Poison ivy rash is one of the most uncomfortable experiences a person can go through. The itching is very intense and it looks embarrassing. If you plan on spending any time outside, you should know what the plant looks like and where it is likely to grow. It is not an actual type of ivy but is rather a woody low-growing shrub that can on occasion climb up trees and buildings like regular ivy. Some people are naturally immune to it; most are not.

If you know where it is expected to grow, you can be on the lookout for it. It grows only in North America, from Canada straight down into Mexico. The woods are the most dangerous place for it, especially on the edges where trees start to thin out. This is because there is a bit more sunlight there so it does really well. However, you can also find it on flat grassy areas like meadows or even on rocky terrain. The only place you do not have to worry about it is on the top of a mountain. It does not grow that well up that high, though everywhere else is fair game.

You should learn to recognize this plant if you intend on spending any time outside. It looks completely innocuous, so you may never know you are standing right in it. The leaves are really three leaflets in a bunch. They are almond shaped and do not have teeth. The color ranges from light green to dark green in spring and summer and then it turns reddish in the fall.

Each bundle comes in an alternating pattern on the vine. You may note that the leaves are slightly shiny, which is the substance the plant makes which gives you such discomfort if you come in to contact with it. It is also a plant that produces a fruit, which many people do not realize. There is often a small gray or white berry on the plant.

Keep in mind that the vine itself will be hairy. It has small red hairs on it that are very distinctive. Keep an eye out for it if you like to climb trees, since that is where the plants can grow–right up the trunk. Though they do not have teeth, there is a small notch on the side. Some have pointed out that the leaflets look like mittens with the notch being the part for the thumb.

Rhymes and tricks for remembering the visuals of the plant have been around for centuries. Look up some of the rhymes to help yourself remember. Another interesting fact is that butterflies tend to like poison ivy. Seeing one land on a plant that you are suspicious of is often a good indicator.

Now that you understand all about the looks of ivy, you should learn how to treat the rash if you accidentally stumble across some. It is an experience most people will go through at least once in their lives, given how commonly it grows in the summer. If you experience anything more than a rash, go to the hospital. Severe allergies could shut down your respiratory system or cause black outs.

Try not to scratch ever because it will irritate it more and could spread it around. Get anti-itch creams specially made to help with poison ivy. Those are your best bet. Other than that, you can take an oatmeal bath which is a relief treatment people with the chicken pox use.

Are you one of those unlucky individuals who has had a run-in with poison ivy? We’ve got the super inside skinny on how to treat Poison Ivy Rash as well as Poison Ivy Blisters .

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Few minutes of happy thoughts and after a second a move towards the dark and deep depression cave. Is this one of the emotional mood swings u feel?? Depression is common during pregnancy-between 14 percent and 23 percent of pregnant women will experience depressive symptoms while pregnant.

In 2003, approximately 13 percent of women took an antidepressant at some time during their pregnancy. One of the lead authors from Yale University said “Depression in pregnant women often goes unrecognized and untreated in part because of concerns about the safety of treating women during pregnancy.”

Both depression symptoms and the use of antidepressant medications during pregnancy have been associated with negative consequences for the newborn. Infants born to women with depression have increased risk for irritability, less activity and attentiveness, and fewer facial expressions compared with those born to mothers without depression.

Depression and its symptoms to a very large extend are also associated with fetal growth change and shorter gestation periods. And while available research still leaves a lot of questions unanswered, some studies have linked fetal malformations, cardiac defects, pulmonary hypertension, and reduced birth weight to antidepressant use during pregnancy.

Identifying depression in pregnant women can be difficult because its symptoms mimic those associated with pregnancy, such as changes in mood, energy level, appetite, and cognition. Depressed women are more likely to have poor prenatal care and pregnancy complications, such as nausea, vomiting, and preeclampsia, and to use drugs, alcohol, and nicotine.

Two main hormones, estrogen and progesterone cause mood swings during pregnancy. Emotions are always unstable and feeling of depression is normal as any other body changes during pregnancy. She may move from great joy to deep despair within fraction of time. A pregnant woman may feel tearful with little cause or no cause at all. She may even find hard to express the reason of joy or despair. This is no psychological problem but; a clear picture of hormonal changes.

