at a yoga class maybe or meditation. Thanks!

When I first became employed at the local school district, I caught everything that the kids had - didn't matter what it was - that first year it seemed I had one thing after another. Even whooping cough! I was told by other teachers that it takes about 3 years for your immune system to kick in and in that third year it isn't too bad. Well, I am on my third year, and I haven't gotten ill (I don't count the time I ate the school lunch and went home sick about an hour later).

It this were me, I would report my concerns to my direct supervisor / principal in writing. This isn't only your health issue, but a health issue for the kids as well. I would hope that tests would be ordered to determine if there is mold or some other alergin present.

On another note - we have 1st year teachers using Airborne and they swear by it.. there is another over the counter cold medicine - can't remember the name right off the top of my head, but it decreases your symptoms and in some cases reduces the length of time of the cold - our Science department recommends that.. lol

Zicam is the other one that Chey mentions (I think). I picked up some airborne at the store last week in the event that I felt even the slightest bit of a bug on my flight yesterday. But alas, no bug was biting so I didn't need to use it.

I may try the Airborne. The pneumonia I had was bacterial and not viral so it's not taken care of by ZiCam.

an interesting article with quite a few every day things you can eat to boost your immune system. herbal supplements, too, but i'm not crazy about taking stuff like that.

http://www.whatreallyworks.co.uk/st...?article_ID=183

funny...she didn't say anything about drinking more water. :D