Category Archives: SEX & LIFE

FOR THE GUYS, SEX & LIFE

Sex and “Small” Infections. (MA)

By Tia Cristy

Sex and “Small” Infections.
tipsfromtia.com sex

Problem: A friend and I were talking about yeast infections and she said my boyfriend can get it from me, if I have one. Is that true? And is it a big deal?

Tip from Tia:

Truth be told, no transmitting infection should be considered small; any infection can flourish into a bigger problem. The “small” infections are known to be yeast infections or bacterial infections (BV). These infections can be transmitted sexually.

If you or your partner, is currently suffering from one of these “small” infections, it’s best not to engage in intercourse, until the infection has cleared.

Even engaging in protected sex, can still allow these infections to be transmitted, since they can infect the skin, topically.

If you think you’ve had sex, while having an infection, be sure to inform your partner. Like “they” say, if you’re responsible enough to have sex, you’re responsible enough to talk to your partner about sexual health.

Seek medical attention, if you have symptoms of itching, burning, odor and/or discharge.

A quick tip to remember is, if you have recently gotten over an infection and you have sex, wiping up with hydrogen peroxide after, can help both you and your partner from reinfection. But, be advised, don’t use too much peroxide, frequently, because this can cause changes in your body’s natural balance.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me!

 

Responses from Tips, SEX & LIFE

5 Smart and Simple Tips for Avoiding Debt. Guest Blogger Karleia S.

By Guest Blogger, Karleia S.

 

5 Smart and Simple Tips for Avoiding Debt

Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Karleia S.
Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Karleia S.

People have been conditioned to believe that aggressively avoiding debt is no fun. Spending money is one of the easiest ways to get immediate gratification, no matter how short-lived this sense of gratification might be. Unfortunately, overspending has become all too common and it is having a significant and very negative impact on average life qualities. Following are five steps that you can take to avoid debt while still living a pleasure-filled life.

1. Create a Budget

Sadly, many consumers are still eking it out from check to check without solid, written plans for how they are going to manage their money. Not having a budget greatly increases the likelihood of debt and it also eliminates the ability to maintain a consistent savings plan. Take stock of your regular expenses and your total monthly income and then determine the best way to part your funds out. Make sure that you have adequate funds for entertainment and that you are always saving at least some small portion of your earnings for a proverbial rainy day.

2. Increase Your Income

The majority of debt that people are currently taking on right now is associated with short-term funding solutions such as payday loans and car title loans. If you find that you are always searching for some extra cash to cover your regular expenses, you probably aren’t earning enough money. Consider taking on more hours, starting an online business or applying for a better-paying job. When your income is not sufficient for comfortably meeting your costs of living, the practical decision is to increase it. There are many ways that you can do this without having to work more or harder. Spend time brainstorming to determine which strategies will work best for you.

3. Start Using Credit Cards for Emergencies Only

As Faber Inc reminds us, your credit cards should be reserved for major, planned expenses and for emergencies. If you are pulling your cards out each time you enter a store, tracking your spending and adhering to your budget will be impossible. Keep only one credit card in your wallet for urgent expenses and keep the rest of them locked up at home. You may even want to decide whether or not having more than one or two cards is necessary.

4. Start Doing More For Yourself

Before hiring any service provider, consider your own skills and resources and see what you can do on your own. This is true whether you need a handyman or have been paying a local deli each day to make your lunch. Any effort that you make to cut down your spending will give you more money to save.

5. Create a Regular Workout Plan

Exercise and good financial habits are surprisingly connected. This is because most people are making emotion-based decisions each day, rather than practical, balanced judgments. Regular exercise floods the body with feel-good hormones, making it much less likely for people to crave the immediate gratification that unplanned spending provides. Best of all, you really don’t need more than free time to get your fitness routine going. Try taking long, daily walks or creating a small, low-thrills workout area at home. You’ll spend less and feel better.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me!

Responses from Tips, SEX & LIFE

On the Right Track: How to Approach Behavior Therapy with Your Teen. By Guest Blogger, Brooke C.

By Guest Blogger, Brooke C.

 

On the Right Track: How to Approach Behavior Therapy with Your Teen

 

Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Brooke C.
Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Brooke C.

The teenage years are a trying time for kids and adults alike. Not only are teenagers coping with behavior-impacting hormonal shifts, they’re subjected to peer pressure, feeling the effects of greater autonomy, and possibly coping with one of many psychological or behavioral issues that tend to pop up in adolescence. Parents only want to help their children, but the teenage years are also when kids are the most likely to push back and resist that help. Keeping these things in mind, how can you effectively approach behavior therapy with your teen?

Introduce it to them the right way
The most important thing to get across is that behavioral therapy is not punishment for bad behavior. If a teen acts up, becomes defiant, or shows other negative behavioral traits, consider asking them, “This isn’t like you. Is something going on?” Putting teens in a position where they are made to feel defensive can cause them to be more resistant to the idea of seeking help. Behavioral problems are a symptom. Rather than pointing to behavioral therapy as a way to remove negative behaviors, point to it as a way for teens to get help alleviating the feelings that are triggering them. Make sure they are aware of what they are getting into. Answer all their questions from, “What is a board certified behavior analyst?â€, “How long will therapy last?†to questions like “What should I expect from therapy?†When you are both well informed, you know what to expect and how to handle big changes together.