Mood Swings throughout pregnancy period is a common phenomenon. It is most common during the first trimester that is between 6 weeks to 10 weeks of pregnancy. However the fluctuation resides during the second trimester. This is the period when she first feels the baby move. The feeling is great so is her emotions.

The third trimester is the most anxious one. This is the period when she worries about everything and anything that she can think of. However her major cause of anxiety lies not just on the labour and delivery process but also in baby care and parenting in general. She will feel physically uncomfortable with the growth of the abdomen and will feel irritated with the lightest noise as she lacks sleep in general. It may be more extreme if she is single without a partner. The hard-core fact of being a single mother can make her feel stressed and isolated. Pregnancy is the important period of any women’s life. It is during this time she is very vulnerable both, physically and mentally. Even if a pregnant lady doesn’t ask for help, she indeed is in need of it. One should try help a pregnant women during all possible times.

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Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets has been the perpetual best-seller on popular mycology since published in 2005. It’s an indispensible reference book for anybody working the land, especially foresters, farmers and environmental cleanup contractors. It’s also a great book for anyone interested in growing their own food mushrooms.

Mycelium Running is filled to the brim with useful tips on things such as using mushrooms to improve soils and boost productivity in forestry and farming (gardening) with decreased use of expensive fertilizers and pesticides; filtering waste-water (mycofiltration); and clean up toxic waste from the land (mycoremediation).

A detailed description of Mycofiltration, the use of mushrooms to filter waste water, is given in one section of the book. It lists recommended mushroom species and materials to use in creating the mycofiltration bed, as well as dimensions, depth, layers, etc. Mycofiltration beds like this can be effectively used for both industrial waste water and farm runoff.

Added perks when using mycofiltration is that the beds also yield crops of scrumptious food mushrooms, and every 2-3 years, as the bedding material needs to be replaced, the old material can be spread on the farm fields as a rich fertilizer.

Another piece of useful information for farmers and gardeners found in Mycelium Running concerns the no-till farming method as opposed to the conventional method of plowing the fields after harvest. No-till farming helps promote saprophytic fungi (decomposing fungi), which break down organic material at a pace better suited to plant-life than the rapid and heat producing breakdown by anaerobic bacteria, which are the primary decomposers when stubble is plowed under. The mycelium of saprophytic fungi also binds the soil to prevent erosion and loss of valuable nutrients.

For forestry, not only do saprophytic fungi help break down and recycle organic matter. They also help combat many parasitic fungi (blights) that may kill large numbers of trees. Stamets gives useful suggestions on how to seed beneficial saprophytic fungi in blight infested forests as a natural “fungicide,” fighting fire with fire, so to speak.

Mycorrhizal mushrooms can also be seeded to support the forest, or they may simply be encouraged to grow naturally by using more enlightened methods of forest management.

Most plants form symbiotic relationships with mushrooms. The mushroom mycelium more effectively absorbs water and nutrients, exchanged with trees for sugars, making the trees healthier and more drought resistant. Mycorrhizal fungi also provide trees with natural antibiotics against pathogens.

Mushroom mycelium can also be utilized to clean up toxic waste sites through a method known as mycoremediation. The term was invented by the author of Mycelium Running, Paul Stamets, but was in common use before the publication of this book.

Synthetic toxic compounds including petrochemicals, dioxins, neurotoxins, toxic industrial waste and much more can be effectively broken down by fungi into harmless compounds. Bacterial contaminants such E. coli can be killed by anti-bacterial compounds excreted by the fungi. And toxic levels of heavy metals may be absorbed and concentrated by mushrooms, which can then be harvested and safely deposed.

At $50 per ton, mycoremediation is a very cost effective method to clean up toxic waste. Conventional incineration may cost upwards of $1,500 per ton.

All that is just in the first half of this 300-page book; the second half is an instruction manual on growing your own mushrooms and mycelia, which is something that may be of interest to forest managers for mycoforestry, environmentalists for mycoremediation, farmers for increasing soil productivity, and the rest of us for growing our own gourmet mushrooms for food and medicine. In other words, this is a book for anyone and everyone.

Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in the natural health field since finishing Chiropractic College in the mid-90’s. He currently specializes in medicinal fungi, frequently consulting two reference books: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets for medicinal, biological and chemical properties of mushrooms, and Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, the most complete identification guide of American mushrooms.