Approach behavior therapy as a team
While teenagers benefit the most from behavior therapy in this situation, parents should get in on the action too. Family sessions can offer parents long-term strategies for helping their kids, while offering a safe learning and communicating space for adults and teens alike. While privacy is important to teenagers, it’s important to meet with a behavioral analyst as a family to discuss how treatment goals are being met. Ask your teen if they are comfortable with this before plunging into their space.

Seek out a certified Applied Behavior Analyst
Applied behavioral analysis is a means of controlling negative behavior by applying interventions, with an emphasis on the relationship between behavior and the patient’s environment. The analyst will create and oversee a treatment plan after analyzing the patient’s behavior, and tailor it to a teenager’s abilities. Positive reinforcement is used to encourage good behavior, while a lack of reinforcement is used to dissuade negative behavior.

Kids with behavioral problems aren’t automatically bad kids, and discussions of behavioral therapy shouldn’t make them feel that way. Parents should view therapy as a way to help their children develop healthy coping skills for dealing with the stresses that cause negative behaviors, not a way to make their lives easier by altering their children’s behavior. With the right approach, teens will be more receptive to receiving help, and receptiveness can be the difference between successful therapy and failure.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me!

Responses from Tips, SEX & LIFE

Think Fast: First Aid Helps Everyone Should Know. By Guest Blogger, Brooke C

By Guest Blogger, Brooke C.

 

Think Fast: First Aid Helps Everyone Should Know

 

Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Brooke C.
Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Brooke C.

No one can be fully prepared to provide first aid for every type of emergency situation. However, there are some basic first aid practices and techniques everyone should be versed in, no matter what. The reality is that some of these first aid helps may seem so basic, mentioning them yet again may be interpreted as a waste of breath. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, too few people take the time to even know the most basic and commonly needed first aid techniques.

Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
Cardio pulmonary resuscitation or CPR represents perhaps the most basic form or emergency first aid help the typical person needs to know. According to the American Heart Association, 88 percent of cardiac events, many that require CPR, occur at home. A full 70 percent of the population is unable to perform basic CPR in such a situation.
CPR training is available from a wide range of different agencies and organizations. This includes the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, local hospitals and medical centers, as well as many other institutions, groups and organizations.

Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation
This technique is absolutely life saving to millions in any given year. You should know the proper way to administer the resuscitation and be able to know when it is truly needed or not. Only 30 percent of the population can do this first aid correctly, but if you enroll at a local clinic, fire station or hospital you can learn when it is needed, how to do it, and when it can be dangerous. Harrison Medical Center says it’s important to refresh the course every year to be sure you are up to date on your techniques.

Heimlich Maneuver
Incidents in which a person chokes can be commonplace. Thousands of people are brought into emergency rooms annually because of chocking incidents, including 10,000 children. Indeed, one child dies in the United States every five days (on average) from choking, according to the American Red Cross.
Because of the truly ubiquitous nature of chocking incident, and the fact that children are at high risk for his type of accident, understanding the Heimlich Maneuver (or a similar, medially approved technique) is fundamental. As is the case with CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation, Heimlich Maneuver instruction is available from a wide array of different groups, organizations and agencies. You should know how to administer it to an infant as well as a grown person.

First aid is important to know, because you’ll never be able to guess when you might need it, and it can save lives. More deaths can be prevented, and you can feel more prepared when you are well versed in first aid for home.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me!

Responses from Tips, SEX & LIFE

5 Tips to Avoid Becoming a Pack Rat. By Guest Blogger, Erika R.

By Guest Blogger, Erika R.

 

5 Tips to Avoid Becoming a Pack Rat

Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Erika R.
Photo Provided by Guest Blogger, Erika R.

The term pack rat has negative connotations and for good reason. That’s because in its mildest form, it means clinging to items most other people consider to be junk. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, a pack rat who holds on to items or refuses to throw them out may suffer from something like obsessive compulsive disorder that needs treatment.

Regardless of where someone is in that grouping, here are five ways to avoid becoming a pack rat:

A Friend Indeed

When you’ve decided to sift through material that continues to grow, it might be easier to have a friend help you. Quantum Storage explains that the individual doesn’t have any emotional attachment to the items involved, and thus can offer cogent reasons why they should be discarded or given away. In many cases of this type, family-connected items bring out sentimentality, and downsizing becomes easier when someone you can trust is helping you make these decisions.

Don’t Fix It, Toss It

In many cases, items lie around waiting to be fixed or repaired, with the prevailing belief that they’ll be taken care of “someday.†If it hasn’t been dealt with in months, then you likely don’t need it, which makes it an easy decision to simply discard the item(s) into the trash. Holding on to it without making an effort to repair or fix is virtually the definition of junk.

The Maybe Box

A compromise can be reached when you put items you might need into a single box. It allows you to hold on to them, but forces you to discard items that can’t fit inside. In the future, the box can be used to save something else—but with the understanding that something from the box must be tossed out.

A Photographic Memory

As noted above, sentimentality often plays a part in holding onto items long past their time. You can still maintain your memory for many items by simply taking a photograph of the item in question. That allows you to look at it in the future, without it cluttering up your home.

Use It or Lose It

With something that might be described as the one-year rule, you should be able to make a quick decision about a number of items. This means that if you haven’t used the item over the course of a year, it likely isn’t as important as you might think. Therefore, it can become easier to make this decision.

While everybody would love to hold on to each memento from the past, no matter how trivial they may seem to another individual, that simply isn’t a practical consideration. Unless you live in a mansion, there simply isn’t room to do that and could eventually be a safety risk for those who live there. The easiest steps to take in avoiding this situation is to follow the steps above.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me!